Today was one of the most inspiring days I have had in a long, long time! Working with students on a play is such an invigorating treat that I highly recommend everyone out there give it a shot!
As I wrote earlier, I am workshopping the play Table Talk by Daniel Russell. Danny is a grade 11 student with talent bursting out of his ears. His play is very funny and very solid. What I was pleasantly surprised to discover is how talented his classmates are as well! The seven of us worked all morning and afternoon, making the script as strong as possible. Ideas were bursting from everyone, and we were able to sort them out and find which ones worked best for the play.
I am just so impressed at how open everyone was, not only to my suggestions, but those of everyone in the room. They are a truly amazing bunch of students and I am honored to be in their company. I can't wait to see the play performed before an audience tomorrow. I know it will go over fantastically!
As the festival continued, I also got to see five more one-acts. Which, as you may have guessed, is one of my favorite things to do! So here were the plays from today...
Romeo Revised by Wade Bradford. This is the second play by Bradford to pop up at this festival, and it's no surprise why. His plays are obviously a hoot to perform, and audiences eat them up. The timing of the two leads was so impeccable that, I swear, they could be plopped into the lastest Judd Apatow movie and fit right in. A very, very strong production that may be difficult to top.
Next was a play I know well, Just a Stage He's Going Through by Pat Cook. The production was extremely nice to look at and well paced. All around, the production was very solid and technically superior.
Mystery at Murder Mansion by Duncan Ball was produced by a school from Northern Saskatchewan. It was the first time this group had ever been to provincials, so they have a long way to come. That said, the production had some really cute moments and it was especially nice to see how receptive and supportive the audience was to the students on stage.
The fourth play of the day was A Thousand Cranes by Kathryn Schultz Miller. I have seen this play several times, but never as visually stunning as this production. The final scene, as a thousand paper cranes are brought on stage, was so breathtaking that there was not a dry eye in the house.
The final play of the day was Your Mother's Butt by Alan Ball. I really like this play. Really, really, really like it. I had read it many times, but never seen it, so I had been looking forward to it all weekend. The two actors in this really knocked it out of the park. The pacing requires that the actors trust themselves and the audience (there are lots of pauses), and these two did a sensational job.
So far, my favorites this year are Romeo Revised, Conflict, Flaky Lips and Your Mother's Butt. But you never know what the adjudicator is thinking, so it's anyone's guess as to who will win. And there are still two more plays to go tomorrow!
As I wrote earlier, I am workshopping the play Table Talk by Daniel Russell. Danny is a grade 11 student with talent bursting out of his ears. His play is very funny and very solid. What I was pleasantly surprised to discover is how talented his classmates are as well! The seven of us worked all morning and afternoon, making the script as strong as possible. Ideas were bursting from everyone, and we were able to sort them out and find which ones worked best for the play.
I am just so impressed at how open everyone was, not only to my suggestions, but those of everyone in the room. They are a truly amazing bunch of students and I am honored to be in their company. I can't wait to see the play performed before an audience tomorrow. I know it will go over fantastically!
As the festival continued, I also got to see five more one-acts. Which, as you may have guessed, is one of my favorite things to do! So here were the plays from today...
Romeo Revised by Wade Bradford. This is the second play by Bradford to pop up at this festival, and it's no surprise why. His plays are obviously a hoot to perform, and audiences eat them up. The timing of the two leads was so impeccable that, I swear, they could be plopped into the lastest Judd Apatow movie and fit right in. A very, very strong production that may be difficult to top.
Next was a play I know well, Just a Stage He's Going Through by Pat Cook. The production was extremely nice to look at and well paced. All around, the production was very solid and technically superior.
Mystery at Murder Mansion by Duncan Ball was produced by a school from Northern Saskatchewan. It was the first time this group had ever been to provincials, so they have a long way to come. That said, the production had some really cute moments and it was especially nice to see how receptive and supportive the audience was to the students on stage.
The fourth play of the day was A Thousand Cranes by Kathryn Schultz Miller. I have seen this play several times, but never as visually stunning as this production. The final scene, as a thousand paper cranes are brought on stage, was so breathtaking that there was not a dry eye in the house.
The final play of the day was Your Mother's Butt by Alan Ball. I really like this play. Really, really, really like it. I had read it many times, but never seen it, so I had been looking forward to it all weekend. The two actors in this really knocked it out of the park. The pacing requires that the actors trust themselves and the audience (there are lots of pauses), and these two did a sensational job.
So far, my favorites this year are Romeo Revised, Conflict, Flaky Lips and Your Mother's Butt. But you never know what the adjudicator is thinking, so it's anyone's guess as to who will win. And there are still two more plays to go tomorrow!
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