Gruppo Rubato

John Huston is Everywhere

// July 20th, 2007 // No Comments » // Blog, Kris's Soapbox

(reprinted from the CBC Performer Blog entry):

Patrick (my Churchill Protocol colleague) and I thought we had arrived in Winnipeg early. We had 24 hours to get from the end of our run at the Toronto Fringe to our media call and tech for our run at the Winnipeg Fringe, so we had to take a plane. Most of the bohemian touring crowd will drive between the two cities; these artists are easy to spot because they’re the ones with the dark circles under their eyes, a pent-up sense of rage over 16-hour stretches of driving, and a debilitating fear of moose.

We met our amazing billets (whom we are going to adopt as our own parents, with sincere apologies to our real ones) and headed right into the core of the city, where we discovered that we were not early at all. The MTC building was already plastered with posters, dollar stores all over the exchange district were bereft of packing tape and masking tape, and the advance tickets for TJ Dawe’s first show were already sold out.

The day before the festival began, then, ended up being a busy one. We slammed a quick breakfast as we mused on how even letters to the editor in the Free Press relate to the Fringe Festival. Then we high-tailed it to the print shop at 9 AM to pick up our posters, and eagerly began making Winnipeg unsightly. We ran into John Huston (he’s doing “Underneath The Lintel” this year) in the MTC lobby, and he welcomed us to town. We hung up some posters, running into Cara Yeates (“Bye Bye Bombay”) and Gemma Wilcox (“The Honeymoon Period Is Officially Over”) as we go. On Main Street, we bumped into John Huston again; he was busy welcoming other people to town and talking about the best paces to grab lunch. We grabbed lunch. We went to our media call at noon, where the Jenny Revue, CBC, and the Free Press all asked us repeatedly to “make that funny face again” so they could get a picture of it. Then we ran into the scout-like John Huston on Albert Street, kindly helping the frail and infirm across the road.

Shortly before our technical rehearsal, Patrick and I got lost in the underground. We needed more tape, you see, and we were sure there was an office supply store down there three years ago. We made our way above ground (without tape, natch) with just enough time to catch the erudite John Huston give a brief speech on particle physics to a hot dog vendor, and then ran off to our theatre.

We have always been blessed with fantastic theatre technicians, and our techs here in Winnipeg have raised the bar for techs everywhere. These men and women are an efficient army — many have been personally trained by John Huston — who have to manage as many as ten different plays in a single theatre space. They do it with a smile on their faces, even though some theatre companies arrive with technical requirements that would make Andrew Lloyd Weber blush. We managed to get through our three-hour technical rehearsal in about two hours, and so we already owe our techs a beverage.

Patrick and I finished the evening on the patio of the local pub, dodging insects, meeting up with other touring artists, and basking in the glow of watching John Huston put out a small housefire singlehandedly while saving the lives of six people, two cats, and a raccoon that happened to be in the back yard putting up posters for Jem Rolls.

The Fringe starts in earnest today — perhaps we’ll see you at the Free For All this afternoon! We’re looking forward to another amazing festival, and while we know there are some heavy hitters you’ve heard buzz about, we hope you’ll check out some of the touring shows that you may not have heard about yet but that we have seen in other cities and really liked: Die Roten Punkte (at Venue 18), The Fugue Code (Venue 4), Jesus in Montana (Venue 3), Bye Bye Bombay and Dickens of the Mounted

(Venue 8), Teaching As You Like It (Venue 11), The Honeymon Period is Officially Over and Deep Fried Curried Perogies (Venue 2), Giant Invisible Robot (Venue 5), Kafka And Son (Venue 6)… and Underneath The Lintel (Venue 21), which stars the indefatigable real-life Spirit of the Fringe, John Huston.

Danke Toronto!

// July 15th, 2007 // No Comments » // Blog, Kris's Soapbox

Patrick and I are spending the evening at his parents’ place in Guelph before heading off to the Winnipeg Fringe tomorrow.  We have very little time to get there, so we decided to fly; as a result, much time has been spent this afternoon trying to figure out how to get our set through airport security without getting any of it seized.  We are carrying one stuffed goat, one stuffed goat head, an array of metal shelving that may or may not look like a pipe bomb due to the way it is collapsed and taped together, and a collapsed crate wrapped in cardboard, wrapped in duct tape, labeled with “I heart getting to Winnipeg at the same time as my Westjet Owner!” and “For a good time — especially if you’re hot and female — call Patrick Gauthier because he will really need a woman to look after him once he gets arrested for trying to board a plane with a stuffed goat and what looks like the makings of a pipe bomb.”

