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Serendipity

By Anita Kilgour | Published: December 20, 2011

So we had our first formal production meeting for Shadowlands last week.  It was interesting getting to sit back in the “pure producer” position and listen to the director & her technical crew discuss the issues & possible solutions & to hammer out details of the budget.

One of the things that came up in the discussion was that for the set, we were going to need a number of “old looking books” – they’ll be set dressing, which makes sense, since one of the sets is CS Lewis’ home.  I have a small number of appropriate books at home and there was general noise from various people about how they could contribute some.

Well, a day or so after that meeting, I get a lovely email from a fan of the company who asks me if we can use a big stack of old books – a friend is getting rid of them and wants them to have a good & useful home.

A quick “yes please!!” email later (cc’d to our props mistress) and later this week, I’ll take possession of the books.

It amazes me on a regular basis just how, sometimes, the universe gives you just what you need.

(BTW, universe?  I have a small list (or more specifically, I suspect the technical director does) that would be awesome to have taken care of – can’t hurt to ask, right?

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The dangers of thinking

By Anita Kilgour | Published: November 7, 2011

So I finished the directing workshop last week & I’ve been thinking ever since.

I really enjoyed doing the workshop & I’m excited about doing it again in the spring (if you have any preferences for dates, comment, please!)

Then I started talking to my husband who is involved with developing a workshop on stage management for KWLT.  We were talking about target audiences and what kind of exercises you’d want to see if you were going to a workshop for stage management and I started thinking.

I know – dangerous.

I liked working with the group we had for the director’s workshop.  I really enjoyed it when I started hearing some of the ideas they had for their shows, working with the group through some of the problem children issues and finding out lots of cool new ideas (and who has solutions to problems that I wasn’t even aware of! yay new skills to squirrel away).

As I said, I’m going to do the workshop again in the spring – just a matter of figuring out the dates right now.

What I’m toying with is looking at some of the other parts of the equation – I firmly believe that if there were more people in the local theatre community who were comfortable with the idea of stage management or production or technical direction, we wouldn’t be using the same folks over and over and burning them out.

What would you like to see?

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Quick post before I crash for the night

By Anita Kilgour | Published: August 22, 2011

I was talking to a friend tonight about theatre – specifically about the directing workshop that’s coming up in a month.

I was explaining the general format and that I would be showing the work the attendees would be doing using the next show I want to direct (Cyrano) as the example.

We were talking about the idea of figuring out what makes it your play and the concept of the elevator pitch, as well as how you bring those ideas out to give the overall flavour & theme.

Then I had one of the “bolt from the blue” moments that are what I love as a director.

“Love isn’t what it looks like,” I said to her, with this giant smile on my face.  “That’s what Cyrano is – it’s three people who all think they know what love will be and what it must be – and they aren’t quite what they’ve been portrayed as.”

Love isn’t what it looks like – that’s where this is going.

I suspect that this doesn’t make a lot of sense to anyone else yet, but I promise, it will.

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Acting workshop filling fast

By Anita Kilgour | Published: August 22, 2011

If you haven’t emailed Karen about a place in the acting workshop, you’ll want to do that ASAP.  As of her email this afternoon, there are less than a half-dozen spots left for the workshop.

 

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Shadowlands director Karen Grierson presents Bridges 1: Actors/Directors Skills Workshop

By Anita Kilgour | Published: August 19, 2011

KWLT‘s Karen Grierson and Obsidian Theatre‘s Philip Akin present,
Bridges 1: Actors/Directors Skills Workshop

Philip Akin, award-winning Artistic Director and General Manager of Toronto’s Obsidian Theatre, is leading this one-day workshop for amateur actors and directors. Having worked with KWLT’s Karen Grierson as a polisher for 2007′s “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead” and 2011′s “Frankenstein”, Philip recognized an opportunity to help amateur theatre raise its performance bar by sharing with us the same feedback, and developing some of the same skills, as he develops with professional actors and directors. His interest in building bridges between professional and amateur theatre comes at a time when cultural and financial support for big-ticket theatre is waning, but many people still seek live entertainment on smaller, local scales. KWLT and 10BT have an exclusive opportunity to learn from Philip’s considerable experience on stage and screen as both an actor and a director himself.

This workshop will focus on fundamentals of character development for actors and directors, using basics of breathwork, vocalization, and body movement to develop and manipulate character depth and themes. Attendees are advised to wear comfortable clothing and shoes, and if you have or can borrow a yoga mat, please bring that as well.

Attendance is limited to 25 people.
Registration closes Monday September 12.  Please email Karen at kb.grierson@gmail.com to register.

Workshop fee: $25/person (lunch is not being provided) [Shadowlands cast discount: $15]
Saturday September 17, 9:30am to 5:30pm
Location: UW Campus (exact location TBD)
There may be an informal dinner outing with Philip after the workshop for those who wish to join us.

Please join us for this rare opportunity to learn from a well-respected international acting professional, and help KWLT and TenBareToes raise the calibre of amateur theatre offerings in Waterloo Region.

