Much To Do with Much Ado!

Much Ado About Nothing moved into the theatre this week. I am doing Props for the show so I was in for the Production Meeting last night and to start a bit of the props pull. The Cast was treated to their walk-through to familiarize themselves with the space and then some of them had a rehearsal afterwards. I saw some fun character work happening with Assistant Director Monica Roberts and then popped in on a hilarious scene being blocked by Director Anne Marie Szucs.

My props pull was partially successful. I still have quite a few things to find, but I have leads on all of them. Walterdale has a really fun Props room with a lot of things, but sometimes it takes a bit of digging to find what you want. I have also been building at home. I have the bases made for the 16 masks and all I need to do is decorate them and attach the sticks. I can't do the latter until the choreography is set because I don't know what side to put them on. I am also building an Inkhorn and will be working on scrolls and some scabbards for swords. I will be pulling out the glue gun and sparkles so that makes me happy!

I went in this afternoon and met with the Costume Designer Ephram di Medicci and saw his designs and got some fabric scraps to match the masks to. We also sorted out the swords. We decided that we need to check with the Director about which swords to use - we have 4 sabers and 2 pairs of Rapier (both pairs are quite different). Both options require work so the sooner we know which way to go, the better. It's all about communication with everyone involved to make sure the right choice is made. It is better to talk about it first before you spend the time and money to acquire the wrong thing.

I am having fun this season. So far I am involved hands on for the first three shows. I painted on Perfect Pie, now Props for Much Ado and also Directing Rabbit Hole. I am sure there will be some place I can contribute to Threepenny. The One Acts are almost a given with the AD being involved and I am hoping to contribute to set in some way for Village of Idiots (I want to be Master Painter, but it all depends on who the Designer is). One thing I love about Walterdale is that you can certainly learn to do all jobs if you work at it! Since I feel like I know the AD job, it is great to add some other skills to my repertoire!

There are No Bunny Ears in this Rabbit Hole...

After a fabulous 3 days of auditions I am pleased to announce the cast of Rabbit Hole which will have it's Edmonton Premiere at Walterdale Playhouse in February of 2011.

Becca - Joyce LaBriola

Howie - Daniel Summers

Izzy - Amelia Maciejewski-Duplessis

Nat - Francie Goodwin-Davies

Jason - Graham Mothersill

This cast is a combination of people both new and returning to Walterdale. The Production Team is as follows:

Kristen M. Finlay - Director
Marissa Loewen - Assistant Director
Erin Valentine - Stage Manager
Margaret Smith - Production Manager

Liz Furber - Production Assistant
Joan Hawkins - Set Designer
Leland Stelck - Lighting Designer
Gerri Dittrich/Elaina Bolton - Costume Coordinators
Erin Foster-O'Riordan - Sound Designer
Pierre Valois - Master Builder
May Kharaghani - Properties
Heidi McCaan - Lighting Operator
TBA - Sound Operator

We will be looking for other people to be a part of this production: painters, ASMs, Operators, builders and others. If you are interested email me at adwalterdale2009@yahoo.ca and I will forward your information to the appropriate person.

The 2010 - 2011 Board of Directors

Introducing the 2010-2011 Board of Director for Walterdale Theatre Associates:

Artistic Director - Kristen M. Finlay
President - Eric Rice
Vice President - Clare Mullen-Pearson
Secretary - Catherine Wenschlag
Treasurer - Monica Roberts
Past-President - Tim Marriott
Building Director - VACANT
Directors of FOH - Marsha Amanova and Mary Ellen Perley
Director of Membership - Ruby Swekla
Directors of Media - Amelia Amelia Maciejewski-Duplessis and May Kharaghani
Director of Productions - Pierre Valois
Technical Director - Richard Hatfield

With our illustrious Administrator - Kent Sutherland.

Please notice that the Building Director is Vacant. We are also looking for a second Director of Productions to work with Pierre Valois. If you are interested or have questions, please contact myself at adwalterdale2009@yahoo.ca and I will refer you to the appropriate person.

