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October updates

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I can’t believe it’s already October! The leaves are all changed on the trees, the weather has cooled off and is beautiful, and we’re firmly in the season of pumpkin-flavoured-everything. The summer was nice, hot and fun but not too eventful for once. Here’s some updates about what has been going on over the past little while.

Photographer: Angela Clayfield

Theatre

The Horribly Horrifying Fun House of Death has closed, and it went super well! I was totally hands-off once the show opened, so I don’t know all the details, but everything I heard was that the show went awesome. It was so nice to be able to work on a show without basically giving up my whole life for 2 months, especially since I have a little dude and other obligations to take care of. I didn’t want to just stop doing theatre altogether, especially when it meant working with people who are super awesome.

And don’t they all look so nice in their costumes, and the set was awesome as well! Thanks to Ange for the lovely photo- I wanted to make sure I had a shot of everyone in costume. 🙂

Choir

I went to the Grand Philharmonic Choir’s Sing-in on September 29th, and it was pretty fun. They’re doing the Mozart Requiem this fall, which I haven’t done in quite a while, actually- so it was really fun to sing some bits from it again. It was fun to see all my GPC friends again as well! Their concert is October 20, and will no doubt be awesome.

Church choir has started up again, and that has been nice. We had our first Evensong service last week, and are already hurtling madly toward Advent.

Traveling

No, we’re not planning a big trip or anything, though we are going to the states in a couple weeks, because Wesley needs to have his NEXUS interview! Trevor and I both have NEXUS cards, because we cross the border enough that it was a good idea, but if we want to bring Wesley along, he needs to have one too. Next time we take a trip to or through the US (we often fly from there as it’s much cheaper), our border crossing will be faster!

So we’re planning to take him for his interview then, and do a little cross-border shopping as well (a good time to get Christmas shopping done!) I’m looking forward to it!

Running

I signed up for yet another 5k race- this one is called the Santa Pur-suit, and requires that runners wear SANTA SUITS. This is AWESOME, and I am totally excited about it. It’s December 1st, so a little while away yet, but I can hardly wait. The race is close to my neighborhood, and requires dorkiness, so it’s like it was created just for me. 😀

Tidbits

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Last weekend, Trevor’s parents came down and Trevor and I went out to see Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I wanted to see it mostly because of the actors who were in it- I often like spy movies, as well. Well, this one was a hard one to watch, for me. The story was good, and the acting and costuming quite good, but I had a hard time watching the more violent scenes. I don’t know if that’s the postpartum hormones talking, but it was rough. There’s a scene at the beginning of the movie (which is revisited several times) where a nursing mom basically gets caught in the crossfire, and her tiny baby survives. Talk about difficult. Oy.

Last night I went out to help with a stage management workshop that KWLT was putting on. It was good! Nice to get out for something other than choir, and nice to go to the theatre- I hadn’t been there in ages. The workshop itself went well, there were lots of questions, which was nice. I hope it sparks people’s interest and gets them learning more about stage managing.

In other news, it’s snowing today. It hasn’t really been properly snowy yet this winter, so it’s a bit weird to have it be actually snowy outside (though it looks like sleet at the moment). I’ve gotten used to it being unseasonably warm. And I guess I don’t have to abandon that feeling, because it looks like it’ll be 5 degrees on Monday. There we go then. It’s almost March, after all.

Updates on Life and other Happenings

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Updates

Last week and weekend was pretty awesome. I got to do a bunch of cool things.

Guster and Jukebox the Ghost

Last Thursday, I went to a Guster show in Toronto (Guster being my favourite band of all time). They played at the Phoenix Concert Theatre– they’ve played there before and I believe we’ve been there for other shows as well. It’s a nice venue, I appreciate the balcony, because I am often too short to see anything at club shows.

Anyway, the show was good! The opening band was seriously awesome. They’re Jukebox the Ghost, who I hadn’t heard of before, but I have quickly become a fan of their music and their little ghost logo. I like their songs, and appreciate the use of keyboards/synths and harmonies and yeah, they were a pleasure to watch.

This was the first show of the tour, apparently, and the first couple songs in Guster’s set had a bit of that first-show grit to them, but things cleaned up quickly and the show was awesome overall. We got an actual encore! I haven’t been to many shows that went beyond the clearly-orchestrated encores.

The club wasn’t as packed as the last time they played there, which I actually liked because it meant I got a spot on one of the couches instead of leaning awkwardly against the wall. Maybe that means I’m getting old. 🙂 Though I’m sure the bands would have appreciated more tickets sold. Anyway, it was a good show, and both bands are highly recommended.

Elmira Maple Syrup Festival

Photo of me and friends inside the world's biggest sap bucket
On Saturday, at stupid-o-clock in the morning (or whatever time it is that exists before 7am) I went with some friends of mine to the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival. It was only my second time going, I went for the first time last year. It seems that the key is to go really early (before 7) or really late (11) in order to avoid a ridiculous line for pancakes.

We got there just after 7 and there was a line, but it wasn’t bad. It was really fun! We got pancakes, and I bought some summer sausage from Kitchen Kuttings (my favourite summer sausage in the world, seriously) and we I got some syrup and red pepper jelly, and got dumped into the world’s largest sap bucket for a photo, which was pretty great. I had a lot of fun! The weather was really good, which helped a lot.

KWLT’s Frankenstein

I finally went to see KWLT‘s production of Frankenstein, and had a great time. I was there as an usher, which got me a free seat, and I definitely enjoyed the show. I particularly thought the Creature was really well-portrayed- I was scared and found his plight really compelling at the same time. I was there closing night, so I got the benefit of crashing the strike party after as well, which was a great way to end the day.

Coming up

This weekend, I’m bottling two batches of wine- one is a particularly awesome Gewurztraminer-Reisling, and the other a blend that I don’t remember, but I heard good things about. So I’m looking forward to that! I’m also going to a outreach event for choir, essentially an open rehearsal where people come and sing with us on some repertoire we’re working on (currently the St. John Passion). Plus, the weather is supposed to be warm, so I’m excited!

The Penelopiad

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I’ve been working on an amazing show over the past few weeks: The Penelopiad, by Margaret Atwood.  I’m assistant stage manager for the production.  It’s a very powerful play, though maybe not the most uplifting piece.  Our production with KWLT is the Canadian amateur premiere, which is exciting.

The cast is 13 women, which creates a really interesting dynamic.  Rehearsals so far have been fun, despite the sometimes draining subject matter. The actresses working on the show are amazing.

I’m looking forward to the coming weeks as things start to really gel.  The production goes up in September.  Keep an eye out for ticket information as it becomes available!