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Directing workshop is full

By Anita Kilgour | Published: August 19, 2011

To my somewhat stunned amazement, the workshop is full. It’s been…2 days… since we announced it and there’s been wonderful response.  I’m really excited & looking forward to the workshop and working with the attendees on developing their ideas for their plays.

The folks at KWLT are happy as well and the Executive Producer and I have already started discussions about running round 2 of the directing workshop again in the spring.

Thank you to everyone for your interest in the workshop.  I’m just blown away.

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Announcing the directing workshop

By Anita Kilgour | Published: August 16, 2011

TenBareToes Entertainment and Kitchener Waterloo Little Theatre are proud to present a Directing workshop this fall. Focusing on preparing a production, the workshop will run six weeks. Led by Anita Kilgour, the founder of TenBareToes and a several times directing alumna of KWLT, participants will work through the pre-audition work of preparing a play of their choosing. Participants will finish the course with confidence in both their own vision and the feasibility of their planning.

Anita will lead participants through the process of developing both a vision for the play and character profiles, and working out plans for sets, costumes, props, and more. The workshop will be part lecture, part participation. The order of the workshops is:

  • Week One: Preparation
  • Week Two: Characters
  • Week Three: Set
  • Week Four: Props & Costumes
  • Week Five: Lights, Sound & Music
  • Week Six: Makeup & Hair

Participants should expect to:

  • Attend all six workshops
  • Choose a play they wish to work on before the first workshop
  • Do 1-2 hours of homework between each class and present the results of that work to the group.

The workshop dates are weekly on Tuesdays from September 27th to November 1st. All dates (September 27, October 4, 11, 18, 25, and November 1st) will take place at KWLT, 9 Princess St. East

The cost for the workshops is $30 per participant, payable on the first night. The course is limited to 12 participants. To reserve a spot, please sign up.

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Evidently, we’re getting known

By Anita Kilgour | Published: May 24, 2011

So I got an email today.  If nothing else, it’s a start to being more visible as a theatre company – I got asked to pass on to my actors a lead for a paying gig in town.  I’d love to take advantage of this myself, but the real world doesn’t permit me this time.

I don’t have a lot of details, so here we go.

Hello, we require several actors for a corporate team building event on June 2nd. The call is 8:00am, ending at noon, in downtown Waterloo, its a very easy gig as a character in a scavenger hunt. The pay $100. We generally bring actors form Toronto but I prefer to work with locals whenever possible.

Please pass this along to actor from your theatre, have them send me a headshot and CV and reference TenBareToes.

Thank you very much,
Randy Sabourin
416 560 2810
www.thegogame.ca
www.anderson-sabourin.com

I make the usual warnings – I haven’t worked with these people, so as they used to say on a tv show years ago, let’s be careful out there.  I’m presuming they are good people, but being sensible isn’t a bad idea either.

 

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Hopes & Plans

By Anita Kilgour | Published: May 1, 2011

Now that Odd Couple is done but for the bookkeeping, it’s on to the next couple shows…

As soon as I can confirm the rights & get the appropriate contracts signed, we’re aiming to do William Nicholson’s Shadowlands.  The story follows C.S. Lewis as he meets an American fan, Joy Gresham, whom he befriends and eventually marries. Shadowlands also is about his struggle with personal pain and grief – finding that the simple answers he had preached of acceptance of pain in life can’t apply for every situation.  Karen Grierson has pitched the show to TenBareToes and we’re really excited to bring her in for the production and as our first non-Nita show. The aim is to perform Shadowlands at the Kitchener-Waterloo Little Theatre (which hosted us for The Odd Couple) next May.

As for myself, I’ve started what will likely be a longer process.  I am planning on mounting Brian Hooker’s translation of Edmund Rostand’s classic, Cyrano de Bergerac.  The show will require a huge cast as well as a large stage, not taking into consideration for the moment of the time that we’ll have to invest in stage combat practice.  This will be a longer rehearsal process than normal due to the the stage combat and I’ll be looking for a larger theatre space to work in – I have to confirm, but there will be roughly 20 people with swords swinging at one point.  We’ll want to make sure there’s LOTS of space for that.  Dates for that will be likely later in 2012 – first I have to find that space…any leads people have are incredibly welcome.

So that’s the plan for now. First things first – waiting for confirmation of rights from the proper people for Shadowlands and to put ink to paper for the theatre rental.

Thank you to the audiences that came out to Odd Couple – your laughter made it incredibly rewarding for all of us.  Thank you to my cast & crew again for everything you did – you poured your hearts & souls into that show and I cannot explain exactly how much that means to me.  I am incredibly lucky to have such amazingly talented people to draw from.

Keep an eye out here for more workshops & notices of things happening in the area.  Good night for now.

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Fair warning

By Anita Kilgour | Published: April 10, 2011

There’s a splash zone for The Odd Couple.  Anyone near the front right hand side of the audience will be given fair warning for incoming snacks….

(and the stunt is awesome)

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