Media Call - Perfect Pie

I had the pleasure of watching the first act of Perfect Pie last night after the media call. It looks so very good. It is hard to believe that they just finished the Q2Q last night and that they have a few more runs until the see an audience on Monday night. They certainly seemed ready for a house full of people. Every detail is crisp and clean and the relationships between the two sets of friends is beautifully established. I stayed for Act One and snuck out at the break between the two acts so that I save something for my Opening Night experience. It's so clean and ready I want to wait to see the finished product!

Thank you , as always, to Douglas Stewart for his fabulous photography. You can check out the pictures here: http://gallery.radgrandpa.com/Event-Photography/Theatre/Perfect-Pie/13982217_GM9oX#1027968460_RoJmg

Perfect Pie

Our first show up on deck this season is Perfect Pie, by renowned Canadian playwright Judith Thompson. For more information on Thompson you can start with this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Thompson

Perfect Pie tells the story of the childhoods of Patsy and Marie and the impact it had on their later lives. It is told in flashbacks as the adult Patsy and Marie (now Francesca) meet after many years to revisit their past and the event that led to their separation. The four characters onstage are amazing opportunities for any actress and the themes of changing friendships and survival are universal that are sure to appeal to a variety of audience members.

We hope you get a chance to check this work out on our stage.

Seasons Come and Seasons Go...

We are wrapping up the 2009-2010 Season at Walterdale with a Sold Out run of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. This has been a nice season for us, with overall attendance increasing as well as a tremendous turn-out at auditions. We'd like both to continue, because strong auditions create stronger shows and stronger shows encourage audiences... it's a process.

The first show for next season (Perfect Pie) is cast, but auditions for our December show are coming up in late August (after Fringe). We are presenting Much Ado About Nothing directed by Anne Marie Szucs, with Assistant Director Monica Roberts, Stage Manager Melanie Samson, Set Designer George Millar and Costume Designer Ephram Di Medicci. Combined, these individuals have been involved in Pieces, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Antony and Cleopatra, Crimes of the Heart, Kiss Within a Kiss, The Mail Order Bride, Selection, and Beautiful Thing at Walterdale. There may be more, but that was just off the top of my head.

For audition information: http://walterdaleplayhouse.com/?page_id=57

Next Season at Walterdale

Perfect Pie - gathering the ingredients...

After a wonderful audition session seeing 15 lovely and talented actresses called back Director M.J. Kreisel and Assistant Director Mary Ellen Perley came up with a sure to be terrific cast. I am excited to announce the following cast for Perfect Pie, which will be seen onstage at Walterdale in October 2010.

Holly Cinnamon – Marie
Michele Vance Hehir – Patsy
Nicole Lemay – Francesca
Stephanie Wigston – Younger Patsy

So we have assembled all the ingredients and soon the mixing, stirring, seasoning, and rolling out the dough will commence.

Busy Sunday for Me and Walterdale

Today I am heading into the theatre for a sneak peek at The Mail Order Bride. They are in good shape from what I hear, so I am looking forward to seeing where it's at. I may not stay to watch the whole thing. I did that with Beautiful Thing. I wanted to see where they were at, but I wanted to save something for Opening Night. We shall see how today goes!

Later in the evening I have the second read-through of Uncle Robert's Funeral which will be read at From Cradle to Stage. The Playwright has a new draft and we will read through that a few times (and some smaller sections perhaps more than that) and see where we are at. I am looking forward to hearing the changes and seeing where the story has moved.

I have had quite a few new requests for Best Little Whorehouse in Texas auditions this week. They are filling up faster the closer we get to the actual dates! Yee haw!

Rights are pretty much in hand for next year's season. We have the contract for the last show, but there is one error in the contract that we need to get fixed (it refers to a different play by the same playwright) and then we are off. We are working on the media materials and hoping to get things out by mid May.

Overlap

Last night I attended a Production Meeting for From Cradle to Stage. As of this morning, all three one acts have had their first read through with Playwrights in attendance to hear their words. The Production Meeting went well and things are definitely rolling along. If you would like to be involved in the fabulous production, contact me at adwalterdale200@yahoo.ca and I will get your name to our Production Manager. There are still positions to fill (operators, ASMs, crew, etc...) and this is a great project that helps develop New Canadian Work!

