Green Thumb Theatre

Ash Rizin' in Calgary

2012-01-30T11:37:00.000-08:00

Patrick's been in Calgary for the last month rehearsing Ash Rizin' at the Alberta Theatre Projects. Here's a little taste of the latest script commissioned by Green Thumb. They made the Friday night news in Calgary!

http://www.globaltvcalgary.com/video/hiphop+role/video.html?v=2190915797#gil+tucker

'Sprinting' across Canada

2012-01-26T10:25:00.000-08:00

Well, It's been over a week and a half since Melissa, Ian and I pulled out of Vancouver in the shiny, new Greenthumb Sprinter. What a ride! It handles icy roads with confidence and long prairie highways with stamina. A noble steed. We've replaced the term "driving" with "sprinting," as in "How far are we sprinting today, Melissa?"

We find ourselves at the end of Day 11. So far we've survived a blizzard in Sparwood, BC, seen breathtaking mountains in Banff, and eaten one of the best, home-cooked steak dinners I've had in a long time at Melissa's parents' home in Calgary. Also, we were lucky to stumble upon the International Ice Magic Festival at Lake Louise near Banff.

Sparwood in a snowstorm

The Ice Festival

Zombie Claire in Lake Louise?

Ah, the mountains

As we sprint east, I am missing the coast of the Pacific ocean. The water has a calming presence. Knowing where you are is a good feeling. Out here in the prairies it seems so easy to get disoriented. Thankfully, I'm part of a great team with a straight highway and lots of snack food.
We're trying to get into the crossword puzzles. Let me just say that the TV Guide crossword puzzle collection is nearly impossible. Not only would you have to be watching TV 24/7 to get all the clues, but you would have to have been watching TV 24/7 since 1950 to get all the clues. Tricky stuff.

-Claire

News from 500 Words!

2012-01-26T10:02:00.000-08:00

Ian is a bit of a whiz with the video editing software. Today he brings us news and a little advice from the first few days on the road.

Opening Day

2012-01-13T15:42:00.000-08:00

Today we opened 500 Words with a performance at John Robson Elementary in New Westminster. Congratulations to everyone involved! This weekend the company is taking off into the wild, wintery yonder for two months of shows outside BC. Keep checking here for updates on their adventures around Canada!

It may be the holidays . . .

2011-12-28T12:59:00.000-08:00

. . . but Green Thumb is still hard at work getting ready for upcoming projects.
Melissa, our newest stage manager, has arrived in rainy Vancouver to start prep for 500 Words rehearsals, and very soon Ash Rizin' will be hitting the rehearsal hall in Calgary for it's world premiere at the Alberta Theatre Projects' Playrites Festival. Welcome Melissa and look out Calgary, here we come!

The EDGE Project 2011 gives an amazing opening performance!

2011-12-16T09:54:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know, The EDGE Project is a multi-community outreach program that Green Thumb offers to secondary schools across the lower mainland. The program involves students from four lower mainland schools, and brings them together between September and December to create, design, develop, write and perform in, a play that is about who they are and what they believe. The play is literally entirely written by the students who perform in it, and gives young people a chance to be heard and express how they really feel about their world around them.

This isn't a teen-angst play by teens who just want to complain. This is a play about their concerns about growing up, how they try to fit it, who they really are instead of who you think they are; and above all, it's a play about them.

Last night was opening night, and boy was it incredible! Although we know young people are talented, we often forget how talented they really are, and the talent was certainly oozing from every direction last night. Featuring original songs performed by the students, dance numbers, and some really powerful silent vignettes, the EDGE Project 2011 is a show unlike any other.

Congratulations to Tupper, Seycove, Burnett and Alpha! You guys rock and we can't wait to see the show again tonight!

If you would like to come see a performance, you still have time! Performances are tonight (Friday) at 8pm, and tomorrow (Saturday) at 2pm and 8pm. Tickets are $15 for adults, and $5 for students. For tickets please give us a call at 604-254-4055.

We would also like to once again thank the organizations who helped make The EDGE Project 2011 happen... BC Direct Access Gaming, Metro Vancouver and Kinder Morgan. This is a free program that we offer to the students who participate, and their funding ensures we can continue to offer this program for years to come.

It's a Very, Very, Long, Windy Road

2011-12-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

Our wonderful Production Manager Rachael is out driving our van back from the east, and here's an update on the exciting things she run in to so far:

This week I am driving the Shape tour’s van across America from New Jersey to Vancouver. I’ve done the trip across Canada several times in the last few years, so I was excited to see some American territory. Dating all the way back to my time with Cranked, I have been irrationally excited about the Dakotas. I don’t know why. I was happy to see that my travels this time would take through South Dakota, a state I have never visited.
So yesterday morning I hit the Iowa/South Dakota border and never looked back. I learned so many things in one day. Here’s a few:
The Interstate through SD is 120km/h and is a very long, flat road surrounded by grasslands.

The variety along the Interstate is the billboards. And some stores, or attractions, advertise every few kilometres for 800 kms! No joke. Wall Drug is very close to the western border but they start advertising clear across the state, in fact, possibly still in Iowa!

A bit of variety in the grasslands for South Dakota as I approach the Black Hills

SD is the home of the world’s only corn palace, Mount Rushmore (I have no idea where I thought it was, but now I know), Laura Ingalls Wilder (so excited! I always wanted to be a pioneer), and the film Dances with Wolves

The World's Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota

Mount Rushmore

The folks for South Dakota are very friendly and helpful.

This morning I’m off to spend the day crossing Montana. Maybe I’ll see wild horses?

Adventures in Touring: FOOD!

2011-12-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

One of the hardest things to do on tour is to get a good meal. I know this sounds crazy; you might say: there are so many options, you have a food allowance, or you get to eat out where ever you like. These are all very true but I’ve learned in my years of touring that we often stay the night in very small towns at hotels just off the highway and where the only restaurants open are McDonald’s and Dairy Queen. When you actually stay in a larger metropolis you revel at all the available options, but you can find yourself overwhelmed too, how do you know what’s good and what is just over priced slop? You can turn to the internet, which can be very helpful; I prefer to use yelp in my reconnaissance where Georgina typically goes with trip advisor. Both very helpful websites but they can only get you so much information, if the restaurant gets 2 two star reviews, 4 three stars, 5 four stars and 1 five star, how do you know you aren't going to end up with a 2 star experience? I have also learned that hotel staff doesn’t seem to eat out very often. Once in a while you will get a great recommendation about a hole in the wall gem that only locals know about (Café de Camp in Billings MT) but this is rare.

I say all this to explain how creative we can become in the search for a great meal. We had the opportunity to try out a great East Indian restaurant while we were in Lincoln, NE about a week ago and the food was fantastic, when we realized that we were passing through Lincoln again today and around lunch we had to look up “The Oven” again in hopes of a guaranteed great meal. It was the night before our return to Lincoln that we discovered that “The Oven” wasn’t going to be open on Sunday for lunch. In most situations you would say oh well and move on, but not us. We knew what our evening prospects were for dinner and they did not look good, so we started concocting a plan. I’m sure the person answering the phone at the restaurant never expected a call like they got but we decided there was no harm in asking. First we checked if they could do an order for pick up for the following day? They of course seemed confused. We explained that we loved their food but were only going to be around at lunch and asked if anyone would be at the restaurant even though they were closed. The answer was yes; some of the kitchen staff would be there to start preparations for the evening service. Everything fell into place from there, we placed our order that night, they placed it in their fridge and we made plans to meet them on our lunch break the next day for pick up. The next day came and we began our journey with a bit more anticipation than normal. We stopped in Lincoln for our lunch break and walked up to the restaurant hoping that all our planning had worked and that the kitchen staff had been informed of our unique arrangement. It went off without a hitch, the woman in the kitchen seemed a little surprised by our appearance but knew exactly who we were and what we were there for. A large bag full of tasty treasures was handed over and we were on our way. 5 hours later we were setting up the best microwaved dinner I have ever had in a hotel.

"Rae and Georgina enjoying yet another food adventure - Ivanna Cone in Lincoln, Nebraska. Mmmmm . . . homemade ice cream"

The Future of Community Arts in Vancouver!

2011-11-16T16:23:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!

We're getting ready for a super cool event that is being put on by The Community Arts Council of Vancouver!

Make sure you come down on Saturday November 26th from 12pm-9pm at the Atrium in the Woodworth's Building (111 West Hastings) and check out our awesome activities for the whole family!

There will be other arts organizations from around Vancouver at the shindig too, so it's a great chance to check out what other arts organizations are doing too!

Check out http://www.cacv.ca/future for more information!

It's that time again! Save the date!

2011-11-08T16:57:00.000-08:00

That's right folks, the Annual General Meeting is upon us.
You are cordially invited to join us for the AGM on Wednesday November 23 at 6:15pm here at the Green Thumb office (210-49 Dunlevy in Vancouver). Come hear what we've been up to, what's coming up and where we're headed! Your attendance helps to us to show our funders just how awesome Green Thumb is.
Looking forward to seeing you!
p.s. there will be refeshments :)

Congratulations Joan MacLeod!

2011-11-08T10:13:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, we currently have a production of Joan MacLeod's The Shape of a Girl out on tour in the USA right now. In fact, they're in Lincoln Nebraska as I type.
Last night Joan was awared the prestigous Siminovitch Prize for Theatre. We're so proud and happy for Joan!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/11/07/simonovitch-prize-winner.html

Congratulations Joan Macleod!

2011-11-07T15:48:00.000-08:00

While The Shape of A Girl is in the middle of it's cross-U.S. tour, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Shape's playwright Joan MacLeod who is the recipient of the Elinore and Lou Siminovich Award - one of the most prestigious theatre awards in the country.

It is such a great honour, and we are so proud of Joan, and thankful for the incredible contribution she has made to Canadian theatre and Green Thumb over the years.

And now a very special message from Georgina (The Shape of Girl)

2011-11-07T14:14:00.000-08:00

So far we’ve been to Washington, Montana, Colorado, New Mexico, and now we’re enroute to Cedar Falls, Iowa. The first week has been marked by long drives and hikes along ridges, cliffs, and through a canyon in Colorado. In Albuquerque the sun shone hot and we felt an afternoon ice cream was in order as we wandered through the old town. The next morning, there were tumbleweeds blowing across the snowfields formerly known as the Interstate highway. After this tour, I can add ‘long haul truck driving’ to my resume.

In one of the shows last week, a class of students left the show after Braidie, the main character, told her mother to, ‘go to Hell!’ There are several other times in the play when swearing or strong language is used, but this was the first time we’d met this reaction.

One of the questions I’m often asked in talkbacks in why there’s cursing in the show. There are only a few instances of ‘cursing’ and it’s hardly swear words, it’s just language that one isn’t supposed to use around teachers, parents, or anyone in authority. It’s surprising, I imagine, to be taken to a play on a school field trip then to find language, uncomfortable situations, apparently condoned. It’s probably similar to the strange sense I had when I was in grade 12 and l was assigned to read a novel that had scenes that seemed too racy, intimate or offensive to discuss in school. These were books that resonated though, that made me feel that literature was something beyond academic. It's a beautiful thing, when schooling starts to encompass not just the rules of behavior but the reality of the people around us and the world beyond the school, when schooling has the chance to be a part of real life.

Braidie curses because she’s going through something difficult and she doesn’t have the ability or patience in that moment to find the most eloquent way to express her frustration, in fact, she doesn’t want to. She wants to use the forbidden language that expresses how she’s feeling, which happens to be a ‘curse’ word. None of the words used in the play are alien to an audience aged 13-18, I used them when I was a teenager. And the second the doors to a school open, one can hear swear words as part of normal conversation. Braidie behaves the way that people behave when under extreme pressure; in a messy, honest, not necessarily pretty, way.

I think about how often we can choose the information we access now. I can find only the news articles which conform to my current world view online, I can friend the people I want to friend, and ignore the people whose views I find offensive. It’s fantastic that one can find others like them, but the opposite is disturbing too, the ability to shut out what one doesn’t want to see or doesn't want to hear. Braidie is in the process of expanding her view on what has been happening with her circle of friends, it is horrible to see things about herself and the world that she doesn't want to see, and if there were any time to use 'language', this is it.

We are seeing beautiful places and people much different than what I'm used to, and sometimes, oddly similar to home. Here's a picture.

Georgina, week one.

And now, a very special note from the cast of Role Call...

2011-10-31T09:45:00.000-07:00

Just thought we would share with you a note written by Sarah Wilson, who plays Morgan in Role Call...

As some of the cast's first time doing a touring show this is turning out to be an amazing experience for us all. I don't think we could have asked for a more compatible team to be on the road with. We all work incredibly well together, both during show-time and down-time. The show runs with an energy that makes it exciting and new each time we perform. It also runs with a fluidity and smoothness which attests to Ashley's amazing stage managerial skills. In our off hours while touring we have done everything from fort building in our hotel rooms, to playing two rounds of mini golf (with a pirate photo shoot to boot), to exploring new towns, to Elton John and Disney sing-alongs in the van.

But the best part of the tour so far has definitely got to be the kids. When they come up to us after the show to talk to us and tell us their favourite part it makes our day. During the question and answer at the end, hearing them tell us what they think the message of the show was and what they got from it is so rewarding. We love hearing from students and teachers alike how much they enjoyed the show; whether they tell us in person, or send us a letter, or write us a review online. Doing Theatre for Young Audiences has got me excited to get up in the morning and go to work, and satisfied and happy when I come home. I am so looking forward to what the rest of this journey will bring.

Shape of a Girl performs to 1700 young people!

2011-10-31T09:31:00.000-07:00

Last week, Georgina and Rae (The Shape of A Girl) set off on their cross-US adventure, and their first stop was Billings, Montana.

Thank you to everyone who came out.... WE MEAN ALL 1700 OF YOU! Yeah that's right.... 1700!!!!!!!!

Looking forward to continuing down the coast to the next stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico! We'll keep you updated with more exciting news from the road!

Have a spooooooookkkkkyyyyy Halloween everyone! Make sure you stay safe tonight!

Out in the Open gives a fantastic performance at David Thompson

2011-10-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

Out in the Open had it's last performance in Vancouver for 2011, and was it ever a treat!

The cast was incredible as always, and it was a real treat to see the student's and teacher's reactions to the play. We would like to send out a BIG HUGE THANK YOU to all of the students and teachers at David Thompson Secondary School for being such a great audience and asking such great questions!

We would also like to say thank you to the author of the play, Dave Deveau, for coming and watching the performance and contributing to the Q & A session. It really made a difference to have both the actors and playwright on the stage to answer some tough questions about the performance.

Our final performance of 2011 will be held in Chilliwack tomorrow, and we can't wait to be back in the spring!

Keep following us and our crazy adventures on Facebook, Twitter, and our Blog (of course!). Green Thumb is in the midst of touring other productions, and it's about to get busy (because it isn't already?)

And they're off!

2011-10-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

Wow! Sorry everyone.... It's been WAY too long since our last post!

After quite a crazy month, we say farewell to Georgina and Raelynne as they venture to the U.S. for the 2011 tour of The Shape of A Girl. This isn't a regular tour either... for the next six weeks, Shape will head south, east, west and north again, ending the tour in New Jersey.

We're sure they're going to have a blast, and will post some pictures of their wild adventure.

Break a leg and be safe you guys!!!!

How many guys does it take to set up a tent?

2011-09-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

The Out in the Open guys working together to figure out the show tent. It took a while but now they're experts!

IT'S FINALLY HERE!

2011-09-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

Our brand spankin' new Sprinter van arrived last week, and all we can say is "ooooooOOOOOOOOOooooo" *mouth waters*

I think we could find all of the GT staff in the van and still have room....

Adrian Dix kicks off GT's Capital Campaign with 1st donation!

2011-09-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

Green Thumb Theatre would like to extend a big thank you to Adrian Dix, MLA Vancouver - Kingsway for helping to make yesterday's press conference so fantastic! He even helped us kick off our campaign with a $1000 donation!

What a wonderful gift from a great supporter!

Take a look at the photo!