We had a very good time at the Toronto Fringe this year, even though the late start with our show meant that nobody was really buzzing about it (and people were, believe me) until the day before we left.  We will always remember the eerily friendly squirrels in High Park, and the excellent shawarma sandwiches at Ghazale.  I sincerely hope that those two items are not related.

The 24 Hour Play, (or, Why I am Jack Bauer)

// July 10th, 2007 // No Comments » // Blog, Patrick's Soapbox

I didn’t stay up for the whole time, but it was close.

For some reason (lack of anything to do for the first few days of the festival since we didn’t open until Saturday night; desire for an excuse to take recreational drugs; maybe it’ll help me meet girls), I entered the 24 Hour Playwriting Contest at this year’s Toronto Fringe.

The premise was simple: at 7:00 pm on July 4th, 60 playwrights were given four “objects” (the term being used loosely, as the objects could be people, places, things – any nouns, really – or bits of dialogue, maybe a metaphysical riddle) that must be incorporated into a script. Twenty-four hours later (7:00 pm on July 5), a hard copy of a play no longer than 45 minutes long must be delivered to the Fringe.

The winner gets $500, plus a staged reading of their play on the closing night of the festival. Second place is $300, and third place – besides having a hairy chest – gets $150.

What I didn’t take into account was that I wouldn’t be able to start until about 10:00 pm (since we had flyering to do for our show, plus dinner to eat, and subways to ride back here). Also, I had completely forgotten that our tech rehearsal was from 2:30-5:30 on the Juky 5, cutting out three more hours from my time. So really it was going to be more like the 18 Hour Playwriting contest. Unless, of course, I decided to take a nap.

So I thought blogging about my progress would be a good way to procrastinate (as well as stay awake). That way, any one that was bored at 3:00 am could see how poorly my play was coming along.

The following takes place between 7:00 pm on July 4, and 7:00 pm on July 5, 2007:

7:01 pm
Just got the 4 items: the discovery of a long-lost relative; Route 66; a reflection (physical or metaphorical); and, “ambitious to the point of delusion.”

9:40 pm
I just got home from flyering, etc., and am about to begin. I doubt I’ll be up all night (we have to tech tomorrow at 2:30. This, I forgot about when I signed up), but likely until 6 or 7 in the morning I’d say. And in order to procrastinate, I will likely be posting updates throughout the night….

10:53 pm
Finished my first page! Granted, it’s mostly scene setting and stage directions, but a page is a page. It’s a psychological hurdle, I guess.

FATHER
It sticks.

MOTHER
What?

FATHER
The front door key. It sticks. The front door key sticks. I have to change the lock.

MOTHER
Right now?

FATHER
Of course.

MOTHER
Right now. You have to change the lock right now. You have to change the lock
right now?

FATHER
If I leave it, it’s only going to get worse. You don’t want someone breaking in here tonight, do you?

This probably means nothing without a) the stage directions; and b) the 4 objects. But, I have to save something for 4:00 am, don’t I?

12:38 am
Just back from a short break which included Kraft Dinner and a trip to the washroom. I have just begun work on page 4.

2:01 am
I just smoked my first joint of the night. Held out pretty long, I think.

2:07 am
I am way too high to be writing right now. Fuck.

4:08 am
I am so tired.

7:41 am
Just woke up from my two-and-a-half-hour “nap.” I want to go back to bed.

On to page 8.

9:24 am
Two scenes done. Three-quarters of the way down page 11. Nine and a half hours to go.

Time for breakfast.

10:54 am
I want to go back to bed.

12:06 pm
Just finished the third of what is looking like a four-scene play. About 1/3 of the way down page 18, which, at this point, likely put the play in the 30 minute range. I’m hoping to hit 25-30 pages, but we’ll see.

