A Fun-Filled Evening...

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown had a great opening last night (well, this evening, but I imagine that no one is up reading this late). The house was almost completely full and the show was a lot of fun. It is a nice even cast and they were clearly having fun and sending it out to the audience. We took the boys. This was Gibson's first 2 Act play and he did quite well. It was great to hear the both of them laughing. Snoopy was the favorite for the boys. This is not to detract from the others in the show. There is something about grown-ups dressed up like animals that kids really like (they also really liked the Woodstocks!). Great singing, great dancing, and wonderful characters. If you plan to go, I'd advise getting your tickets early as I hear they are going fast!

Opening Tonight!

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown! opens tonight at Walterdale Theatre. Although not technically part of my season, I did work on it (all those backdrops - that was me and my paint brush - well, not just me...) and I am looking forward to seeing it. I am taking the boys and I think it will be a great show for them to see. I hope that it sticks to it's promised 2 hour running time because I am bringing children, but the nice thing is because it is summer they can sleep in tomorrow if need be. The boys saw the Silly Summer Parade and uncoached declared the YAGMCB to be the best thing in the parade, so they are keen to see it.

I had hoped that the new season brochures would be ready for tonight's opening, but unfortunately they are not. I am not sure what the hold-up is. I had thought we got it together soon enough to have it be finished in time. It appears not. It highlights one of the frustrating elements to this position. If you lack the skills to get something done yourself, you are always relying on someone else to do it for you and it's hard to manage the situation without nagging. Almost everyone at Walterdale has another 'day job' so you have to respect that to a certain extent. I feel frustrated because if I could do it myself, I would.

A New Technical Director

I forgot to mention, yesterday the Board voted in Brent Jans as our new Technical Director. This will come as a relief to many of our membership as we have been struggling in that area for a little while now. I know that Brent plans to network with the techies at the theatre and I hope that those who have been clamouring for the help will take the time to share and share alike!

Welcome Brent!

It will all come together...

The most challenging week of most productions is Tech Week. There are exceptions, but generally speaking the number of components that merge during tech week is exponential and the amount of time all participants must contribute also increases. This can lead to crabbiness, fuzzy-headedness and pure panic. That is the week when you realize that all those little things that looked inconsequential 2 months earlier are a lot bigger when the time has slipped away. You just have to get it done. Once the show opens, it will all be alright. The audiences will clap and the actors will shine and come closing night you will have forgotten how you felt a mere 2 weeks earlier and you will be saying when's the next show?

Come see You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown! It opens on Wednesday, July 8th at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, July 9th is 2 for 1 Thursday (at the door). It's great for kids and adults alike. And it will be worth all the trauma of Tech Week!

Practically a Full-Time Job...

It's what I wanted, but I thought I would actually be doing AD-stuff. I spent Sunday afternoon, Tuesday morning, all of Wednesday (Canada Day - and we are talking 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. with a short break in the early evening), Thursday morning and Friday Morning at the theatre this week. I was painting and/or watching paint dry. The show needed help, and there didn't look to be anyone else to do it (there were 4 other people at various times also painting). That is what it is about. It is about 'no job too big or too small' and it is about pitching in when needed. If I couldn't be there, I wouldn't have been, but I could and it has helped a lot in this situation. I won't always be able to help out in this way, but when I can, I will.

A few other things were completed and screwed up this week. My job, which hours-wise feels full time, seems to be all about trouble-shooting and fixing problems.

Falling Into Place...

it is easy to feel pushed and shoved along by this job. I am at the bottom of a steep learning curve, thinking ahead to next season when I will have more awareness of what is involved so that I can plan for things. This week the focus was on getting the season brochure done and sent to the printer. That should be done now and if all goes well we will be seeing that lovely document on Opening Night of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown! I am hoping that I can move some of the media related items back into the Director of Publicity's hands. Unlike the previous AD, I lack a depth of knowledge with regards to all things media related. So, while he was able to handle a lot of those duties, I prefer to give it to the expert to deal with. I want to be consulted on things, but really, once we have the season concept laid out, I only just need to be in the loop. Right?

The other thing I did this week, was secure one of the Dramaturges for the One Acts. I am so excited that we will have Brian Dooley on board. The depth of his experience is phenomenal and whichever lucky playwright gets paired with him will be able to work with a wonderful resource. He is also talking to another Dramaturge that I would be ecstatic to have on the team. I can't say who, until it is confirmed. I am just glad that everything is falling into place (with the help of many phone calls and emails) before September!

Jimmy Dean - A Stellar Cast!

We wrapped up auditions for Jimmy Dean on Monday evening and boy-oh-boy did we see great people. With every thing fresh in mind Wendi was able to cast the show that night so callbacks will be unnecessary. To those who weren't cast. Don't despair. Your time will come. This is a strong cast, but many we did not cast were also quite strong. With the younger/older versions of characters in the play, some choices were guided by physicality. Hopefully those who said they would like to work on the show in another capacity were seriously interested. This will be a fun show to work on in any role. I know from just the two days of auditions that there will be a lot of laughs mixed with serious work!