If you would like to donate to the Schoolhouse Capital Campaign, please go to http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s19856

Green Thumb Theatre launches Capital Campaign!

2011-09-14T09:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we held a press conference on the grounds of Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School and launched our capital campaign to save two heritage buildings on the grounds of this school.

The two heritage buildings - one a schoolhouse and another affectionately called "The Barn," will become Green Thumb Theatre's permanent home, and include two rehersal rooms (one of which will be available to other organizations) and administrative offices. This is a really exciting time for Green Thumb, and this project will mean that for the first time in it's 37 year history, GT will be able to completely cement itself into the grounds of Vancouver.

Thank you to everyone who came out yesterday! Your support is greatly appreciated!

Check out all of the amazing press coverage from yesterday!

http://www.vancourier.com/entertainment/Theatre+group+hopes+thumbs+heritage+schoolhouse/5395814/story.html

http://www.straight.com/article-457191/vancouver/green-thumb-theatre-launches-capital-campaign-support-move-carleton-school-house

http://www.theprovince.com/Carleton+school+gets+dramatic+treatment+from+Green+Thumb+Theatre/5396232/story.html

http://www.vancouversun.com/Green+Thumb+Theatre+aims+restore+Carleton+School+House/5395963/story.html

Don't forget to check out and "like" our facebook page too!

https://www.facebook.com/schoolhouseproject

...And if you'd like to help us out and donate, please click the link below:

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s19856

There are some really exciting things happening with the Schoolhouse Project, so keep checking our facebook group and blog for updates!

It's back to school for Green Thumb Theatre!

2011-09-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

Holy moly! Where did the summer go? We're just starting to get nice weather too.....

Green Thumb Theatre is back to school today with everyone else and we are very excited about our season this year. For those of you who are wondering what we're up to this year, here's a run-down:

(If you would like to book any of these productions at your school or have any questions, please contact our Tour Manager, Michelle Frazer at touring@greenthumb.bc.ca or 604-254-4055.

Elementary School:

Role Call by Meghan Gardiner

Riley only seems to care about two things: being popular and playing the role of Mabel in the upcoming school production of Pirates of Penzance. Meanwhile, Adrian isn’t sure he wants to audition at all and Morgan, a tomboy who doesn’t want anything to do with Riley and her clique, suddenly finds herself in the spotlight. When the cast list goes up everyone is surprised by their roles and Riley, Adrian and Morgan all find themselves struggling to fit in. What happens when you don’t want to play the part that is given to you? Will you have the courage to break the mould and go after what you really care about? Role Call is about the pressure to fit in and the strength it takes to be different.

500 Words by Jamie Norris

Lance is the smartest kid in grade six who never misses an opportunity to show off his vocabulary. His teacher assigns him a reading buddy, Sylvia, who is a daydreamer but now in grade three she’s finding it harder to hide that she never really learned how to read. All Lance wants to do when they are together is write for the story contest, not help Sylvia. But Lance can’t think of a story until Sylvia imagines a whole world for him of magic, heroes and adventure. The unlikely pair learn together and create a magical story neither could have imagined on their own. In the end, Sylvia loses her fear of reading and Lance learns that the biggest word is not always the smartest word and that you really can’t judge a person without knowing them.

People Like Vince by C.E. Gatchalian

Twelve year old Myrtle regards her relationship with her uncle to be the closest and warmest one in her life. He is the only person she feels truly and completely accepts her - her interests, her moods and her quirks. He introduced her to great books, films and encouraged her creativity. He also taught her how to fish. On every level they are kindred spirits. When he suddenly stops coming to see her, she learns how to deal with and accept the reality of his lifelong struggle with mental illness.

People Like Vince brings a light sense of humor and deep compassion to a serious subject that affects all of us.

Secondary School:

Out in the Open by Dave Deveau

Adam convinces Stephen, his best friend, to go on a camping trip for the long weekend, even though Stephen can think of nothing worse than being cold, dirty and bored (not to mention the lack of indoor plumbing)! When the two boys get lost in the woods their lighthearted banter turns serious and Adam reveals a secret that he has been hiding from Stephen. How will Stephen react to Adam’s news? What will this mean for their friendship? How do we deal with our own fears and issues when faced with a shift in what we thought we knew? Out in the Open is an honest look at homophobia, friendship, social pressure and navigating the complicated truths of teenage relationships.

Mainstage:

The EDGE Project

The EDGE Project is a collaborative work devised entirely by high school students from four lower mainland schools. The students work together between September and December to write, create, design, stage manager and perform in a play that is a reflection of who they are and what they believe. This year, Green Thumb Theatre's Artistic Associate Shawn McDonald, along with other theatre professionals will work with students from Alpha Secondary, J.N. Burnett Secondary, Seycover Secondary and Sir Charles Tupper Secondary to create an original play to be performed at the Roundhouse Community Centre in December.

Ash Rizin' by Michael P. Northey and Kyprios

Ash Rizin’ is a new full length hip-hop musical about a group of young MCs who are struggling to make it big. Their chances at getting a record deal are seriously threatened when Ash starts getting involved with a local gang and confusing his dreams of stardom with the lifestyle the gang seems to offer. Will Clean and Dee stick by Ash or will he destroy their friendship and their big shot?

Written by Michael P. Northey, with music by Kyprios, Ash Rizin’ is a story about one young man’s tragic descent into gang life and all that he is willing to risk just to belong.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREEN THUMB THEATRE!

2011-09-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, September 3rd, Green Thumb Theatre celebrated it's 37th birthday, so on Friday, we ate cake.

What a great way to end a crazy week. We were all definitely looking forward to the weekend and some relaxation time before the new school year got under way. Cake helped so much with the relaxation that is was hard to get anything done Friday afternoon.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported Green Thumb Theatre through the years. Your support and patronage allows us to create theatre for young people that addresses issues that are important to them, thus helping to create a more informed and inclusive community in every city or town we visit.

So, happy birthday Green Thumb Theatre. Here's to many more years of theatre for young audiences!

Green Thumb Theatre on Global TV!

2011-09-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

oah baby! We are moving up!
Global TV got wind of the break-in at Green Thumb Theatre, and came by to our office for a chat... and we made it to the 6 O'Clock news!

Check out the story and video below!
http://www.globaltvbc.com/thieves+rob+vancouver+childrens+theatre+company/6442474604/story.html

Break-in at Green Thumb Theatre!

2011-08-30T15:36:00.000-07:00

Wow... 2 posts in one day! It's definitely an "exciting" time at the office....

So if you haven't heard already, the news is true. The Green Thumb Theatre office was broken into last weekend. They took five laptops, two digital cameras, a video camera and two projectors, which is a little disappointing when there is only a few weeks left until our 2011-2012 season is in full swing.

We're keeping our heads up though and plugging away. It's really hard to be upset when there are so many exciting things happening around the office.

Time flies when you're having fun!

2011-08-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

On September 3rd, 1975, Green Thumb Theatre became an incorporated society and has been creating, producing and performing high-quality, issues-based theatre for young audiences ever since.

It is so exciting to be heading into our 37th year, and we couldn't have done it without the support of our audiences across Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and the world! Thank you all so very much!

We can't believe summer is almost over and there is only a week left until school starts! We have a great season coming up and have already begun rehearsals for Megan Gardiner's new play Role Call.

Keep your eyes peeled for exciting updates...

Green Thumb Theatre... coming soon to a school near you!

Artistic Director Patrick McDonald shares his thoughts on Tough!

2011-08-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

Taken From the Vancouver Sun on August 24, 2011:
Theatre preview: Need a powerful play? Tough!

Brawny comedy is latest production from Twenty-Something Theatre

By Peter Birnie, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER -- Patrick McDonald’s first encounters with the works of playwright George F. Walker came in the 1980s, when McDonald was artistic director of Ottawa’s Great Canadian Theatre Company. He had presented some of Walker’s earlier works, and wondered if the Toronto playwright would be willing to direct one of his own plays.

“I got his home number from his agent — it was a lot easier to do that in the old days,” McDonald said, “so I called him up.”

He recalls that the resulting conversation went something like this:

“We’re doing The Art of War, and we’d like you to direct it.”

“Well, I think we should meet.”

“Sure. Do you have a favourite haunt?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, a coffee shop, say ...”

“No, not really.”

“Do you want me to come to your house?”

“No. Definitely not.”

“Well, how are we going to meet then?”

“We’ll meet at Yonge and Bloor, under the clock.”

And so began a friendship that lasts to this day. A few years after this first encounter, when McDonald was visiting Toronto from his new gig at Green Thumb Theatre in Vancouver (and was now allowed to stay with Walker and his family), he pitched a project to the playwright: write me a mainstage play for 20-year-olds.

This week, the appropriately named Twenty-Something Theatre presents a new Vancouver production of Tough!

“They’re the perfect company to be doing it right now,” says McDonald.

“It’s a good in-your-face comedy with some great riffs in it, some very, very funny stuff.”

Twenty-Something Theatre is now in its sixth year of tackling tough scripts, from Neil Labute’s The Shape of Things to Brad Fraser’s Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love. Walker’s Tough! is something special, as McDonald realized in the 1990s while touring Green Thumb’s theatre-for-young-adults (TYA) production to Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa.

“It was the first play by an English-language TYA company for that 20-something market to play in what we traditionally know as adult theatres, as part of their regular season,” McDonald recalls.

The critics got it wrong, infuriating Walker by repeatedly referring to Tough! as his teen play.

“There’s something in Canadian theatre,” says McDonald, “where critics can’t look at a play about teenagers — unless it’s Spring Awakening — and just give it a legitimate review that says anybody should go see this. It drove George crazy at the time — would you say ‘This is Athol Fugard’s black play?’ ”

McDonald laughs as he recalls the most unique feature of that first tour of a play set in a park.

“We toured it across Canada with real grass, in winter, because we’re thinking, ‘It’s Vancouver, we can get grass here, so the set was rolling sod and a picnic table.’ ”

It was a beautiful thing, he says.

“We had grow lights and actually had to cut the grass. We had a lawn mower on tour.”

With references to grass and grow lights, you might think the punchline has to do with a certain smokable substance.

But no.

“The truck arrived in Toronto a day early, and the driver unhitched the trailer because he wanted to go somewhere.”

In Toronto, in February, the sod then froze solid.

Factory Theatre jumped into action.

“I remember being in the lobby at Factory,” says McDonald, “rolls and rolls of sod, with every light they had, six inches from the grass trying to thaw it out.”

Twenty-Something Theatre’s production of Tough! is directed by Tamara McCarthy, and stars Marlene Ginader as Tina, Timothy Johnston as Bobby and Katherine Gauthier as Jill.

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/theatre-listings/Theatre+preview+Need+powerful+play+Tough/5301753/story.html

Patrick McDonald teaches actors about the secrets of a good audition

2011-08-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

Green Thumb Theatre's Artisitc Director Patrick McDonald, along with Christopher Gaze (Bard on the Beach), Cathy Duborg (Gateway Theatre), Kevin Kerr (Electric Company Theatre) and Kevin Bennett paticipated in GVPTA's audition masterclass to evaluate and give feedback on the student's audition skills. They all look so serious!

Summertime = Catch up time!

2011-07-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

Now that summer appears to be finally coming to Vancouver, everyone here at Green Thumb has been enjoying the sun and catching up before we go into a busy season in September.
We are looking forward to our 2011/12 season, which sees the return of our sell out hit, "500 Words", a US tour of "The Shape of a Girl" and the premiere of two new plays. Check out our website for all the show details!

Have a great summer and we be in touch with all the latest in September!

The Shape of a Girl: On the Road..Again!

2011-05-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

Woah! Three weeks have flown by. Georgina and I have just finished twenty-one performances of The Shape of a Girl here in BC and now we’re off to Toronto.

Our first week back we spent the week traipsing through the Kootenays, packing our days with performances followed by hiking in the forest, exploring new towns and making friends with locals as we cheered on the Canucks in their series against Chicago.

Georgina on a dock in Osoyoos

Playing in BC’s smaller towns is a pretty great experience. Often we might be the only cultural performance the school gets that year, and it’s not only a chance for the students to see a show and consider its content, but also to realize that a career in theatre is possible. The people are always great, and as we sit at supper (obviously not from town) we’re often curious about what those around us are thinking. More than once we’ve arrived at a school first thing in the morning only to be informed by a staff member that they knew we were in town the night before because they had spotted a stranger. Oh, and then there was the time we ran into the school bus driver on a hiking trail. He recognized me from my morning walk and the giant rocks we were unloading from the van in the morning. The other bonus of playing in small towns is that we get to spend time in places we might never have seen except for this job.

Christina Lake, BC

After a gorgeous drive home on Good Friday, we spent the next week and a half playing lower mainland schools, with a lot of time in Surrey. These shows boasted so much variety in audiences, playing spaces and general circumstances that we were reminded daily of the joy we get out of meeting challenges and having to use both brain and brawn to get the show out to an audience twice a day.

Trees and Sun in Kaslo, BC

-Rachael King, Stage Manager
Shape of a Girl

Green Thumb Wants to Thank TELUS for their Support!

2011-04-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

Patrick McDonald (Artistic Director, Green Thumb) and Paula Rosehart (Board Member, Green Thumb) accept a $15,000 cheque from Howard Jang of the TELUS Community Board to help fund the 2011-2012 production of Out in the Open (by Dave Deveau).

We are very excited that Out in the Open, a play about homophobia and friendship, will be touring B.C. Secondary Schools next season!!! A GIANT Thank-you to TELUS for helping to make this possible!

Ash Rizin' hits Calgary!

2011-03-16T11:26:00.000-07:00

Ash Rizin' had its first reading at the ATP Enbridge playRites Festival last weekend. Patrick, Mikey and Kyp travelled to Calgary to get down to serious business with the new full length hip-hop musical.

This blog is re-posted from the Alberta Theatre Projects Blog! Sounds like the boys made a pretty great impression in Calgary!

Green Thumb Theatre in the Hizz-ouse

This week’s Work in Progress is Ash Rizin’ – a new hip hop musical being created in association with Green Thumb Theatre; written by Michael P. Northey & David “Kyprios” Coles.

It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever worked on in my life. No exaggeration.

I LOVE me some hip hop & Kyp’s music & lyrics are super sick & slick. The opening number feels a little like K-OS, with hints of Western pop-twang; which immediately infuses Ash with a lone-soldier/cowboy vibe. Clean’s song “Stereotypical” is GORGEOUS – full of Faith Evans soul, depth & positivity. The darker, kickier number “Who’s Who?” (which has fantastic owl-like echoes churning throughout it) has the middle-class suburban character, Dosha, sounding oh-so Li’l Kim. And the play’s most emotional number, the full-cast gospel song, “Rizin’”, starts Act 2 with a big, pumping heart. The range of Kyp’s songs in the play are so exciting & dramatic – I can’t wait for audiences to hear what he’s created.

Now comes the fun part: marrying the songs with the scenes. Up till this point, Michael & Kyp have been talking about the overall shape of the play; each writing scenes (Michael) & songs (Kyprios) that will shape the play. So the amazing “plus” right now is that Kyp has brought in professionally recorded tracks of the songs within the script. You’re going to hear our acting company read a scene, then Kyp will play the song that follows the scene. With the exception of the group-number, which you’ll very likely hear on Saturday.

This process is serving the writing team well; being able to really hear when a song’s lyrics are already echoing the material in the scene, so we can start figuring out what to trim & shape so that songs & scenes totally meld.

Oh, & Justin Ellington is here today. He’s going to help us out by weighing in on the musical aspect of the play.

For now, I am here to chirp in Patrick’s ear, chime in where necessary & joke with the boys (who are the most hilarious guys I’ve met).

Dramaturging a new musical is a LONG process & is different than developing traditional text. Songs need to elevate the spirit of a scene, feel true to the moment & actively move us forward in the story.

No small task.

But this is a healthy, hilarious hip hop trio (Mikey, Kyp, Patrick) that are really onto something.

Ash Rizin' will be given a free public reading in the Big Secret Theatre at 4:30pm.

Come early. It’s Blitz Weekend & the house will be packed. You don’t want to miss this.