If I could, I’d like to get the final scene written before 1:00, so I have time to shower and maybe eat a bit of lunch before our tech (which is at 2:30). Since I lose 3 hours for the rehearsal, plus the transit time, the 24 Hour Playwriting Contest is more like the 19 Hour Playwriting Contest. We’ll be done our rehearsal at 5:30 (it’s not likely we’ll finish any earlier), which gives me just enough time afterwards to make some quick edits and get the thing printed.

12:26 pm
I need a title.

1:22 pm
Just out of the shower. Not quite finished the final scene, but I’m at the bottom of the 22nd page.

A taxi is on its way to bring us and our inordinately heavy set to Tarragon for our 2:30 tech (Kris likes to be there 45 minutes early). Hopefully, I can find a power outlet somewhere in the neighbourhood and finish up before then (my laptop has the World’s Worst Battery).

It’s going to be a race to finish by 7:00…

2:09 pm
I am stealing internet (and writing the play) in front of Tarragon theatre (thank you, Richard Rose, for not encrypting your wireless connection!).

Hopefully my battery lasts long enough to get some work done.

5:39 pm
Just got back to the Tranzac Club from tech. Got through everything (set-up, levels, and a run) in 2.5 hours exactly.

Now, I have an hour and twenty minutes to finish the play, proof read it, print it, and hand it in at the Advance Box Office.

Why the fuck am I blogging?

6:55 pm
Done.

Written, proof-read, printed (although that was more difficult than expected), and submitted. With 5 minutes to spare, even.

Now, since I haven’t eaten since somewhere in the neighbourhood of 9:30 this morning, it is time for dinner. And a beer.

The worst thing about Toronto…

// July 10th, 2007 // No Comments » // Blog, Kris's Soapbox

…is nothing that is the city’s fault.  Ottawa could take a few STRONG hints from the fact that the streets here are lined with bike racks, and that there are recycling bins on almost every corner.  Just yesterday I was walking down the street with a bottle of water and an empty coke bottle — looking for the nearest recycle bin — when a guy on the sidewalk (I assume he was on a break) said “hey, buddy… you want me to recycle that for you?”

It’s getting harder to hate this place.

HOWEVER, I must say that I am supremely annoyed with the Dancap Productions people.  This is the new company in town that is bring a slew of Broadway shows to Toronto next year.  I’m a big fan of this idea and I love the shows they’re bringing in, but the brass at the company have decided to promote the return of The Drowsy Chaperone at the Toronto Fringe Festival.  I can see how this makes sense, since the show was born at the Fringe… but they’ve got street teams running all over the place and these people are exuberantly obnoxious and annoying.  They run up and down lines, handing out flyers and CD samplers for a show that doesn’t open until September, annoying people in lines AND other Fringe artists who are handing out flyers for their own shows.

The streets are public, and they can do whatever they want, but I think this is a bit rude.  The most offensive thing is that the Fringe put up a big wall of “pockets” outside the Fringe Club so that performing companies could leave flyers for potential audience members, and these Dancap bastards have come along and stuffed Drowsy Chaperone flyers in almost all of the pockets.  The one in use for our show was so stuffed with them that you couldn’t even see our flyers any more.

I can tell you right now that since these dicks have so little respect for the shows at the festival, I have no respect for the show they’re opening this fall.  I am actively trashing all the Drowsy Chaperone flyers I see in places where they get in the way of Fringe flyers which are intended for Fringe patrons at this, our Fringe Festival.  I have a big stack, in fact, that I would like to ceremonially burn in front of the next street team I see… but I don’t want to get arrested before our next show.

The best thing about Toronto…

// July 8th, 2007 // No Comments » // Blog, Kris's Soapbox

I’m not afraid to say that I’m a Toronto Hater.  I take solace in the fact that everyone who lives outside of this city hates this city.  I have been pressed by many of the locals to think of reasons why I don’t like this town, and I could list several… but that’s not why I’m writing!  I just wanted to take a second to point out that I think the BEST thing about Toronto is the Fringe audience.