On my way to the meeting I stopped by the theatre to pick up some scripts. I ran into Alex Hawkins, who is directing The Mail Order Bride. He says that things are cooking in rehearsal and invited me to watch a rehearsal on Sunday. This is such a lovely, complex, script and based on auditions I would say they have a nice strong cast. I am looking forward to the sneak peek.

I am also busy taking names for auditions for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Sunday is almost completely full. Contact me at adwalterdale2009@yahoo.ca for more information or to book your time. We will look into adding an audition day if the Monday fills up which it might do because we still have a month to go until the audition dates.

During all of this, I am working on getting the rights for our shows for next season. So far I have secured rights for two of the shows and am waiting on the remaining 2. Bill Shakespeare is free and clear for production so that saves me a little work on Much Ado About Nothing.

Season Meeting

Last night was our season meeting for the 2010-2011 Season. I cannot announce anything yet, but things are decided and as soon as we finalize show dates we can proceed with acquiring the rights. I am excited, as I like this next season as much as I like the current one, but in different ways. I think that it will offer some things that weren't offered this season and will also fulfill the needs of many of our members and audiences.

Be advised, the season selection is taken very seriously, by myself and by the rest of the Board. I cannot guess at how many scripts I read and agonized over and the amount of time it took me to decide on the final configuration. As for the Board, they were quite rigorous with everything last night and that is good for Walterdale.

Stay tuned!

It's a Tough Job...

I *think* I know what the season will be. At least, I *think* I know what I will present to the Board next week for their reading pleasure. I had to make some changes from what was submitted to balance the season, because I believe you have to look at the season as a whole, not just the individual shows. If every show is dark it may influence how people react to the theatre. I think there has to be something for everyone. And with Walterdale that *everyone* includes the membership as well as the audience. I have to talk to a few people about some things and since one of my choices is a translation, I have to decide if I have found the right translation (I may have to present the translation I have with the caveat that I am looking for a different one - it is proving challenging to find exactly what I want - I thought I was ordering what I wanted...). Anyhow, for those who want to know time lines:

a. Present the season to the Board with copies for them to read - Sunday, Feb 7th, 2010
b. Meet with Board to discuss and approve the season as presented OR go with back-up choices (yes, I have to have back-ups) - First week of March, 2010 - exact date TBA
c. Secure rights and announce season informally - end of March, 2010 - it usually takes 1-3 weeks to secure rights.
d. Launch the new season - Probably in April, but might be in May depending on print media.

So, stay tuned!

AND THE DONOR VOTED SHOW IS.....

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

by William Shakespeare

It was a wonderful night of visiting, reading, door prizes and voting and the result was Shakespeare's comedy joining the 2010-2011 season at Walterdale. Many thanks to everyone who came out to share in this evening and help us to select this show. It was great to walk around and hear that all three of the selections were 'favorites' of different people. I also felt the readers acquitted themselves wonderfully causing people to change their minds (I know one person changed from Much Ado to Hedda Gabler, and another changed from The Seagull to Much Ado - anything could happen!). Still others were not swayed as they came to push for their favorite! Congratulations to our door prize winners: Murray Cullen, Andrew Mecready, Marj Thomson, and Emilie Poindessault!

Special thanks to the following for contributing to make this evening special for all who attended: Willie Banfield, Elena Porter, Murray Cullen, Mary Ellen Perley, Catherine Wenschlag, Nelson Niwa, Becky Ponting, Kimberlee Stadelmann, Kent Sutherland, Dave Wolkowski, Annelise Coutu, Eric Rice, Brent Jans, Ruby Swekla, Justen Bennett, Lance Dittrich, and Tim Marriott. My apologies if I have forgotten anyone - all efforts were appreciated!