-Amy Lynn

Check out the ATP blog!
http://atpinsider.blogspot.com/

The Enbridge playRites festival is over for another year but check out what was happening at the 25th anniversary edition in Calgary from February 2nd-March 6th 2011. http://www.atplive.com/playRites/playRites.html

The boys are back in town and back to work so stay tuned for more on Ash Rizin' as it continues to develop!

-Green Thumb

A Mini Photo Diary from 500 Words!

2011-03-03T12:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a long time since we blogged and so much has happened. I will attempt to tell the abbreviated story in pictures.

First off, we’ve just spent the last four weeks traipsing around Northern BC. And boy has it been chilly some mornings (as evidenced by our van’s outdoor temperature reading!)

We went as far north as Charlie Lake, BC. The farthest north any of us has ever been!

At the end of our performance in Kitwanga, we were given a golden ruler. We used it in Kitimat to demonstrate just how much snow there was!

It truly was remarkable. As we ate lunch one day, we stared in awe at a giant snow-eating machine that crunched up entire snowbanks and spit them out 30 feet way. They certainly know how to take care of snow in the North!

Besides shows, we were able to make some stops along the way and embrace our inner tourists. That’s Kholby with the World’s Largest Fly Fishing Reel in Houston, and Ella and I commandeering a military vehicle in Hudson’s Hope. We even got to walk in the footsteps of dinosaurs at the W.C. Bennett Dam!

Along the way we’ve spotted caribou, deer, a wolf, a fox and even a couple of moose. The scenery has been beyond compare.

-Rachael

Island Adventures....

2011-02-10T18:59:00.000-08:00

The ferry has just launched, we’re on our way back to the mainland after two weeks of adventuring around Vancouver Island. I’m out on the road with 500 Words at the moment, experiencing elementary school touring for the first time. It brings a smile to my face every day when I see the students filing into the gym, excited, full of curiosity and dancing to our pre-show music. A glance out over the audience during Lance and Sylvia’s storytelling is a lesson in rapt attention, with the front rows taking “one last breath of space air” with Lance and raising hands to their mouths in shock as Sylvia reveals the dreaded three-eyed squid monster. Driving the van in the school yard, I feel like the queen of the parade on a float – everyone waves ‘hi!’ The energy and joy of these groups is fuel that carries us through the day.

While on the Island, we got to spend a week in Campbell River. A whole week! When I tour to high schools, we might play a couple schools in one town. I have very quickly learned that there are far more elementary schools out there. In the Campbell River region, I believe we ended up playing for audiences from fifteen different schools (sometimes two schools came to one show). An entire generation of north Island young people have now experienced 500 Words and the phenomenon that is Green Thumb Theatre. Another interesting twist in elementary school touring is the proximity to really cool playground equipment.

Let’s face it, we’re all kids at heart. I can’t resist an opportunity to get a photo on some of the awesome playgrounds.
As we approach Horseshoe Bay, we look ahead to further adventures, this time in northern BC, to such exotic climes as Terrace, Kitimat and Fort St. John. The winter jackets and snow boots will make their first appearance this afternoon, and I’ll get to enjoy Kholby and Ella experiencing BC’s north for the first time. I’m sure there will be many stories.

It's COLD in Winnipeg...

2011-02-01T08:52:00.000-08:00

Allow me to speak candidly as a performer of TYA for a second.

Often, in this business, you get into a nose to the grindstone kind of mindset. Our time in each town we're in, our time driving from province to province, state to state, our construction and tear down of the set, our checking into hotels and checking out of hotels, our lunch-time-fast-food tours, our sit down dinners simply so we can sit down, our emails, and show reports, and comings and goings take up so much of our brain power that it's easy to forget what we're actually out here to do.

We're in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I've never been here before. The people at the Manitoba Theatre For Young People are incredibly nice. They've made us feel as if we're a part of their season rather than just a show on its way through. We don't get to feel that way very often. We're here for ten days. Ten WHOLE days. This is the longest stop in any one place I've ever experienced on a TYA tour.

This time in Winnipeg, coupled with the higher than normal media calls we've taken part-in here, have given us the opportunity to see the fruit of our work. This time in Winnipeg has given us the chance to switch our minds from thinking about where we're sleeping and how we're getting there to what we're doing, and more importantly, why we're doing it.

Yesterday at the media call, aside from the usual interviewers, camera men, and us, there was a young girl taking part. She was in grade six and she had seen our show that afternoon. She was talking to the reporters about an incident of bullying that she experienced. Our media liaison through the theatre had asked us to come out and meet her. I assumed that she had been a victim of bullying. Once I sat down and heard her talk to the interviewer, I realized it was much more complicated than that. It always is. It turned out that, as well as feeling bullied, she had had an experience where she was a bully herself. Along with a friend, she had made a video about a fellow student and attempted to put it up online. Lucky for everyone, her parents caught her and the video was deleted before it could “go live.”

In talking to her after her interview, I realized that our show had actually impacted her. That she got it. I guess I've always superficially realized this about our show, that it had the power to affect these kids lives, but it gets so easy to go through the motions that you forget to look down into their eyes after the show is done.

Often in TYA we look at our performances and scripts through our own eyes. As adults, we realize what the shows are saying and we agree with their purpose. We use words like “timely” and “necessary.” The storytelling isn't for us though. We often, behind closed doors, might also use words like, at best, “simple” and, at worst, “lame.” We forget that these plays are not written primarily for us. These plays are written for students; young people whose faculties for understanding and perceptions of abstract concepts like metaphor and allegory are still in the formative stages. When you're zipping around in a van, interacting with students only on a mass level, you can forget, in speaking to fellow adult interviewers, about one of the most important words in describing this show: “powerful.” The storytelling hits home not because it is complex or rich in our definitions of those words but because it's real. We deal in situations that these kids can relate with. We tell the stories of their lives and their times, not our own. And what could be more timely, necessary, and powerful than that?

The cast and crew on stage at MTYP

Also, it's really really cold in Winnipeg.

-Mack

IPAY 2011!

2011-01-26T09:45:00.000-08:00

Georgina and I reunited this week for a quick few days in Tampa, FL to showcase The Shape of a Girl at the IPAY Conference. After a month apart, we had a lot of catching up to do. But at the same time, we’ve had a whirlwind of flights, rehearsal (in the sunshine on the University of Tampa campus), late night tech and then two shows today. We were blessed with wonderful audiences and the opportunity to meet up with our playwright, Joan MacLeod, once again. It’s been a great couple of days and now we’re headed back to Canada, to our separate shows, knowing we get to revisit Shape in April and once again head out on tour adventures.

Dennis Foon writes about “Juve” 30 years later and asks for help for one of its creators...

2011-01-13T09:33:00.000-08:00

In 1979, a group of young teens led by director Campbell Smith created and performed a rock musical that helped define Green Thumb: JUVE. We opened it at the Cultch, it instantly sold out and the audiences were lined up outside for a block to buy rush tickets. One night, the then Artistic Director of the Vancouver Playhouse was waiting patiently in line, ignoring the scalpers, when a kid puked on his feet. At that point, I knew we had something very special! A piece of theatre for youth, by youth, and about youth that went on to tour every major theatre in Canada. A tradition of progressive, hard hitting, world class theatre Green Thumb has continued for over 30 years.

One of the brilliant young creator/performers of JUVE, Kymme Patrick, went on to become a major force in theatre in Courtenay, BC, founding the group Theatreworks. She is currently in a battle with cancer, undergoing chemotherapy in Victoria. You may have seen the news item that while she was being treated, her car was broken into and a quilt stolen that was made for her by her friends in the Comox Valley.

I hope some of you remember JUVE and Kymme’s incredible energy and emotion. You can catch up with her at Kymme’s Trunk Line on Facebook. And if you can make a donation to help her and her family through this crisis, the link is below.

Thanks so much!

Dennis Foon

To make donations:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/KymmePal/125749387491477

Kymme’s Trunk Line:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_172471959456512

Juve in many ways can be seen as the pre-cursor to GT’s The Edge Project. It provided a spring board to many of those involved to have a life long involvement with the Theatre. I’m very close to someone who auditioned for the piece, and though she didn’t get a part it continues to be a memory for her as it is for many others. Help if you can. Our thoughts remain with the many colleagues, friends and neighbors who are afflicted or have succumbed to the many forms of cancer.

- Ivan Habel

The roads we've been on...

2011-01-05T09:32:00.000-08:00

We’ve just passed our first open water in Lac la Hache on the drive from Prince George back to Vancouver; it’s highly unnerving after a month of frozen lakes, blizzards, moose and red cheeks - full winter. A month in mostly rural locations and I can already feel the city-shock creeping in. We’re listening to ‘Afghanada' a radio drama on our good friend the CBC which features Jenny Young, who originated the role of Braidie in ‘The Shape of a Girl.” I like the idea of climbing into a role that has been inhabited by great actors before me, sitting in a seat warm from someone else's presence.

There’s a temptation for everything I write here to be positive, because in the end, that is the truth. Rachael and I had our last supper together last night in Prince George and we talked about what an interesting experiment it is to see who you are when you, one other person, this van and a play are the only constants in your life. Though it may be true of most of life, touring puts into high relief the fact that oneself is the only continual thing when everything else is changing, it gives a chance for self reflection. Can you tell I’ve spent the last week in Northern BC?

There have been challenges; my phenomenal ability to lose things in the multiple packing up and un-packings, motel rooms with bugs that bite in the middle of the night, loneliness and the challenges of getting good food, doing a show in different gymnasiums with hundreds of students, whirring fans, different levels of interest. Patrick told me before doing the show about all the things that would be hard, and I said, “Yes, yes, sure,” everything hypothetical at that point. As we’ve gone on, I’ve been glad to have Patrick’s words to return to, about the acting and the experience on the road. But ultimately, I still feel the same way, “Yes, yes, sure, it’s hard” but in the end it’s hard the way running long distance is hard. There’s this certain point in a run when it feels impossible and I think I should just stop now, no one is making me do this, and it’s after that point that I stop fighting and it is a glorious feeling. I’ve still just finished the tour, am catching my breath, but it’s a similar sensation. The challenges make this run, this tour with Rachael, all the more meaningful.

A broad general statement: high school students are fantastic. The students we’ve engaged in conversation with are right in the middle of acting on their strong ideas about the world, their friendships and passions are so clear, their job is thinking about ideas and their place in society and they can often articulate ideas with a confidence and clarity that is enviable. 55 shows on this leg of the tour and there are still things to discover and tweak about every show, there is always somewhere else to grow and somewhere else to fall.

And the evidence that the show matters is all around us, in the students filling bleachers and in the disturbing news stories about bullying, suicide and death that keep showing up day after day, week after week. Joan’s play calls on me, and all of us, to enter those stories in a way that is only natural to avoid, it is dark and disturbing territory, and asks us all what type of people we are and what type of people we could be. I am grateful for the wakefulness required, it’s filtered into my life on tour and I hope I have taken in as much as I possibly could of the roads we’ve been on, the everyday conversations that have helped Rachael and I bond, the adventures and the quiet moments. For now, a hiatus on this adventure and on to the next. Merry Christmas.

Georgina

The Edge Project 2010: Oh Yeah!

2011-01-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

“So, I want you to tell me your deepest, darkest thoughts, what it’s like to be a teenager, use some of the given writing prompts, perhaps, preferably write it down in some sort of monologue or script, and then we’ll edit it, workshop it, put it all together, and we’ll have ourselves a show! Good? Good!” Summarizing The Edge Project could be as simple as the above statement.

Or it could be a whole lot more.

I could say that at first I found it strange that someone we barely knew (our extremely talented director Shawn MacDonald) was asking us to be completely honest and open. But then again, I could also say that by the end, there was a strange kind of comfortableness within the walls of our Acting 11/12 classroom, what with us having discussed a variety of youth oriented issues. We were certainly more close knit, having survived the long hours public transiting all the way from Surrey to the Roundhouse theatre!

I could say that in the beginning, at the all-school jams, when the four participating schools came together to rehearse, there was a slight awkwardness that formed. But, once again, I could also say that by the end, there were numerous amounts of new friendships created (the rapid increase in my Facebook friends is evidence of this fact!), and merely a week after closing night, an Edge reunion was planned.

I could say that The Edge Project allowed me to evolve: not only as a writer, not only as an actor, but as a person as well. I could say a lot of things, all of them being very true.

The most important thing I have to say as of right now, however, is this: I miss you, Edge 2010! Please come back!

Oh, another important thing I must say?

“LINDA!”

-Rida J.

Absolutely amazing...

2011-01-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

At first, when I heard about the Edge Project I was really not very excited. It didn’t sound like all that much fun, and I didn’t think that it would be able to turn out very well. It was a play written, by kids. How good could it possibly be? We had to give up our free time (we even missed Halloween) and work with strange kids from other school districts.

However, as the performance date came nearer, I started to get really excited. The Windsor section of the performance was coming together really nicely. It was funny, exciting and most importantly real. All of the material was written completely by us. This made us much more involved and emotionally attached to the performance, rather than if we had simply been acting. It was really great to see someone else read a monologue that I had written, and even better to hear the feedback from the student who had written the part that I was acting.

But I would say the absolute best part of the edge project was meeting the kids from other school districts. Everyone was so friendly, and so funny, and amazing at acting. I made a lot of really strong friendships with the other kids and it was so hard to say good bye on closing night. So hard in fact, that I have made plans to see many of them again. I’m so glad that I had a chance to meet and get to know them.

The Edge Project was absolutely amazing. I am immensely happy that I got to be a part of it, and I would love to have the opportunity to take part in it again.

- Dylan W.

Opportunity of a Lifetime...

2010-12-14T12:19:00.000-08:00

Rehearsing the closing at the last All School Jam!

You know what they say, that grab onto an opportunity before it passes by.
That's what exactly I and all my David Thompson drama students did when we were given this amazing opportunity by the Green Thumb Theatre to perform live on stage. We didn't even think twice before grabbing onto this once in a lifetime opportunity. We all got to perform in a live theatre in front of an audience. What could be better that we were directed by a talented director/actor Shawn Macdonald and his very skilled crew. There was never a time when they thought of us as high school students with very little or no experience in acting. They always respected, supported and treated us like any other professional actors. We worked very hard fro three months and then finally got to showcase our work in front of our friends and family, and every other audience member that came to see our shows. During these three months we or at least I had a very learning and adventurous experience of my life. We got to meet many new friends from not only one but three different schools.

Rehearsing the "Hand Ballet" with 75 students!

Strangers that we were before, now we became close friends, sharing food, playing cards, commuting together and supporting each other during the rehearsals. During this experience some of us also got the opportunity to discover that hidden talent of ours in writing. When we were first asked to write our own play, we thought," they must be kidding", but eventually when everybody wrote amazing pieces of writing to develop the whole play, surprising others and even our own selves. When I first started this, I never thought it would get so big but it did and I am glad it did because some day in future if one of us goes out in the world to be a professional actor then we will surely look back and say, " This is where it all started".

- Gunvit B.

Rehearsing with David Thompson Secondary

The End of the road...

2010-12-09T09:54:00.000-08:00

That’s it. We’re on the road to New Jersey. To our last hotel of this leg of the tour. Christmas carols are playing on the radio and I think back to “Song Sung Blue” by Neil Diamond. It played on Oct. 8^th as we left the raining city of Vancouver. I’ve written 38 pages in my word document titled Greenthumb Blog 1. At first I thought I’d be putting each of these blog entries into a different document. But I’m lazy, sometimes.

Joel is fast asleep next to me on the bench seat in the back. I’ve gotten used to the sound of him sleeping. Sam is knitting away in the front, the white stuffed bear she got from the audience services manager in Montana is on her lap. Rae’s eyes are on the road.
The area of New York we’re driving through right now looks a lot like Vancouver, our home that we’re returning to. There are trees lining the freeway. The houses are homogenous yet distinct. There are blocks of brick-laid cube apartments. There are triangular A-frames with wooden slats. There are fibre-glassed homes with makeshift yards occupying the few extra square feet of property. USA, we’re not so different, you and I.

