Happy New Year! ...What the new year holds in store...
Well, it's a new year folks - 2009.
Theatre-wise, 2008 wrapped up with an intensive clown "bootcamp" workshop, which was taught locally by John Turner of Mump and Smoot (he's Smoot). Since my previous training had been with Sue Morrison, it was interesting to compare and contrast my experiences with these two clown teachers, who are both apprentices of Richard Pochinko.
My first performace of 2009 will be in just a couple days from now. I've been invited to sing a song at the upcoming Dadada Cabaret this Thursday, January 8th at the King's Head Pub. It's at 8pm, and admission is via 'pass the hat' at the end of the night. In other words, it's free, but as performers we hope that the audience will make a contribution for the entertainment they've received at that evening. The time slots are only about 3 minutes in length, and so I had to choose a song that I was already somewhat familiar and comfortable with that fit into that time slot. As such, the song I've chosen to sing is 'Pie Jesu'. It's in latin, so I doubt anyone will likely know what I'm singing about. It's a very pretty song, however, and the style leans towards the operatic. I would have actually loved to sing an aria from an opera, but the ones I already know are too long for a three minute slot!
Less than a week afterward, I'll be starting an intensive theatre class at Prarie Theatre Exchange. They're calling the class "PTE @ PTE". This is the very first time they are holding a class of this kind, which is geared towards emerging professionals or professionals who just want to brush up their techniques. Admission to the class is via audition, and I along with eight other students have been selected to participate. What I find exciting about this class is that it is taught by a variety of instructors who are all quite active in the local theatre community, so it'll prove an excellent opportunity to network. Additionally, the class will culminate in a professional production that will take place on the PTE mainstage, to take place either during late May or early June. That will also be quite exciting! The only "drawback" is the class is quite pricey (at least for me). But even so, I have decided to participate anyway. I think the experience gained from it would be very beneficial to me and the direction of my career.
As for Fringe, it is probably unlikely that I'll be doing any Fringing this season. I haven't applied to any festivals, as my funds are tight. Unfortunately, both of my recent grant proposals to write a new play have been turned down, despite that I've won an award for the same concept in a professional contest. (I'd like to blame the limited funding to the arts under the Conservative government, but I'm also ready to concede that I simply have to learn to write a better grant proposal. lol.) I have many many play ideas on my plate right now, and it's all a matter of being disciplined with myself and just getting down to business to do some serious writing. I'm confident that my plays will one day grace the stages of a local professional theatre near you! So keep and eye out for me! :D ... But back to the topic of Fringe, I haven't completely dismissed the idea of *perhaps* doing a BYOV show. If I don't do that, then hopefully I will get the chance to participate by either directing or performing for other companies' productions.
Also, I plan to audition for Rainbow Stage and their upcoming summer musical of "Beauty and the Beast". I've only ever auditioned for Rainbow Stage once, and that was a very very long time ago... maybe even 10 years ago, or More! (And on top of that, it wasn't a very good audition.) So here's hoping for some paid professional work. I would love to get my Equity status!!!
Aaaand, I have yet another exciting project coming up! I'm in the very very early stages of development. It is most definitely related to theatre and the world of performance, yet it is not at upcoming production. I don't want to jinx things before things are up and running tho... but essentially it's my hope to create a wonderfully valuable online resource for canadian theatre and dramatic performance. If things take off, I trust it will be quite awesome!
Well, as you can see, I have tons of projects on the go! I'll be pretty busy, but I think 2009 will be my most productive year yet. At least I hope so! Here's to creating thoughts into action and reality! In other words, to making dreams come true!
Hope everyone out there is doing awesome.
Best Always,
Rachelle Fordyce
Theatre-wise, 2008 wrapped up with an intensive clown "bootcamp" workshop, which was taught locally by John Turner of Mump and Smoot (he's Smoot). Since my previous training had been with Sue Morrison, it was interesting to compare and contrast my experiences with these two clown teachers, who are both apprentices of Richard Pochinko.
My first performace of 2009 will be in just a couple days from now. I've been invited to sing a song at the upcoming Dadada Cabaret this Thursday, January 8th at the King's Head Pub. It's at 8pm, and admission is via 'pass the hat' at the end of the night. In other words, it's free, but as performers we hope that the audience will make a contribution for the entertainment they've received at that evening. The time slots are only about 3 minutes in length, and so I had to choose a song that I was already somewhat familiar and comfortable with that fit into that time slot. As such, the song I've chosen to sing is 'Pie Jesu'. It's in latin, so I doubt anyone will likely know what I'm singing about. It's a very pretty song, however, and the style leans towards the operatic. I would have actually loved to sing an aria from an opera, but the ones I already know are too long for a three minute slot!
Less than a week afterward, I'll be starting an intensive theatre class at Prarie Theatre Exchange. They're calling the class "PTE @ PTE". This is the very first time they are holding a class of this kind, which is geared towards emerging professionals or professionals who just want to brush up their techniques. Admission to the class is via audition, and I along with eight other students have been selected to participate. What I find exciting about this class is that it is taught by a variety of instructors who are all quite active in the local theatre community, so it'll prove an excellent opportunity to network. Additionally, the class will culminate in a professional production that will take place on the PTE mainstage, to take place either during late May or early June. That will also be quite exciting! The only "drawback" is the class is quite pricey (at least for me). But even so, I have decided to participate anyway. I think the experience gained from it would be very beneficial to me and the direction of my career.
As for Fringe, it is probably unlikely that I'll be doing any Fringing this season. I haven't applied to any festivals, as my funds are tight. Unfortunately, both of my recent grant proposals to write a new play have been turned down, despite that I've won an award for the same concept in a professional contest. (I'd like to blame the limited funding to the arts under the Conservative government, but I'm also ready to concede that I simply have to learn to write a better grant proposal. lol.) I have many many play ideas on my plate right now, and it's all a matter of being disciplined with myself and just getting down to business to do some serious writing. I'm confident that my plays will one day grace the stages of a local professional theatre near you! So keep and eye out for me! :D ... But back to the topic of Fringe, I haven't completely dismissed the idea of *perhaps* doing a BYOV show. If I don't do that, then hopefully I will get the chance to participate by either directing or performing for other companies' productions.
Also, I plan to audition for Rainbow Stage and their upcoming summer musical of "Beauty and the Beast". I've only ever auditioned for Rainbow Stage once, and that was a very very long time ago... maybe even 10 years ago, or More! (And on top of that, it wasn't a very good audition.) So here's hoping for some paid professional work. I would love to get my Equity status!!!
Aaaand, I have yet another exciting project coming up! I'm in the very very early stages of development. It is most definitely related to theatre and the world of performance, yet it is not at upcoming production. I don't want to jinx things before things are up and running tho... but essentially it's my hope to create a wonderfully valuable online resource for canadian theatre and dramatic performance. If things take off, I trust it will be quite awesome!
Well, as you can see, I have tons of projects on the go! I'll be pretty busy, but I think 2009 will be my most productive year yet. At least I hope so! Here's to creating thoughts into action and reality! In other words, to making dreams come true!
Hope everyone out there is doing awesome.
Best Always,
Rachelle Fordyce