Red Rock Diner by Dean Regan is a rockabilly jukebox musical that celebrates the music of the fifties and features plenty of classic hits like Johnny B. Good, Who Wrote the Book of Love and Great Balls of Fire! The play is loosely based on the early career of Canada’s champion of rock ‘n’ roll music DJ Red Robinson who started spinning rock ‘n’ roll records on Vancouver’s CJOR while he was still in high school in 1954.
The Blog
Newmarket National 10 Minute Play Festival Celebrates Canadian Theatre
“We’ve received submissions from every province in Canada and from Canadians from around the world. We’ve received scripts from China, Tasmania, Australia, Ireland, many states throughout the U.S., and so on, and I think that Canadians are catching on to the idea that this is their festival.”
Uncensored, Unexpected, Unforgettable Theatre: Calgary Fringe 2018 – Festival Director Michele Gallant
The Calgary Fringe has become part of the cultural fabric of the city and is a welcome addition to the theatre season providing Calgarians with the opportunity to see and experience local, national and international artists. I spoke with the current Festival Director and Producer of the Calgary Fringe Michele Gallant.
The Hemingway Solution, Parts Unknown, and Anthony Bourdain
We’re not supposed to talk about suicidal thoughts – that’s taboo. Especially if you’re a man. It means you’re weak, right? And unfortunately, if you don’t talk about it and you don’t get the help you need the end result could be deadly. And that’s why we need to talk about Anthony Bourdain.
Interview with Actor Braden Griffiths: 21st Annual Betty Mitchell Awards
On Monday, June 25th the Calgary Theatre community came together to celebrate the Twenty-first annual Betty Mitchell Awards. I sat down with actor, playwright, and current President of the Betty Mitchell Board Braden Griffiths, who was just finishing his run as Sherlock Holmes in the Vertigo Theatre production of Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem, to talk about the awards and theatre in Calgary.
Interview with Lunchbox Theatre Director of Marketing & Communications Lauren Thompson
“Have fun and be creative. If you won’t find it interesting to read why is your audience going to find it interesting to read? If you don’t like the way it looks, chances are your audience won’t like the way it looks. So, trust you and do what you want to do. Marketing is the place where you can be creative and do your own things. Financial people have to follow a budget – have to follow numbers, but marketing is that world where you can have your creative juices flow, if you will.”
Urban Stories: Social Justice Issues for the Stage
Helen Young is the Artistic Director and one of the founders of Urban Stories Theatre. Her theatre, film, and television work goes back more than 30 years and includes acting, singing, dancing, stunt work, writing, teaching, and directing. I spoke to Helen about her thoughts on theatre’s place in our culture and this year’s festival.
Interview with Playwright Neil Fleming: Spare Parts
Neil Fleming is a multi-talented, award winning Calgary designer, playwright and television producer. In our hour and a half chat last Friday Neil and I talked about all kinds of things including playwriting, depression, Chuck Wendig, poltergeists and ADHD.
Playwright Wendy Froberg: A Woman of a Certain Age
A Woman of A Certain Age is an entertaining and insightful play about six women who are trying to cope with the demands of family and career as they struggle with the physical and emotional challenges of growing older in a culture obsessed with youth and beauty. I sat down with Wendy to talk with her about her play and how she got into playwriting.
An Interview with Playwright Dale Lee Kwong: Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets
“It’s been my goal to have a play at Lunchbox Theatre since 1978. I was in grade twelve when the Stage One program first started, and I don’t even know how I ended up going to all the Stage One readings but I did, and I made a mental note to myself that someday I would like to have a play at Lunchbox.”
A Stephen King Christmas: On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft
You learn by doing but you also learn by reading the work of others and by reading books about the craft. And if you’re a writer then a good book to read because it’s fun and it has some great advice about the writing process is Stephen King’s On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft.
A Christmas Carol by James Hutchison premieres at the Carriage House Theatre
A Christmas Carol by James Hutchison at the Carriage House Theatre
An Interview With Playwright Maria Crooks: The Mary Mink Story
An interview with playwright Maria Crooks about her new play: The Mary Mink Story.
An Interview with Playwright Meredith Taylor-Parry: Book Club II
“I enjoy writing humour and I like the challenge. At the same time, if the story doesn’t have heart, if nothing serious is going on underneath the humour….what’s the point really? I want my plays to address some aspect of the human struggle that hopefully people can relate to. That’s what I want to see when I go to a play so naturally I aspire to that in my writing.”
Montparnasse with Kathy Zaborksy and Carolyn Ruether is Must See Theatre
We go to the theatre to experience something about the complexity, beauty, heartache, joy and tragedy of life. So when you see a play that delivers…that has a wonderful script, mesmerizing performances and takes you along for a ride, where you completely forget about the time, you have to tell others. You have to share the news. You have to let people know they need to go and see this show before it closes.
6 Guitars by Chase Padgett is a Fun and Uplifting Tribute to Music
6 Guitars is a one man, six character, tribute to music, with plenty of laughs and lots of heart.
The one man standing on stage playing six characters and six different styles of music is Chase Padgett. Chase is a multi-talented musician, actor and story teller who switches effortlessly between this cast of diverse characters as they tell their stories and play their kind of music.
Twelve Thumbs Up – It’s a Wonderful Life at Lunchbox Theatre
The Lunchbox Theatre production of It’s a Wonderful Life features an outstanding cast, brilliant direction, a beautiful set and an amazing mix of sound – both recorded and created live – to bring the story of George Bailey and the town of Bedford Falls to life.
Recommended Reading – Olive Kitteridge, the Pulitzer Prize, and Doughnuts
Olive Kitteridge is a hard woman to love. But she’s one of the most interesting and complex characters you’re ever going to see or read.
Theatre: The Original Social Media – World Theatre Day
One of the ways we reflect on who we are as humans is through story and one of the ways we present story is on stage. And that’s why we still gather in groups to experience the comedy and tragedy of life. Theatre has a place in society. It always will. It will not die. We are social creatures and theatre is one of the original social medias.
Playwright Meredith Taylor-Parry – Part Two: Book Club
“The pattern is clear, women are drinking more. And not just in my circles. I think it’s a phenomenon in stay at home moms. It’s a way to get through the witching hour. It’s a way to relieve the anxiety and the pressure of information overload that moms now have because we’re trying to make the right choices. But there are so many choices laid out for us, with so many different arguments for which one is the right one, that we’re walking around with this mind boggling anxiety all the time that we’re making the wrong ones.”
Interview Playwright Meredith Taylor-Parry – Part One: Survival Skills
“You want to write the kind of play where people are going to go home and talk about it, and think about it, and talk about themselves a little bit. You know, my God, if it got people to think about their own mortality a little bit, how could that be a bad thing? We all run around scared to talk about it, but we’re fascinated by it at the same time. The idea that we’re mortal. Just to have that discussion opened up wouldn’t hurt.”
Recommended Reading: The Holy Man by Susan Trott
If you’re in need of some inspiration or just a fun and delightful read check out The Holy Man by Susan Trott.
Creative Process – Playwrights – Actors – Directors
Even before launching my website, I’ve always enjoyed talking to playwrights, actors, and directors about their work and creative process.