My girlfriend, Kaitlin, gave me a photo scavenger hunt when I left town. At the start of this entry I had three items still left on the list: Really baaaaaaaad weather, bad interstate traffic, and something with Joel’s name attached to it. We just, seconds ago, snapped the photo of bad interstate traffic. Funny that the few negative items are the only ones I’ve yet to scratch off (other than Joel’s name). The traffic isn’t even actually that bad. We’ve been lucky enough to avoid any bad weather as well, despite Winter nipping at our heels as we pass through each state. It’s chasing us, but we are swift, we are elusive.
There’s a massive graveyard flitting by to my right that makes me think of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Manhattan. It calls to mind the oldest spot in Pittsburgh, a cemetery at the center of the city. It brings memories of the walk through Swift Current, from dinner in town back to our roadside motel.

It’s eerie how alike all these places we’ve visited are. They’re all unique in their own way: the blues music seeping onto the streets in Tennessee, the table-topped mountains of Montana and Utah, the slack-jawed easy going accents of California. But there’s something common deep within. The answer might be with the people we meet. The men who help us unload our gear from the van; taking our oversized cellphones and our giant computer mouse along with us to the stage floor, none too excited to converse but all obliging to meet us. That obligation quickly warming through out the set up to repartee. By the end of the show, the wishes to be well, to drive safe, to take care are nothing less than friendship. It is a casual, ephemeral friendship that isn’t unlike the medium of theatre that we work within. For a solid 2 or 3 hours it is there and it is as real as anything else on Earth. And then just as quickly, it’s gone forever.
It might be these people, these attitudes, this companionship that each city and state and province, each hotel, each restaurant, each gas station, have in common. But I’m sure you already knew that.
I think it’s something deeper. Something that I can’t quite put into words. Something mysterious. When a young man or woman embarks on a travel they learn something about themselves. This something isn’t really anything all that spectacular. If you ask them about it they usually won’t, don’t, or can’t put it into words. That’s because there isn’t really anything to say on the matter.
They left their home. They went someplace else. And now they’ve returned.
That’s all there really is to it. Each of these travellers sees unique things and, yet, whatever it is that they come home with is common. They’ve been away and they’ve returned.

When we got to California I was excited to take a photo of putting my feet in the Pacific Ocean. I didn’t realize that in Texas we’d be residing on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Ultimately, I was never as certain that my camera was charged as when, in the Westhampton’s of New York, we visited the Atlantic. I purposely fit as many allusions to “The Great Atlantic Ocean” into my tour diaries as possible. It was yesterday that we finally got there. It was too cold to take off my shoes and socks and submerge my feet. The tide was on its way back in, briskly. I leaned over in my coat, zipped up as much as I could be. My hood was on and I took off my mitts. I pressed my hand into the water as it ran up the sand toward me. I skipped backwards so the foam couldn’t catch my already soiled shoes. I felt my wet hand with its dry companion and tried to think about the Pacific. I tried to think about the space that expanded between the two bodies of water. I tried to think about all the humanity that hustled and bustled in between them. But all I could really think about was how they were both just water; billions of gallons of water. The Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Atlantic Ocean: the three stand out markers of our journey, both in time and space. I tried to think about them as bookends to our trip: the Pacific and the Atlantic. But all I could really think about was, just like bookends, how they were all really just the same.
BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, They’re all just land and soil. Simple geography. The people are all just people, the water is all just water, and the land is all just land. But somewhere in all that sameness is a mystery. And you can ask me when I get home what it’s all about, you can ask me what I learned. And I can’t or won’t give you an answer. I won’t be able to put it into words. And that’s okay. I left my home. I went across the United States on a two month tour. I saw some things. I did some things. And now I’ve come back.
Now I’ve returned back home.

Making friends..."WIRED" Style

2010-12-07T09:02:00.000-08:00

Since Ella and Rachel put lists out, I thought I would offer a “How to” list that is particularly useful when touring for two months in another country, but can be used in any touring situation. Making friends so quickly is not the easiest thing to do but, here is some advice, internet, from me to you on how to make new friends if you find yourself touring across a country in a show.

1. Look no further than the theatre.

We have traveled from coast to coast and met an interesting cast of characters in the technical crews that we come across in all the different theatres. We have met people who go by names like Opie, Deadbolt and Cheesy. These aren’t necessarily the names their parents gave them, and some of them don’t even like the names, but that’s what they will forever be remembered by us as. These techs themselves have also shared with us their exciting adventures. We met people who have made our two months look like a heartbeat by telling stories of their two years with “Cats” or “Les Miserables”. There was also a guy who said he used to be a bounty hunter, so that’s pretty cool. Most of them we meet for the first time at 8 in the morning, and say our goodbyes to at 2pm of the same day. Though our time together is short, we always know that we can call them our new friends.

2. Already Know Somebody

I was lucky to have family in Galveston, Texas, and Sam knew a bunch of people in New York. One of the difficult parts of going into a new town that is so far from home is having no idea where the interesting parts of town are, which restaurants to go to, or where to find something fun to do. When we first rolled into Galveston I didn’t expect much from it. Our hotel seemed a bit out of the center of town, and the town was an hour away from Huston, so I figured most people just went into Huston. How wrong I was. For those who don’t know, Galveston was hit two years ago by Hurricane Ike and, at the worst, was submerged more than 8 feet under water. The town was evacuated and many people’s houses were completely destroyed. I wouldn’t have guessed looking at the downtown now. My cousin showed me around the downtown where there were etchings on the walls where the waterline had been, showed me the theatre where we were going into the next day (The B-52s were playing...) and took me for one of the top 5 meals that I had on the tour. Another perk to having family (and sometimes friends will do this too): Dinner is on them.

3. The internet will be your friend

Now before you start quoting my own lines from Wired back to me, hear me out. We arrived in Pittsburgh, PA (just outside of it actually) at 4 in the afternoon and were only staying the night. It looked like it would be a quiet, uneventful night in. That is, until Mack discovered something magical: audio walking tours. Free tours that have been posted on the internet taking you through major city centers and giving you historical background. We learned about two steel moguls, Frick and Carnegie, who were some of the founding businessmen of Pittsburgh. We were taken to the oldest place in Pittsburgh (a graveyard) and shown some pretty amazing marble architecture. The tour ended up taking us to the city center, where it pointed out a sandwich shop that we ended up having dinner at, but not before we went to the outdoor skating rink we passed by. The internet turned a quiet, uneventful night in, into a great night out, and as it happens, we did meet some new friends.

So there you have it, friends. If you ever find yourself on a country wide tour for two months, it’s easy to do new and exciting things, without accepting a facebook friend request from someone you don’t know. Until next year,

-Joel, Mack, Sam, and Rae

500 Words signing off...well at least until January!

2010-12-07T08:36:00.000-08:00

I thought I would just sort of wrap up the run with one last post before Christmas!

Our last few weeks were full to the brim, our last week was an 11 show week. That's crazy. Absolutely crazy. Yes, the show is only 45 minutes, but there's also just the 2 of us performers; that's a lot of stress to share. You'd think that after 83 shows my nerves would be better, but you know what? The very last show I was still nervous. It's a combination of a few things: I want to do the best show I can possibly do every time; I never know what the audiences are going to be like - which is a fun aspect, but also an in-the-moment challenge (unlike adult audiences, the kids are not predictable, they may laugh at something that, over 70 shows, hasn't ever gotten a laugh and conversely not laugh at something that's a "sure bet"); and, lastly, the fear of letting down my scene partner. Over the run of this show Ella and I have really been there for each other as performers. We've dropped, broken, and forgotten props, we've given the wrong cue lines once or twice, but no one would ever know (except Nicole!) because the other half is there to pick up the pieces. It's really quite wonderful to be in such a trusting place on stage. Even after countless shows, we still stay tethered to one another (like an umbilical chord! Right Ella?), but there are still those moments, even after that 83rd show, getting ready for the 84th, where I panic: "What if I let someone down? What if I let myself down? What if the kids don't enjoy the show?" Luckily, none of my fears have actually come true on stage, perhaps they have even been disproved. That's comforting!

Over the tour a few things have been constants: I eat breakfast for lunch as often as possible; I lobby for us to take Highway 91 as often as possible; and I have looked up the address and driving time to, between and home from every school. Breakfast for lunch has been the best! I have had so many pancakes and I am so not even close to tired of them (today I went grocery shopping and actually bought pancake mix!). I would have to say the best pancakes I had were either at Home restaurant in Merritt, or Ricky's in Walnut Grove. Mmmm pancakes. I think you'll agree with me when I say they have to be of the fluffy, and not that weird greasy wet variety. The kind that soaks in the Syrup, so that you have to keep adding it. I find the right pancake is tantamount to the perfect pre-show sugar high. Nothing like a sugar high to get you through show 10 on Friday afternoon! Onto the 91: Our GPS, "TomTom", is a bit of a jerk. In fact, we had some very forceful words with him. Tomtom always wants us to take Kingsway to Surrey, and while that may be the "shortest" route by kilometres, it's certainly much longer time-wise. Especially with our lack of light luck. However, after a few weeks the three of us decided to ignore Tomtom's routing and take Highway 91, from that point forward our 55 minute drive turned into 40 minutes and we were much happier (Van)camper's. Moving on to the address: (Rachel, pay attention here, I do this as a compulsion and not because of trust issues, or control issues or anything like that (Rachel, the stage manager from "Shape of a Girl" will be joining us in January when we start back up)) I look up every school. I like to know where we're going. I like to know how long the drive is. I need to know how long in the morning from the time I leave my house until I get to use the washroom (twenty minute drive in the morning, versus an hour and ten minute drive? Huge difference on the bladder and, in turn, the driving nerves!). Plus, this way a second person always knows where we're going just in case - and this has happened to us - Tomtom takes us to the entirely wrong place. Think of me like a backup, trying-hard-not-to-be-a-control-freak control freak, but not actually a control freak, just really helpful and knowledgeable. Ugh.

We discovered far too late that we were often in the Van driving between schools during CBC's The Q with Jian Ghomeshi, but when we did, we listened to that hard. A few days ago Lesley Feist was on as a guest and she was discussing touring (as a musician, but it still applies to us, I think). We turned on the radio and literally this was the first thing we heard: "Touring can start to feel like you're taking a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy." We all burst into laughter because she's so right. It really can. I talked about this a touch last time, just the idea of making it new every time. And we three are good at staying engaged with the material and making things new for ourselves, but it is sort of crazy to get to that point where you really could do it without thinking. In some ways that's almost when you have to think even more; stay even more engaged. When your mind wanders, you start slipping up. But like I said earlier, if one of us gets lost for a second, the other is there to lead the way. It's strange, we were talking in the Van the other day about how we're all very rhythmic people and how that really effects performances. An added word can sometimes seem so strange and get you really off track (even in the pre-show speech), but at the same time it's partially why our shows have been relatively the same show after show: because it's become a piece of music, sometimes classical and structured, sometimes a little more jazzy and loose, but always in the same key and roughly the same tempo!

One last thing: Nicole is leaving us. Well, Nicole has left us. I just wanted to share a few things about Nicole that I will miss, and I'm sure Ella will too: Firstly, Nicole's laugh. If you have ever met Nicole, or even been in the same city block as her, you have undoubtedly heard her infectious laughter. It's joy beyond joy and it spreads like the plague (luckily it's a good plague!). Nicole has a fantastic, geeky, intelligent, goofy and sometimes downright silly sense of humour and it has been a pleasure to not only get to laugh with her, but also to make her laugh. Secondly, I am going to miss Nicole's brute strength. This girl is tough and does a lot of heavy lifting! Thirdly, I will miss working all day with Nicole, all week with Nicole and then enjoying her company so much that we go to Dairy Queen and get ice cream, or we go to Circle Craft on our day off, or talk for 45 minutes on the phone about life issues after a long day of work. Oh, and how could I have left this so late? Nicole's love of all things authored. We have discussed, shared, gifted and shopped books (our favourite bookstore was this amazing used book store in Kamloops with aisles and aisles of stacks - a veritable wonderland for the avid reader!). It has been a uniting force for Nicole and I. We've both been reading a lot over the tour (I'm in my 7th novel, one of which was 1100 pages!) and have shared with each other some favourite's and some must-reads (Margaret Atwood's Moral Disorder, and Marcus Zuzak's The Book Thief to name a couple (Great recommendations! Read them!)) I'll also miss Nicole knitting in coffee shops, hotel rooms, parking lots (in the van of course) and even once on the Coquihalla while Ella drove (GIVE US SOME OF YOUR SOCKS, NICOLE!). I will miss hearing Nicole getting mad at TomTom for telling us to take Broadway instead of Grandview, or for his many other faults and misconceptions about the life of a driver in Vancouver and it's surrounding 'burbs. Lastly, will also miss our mutual love of all things Pepsi, our White Spot lunches and our intermittent quiet moments between conversations in the van. Best of luck at the Globe in Regina and even more luck with Outdoor School! You will be missed.

Well 84 shows, 84 load ins, 84 load outs, 83 schools and 1 Theatre, and 420 costume changes have been completed. 26,000 students have been performed to. Teachers, support staff, principals, parents, friends! Wow. It's been a lot. But it has been a blast. Now for some R&R and we're going to do it all over again, this time in the north. Thank you Green Thumb for all your support. Thank you friends for reading about our exploits. Have a great holiday season - see you in the Winter/Spring!

Kholby

P.S. That picture is us on the last day outwardly expressing what our heads felt like at the end of a very long run! Hehe. Actually it's just us with the largest orange pylons any of us have ever seen... on our heads.

The perks...

2010-12-04T09:53:00.000-08:00

Georgina and I have been in Calgary for a week now, playing at Vertigo Theatre’s Y-Stage. We love being on the road and seeing new places daily, but the concept of staying put in one place for eight days has some perks. Said perks include:

Our set staying in one place (no twice-daily in and out of the van!)

The technical elements of the show can be consistent nine shows in a row!

We get theatre lights here J

You can unpack your duffle bag

Because Georgina has family here, there is an opportunity to cook as well as get treated to home-cooked food

We can spend time with friends and family in the city

We get to see some other theatre work in the evenings

Ah, and let us not forget the daily workout climbing Calgary’s hills to get home.

Tonight’s the final show in Calgary. We’ve had a great time at Vertigo and are very grateful for the hospitality we’ve received and the generous responses of our audiences. I think we’ve started some great discussions and hopefully the conversations will continue past our time here.

We’re onward and northward come Monday! Stay tuned for more news from Rachael, Georgina and Amber (our trusty tour van).

A few things I have learned thus far...

2010-12-02T09:01:00.000-08:00

It's Wednesday night and what am I up doing? Baking. Why? Well tomorrow is Thursday, and Thursdays have been loosely termed "pie day". It just so happened that one Thursday Nicole made pie, and another Thursday I made pie, another Thursday Kholby bought doughnuts, and one time we went for pie in Kamloops, and so on. It's a nice treat day to know that our week is almost done! Since tomorrow is our last Thursday, I thought I should branch out and surprise the gang with brownies! I sure hope they like them!

And now, with my sugar high from brownie tasting, I will attempt to write a blog post:

What I have learned from touring. *Ahem*

1. On cold days, wear 3 pairs of socks. Ensure that at least 2 of those pairs are wool. My toes just so happen to be WAY at the other end of my body! No wonder they get SO cold. There's like almost 100cm between my heart and my feet. That's a long way to have to go! I have NO idea if I will survive north of Fort St. John, but I have a feeling it will be by adding another pair of socks.

2. I can wear the same clothes for a week. Well... sort of the same clothes. I mean, if I wear the same pants 3 days in a row, or the same t-shirt the next day nobody is going to care! They are doing the same thing! Deodorant is magical.

3. Staff room washrooms usually have lotion! Sometimes this lotion is fancy, and smells really good. For those special schools, I might make an extra trip just to wash my hands and re-apply some fragrant lotion. Whenever I come back from the bathroom, the cast knows right away if there is lotion in the bathroom, how it smells, what it's made of, if they have different kinds, etc!

So there are a few of the things that I have learned thus far on this leg of the tour. I can't wait to see what else I will learn in the future!