Auditions - From Cradle to Stage

The audition notice for From Cradle to Stage is posted on the Walterdale Website. You can email me at ADWalterdale2009@yahoo.ca for an appointment. The structure is cold reads from the scripts so nothing has to be prepared in advance. As these are new works the scripts are not available, either, but a description of each of the plays is in the audition notice. There are several roles for many different ages and types.

The season submission deadline has passed. I was worried about not getting enough to choose from, but on the last day I had several entries come my way. Now I have too many great plays to choose from. I have to make the season balanced though, so that will affect which ones I choose to put together. I cannot make any decisions until after the Donor Voted Show is selected on January 16th, so I have a bit of time to read and think about how I put everything together. I would rather have more choices than fewer though, so that is a good thing. The hard part is knowing that some great people will be turned down. Hopefully I can find them a role somewhere else in the season.

A New Year - 2010

Tomorrow things start up for the Board of Director's with the first Board Meeting of 2010. We have a few things to get planned. The shape of the Board itself is changing due to some recent resignations. I will not say more than that until the new shape is finalized as there will be discussion and voting to make it all official. We also have The Donor Voted Show Gala coming up on January 16th. I have some work to do for that in terms of organizing the readings and planning the shape of the evening as a whole. Others will be looking after distributing ballots and invitations, tech support, food and drinks and set-up and clean-up.

I anxiously await reading the pile of scripts that I hope are waiting for me at the theatre. The deadline for submissions for next season is January 5th so I am hoping that several were sent out this past week. I have some in reserve form last year's submissions, but I really want a nice big selection!

Audition notices for From Cradle to Stage will be coming out this week. Stay tuned for the official information - available here and on Facebook and Theatre Alberta and on Walterdale's website.

One thing I do want to put out there is that if you want to get involved, however small, then contact me or someone on the board. We will get you in touch with the current show or the show you are interested in. A lot of people audition saying they want to work on a show at Walterdale but then when we call they seemed to have changed their minds. It makes me think that people don't really want to work at Walterdale, they only want to be onstage. There is a lot more required for a show and those other roles can be rewarding if you try them! So email me - adwalterdale2009@yahoo.ca and I will get you on a team!

Board Meeting Tonight

The December Board meeting is tonight. Lend Me a Tenor closed last night and now Beautiful Thing will move into the house. The season seems to be running along smoothly with few arising issues or snags. I would like to think that is due to good organization and thinking ahead instead of always being in debrief mode. The next thing on my list is constructing an audition notice for From Cradle to Stage. There will be a variety of roles for our membership to audition for but I really want to highlight the wonderful plays that will be up on our decks to attract people. It is hard with new works because the plays are not known, they are new, so people don't know what they are getting themselves into. One of the plays also one the Canada Peace Play competition this year, so you know it's got to be good. The other thing I am looking for/working on is submissions for the 2010-2011 Season. I have many submitted scripts that do not have assigned directors. I have very few directors submissions. I want more because the more choices I have, the better the season can be!

Next Season Thinking Already...

I like getting things done well in advance. I find it lowers my stress and in my life anything that lowers my stress is a good thing. So, I am starting to think about NEXT season (2010-11). The next Walterdale newsletter will have the request for submissions for the season. These should include a copy of the play along with a Director's Analysis/Plan of Action (I want to see that the Director submitting understands the challenges of the piece, particularly if they are a new Director). I get many scripts submitted to me without Directors attached. I also got 21 submissions last year from Directors. It makes for a lot of reading. A bit of the work is technically done. The show I want to direct is in the queue and the DONOR VOTED SHOW is narrowed down to three and technically out of my hands (I have already done my reading there). As for the Donor Voted Show, we are busy planning a fun evening to thank the donors and coordinate the voting. This will take place in January and will feature readings from each of the three shows up for selection (The Seagull, Much Ado About Nothing, and Hedda Gabler). I hope it will be a close race as I have my favorite, but I actually tend to flip between 2 of them and I have heard plenty of interest in the third selection, so who knows which one it will be?

In further news, I should find out this week which of the One Acts will be produced at From Cradle to Stage in May. I am waiting to hear form our dramaturges so that I can set up the process for dramaturgy. Stay posted!