Monday, August 26, 2013

Salt-Water Moon Summer, Sleeping Beauty Christmas

I got to spend June and July this year in Rosthern, SK, acting in a production of David French's Salt-Water Moon.  If you don't know the play, or the playwright - look into it.  French was among the elite playwrights in Canada, he has had his plays produced around the world - most notably Leaving Home - which (I believe) Oxford named one of the most important plays in the English Language. It was such a pleasure sharing this rich piece of Canadiana with audiences as well as with my lovely wife, who co-starred in the production with me.  We had a blast working on your Newfoundland dialects together with the help of dialect guru Dorothy Ward.

It was also great to finally get an opportunity to work with Ms. Johnna Wright, who directed the show. Johnna is a very skilled director who cares a great deal for the integrity of her work - while at the same time enjoying it immensely.  It was a treat.

It was quite funny walking into the first day of rehearsal - it was a bit of a reunion of a show I produced called The December Man by Colleen Murphy - because your lighting designer David Granger and our  set designer Jenna Maren had been signed on to this project as well - Fantastic to be surrounded by good people.

Up next for me, is a new adaptation of Sleeping Beauty to be done at The Globe Theatre in Regina.  I'm very much looking forward to working with some old pals as well as meeting a few new ones along the way.  Though I have been acting professionally in Saskatchewan since 2005, this will be my first production at The Globe - I feel very fortunate!

I'm working with Live Five Independent Theatre as a board member (www.livefive.ca).  This season looks like it will be phenomenal - some great shows and some great talent are rolling in.  I'm also involved artistically as I will be directing Sam Shepard's True West, which opens in May.

All the best,

A