Ella

What to do with some time off?

2010-11-25T11:57:00.000-08:00

Performing is only one part of touring. What do we do with all this time between shows? Good question. Admittedly, the internet plays a big role in our off-time. The internet and CBC radio are largely how we stay in touch with the world outside of the van.

"We all plant our toes in the edge of the water. We are brave, we are perfect - girls."

Away from the computer, there’s always the daily search for the next meal and trust me, the need for food quickly becomes a primary concern on tour. Beyond food and communication, we do our best to get to know the town’s we’re in and take part in whatever recreation or activities they’ve got going on. Georgina is a champion at finding the local gym or rec. centre for a run. We’ve been known to go for walks, play dress up at local stores, frequent fun coffee shops, and marvel at the breathtaking scenery we’re being paid to visit.

Rachael getting in touch with her inner "Country Girl"

Last night, contrary to human logic, we donned bathing suits in -15oC weather and took a dip in the Nakusp Hot Springs as the sun went down in the mountains - so many levels of awesome. And today, I’m introducing Georgina to the magic of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!

A late night dip in a balmy -15 C

A little nostalgia...

2010-11-24T16:17:00.000-08:00

This whole touring of elementary schools seems to bring out the nostalgic side in people, and I am certainly no exception. Every single day that I walk into another school seems to evoke another memory – even the simplest things like standing in line as a class, waiting to be paged to go down to the gym for an assembly. Just yesterday I walked into a school in the early morning, and some parents were going through class lists for some event or other, and I remembered Donut Day. Do you remember Donut Day?! Donut day was awesome! I would like to reinstate Donut Day. Maybe make it a global affair?

500 Words at Stawamus Elementary with the teaching staff

I was thinking just the other day about the TYA shows I saw when I was in school. My family was never big into theatre, so all of the theatre I saw when I was a kid was at school, or through school, or in my own backyard, when friends and I would use my family’s tent trailer as a stage. And then get in trouble for using the tent trailer as a stage – again – because it was dangerous and we could fall off, which was always a legitimate concern for me, because I’ve never been the most coordinated of people.

Anyways, from my school days, I remember three shows – vaguely. The first was when I was really young, maybe kindergarten or grade one. It was a puppet show of sorts. I remember dryer hose was used and I was really bothered by the fact I could see the puppeteers. And I thought it was really weird that they turned all the lights off in the gym. Ask me the plotline, but I don’t have an answer. The second show came when I was older, maybe grade three. There was a mermaid. She had webbed fingers. I was convinced they were her real hands. There was a storm scene. It was in the round. And, yup, that’s about it. The third show, however, I remember with pretty great detail. It was my first time in a real theatre. My first time watching a show until a grid of stage lights (“How’d they get the lights different colors?” was certainly a thought of mine.) There were acrobats and moving set pieces. It was cool, indeed, but I wonder what it would have been like to have more TYA performances in my youth at my schools. Would more have stuck with me if I had seen more when I was older? All of these thoughts have made me wonder what will stick with the kids we perform to – what will they remember if they look back when they’ve hit the quarter century mark?

Well, that’s enough nostalgia for one night. And now I’m craving donuts, so I best go get one!

~Nicole

Winter roads, long johns and a lot of free stuff....

2010-11-23T09:43:00.000-08:00

We’re in the van driving from Kamloops to Vernon. We’ve spent a lot of time on winter roads listening to I think a total of 10 hours of podcasts of ‘This American Life.’ Through that, we’ve learned about the American medical system, toxic investments, tyrant bosses and many other things unrelated to the show. But that’s not true because all of the stories and experiences we’re having influence the imagery and ideas of the show and the show influences our lives. I’ve learned to rock the long johns at all times and to carry Kleenex for the nosebleeds I've been getting from the cold. Um, I can’t tell you tangibly how that relates to the show… oh, I do shiver with more commitment in a scene when I’m supposed to be standing outside.

The snowy road ahead...

For this episode, I’ve decided to compile 2 lists.

1) Free Stuff I’ve gotten on tour, in chronological order:

- Happy Hour at the coffee shop – free tea. Ladysmith.

- A free meal at the pub when they threw out the leftovers from my meal. I also overheard free stories I didn't need to hear. Chilliwack

- Biscotti – in 3 flavours. Apple Peach Mango Juice. Killarney School, Vancouver.

- a book, ‘Nikolski.’ In the Van from Rachael.

- Grade 8 Home Ec. students made lunch for us at a conference (Spicy! soup), also their caramel-y cereal-trail mix, a mug, and bag. Surrey.

- Directions from three different elderly men in different locations. ‘Up the hill, you can’t miss it.’ Yeah, right. Princeton.

- Free bread from a restaurant, when it wasn’t included. Merritt.

- Multiple meals from my aunt and uncle (and two nights on their cot). Kamloops.

- VIA coffee sample, caramel flavour. Starbucks. They’re everywhere!

- 3 visits to the YMCA (a swim, weight lifting and run). Kamloops.

- A few hugs. A few different locations.

All of this makes me very happy.

School team names.

Valleyview Vikings

Sahali Sabers

Merrit Panthers

Princeton Rebels

Aldergrove Totems

Because Patrick, who directed 'Shape', likes sports. I like performing in gyms with ferocious animals painted on the walls behind me.

- Georgina

Georgina & Santa hanging out in Princeton, BC

A Sneak peek at 500 Words...

2010-11-19T10:43:00.000-08:00

500 Words is a two person, 1 act play that explores literacy, creativity, cooperation and imagination. It is the story of two unlikely heroes who must come together to create a magical world that neither could have created on their own. Using projections, a unique set and good old fashion storytelling, 500 Words weaves together a fantastical tale of knights in shining armor, far away places and even a horse that can fly!

Right before his entry is due for the school story writing competition, Lance-the smartest kid in Grade 6, is assigned a reading buddy, Sylvia. Now in Grade 3, Sylvia is finding it harder to hide the fact that she doesn’t read very well. Although creative and imaginative, Sylvia doesn’t understand the importance of books and the worlds that they can open up. Lance, on the other hand, is an avid reader but has no imagination himself.

All Lance wants to do when they are together is write for the story contest, not help Sylvia. But Lance can’t think of a story until Sylvia imagines a whole world for him of magic, heroes and adventure. Learning together the unlikely pair creates a magical story neither could have on their own. In the end, Sylvia loses her reluctance to reading and Lance discovers his imagination.

The long and "WIRED" road...

2010-11-17T13:55:00.000-08:00

The long and open road...

It's raining hard in Tennessee. It rained all night and throughout our two shows this afternoon we could hear drummings tapped out on the roof of the fly tower above us. We've just left Huntingdon where we performed in the Hal Holbrook Theatre in the Dixie Arts Center, named after Dixie Carter and her life long love, Hal Holbrook (Oscar Nominee from Sean Penn's Into the Wild). We had lunch at a restaurant called the Mallard.

It was the first time thus far on tour that we've gone out to eat with the tech staff of the theatre we've been performing at. Frank was there, Angela was there, Opie was there, and Deadbolt was there. Yes, those are their names. There was another girl there who's name, I don't think, any of us knew. This is a fairly regular occurrence on tour. I would be surprised to find out if any of those people I ate with today knew my name. I bet they'd be surprised that I knew theirs'. Sam is the regular name-taker in our company; she learns them all and uses their names frequently in conversation. Someone has to fill this role and if she didn't, I probably would. But since she's so diligent, I have no reason. Opie let me try some of his fried Okra; I'd never had it. He even gave me one of his hand-breaded chicken tenders. I offered up my popcorn shrimp but he wasn't interested. You don't need to know each other's names to communicate or to enjoy each other's company.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

The fact of the matter is, most of the people I meet, I'll never lay eyes on again. And that's ok. Neither of us pretend the facts are any different. So when we meet: we greet, we speak, we joke, but we don't always introduce. Some things are better left unsaid.

The falls in Sioux Falls, South Dakota were much smaller than we'd imagined they would be. The landmark of the falls is a set of seemingly natural carved rock-steps, pinkish-red like a prehistoric themed mini-putt, surrounded by railed sidewalks and populated by local preteens escaping their parents to be with one another.

Beale Street, Memphis

We've been on the road fairly perpetually since we left Sioux Falls. The West Coast was a lazy-lemonade-cruise with a speckling of shows and driving days surrounded by the glitz and glam of entertainment detours. The Midwest- from South Dakota into Iowa, through Nebraska, down Kansas, giving way to the South; over Oklahoma and boomeranged around Texas, shucked by Arkansas and into the heart of Tennessee- has been much more relentless. Last night we finished our shows in Memphis at 7 pm, drove to Huntingdon by 10 pm and left the hotel again at 7 Am for another couple of shows.

It's been a different life but a good one. The time is passing fast at the right moments, as we all begin to feel that poke of homesick pressed into our chests. We'll be in Nashville by 4 pm. Before I blink the shows in Wilkesborough, North Carolina will be over and the South will be behind us. Northern stretched ahead is the Eastern Seaboard with its blue-bloods and lighthouses, its skyscrapers, yanks, and bittersweet Atlantic.

-Mack

"500 Words" - The Musical...

2010-11-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

Click "PLAY" above for some musical accompaniment while reading this blog post!

We have been on the island, all around the lower mainland and in the Okanagan since my last post. Many schools, many laughs, many discussions, many naps and many kilometres!

Recently I have taken it upon myself to be the DJ in the van. Unfortunately I have pretty varied, sometimes terrible, but hopefully always entertaining taste in music. "Eclectic" was Nicole's choice of word. And I think she meant it in a positive way! *Fingers Crossed* For the first few weeks we almost always had no radio or music, besides traffic reports! (AHHH!!! VANCOUVER TRAFFIC WHY ARE YOU SO AWFUL TO US! We are a giant van. We are doing theatre for kids. Love us a little more. Let us merge!) But we did have a lot of conversation. As the conversation dwindled and we had less and less to say to one another (I kid - recently we actually had a very lengthy and interesting discussion on Gender and Bias - 2 hours long while we were stuck in traffic coming home from a week away in the Okanagan) I took it upon myself to make five "Mix-Tapes" labelled: RockVan, AwesomeVan1, AwesomeVan2, PopVan, and The BEST Van. (Very creative titles, I know.) Music choices in the van have ranged from Arcade Fire, Alanis Morisette, Nazareth, CCR (a Van favourite!), Fleet Foxes, Janelle Monae, Broken Bells and Tom Waits to Beatles, Ben Folds, Dandy Warhols, Dr. Hook, and Mr. Big, to Headpins, John Cougar Mellencamp, Tom Petty, No Doubt, Michael Jackson, Spin Doctors, Guns N' Roses, and Meatloaf (I even managed to slip in a Liza song. NBD)! Just to be clear Nicole and Ella have both made One playlist each as well. One. Not five like me. ;) All the better for me: I get to drive them crazy with my amazing...ly bad, but still AWESOME TASTE. To be honest, I loved both Nicole and Ella's playlists. Lot's of music I had never heard before... which made it hard to sing along to, but.... oh.. I see... that was.... Ok. Fine. I'll just start singing MORE in the Van. If that's even possible!!!

Moving on..

On tour we are faced with a lot of things beyond our control: rain, traffic, illnesses, blinding sun, stairs (oh those stairs!), and many, many kilometers. My favourite thing that is beyond our control, however, has got to be the random places in which we've changed. Locker rooms, bathrooms, storage rooms, storage closets, behind curtains on stages, around corners, behind the "W" flat, and even sometimes in change rooms... real change rooms! We've changes amongst volleyball equipment, blackboards, basketballs, recycling bins, pop bottles, and even a broken ping pong table. Once, possibly twice.. on the island?...Ella ended up doing her final parts of her costume change (hair and finishing touches) in the Van - the washroom with the mirror was an age away.

Now onto the more serious parts!

One of the things I love about having done a show 56 times is how during the 56th show you say something a different way and suddenly think: "OHHHHH THAT'S WHAT PATRICK MEANT WHEN HE GAVE ME THAT NOTE!" It only took me 56 tries to finally get that! It's amazing how specific little moments can get. You set a challenge for yourself: this week I will make my transitions clearer, or this week I will hit my emotional beats harder, or this week I will find more truth in what I'm saying, or this week I will just listen. And at the end of the day you get the chance to reflect on whether or not you really did what you set out to do. It's really an amazing gift for a young actor to get the chance to do so many performances and really test one's self, push one's self and really grow.

Anyway, I suppose that's all for now. Perhaps you'll hear from me before Christmas! Maybe I'll do a wind-down blog post after this half of the tour is all said and done.

Oh, one last thing. Kamloops is pretty lovely. I really enjoyed my time there. Perhaps it was the cheap pie at our hotel, or maybe the hot tub, but what a quaint lovely little town.

- Kholby

Taking time to remember...

2010-11-11T11:17:00.000-08:00

We just attended the Memorial service here in Galveston Texas, honouring the Veterans of World War I, II and our current battle in Afghanistan. Although it was a small gathering I couldn’t believe the out pour of pride, love and sacrifice. I have attended many Remembrance Day ceremonies while at home, but this one felt different somehow. Perhaps because the community we are in is a lot smaller and the loss is felt harder here. All the same I am so glad we were able to honour all the men and women who have put their country above all else. After we watched the placing of the wreath, Joel had mention on our walk back to the van that since he has been on tour the last two years, he was able to be a part of the biggest Remembrance Day ceremony (in Nelson BC) and the smallest ( here in Galveston TX) that he has ever attending in his life. Today I choose to honour Chris McKenna, my cousin, who is currently flying helicopters in Afghanistan. Thank you for your courage. Thank you all for your sacrifice.

- Samantha

Today we remember...

2010-11-11T09:08:00.000-08:00

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

"WIRED" to the nines...

2010-11-10T12:13:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me knows that one of my favorite things to do on tour is check out new clothing stores, and

Rae & here many finds so far!

touring through the United States has not failed me yet. There are so many stores out here that are not available in Vancouver yet and I am becoming a big fan of them.

I have a couple of old favorites from past tours that I have to stop at, like Papaya (always good for a fun night out top, jacket or skirt at a really good price), and Target (great for all your day to day stuff). One of my new favorites is Anthropologie, this store has something for every woman I’ve ever met. From fancy high fashion to everyday casual, to quirky cool, and boho chic.

We were lucky to have 2 days in Vegas, and my wallet was lucky that it was only 2 days. The one problem with touring is that there is very little room in the tour van to bring my purchases home so I have to be very selective in my choices or look at the pricey option of shipping stuff back. I think I’ve made some very smart decisions so far but there is one pair of teal Jeffery Campbell Pacific Pumps that I’m regretting leave behind. But don’t be sad, there is still New York to come!

Getting into "SHAPE"...

2010-11-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

Off on a snowy adventure!

I’ve been stage managing Green Thumb’s productions for high school audiences since late 2008. As you get more familiar with the eccentricities of touring and begin returning to some of the same schools, the challenges you encounter start to feel ‘normal.’ Just last night I was having dinner with non-theatre friends and someone grinned and asked me, ‘So, what crazy things happened this week on the tour?’ It took me a while to come up with a story because what one would classify as ‘weird’ and ‘crazy’ are sort of routine on tour and tend to blend into the fabric of the day. Over the course of the evening, several moments from the week began to resurface. I was reminded of just how unique and ever-changing

our on-the-road experiences are.

Heels over head in Cathedral Grove

Georgina and I spent last week on Vancouver Island, playing at schools in Nanaimo, Courtenay, Comox, Sidney and Saanich. In a mere four and a half days we took two ferries, handed out candy to trick-or-treaters in Chemainus, performed six shows for approximately 1700 students, wandered along the river in Courtenay, watched seals playing in an estuary and an eagle roosting, hiked 9km through a foot of snow in Strathcona Provincial Park, stood in awe of Cathedral Grove’s ancient trees, sampled the famous cinnamon buns in Ladysmith and met Joan MacLeod, the playwright who wrote The Shape of a Girl. Somewhere in those four and a half days there was also some sleep and fantastic food. That’s a whole lot in a short time. Add to that some difficulties with Trevor, our trusty tour van, and it was quite a full week; but a good full.

This job is all about making the best of every situation and going with the flow of whatever is presented. Teamwork and a sense of adventure are paramount. Every day we are blessed with the opportunity to be challenged physically, mentally and emotionally by new audiences, new venues and the need to be flexible. Along the way we are privy to the opportunity to witness and interact with Canada’s stunning beauty, to be part of the lives of Canada’s young people, if only for an hour, and to start a conversation in classrooms, schools and communities. It’s a pretty outstanding gig if you ask me.

Sunrise in the mountains

Dinner with a friend...

2010-11-05T10:28:00.000-07:00

While Rachael and Georgina were on Vancouver Island performing "The Shape of a Girl" at various High Schools, they got the chance to have dinner with the playwright Joan MacLeod. The next day Joan attended the performance at Claremont Secondary School with her daughter and few of her daughter's friends.

Georgina & Joan MacLeod

It's a "WIRED" world...

2010-11-02T10:03:00.000-07:00

We’ve been in Salt Lake City already. We spent the night there and ate fondue on our way from Montana to Southern California. Now we’re heading back. We have no shows in Salt Lake but it’s one of the biggest cities between Bozeman and Costa Mesa; between Reno, Nevada and Avon, Colorado. We’re leaving the West Coast behind us for good on the tour and I think Salt Lake is as good a landmark as any.

In the last ten days we’ve done seven shows. This is about as concentrated as our shows get on this leg of the tour. It’s strange when you’re used to doing close to ten shows a week in TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences). We’re, perhaps, closer to the touring life of musicians than to the schedule of theatre actors. We’re playing in a travelling band.

Our shows have gone fantastically. In Costa Mesa, we were featured on the local ABC news for raising awareness about the plight of internet victims. Our crew and liasons at the theatre there were stand up individuals. In Modesto, my own personal audience record was trumped. We played to nearly 1200 in our morning show. The children there could’ve been seen by some as rowdy. They were active, they were listening, and they were alive. Any moment that wasn’t completely real for us as actors, they saw through. It’s audiences like this that hold you accountable and keep you on your toes; an incredibly important thing in the world of issue-based TYA.

In the time surrounding those seven shows, we’ve seen a good portion of what the Western US has to offer. We hit Las Vegas: filled ourselves in the Excalibur buffet, sat front row for Vegas the show. Sam saw David Copperfield, Rae saw Cirque du Soleil, and Joel and I attended Circus Circus’ huge haunted Fright Dome. I won 40 dollars on Roulette while the others watched on enviously.

We spent a full 8 am to 10 pm day in Disneyland; touched down on Splash Mountain, laughed on the Matterhorn, screamed on Space Mountain. Joel was most excited for Fantasmic, a show I knew nothing about. By the time we left, it became my highlight of the day as well.

The amiable crew in Costa Mesa got us tickets to see Peter Pan. It was playing in an outdoor tent. Performed in the round, it was the theatrical equivalent of Disneyland’s Soaring California. The actor’s hung in the air while the projected 360 degree screen moved them through London’s skyline.

We ate a great meal in Modesto at the Harvest Moon. It only occurs to me now that this is the restaurant that was recommended to us when we randomly met up with Jeff Deglow and Kyle Cameron, who has toured the US with Green Thumb before us, a part of the one-man show Cranked.

Reno is like Las Vegas but with more indoor smoking and sadder slot machine patrons. And condensed into a single casino. And with a better buffet. All you can eat King Crab and Prime Rib. We went to a Halloween dance at “The Edge,” a nightclub within the Peppermill Casino where we stayed. Joel bought his pirate costume with tickets he won at the arcade. Sam cleverly altered thanksgiving decorations into her version of Miss Fall. Rae and I had been carrying our costumes since Montana: a tiger and a cellphone. The forty that I won in Vegas quickly dropped to negative sixty as the others joined me at the roulette table. It took moments for the students to surpass the master.

We dipped our feet in the Pacific Ocean to prepare for posterity that will come when we wash our ankles in the Atlantic. We kissed California goodbye. We’re nearly no longer in Nevada. Utah lays yonder but won’t last long.

Colorado here we come.

Things are in fine "SHAPE"...

2010-11-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

The first week is now history on ‘The Shape of a Girl’ tour. Two weeks now of touring high schools around the lower mainland. Some of my memories/thoughts from the last week are:

1. Warming up in a football change room. A sign meant for the football players; ‘Courage is in action’ that equally applies to me. All of the padding for the players looks like 20 torsos hanging around the room. I haven’t spent much time in high schools since I was in school and going back I remember how actively I was trying to figure out social circles or how I would isolate myself to not deal with social situations that were too complex. ‘The Shape of a Girl’ makes me think a lot about how relationships work between friends, about how I often feel like a relationship with another person is something that happens to me, something that I watch, and I forget that it is an active choice to be in relationship with someone else and to forge and build a friendship in a certain way.

2. I’ve loved the talkbacks because it’s a chance for me to process the show with the other people who were present. In a solo show the audience is, in a way, the other actor, they are the only ones to absorb and think about what I’m saying. The talkbacks make me think about the show in a slightly new way based on what an audience observes or questions.

3. In most theatres, the audience that is there (aside from the poor saps who’ve been dragged along by a spouse) is, of course, people who want to see a play - in a school this isn’t necessarily so. There’s a special joy in performing for people who aren’t interested in seeing a play or perhaps haven’t been to much theatre before. The audience often has fresh eyes and really thinks about the play the whole way through, absorbing it the way we all absorb and remember new experiences. I’m inspired by students connecting the feeling they have during the play to their own lives.

I went to see a play last night and I reminded myself that the people on stage were in absurd costumes in an black room with some inanimate props but I couldn’t convince myself that this was so. I was completely engrossed in the world the company had created and my mind would not believe the reality of being in a theatre – it believed more in the story on stage than the ‘real’ reality. I hope that Braidie’s beach and world has the same effect on audiences.

Rachael & Georgina on the ferry headed to Vancouver Island

I’m looking forward to the island next week, the first week on the road!

"WIRED" in the news...

2010-10-26T23:01:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

"WIRED" was featured on the local news in Costa Mesa, CA today while they were performing at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Check out the link below to see the clip!

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/orange_county&id=7748108

A picture is worth "500 Words"...

2010-10-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s my turn to write the blog post for 500 Words, and have I ever been gearing up for it! I’ve never been quite so diligent with taking photos, or making mental notes of various happenings. (You’d think I’d have more photos… However, the Energizer bunny stopped thudding his drum a couple of times and the batteries I kept using in the camera kept dying. Now I have triple max-force batteries – whatever that means – so hopefully there will be plenty of photos in the weeks to come!)

We just came back from the island – a place that will forever feel like home for me. I spent seven years there, going to school and whatnot. (Neat tidbit: Kholby was my backstage crew for a show I stage managed in my third year at UVic. He worked a couple of lines that controlled water dripping on stage. He had about three cues throughout the show, so most of his time was spent reading Harry Potter. Funny how everything comes full circle, because Harry Potter is referenced in 500 Words.) It was fantastic to have a chance to visit places and friends on the island. We went to the Sooke Potholes, a corn maze, a haunted house, Coombs, Cathedral Grove, Chemainus Theatre… And the list goes on.

A few things I have discovered while being on tour:

Weekends are amazing! I can’t remember the last time I’ve had weekends off and the novelty isn’t about to wear off any time soon.
However great weekends are, it doesn’t make up for 5:30AM mornings. I have become a coffee addict. I even caved and drank motel coffee last week. It was…interesting. And was probably more jittery than I would care to admit during the first shows of the day. I probably drove Ella and Kholby crazy with my caffeinated speech at 7:30 in the morning, when they joined me in the van. However, that front of house speech I had to do at the top of the 9AM show? It has never been so energetic.
10:30AM is the new lunch hour.
Hostels are amazing places while on tour, mostly because you have a room to hang out in that ISN’T YOUR BEDROOM! Of course, we were spoilt at the Painted Turtle in Nanaimo. (If you ever find yourself headed to Nanaimo, stay there!)
Suddenly being by yourself, after being with someone at pretty much every moment of every day for the last two weeks, feels as though you’ve lost a leg, or an arm, or a chunk of hair that your mom had to cut out because you got a piece of Hubba Bubba stuck in it. Friends know something isn’t quite right – but can’t quite place it because you’ve tried a new hairstyle to try to cover the missing chunk. And then your roommate of less than a month figures it out, because you’re babbling on about nothing important, trying to fill the void of actor chatter or excursions to London Drugs to smell various brand names of body wash.

Well, I’m off to enjoy my evening! Until next time, Nicole.

All "WIRED" up and stuck in a van...

2010-10-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

My New Instant Family

So, as is the way with touring we spend a lot of time traveling and a lot of time traveling means a large amount of our time is spent in the tour van. It led me to think of our new and some-what instant family. Instant in that you usually don’t know anything about the people you are about to share your life on the road with, traveling into unknown cities and towns, loading and unloading the set and sharing the experience of the story that we have helped create and tell and retell on our travels.

In every family there are of course the parents, who almost always sit in the front seat. Raelynne is our ever attentive mother, the calm driver, always ready with the travel plans, and quick to spot a gas station for the ever occurring potty breaks. Joel, the tech savvy Dad, with a talent for finding the right music on the radio or IPod, sharing fun games on his IPad and making sure we never miss a meal. That leaves the kids, and Mack and I fill the bill quite well if I do say so myself. We seem to have knack for eating cookies without dropping a crumb, the same taste in funny movies to watch, and the ability to share the affectionately name Mr. Wilber Pillow who clever divides the bench seat we share into two equal parts. We haven’t needed to draw the imaginary line just yet. I like my new and instant family and am sure as we embark further a foot we will all shift in our roles . . . but hopefully I get a few more cookies before that happens.

-Samantha

In "500 Words" or less...

2010-10-17T23:09:00.000-07:00

Week 2. Our first sold out, 10 show week! And boy, oh boy are we tired. Looking back on this week so much has happened and we have more to look forward to next week, which is our first week away from home. Yikes! But I think that after making it through our first full week we are ready for it! If nothing else our muscles are getting stronger and the set is feeling a little bit lighter every day.

We started our week off with a party at the Green Thumb office. It was a party for all three of the Green Thumb shows rehearsing at the moment. Wired, The Shape of a Girl, and yours truly 500 Words. I'm so glad Green Thumb organized a party where all the different casts could come together. Don't get me wrong, I love our little cast but I'm already starting to feel like I know more than I need to.

I was thinking today about how funny things happen during the show, and afterwards I can't remember them but somehow they end up popping into memory at midnight when writing a blog post or trying to fall asleep. Today for instance, during the show after Kholby said his line: "What is this place?" the small voice of a child could be heard saying: "A gym?" Oh right.

I often forget that we are performing in gyms and you never can quite tell how loud you need to be until the first line comes out of your mouth. I can vocal warm up as much as I want to, but once the place is filled with kids you never can quite tell how they eat up the space. Sometimes it's a HUGE space but not a lot of kids, and sometimes I can't believe how many kids they can pack in! 518 was our largest audience! I'm pretty sure that's the largest audience I've ever played to.

Okay. Well on to Week 3. I am sure it will be much more exciting as we will be away from home and on our own!

-Ella

"WIRED" in...

2010-10-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

The drops pour down as we leave raincouver at 10:15 am Oct. 8^th. It's the last time we'll see the water blackened pavement of these Vancouver streets for 59 days. Radio Margaritaville is playing on the stereo. Jimmy Buffet's famous philosophy of Manana rings in our ears. The mood in the van is an expert mix: 1 part melancholy, 1 part excited anticipation, 3 parts idle chitchat. Joel is sipping a white hot chocolate. Rae is tending to the engine's coolant. Sam is brushing her hair. This will be our life for the next two months.

Our first destination is Revelstoke. A humble beginning to a vast quest. Revelstoke. Like Theseus about to open a letter from Minos. Like Jason's mandate from the king.

It was only a few days ago that we were performing our show for an audience of one in Carousel's studio. Despite the fact that our show is aimed at the 8 – 14 year old crowd, it was just a couple of days ago that we first met face to face with our target audience. We now stand before a 4 day hiatus until our next show. Revelstoke to Calgary to Saskatoon. Thanksgiving will come and go. The young people of Saskatchewan will trace pen around their hands on brown paper. Paste coloured feathers onto finger shaped turkey bodies. See relatives who pinch their cheeks and pour gravy onto their mashed potatoes. Eat too much cranberry sauce without remembering the importance of saving room for pumpkin pie. They might very well forget about the field trip they're heading towards on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday at the Broadway Theatre in in the placid flats of Saskatoon. But we won't. It's what we're on this long road for. To bring a story to these busy children.

Before we return we'll see the mesas of Montana, the bright lights of Las Vegas, the blue Pacific Ocean. We'll feel flecks of sand from Salt Lake, ponder a town named for an island in the middle of land locked Nebraska. The Texas sun will beat down on us. We'll taste the music in Tennessee. We'll think of the Wright Brothers flapping their arms in North Carolina. Ohio will be colder than we imagine. New York, New York. New York, New York! We'll breathe the rich aroma of Lobster Bisque in Maine. Education will permeate the streets just outside of Boston, Mass. We'll be brought finally to the Great Atlantic Ocean.

Theseus didn't know he'd become king. Neither did Jason realize he'd be heading home with a golden fleece. I imagine Theseus tying his sandals. Jason sewing a silk sail. The rain has stopped. We're on Hwy one. Neil Diamond is singing Song Sung Blue. Joel is talking about technology. Sam's applying eyeliner the colour of Neil's song. Rae's eyes are on the road.

The "SHAPE" of things...

2010-10-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Rachael and Georgina!

We’re 10 rehearsals in to this season’s production of The Shape of a Girl, and things are moving along quickly. We added sound this week and are attempting the first run through of the show today. It really is amazing how much theatre people can accomplish is a very short period of time. Yesterday we had a visitor in rehearsal.

Junior, Green Thumb’s honourary mascot, joined us and promptly decided to take centre stage to join Georgina for rehearsal. After being coaxed off the stage, he joined Rachael to oversee the rest of the proceedings from under the stage management table.

With our first show on October 18, we’ve got some rehearsal time left and look forward to all kinds of adventures and stories from the road. Stay tuned!

500 Words on the road...

2010-10-06T12:26:00.000-07:00

We have finished our rehearsals and our first week of the tour. We are about to embark on our second week. And we are excited! We've decided to try our hardest to share at least one blog post a week and rotate who writes the post. Many of the things we'll share are from discussions we've had in the car and things we all knew we wanted to include in our weekly post, such as the following paragraph, but also, we've decided to try and include some personal anecdotes and feelings regarding our experiences on this journey! So without further adieu, our first blog post! This one submitted by Kholby.

Some of our highlights of this week, our first week on the road, included some great questions from the kids and also some challenging ones. Perhaps the one that made us all laugh the most: Are you married? We talked about this one in the van on the way home that day and came to the conclusion: no, we're not married, but after a few months of early mornings and lots of close time together, it may just well feel that way and we're OK with that? Yeah, we're OK with that. We hope. We also came to the conclusion that as children we often thought that the people that came to our school's with Theatre troupes like Green Thumb were married too. So, while it was a surprising question at first, it was also very nostalgic.

My personal favourite question was from a grade fiver, who questioned the logic of our story. She wanted to know how it was possible that Mr K-night's suit had rusted out so quickly. Well, I came up with a very clever answer, if I don't say so myself: because the suit was invisible it had to be super super super thin and because it was so thin it was susceptible to rust, that was its weakness. Yeah!... .... ... and then I realized - after the fact - that the suit was inVINCible... not inVISible... ... She probably made fun of me later. That's OK. I made fun of myself too.

We also got asked how old we were at 50% of the schools. We're 25, 26 and 27, just so you know. So that put's us in grades 20, 21, and 22. ("Woah! They have that many grades?")

Back to the nostalgia: in the short amount of time that we've been out on the road we have already sort of been pulled back into elementary school. Remembered how great it was, how emotional it was, how exciting it was. And I think that's something we're all remembering with just a touch more wonder now. These kids that we perform to, on the whole, are so excited that we're there and that we're having fun. And there's something so wonderful about them seeing us before the show, a little nervous, a little awkward. I feel like that sort of says to them: it's OK to be nervous before something you want to do, it's OK to feel scared, it's normal, but you still have to get up and do it! Look! We're doing it and we're nervous! And in the end we're alive and well! I feel like that's one of those things that maybe the kids don't even necessarily pick up on, but then again, there's always that one in a crowd that comes up to you after and says: "I want to be an actor!" and you know that they were watching you before, during, and after with such attention and such excitement seeing that you too get a little scared and seeing that you pulled through it all! I remember being the kid in the audience and now I hopefully get to be that performer too! And, for me, that is more than enough reason to climb out of bed at 5:30 or 6 in the morning and truck out to the far reaches of the lower mainland.

Another reason is this: something that's been weighing very heavily on my mind lately; the many cases of bullying which have led to quite serious outcomes in the United States in the past few weeks. It has been really difficult hearing about all of these poor teenagers that are being bullied so far beyond what they can handle. I think it's had a bigger impact on me than it may have in the past because I'm out there in school's seeing so many children, some shy, some outgoing, some nervous, some excited, and there's just so much potential in each of them. Alex Currie, our Production Manager, during one of our earlier Q&A's shared with us the meaning behind the name Green Thumb. The idea is one that I have taken very much to heart; nurturing children to foster ideas and excitement and inspire questions all in the hopes of helping to create well rounded, thoughtful and inspired young people. Planting the ideas of tolerance, acceptance, kinship and bravery, courage, conviction and thoughtfulness. In a time like this, where there's so much bullying going on, I am so thankful to be a part of a show that is so much about the power of friendship. Yes, it is about the power of imagination and reading and the excitement of writing and creating, but more than anything I see our show as one that says: friendship comes from the unexpected and can sometimes be just what you need to help you through. I am so grateful to be a part of something that can make a difference in schools and get kids talking. While our show itself is not about bullying, there are many moments in the show that hint at and touch on it's effects. I really and truly believe that sometimes all it takes is a friend, a person to talk to, whether that's your grade three reading buddy, your grade six reading buddy, your principal, or any other adult you trust to make the difference and I really hope that our little show is helping, in some way, to get that message across.

I so look forward to going back to work, back into the schools and back out on the road with my friends. I so look forward to hopefully inspiring even three kids to pick up a book, write a short story and share it with a friend. To open up about what's bothering them, or even what's got them excited. And, hopefully, to go out and make a new friend, or a new kind of friend out of a friend they already have!

Kholby

Green Thumb Needs Your Help!

2010-09-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

While we give our 3 acting companies time to compile some great stories and photos from their respective tours, we thought we'd let you know what we're up to in the next coming weeks. The biggest thing besides opening 500 Words, WIRED, and The Shape of a Girl all in the next coming weeks, Green Thumb Theatre will be taking part in the AVIVA Community Fund Contest and we need your help!

Over the next few months we'll be competing with other groups and organizations across Canada for a share of the Grand Prize of $1,000,000. That's right folks, $1,000,000!!!!!

Click on the link above or this one: Green Thumb Schoolhouse Project: Aviva Idea#5418 to check out our idea, then on October 4th make sure you return to our idea page and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!!!! We need as many votes as we can get in order to move on to the next round, and then eventually into the finals. So grab your friends, your friend's friends, your families, and all of your family's friends to help support our idea as we try to save the oldest remaining schoolhouse in Vancouver, restore a historical building and create a positive artistic and cultural space in the community all at the same time!

We truly believe that in saving this heritage site we will have a lasting positive impact on the local community and, by continuing our work in arts and education, the wider world.

Help bring Green Thumb home!!!

It's been too long....

2010-07-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

It has been too long, that's for sure! Apologies to those of you that do follow this blog as we have not been very good at keeping it updated recently, and there have been many things to write about that's for sure! Where to start.... Well first thing first: We're MOVING!!! Yup that's right, Green Thumb is moving again! Effective August 1st our new home will be 210 - 49 Dunlevy Avenue, Vancouver B.C., V6A 3A3. Our phone numbers, e-mail and website are all they same!

Some of you may be wondering why we're moving, especially since we just move a little over 2 years ago. Well the answer is two fold really. For one, our current location is much more than we need and it is a little on the costly side (plus we're tired of freezing our butts off in the winter). The second reason is because we are currently in the process of trying to secure a long term solution to our lack of office/rehearsal space by trying to save one of the oldest schoolhouses remaining in Vancouver, Carleton Elementary!

For those of you who do not know the history of this building, here are some links to the history and the details:

1. http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=a1ccf0cf-16ed-4d6d-adb4-48bd6dce2f11&k=6218

2. http://www.heritagevancouver.org/topten/2010/topten2010_03.html

3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXJmmniflDY

The short version is that the schoolhouse has been sitting empty and under a tarp since the fire nearly 2 years ago. The school board isn't putting up any money towards restoring the building, only money for the demolition. There has been a committee made up of staff from the school as well as local community members trying to find a solution to save the school but to no luck. Green Thumb has approached the school and the board with the idea of Green Thumb raising the money needed to restore the historical building in exchange for allowing us to use it as office and rehearsal space for a nominal lease. With a few meetings, a few phone conversations and some early planning, so far the idea hasn't been turned down. Demolition of the building, which was supposed to happen at the end of June has been put on hold as the details are discussed and worked out. By any luck we will hopefully be starting a capital campaign to raise money for the restoration by the end of the summer, fingers crossed! We can't think of a better place to call home than a site that is connected to a school in a fantastic community, can you? We'll for sure keep you posted as more happens.

Some articles about our hopes and plans:

1. http://www.straight.com/article-326442/vancouver/green-thumb-theatre-tries-save-114yearold-carleton-hall

2. http://www.theprovince.com/news/Theatre+group+plans+curtain+call+Carleton+Hall/3172727/story.html

3. http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=389cffaa-0804-4a1c-9d85-371c80c239e5

What else has been going on, let's see.... Back in June we started casting for our upcoming 2010/2011 Season. We held 2 days of General Auditions where we saw roughly 75 - 90 new and upcoming and talented people. This year we have 4 shows heading out on the road, so it is going to be a busy season that's for sure. For more info on our 2010/2011 Season you can visit us at www.greenthumb.bc.ca!

We're excited to announce the new cast of WIRED by Betty Quan! This year WIRED will be heading out on a NATIONAL TOUR of Canada and the USA divided up into two 8 week tours. The cast of this year's production is: Samantha Currie, Joel Grinke, Mack Gordon and the show will be Stage Managed by Raelynne Gagnon!

Samantha, Joel and Rae have all worked for Green Thumb before on previous productions, but this will be Mack's first tour with us, welcome aboard Mack! The group begins rehearsals mid September and sets out on their adventure October 11! I'm sure we will get many great stories out of them while they travel all throughout the USA and Eastern Canada!

Joan MacLeod's THE SHAPE OF A GIRL will be going out on the road for a BC tour this season! Casting is under way and we are very close to making an announcement of who will be chosen for this fantastic 1 woman show!

Patrick is also in the middle of casting for our new show 500 WORDS by Jamie Norris. This production is a brand new show by the same writer of past Green Thumb shows SHOWDOWN, DERWENT IS DIFFERENT, and SPEED, set to tour Elementary Schools throughout BC and the lower mainland in the fall and spring.

On a sad note, we had to say goodbye to 2 members of the Green Thumb team. First we said goodbye to our fabulous Artistic Associate Courtenay Dobbie. Courtenay is moving on and will be the new Artistic Director of Caravan Farm Theatre starting in the fall! We wish her all the happiness and luck in her new adventures! We also had to say goodbye to our wonderful accountant Jessie Li. Jessie left Green Thumb in order to take a full time job closer to home so she could spend more time with her 2 fabulous children. She is missed but we know she is not gone completely as she still comes in on Saturdays to take care of things until we can find a replacement.

Courtenay Dobbie & Jessie Li

On a happy note Shawn Macdoanld will be joining Green Thumb in the fall as Courtenay's replacement and Green Thumb's new Artistic Associate! Shawn will be primarily heading The EDGE Project which will see 4 new schools from across the lower mainland come together to create a public performance unlike any other in Vancouver. Performed at the Roundhouse Community Centre, the show is created by high school students in class and extracurricular rehearsals from September through to the performance dates in December.

Other than that, we have just been plugging away at the day to day things that keeps Green Thumb going. Summer is a quiet time for us here at the office since schools are closed. We're slowly packing up the office getting ready for the big move day, July 28 & 29, and finding all sorts of things in the process. At least this time we are only dealing with 2 years of accumulation, last time we moved from the Green House on Venables and we were dealing with 30 years of accumulation!

Hopefully that catches you up enough to last until our next posting. We promise it will be sooner and more frequent as the summer passes and things start to happen around the office in preparation for the 2010/2011 Season!

Happy Summer!

2010-05-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE, GOING THREE TIMES, SOLD!!!!!

Green Thumb Theatre is having an on-line Auction!

Our auction is a fundraiser for our 2009/10 season and the final push to help us through an artistically magnificent but financially challenging season.

On this site you will find an eclectic mix of goods and services. You’ll also find new items added during the course of the auction. Make your bid by e-mail and we’ll let you know if someone is trying to outbid you.

Bid often and visit the site regularly. Have fun, and help us to continue producing new and exciting work for youth across Canada!

You can check out the auction by going to www.greenthumb.bc.ca and clicking on the auction image link!

GENERAL AUDITIONS for the 2010 - 2011 Season!!!

2010-05-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

Green Thumb Theatre & Axis Theatre Company are please to announce their 2010/2011 General Auditions will be held June 3rd & 4th, 2010.

For the audition please prepare one contemporary monologue no more then two (2) minutes in length. Please bear in mind that Axis does physical theatre so if you have skills that lend itself to this discipline please feel free to incorporate them or bring them to our attention at the audition.

Please forward 2 copies of your headshot and resume no later than Friday May 28, 2010 by 4pm to:

GENERAL AUDITIONS
c/o Green Thumb Theatre
320 - 309 W Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 1E5

* Important: Only those selected to audition will be contacted.
* No phone calls please.

To see more about each company:

www.greenthumb.bc.ca
www.axistheatre.com

And the award goes to...

2010-04-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

One of the students from the Green Thumb Theatre’s, The EDGE Project has been awarded the Darlene S. Howard Excellence in the Arts Award from the Vancouver Playhouse! The award honors two students, one for music and one for theatre for their Excellence in the Arts. This year’s music category winner was Dan Johnson from Tamanawis Secondary in Surrey. Tamanawis was one of the four schools involved in The EDGE Project, our secondary school performance extravaganza comprised of original written and performed material from over 100 teens from the lower mainland in partnership with the Roundhouse Community Centre. As well as acting in the show Dan composed and performed the finale song! Green Thumb would like to congratulate Dan and send him our best wishes for his artistic future! It was a pleasure working with him.

Below is the letter Dan wrote to the Selection Committee for the Darlene S. Howard Award.

"Destiny is a feeling you have that you know something about yourself nobody else does. The picture you have in your own mind of what you’re about will come true”

-Bob Dylan, 2004

"I grew up with the best friend I could have ever asked for. Myself. I lived in the middle of nowhere and I spent the hours through daydreaming. I feel that those days made me who I am today more so than anything else has. That basically sums up what I want to do in my future, “professional day-dreamer”, better know as playwright/ director. The people who inspired me are all “professional day-dreamers”, and I hope to join the club. If I can inspire one kid, the way that the people who inspired me did, I will have completed what I had set out to do…. Hopefully more than just one.

I have applied to and plan on attending Douglas College to study English and creative writing. I will then move on to the Langara University’s Writing for Film class. The intense course will help to craft me into a better writer and will challenge and stimulate my mind.

I am going to change the world. I know I will. Even though I don’t believe in God or divine paths, I still believe that everyone is born with something that they need to do with their life. I know this because I was born with electricity in the brain, same as everybody else. I know this because; I was born with certain chemical compounds and different neurons than everyone else. And these neurons release endorphins when I do something good. The release of neurons is not a conscious exercise, but something that happens when you do something you really love. Going further, I can say that these neurons release when I’m doing something I’m meant to do. So the moment my brain came to maturity, those neurons knew what I was meant to do, even before I did. They are the things that taught me that I don’t like math, or sitting behind a desk. They are also the things that released endorphins when I write and play music, make people laugh, and create. When I do these things, I know that is what I am meant to do with my life. And if I follow those releases of endorphins, continuing the path of what I feel is right, the world is going to be changed because of me.

Overall, I just want to day-dream for the rest of my life. And share those daydreams with everyone."

- Dan Johnson

Congrats Dan and best of luck in all your artistic endeavours!!!

Green Thumb Theatre is celebrating!!!!

2010-02-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

That's right we’re celebrating!

2010/11 is our 35th Season of producing and touring professional theatre for people of all ages. From our elementary school tours to our performances in New York and Sydney, Green Thumb continues to make theatre that is relevant, engaging and entertaining.

Here is a sneak peak at our upcoming season. Full listings will be on our website shortly.

500 Words by Jamie Norris
This brand new elementary school show by one of our favorite playwrights’ follows
two unlikely heroes who come together to create a magical story that neither could have imagined on their own. Full of knights-in-shining-armor and faraway places, 500 Words explores fundamental curriculum themes of literacy and cooperation. Suitable for grades 2 and up.

The Shape of a Girl by Joan MacLeod
Green Thumb Theatre is pleased to announce the return of our award winning and internationally acclaimed commission by Joan MacLeod. The Shape of a Girl is a dynamic one-woman show that looks at the realities of teenage relationships, aggression and codes of behaviour. Suitable for ages 13 to adult.

Drifting by Chris Gatchalian
A light and compassionate look at a serious subject, Drifting is the working title of a new play about mental illness and the impact it has on all of us. Suitable for grades 4 and up.

The Edge Project will return for its second year in 2010. A collective creation produced and mentored by Green Thumb Theatre, The Edge project brings together students from secondary schools across the lower mainland to create and perform a play about their lives.

Please check our website for updates, news and more!

The Edge - in the Theatre! 1st Day

2009-12-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

THE EDGE IS CLOSER!

2009-12-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

Dec 9 - 10 THE EDGE at the Roundhouse!

Blind Spot in Toronto

2009-11-17T21:38:00.001-08:00

The Blind Spot crew has taken Toronto by storm! We arrived in town this past weekend and have been exploring the wonders that Toronto has to offer.

So far, we’ve had some great food, caught up with friends in the city and seen performances of Jersey Boys and Beneath the Banyan Tree. But don’t worry – we’ve been keeping in touch the folks back at the office in Vancouver.
Why are we here? Blind Spot is getting its Ontario premiere here at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People! We set up the show and the technical elements on Monday before opening the show for Toronto audiences on Tuesday morning.

The staff here at LKTYP have been very helpful and are excited to have the show open their ’09-’10 theatre season. We have a fantastic opportunity to play in one space for two weeks and bring the message of Blind Spot to sold out houses every day. And we’re all pretty excited about not having to load the gear in and out of the van every day! Can you tell?

The Edge Project is coming

2009-11-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

Four Schools come together in one massive experiment in Collective Creation. Here's the first sample of some of the class work going on as we prepare to watch the exploration of 85 students from different areas of Metro Van. Watch the gang from Lord Byng and David Thompson here and check back for more!

A new partnership with Green Thumb, The Roundhouse Community Centre and Lord Byng, David Thompson, Tamanawis, and Burnett secondary schools and a special thanks to the Moberly Arts Centre

THE EDGE On Stage at the Roundhouse Dec. 09, 10, 2009

LORD BYNG

DAVID THOMPSON

Souvenirs

2009-11-17T09:16:00.001-08:00

“Just wanted to say that the play yesterday was EXCELLENT, and that the students got so much out of
it! … the discussions that have been generated out of our classrooms today about "Souvenirs" have
been incredible… You gave us a great afternoon yesterday but also a great day today as we
discussed everything from the characters and setting to why the play was called "Souvenirs." So many
ideas were discussed that our conversations about it will carry over to Monday's classes…Thank you!...”

Lindsay Coulter
Hugh John Macdonald School, Winnipeg

Souvenirs by Michele Riml is a co-production with the Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg. It opened in October with rave reviews:

"Top-notch...hits the right emotional notes in the right spots." CBC Winnipeg

"That production bubbled with hope, pain, and poignancy."
Kenton Smith, Uptown Magazine

Opening night (Friday the 13th!) at Presentation House Theatre in North Vancouver was a huge success, a full house and a standing ovation! It will be playing until November 29th, so don't miss it!

Blind Spot North

2009-11-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

Northern Adventures

We’re wrapping up our time on the road in Northern BC. What a week! After two days (almost 20 hours) of driving, we arrived in Kitimat and spent a couple of rainy days there. On the day off, Meghan and I braved the wet weather and explored the town.

Though wet, there was a lot of beauty to be seen.

After Kitimat, it was on to Terrace, also known as Hockeyville 2009! There was hockey-themed paraphernalia everywhere!

We got some free time to explore Terrace so I spent an afternoon hiking a couple of trails. The forests were beautiful. On Ferry Island, I discovered some of the 56 faces a local artist has carved into the trees!

We also made stops in Hazelton, Burns Lake and Prince George this week. It’s been a busy time, but a fabulous opportunity to experience the power of British Columbia’s natural beauty.

First Month on the Road with WIRED

2009-10-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

“It’s interesting how there were two bullies in the play. The one who is a bully to your face, and the bully who does it behind your back.” Gr 4 student, Queen Mary Elementary

What encouraging words to launch us on our four month tour of Wired. Oh British Columbia! You are our best friend from now on. Let’s make a deal. No snow storms please, and should our GPS TomTom lead us astray may your friendly inhabitants guide us to our next destination. From the Island to the Interior it seems the Wired team will be exploring all sides of this vast province.

So far our real road trips abroad have brought us to Kelowna, home of Ogopogo the lake-monster and Club Penguin one of our generous sponsors. Kelowna also houses a very delicious burger joint right on the lake called Gorgeous Georges, where we assume George himself served us a mean meat sandwich. We had a brief one show in Vernon. Now we find ourselves in Courtenay, or rather Qualicum beach where two very generous people (Cynthia and Larry) have welcomed us into their home without hesitation. Bringing theatre to smaller communities has a very special quality to it. Special for both us as performers and for the schools. One particular school in Courtenay called Huband Elementary appeared to have been built right in the middle of a forest. The Principal there asked all the students who had been in a play to stand up. To my amazement over half the student body jumped to their feet. Courtenay is a theatre town filled with young hopefuls and old patrons! Who knew?

“What is your favourite play?” “How long have you been performing?” “What is your favourite part of performing?” Questions such as these are not only fun to answer (and challenging), they assure me of a new generation of aspiring theatre people. And when the hush falls over the kids at the point when Julia (the actual cyber-bully) admits to her act of abuse towards Damian I am confident that our message is clear. Huband is only an example of the positive feedback we have been getting. The kids seem to have both an enthusiasm for live theatre and an understanding of the effects of cyber bullying.

I remember seeing plays at a very young age and absorbing more lessons from them than a full day of class. Not to take away from the hardworking teachers of our schools, but maybe it is like what Sir Winston Churchill said: “I’m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.” I feel confident that the tour of Wired is accomplishing just that. Teaching sans preaching.

Blind Spot on the Road

2009-10-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

We’ve been performing for a few weeks now, mostly in the Greater Vancouver Area, though there have been a few out of town adventures.
Two weeks ago we played a couple shows in Vernon at the Performing Arts Centre. We had a good time and were blessed with Erin, the fantastic house technician at the Centre.

I got a chance to explore Vernon in the afternoon and discovered some beautiful, and amusing, aspects of the town.

Next up was a day trip to Whistler. It was my first time visiting this well-known destination, so we had to take the mandatory ‘Look at me - I’m in Whistler!’ photo.

And now, we’re on Vancouver Island for a few days. Ashley was pretty excited about the ferry ride to Nanaimo. There’s nothing like a little ocean air to rejuvenate the soul.

Blind Spot’s Back!

2009-10-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

The Blind Spot company is back this season and now officially on the road again. We had two weeks of rehearsal to adapt to a new set and introduce Rachael, our new stage manager, to the show. This morning marked our opening performance at Rockridge Secondary, and as the photo below demonstrates, everyone was remarkably energetic very early in the morning. Note our newest fashion accessories: traffic safety vests and coordinating gloves – you won’t be able to miss us!

CRANKED in AUS

2009-08-17T15:20:00.001-07:00

Update from the Cranked crew

Since we last reported to the blog, we had a 7-week break (during which we attempted to re-integrate into ‘normal’, non-touring, society), then reunited in Vancouver for a few days of rehearsal and finally, endured a 23 hour travel day to get to . . . .wait for it . . .Melbourne, Australia!

That’s right, Cranked is taking Australia by storm. We’ve now been here for a week, performing at The Arts Centre in Melbourne. The audiences have been fantastic and the show has sparked some great conversations. Some of the students have come from as far as three hours away! The staff here at the Centre have been wonderful in helping us present the best show possible, as well as suggesting the must see/do elements of Melbourne.

Last weekend we took a day trip down the Great Ocean Road, dipping our toes in the ocean and experiencing the awe-inspiring power of nature. Many of the stops along the way left us silenced by the beauty we witnessed. The trip included koala and kangaroo spottings as well as a rainforest hike and the Twelve Apostles rock formations.

In the rest of our off-time, we’ve done many other things, including checking out the stunning aquatic life at the Aquarium, exploring Melbourne’s nightlife and great restaurants, as well as attending a Salvador Dali art exhibit and an Aussie Rules Football Game. As per the usual, Kyle and I have also seen another play while in town: a fantastic production of Knives in Hens at the Malthouse Theatre.
As we left Canada, there were some unknowns about what we might encounter in another country. Rest assured, other than a difference in the voltage of the power system here and some of the theatrical terms we use, a theatre is a theatre is a theatre and the Australian audiences love Cranked as much as everywhere else we’ve played.

Our adventures continue when we board another jet plane – destination: Sydney!

Courtenay on PACT

2009-06-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

From May 27th to June 1st 2009, I attended the PACT (Professional Association of Canadian Theatres) Conference in Montreal. It was an incredible weekend for me as I tried to soak up as much information and new faces as possible for this was my first conference. Almost every Artistic Director or General Manager in Canada was there as well as fellow Artistic Associates such as me! The first day started off with the Theatre for Young Audiences Caucus meeting. All PACT TYA companies gathered to show a video montage of what they had been up to in this past year as well as discussions around our artistic practices, importance, and the need for more national and international attention given to TYA work. The day was inspiring and invigorating. TYA companies across the country are continuing to push artistic envelopes with their innovative ideas and practices.

The next couple of days were mainly spent attending PACT’s Annual General Meeting. I was told by seasoned PACT Conference attendees that this year was a special year in that a new CTA (Canadian Theatre Agreement) between Canadian Actors Equity and PACT was on the table to be ratified. PACT’s negotiating team sat diligently for 3 days explaining to the Conference delegates what was brought to the table on behalf of both them and Equity. Discussions surrounding the ratification were informative and emotional; a real experience for me as a newcomer.

The morning of the last day of the Conference was spent in professional development workshops of which I was a part of “The Next G-G-G-Generation”. It was a discussion with panelists from The Tarragon Theatre, Prairie Theatre Exchange, and Thousand Islands Playhouse, on their successful outreach programs, and how to bring more of these type of programs into your theatre company. A lot of fun and a lot of ideas generated.

The 2009 PACT Conference ended with a celebration at The Segal Centre. Wonderful food, entertainment, colleagues, and friends brought my weekend in Montreal to a fantastic closing. Thank you Green Thumb for sending me to such a beautiful city, and for giving me a chance to spend some time expanding my knowledge on the Canadian theatre industry.

Almost Done

2009-06-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

Wow! We’ve arrived back in Vancouver. After 3 ½ months away, being back in city is going to take some adjustment. We will officially close the Cranked tour, and the Green Thumb season, on Friday June 5, with two shows at Vancouver Technical Secondary.In the meantime, a few highlights from the last week:

After Saskatchewan we headed west, and got to spend a weekend in Nelson, BC soaking up
the sun and enjoying the scenery, shops and people the town has to offer. On Saturday, Kyle and I hiked up a mountain to Pulpit Rock, which provided a breathtaking (albeit vertiginous) view of Nelson.

Saturday also allowed us the opportunity to see Sweatshop Union in concert again. Kyprios wasn’t with them this time, but Gemineye, who played with Kyprios at the Green Thumb gala in April, was opening for Sweatshop, so we had friends in town.

Sunday afternoon we took in some serious beach time up in Nakusp, once again, in awe of the scenery.

And in New Denver, we enjoyed an afternoon at our domed cottage, continuing the theme with more beach and nature time.

It may seem that it’s been all play and no work, but I promise, there have been shows!

Our time in the interior of BC was a welcome break from the speed of life on the highways of North America. We’ve returned to Vancouver refreshed, and with an increased appreciation for the beauty of this country and the province of BC.

Cranked Checking In

2009-05-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

Just over a week ago, we drove north for two and a half days, passing through California, Nevada, Idaho and Montana before crossing the border onto Canadian soil, where we swore you could smell the maple syrup in the air.

Last week we played 6 shows in 48 hours at the Calgary International Children’s Festival. Wow, it was exhausting, but the houses were packed and the audiences were great. We had a few free days in Calgary after that to catch the other shows in the Festival. There were companies from Quebec, Ontario, France, Italy Brazil and Denmark presenting dance and theatre pieces for all ages. It was a great opportunity to make some new friends and see what theatre for young people is like around the world.

And now we’re back in Saskatchewan for another four shows before starting the trek back across the country, destination: Vancouver. It’s hard to believe that the tour is coming to a close!

On the Road, US Style

2009-05-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

As promised, here’s a little tale of our adventures across the Midwest. This entry was started a while ago, but we’ve finally got to finishing it now.

Tonight we celebrated the completion of our first drive across America. In the last week we passed through, and stopped in, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and now California. This made for some very longs days in the van, but also a chance to experience some fantastic scenery. We often chose where to stop for the night based on the name of the town. Both Kalamazoo, Michigan and Ogallala, Nebraska won these contests.

Along the way, we discovered everything’s bigger in ‘Amurrca’.

For example:

The Big Boy restaurant in Imlay City, Michigan

The artwork in a Chicago park

I-80, the world’s largest truckstop (they even have a movie theatre and a dentist there!)

The geography in Utah

The long stretches of highway and the horizons that go on forever

Even the pillow apportioning in California is bigger! 10 pillows for one bed!

We discovered one place that went against the American grain and offered up these fantastic, perfectly-sized desserts. Yay for P.F. Chang’s in Salt Lake City, Utah!

In Modesto: Part One

2009-05-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

We’ve had a visitor! Ivan flew down to Modesto last night to join Kyle in speaking at a panel discussion about how the arts can be used as a tool in prevention strategies and how our work reaches students and benefits communities. Ivan and Kyle spoke to a banquet hall of healthcare and social services workers who were all highly impressed by Green Thumb’s mission. So much so that they’re all eager to get to our last few shows here!

Ivan is back to Vancouver now, but it was lovely to see another familiar face.

Breaks, Borders and Boats

2009-05-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

So, here I am in Kalamazoo, Michigan, finally finding the time to reflect on the latest leg of the Cranked tour. Our two weeks in Ontario went by very quickly in a rush of shows, 401/QEW driving, tourist destinations and visiting with friends and family across the province.

In Ontario, we very quickly learned that I (Rachael) have a peculiar Ontario disease. Every venue we played at, someone on the staff or crew recognized me and was certain we had met before. I can almost 100% guarantee that I had never seen them in my life! Perhaps I have an identical twin out in the touring world? Even Kyle’s grandfather was convinced we’d met before.

While in the Niagara Region, we toured the Shaw Festival and watched a matinee of Sunday in the Park with George. And what would a trip to the Region be without a visit to Niagara Falls? Not only did we see this watery wonder,

we also spent several hours entertaining ourselves at the Clifton Hill Arcade.

Another cool thing about this stop - we stayed in Thorold at the Inn at Lock 7 and from our balconies we could see the giant laker boats that transport grain and other goods ‘climbing a mountain’ as they proceeded through the Welland Canal system.

With a long weekend off in Ottawa, we took in much of the capital city’s ambience. The weather was gorgeous and allowed for much walking and exploring. BC Scene, an arts festival of British Columbia artists was on while we were there, so we saw shows by Theatre Replacement and Radix Theatre as well as concerts by Veda Hille, Penny Lang and Sweatshop Union. Kyprios even gave Kyle a shout out from the stage at the Sweatshop concert!

It was so good to connect with BC friends away from home.

The stay in Ottawa also gave us the opportunity to meet Kyle’s family and to visit the Emergency Room. Our ever-adventurous DJ, Jason, injured himself while longboarding on the weekend and is now scratching the show with a broken wrist!
Ah the adventures of the road.

Now we’ve crossed the border into ‘Amurrca’ (as Kyle likes to call it) and we’re heading to Urbana, IL for a couple of shows at the Performing Arts Centre there. Guaranteed there will be many more stories to follow about our drive across Midwest.

The Big Pictures

2009-05-01T15:26:00.001-07:00

Wow. Has it really been a week and a half since the event? The dust has settled, and we worked out that the night raised more than $10,000. Woohoo! Thanks to everyone who played a part, bought an auction item, a glass of wine, generously donated. You are all stars.

Time for a few pictures of the night.

Gabrielle Miller, Patrick and Fred Lee. Anyone who is anyone was there.

Good job, decorations committee.

Good job 50/50 draw guys! (PS - the youth board were all amazing)

Gabrielle, Jason and Dean Paul Gibson. What did I say - evverybody!!!!

Looking good Kyle Jespersen and Charlie Gallant.

Our lovely musicians.
The teacher and the pupil. Well, Stephen Heatley and our artistic associate Courtenay Dobbie - who definitely had not had too much to drink (the rosy cheeks are just excitement).

Aslam Husain, GT blogging star (and actor) surrounded by greatness. Just for you A.

Some rowdy types who showed up.

Sasa Brown and Tamara McCarthy - thanks for coming!

Paula Roseheart and Dave Malicki. Can I say glamorous?

Did I say good job decorations committee?

Nini Baird and Ivan. Nini brought us a cheque from Telus to support WIRED next season. Thanks Nini!
The man, the legend: Jerry Wasserman. A great MC and a wonderful man. Little known fact: he was in Airwolf. I am in awe.

Kyprios, proving that Patrick isn't THAT old.
John Mann gave a spellbinding performance.
Jerry captivated the crowds (and he was in MacGyver!)
Josh Drebit on the left is also an actor. An actor who can work a bar? Incredible! And Cary, a new friend of ours.
As I say, definitely not drunk at all.

A big thanks to Alex Wells and Marc Bencito for generously donating their time and taking some amazing photos. Thanks guys!

More from the CRANKETTES tomorrow. Promise.

Big Scene Wrapped

2009-04-24T00:17:00.000-07:00

Just got home from the event. Tired, happy, drinking wine. An AMAZING night. Great company, wonderful performances and awesome generosity from everyone. We raised money for a great cause and renewed some really important friendships. Thank you to everyone who came. We'll post pictures and more stories soon.

Time for bed.

Green Thumb's Big Week

2009-04-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

The excitement is building at the Green Thumb offices. Three days until GREEN THUMB'S BIG SCENE. It's our first major event for a while, and we really want it to be a good one. Plus, we can't disappoint The Old Fella, can we?
We still have a few tickets left, so if you want to join the Green team, John Mann, Gabrielle Miller and many of Vancouver's stage stars, give us a call at 604 254 4055. We're not selling tickets on the door, so book now to avoid the crushing blackness of knowing that you missed out on the biggest scene of 2009.

See you there!