Audience members here are seasoned, educated Fringe folk who have a good handle on how Fringe festivals work.  The people here are very willing to take risks on shows without waiting until all the reviews are in.  They line up diligently while they wait to get into a theatre — even in the middle of a thunderstorm –  and they are eager to have conversations with artists about almost anything.  They ASK for flyers, and when they don’t WANT flyers, they are exceedingly polite about not taking them.

My favorite part of doing a Fringe tour is the chatting!  I’m not a fan of “drive-by” flyering, and neither is Patrick.  I get a huge kick out of meeting people and hearing about what they’ve seen and what they recommend, even if they turn out to be from Missouri, or a Sharon Osbourne look-alike.

Last night I met a woman outside the theatre for Moat & Castle, and talked to her about The Churchill Protocol.  SHe took a flyer and said that the play seemed intersting to her, so I said that it was our opening night and could give her a free ticket.  “I don’t know,” she said.  “You’re not on until 11:30 tonight, and I’m getting over a back problem so I really think I should go home and rest.”  I thanked her and moved down the line… and a few minutes later she piped up again: “I’m sorry — it’s your opening night and I know you’ll need a house because it’s late.  I’d love to come.”  Sure enough, she was there for our opening last night, and she sat right up front.

If I meet a few more like her this week, I may be forced to re-evaluate my conclusion on my taste for Hogtown!

What is up with all the people from Missouri?

// July 6th, 2007 // 1 Comment » // Blog, Kris's Soapbox

For two days in a row, I have had my Fringe flyer mojo slightly quashed (or earnestly misdirected) by people who say they don’t want to take a flyer because they’re leaving town.  For the second day in a row, the people who are leaving town are from Missouri.

What is WRONG with Missouri?  Is there something in the air down there that makes them wake up one morning in late June and think “Hey — Independence Day is coming up next week!  Let’s go to Canada and see a Fringe play in Toronto!”  How do tourists from the States who know nothing about Fringe end up sitting in a seat waiting to see a show they’ve never heard of before?  Americans are cool.  Like Ryan Pentecostal Wisconsin Paulson.  He’s cool, even though he walks around with cheese on his head.

I met a few other interesting people while flyering lines last night.  My favorite, by far, was a woman who I jokingly referred to as Sharon Osbourne because she looked rather like the infamous Brit rocker’s wife.  Little did I know that I had been successfully baited.   She was dressing in the hopes of being mistaken for Sharon Osbourne so she could find a way to talk about her experience as a look-alike, her new one-woman show about being a look-alike (called — wait for it — “Look-Alike”) , or her desire to come and join the cast of The Churchill Protocol as Sharon Osbourne, so she could spice up our military conspiracy play by introducing a monologue about the benefits of bikini waxing at about th half-way point.  Just to help bring in the crowds.  I gave her a flyer and moved on.

We finished our tech rehearsal in about two and a half hours yesterday, which is record time.  We owe a huge amount to our Ottawa director and stage manager (the very pregnant Natalie Joy Quesnel), who gave us a prompt book that should be a case study for how to build a stage manager’s prompt book for touring shows.  She forgot nothing, and thought of things that we didn’t even think we needed until 30 minutes into setting cues, when all of a sudden a list of “lighting cues by state” was immensely helpful.  Bless her lil’ pregnant heart.  The techs at Tarragon Extra were singing her praises, and they haven’t even MET her.  To thank her, I think we should bring her on down to help us out with the show… perhaps we could give her a new monologue about the benefits of bikini waxing (while pregnant, of course).

I forgot how exhausting this is

// July 5th, 2007 // No Comments » // Blog, Kris's Soapbox

We took a small stack of flyers out on the road yesterday to hand out while we did our postering for The Churchill Protocol.  I think we eventually chewed through about 150 of them, hitting up lines for shows that are already selling very well on their first night — Lord of the Rings: The Musical: The Musical! being one of them (and NO, I don’t care to see it but that’s a crusty post about Fringe-worthy musical theatre that I will save for sometime when nobody can get mad at me).  We met a million other performers (mostly other touring companies) and chatted to people in line-ups.  I met a couple from Missouri who decided to spend Independence Day seeing Fringe shows in Toronto, and a lovely lady who recommended a vegetarian restaurant on Bloor that has wicked takeout: she proudly displayed her $6.25 feast and even offered to let me try it.

Patrick is currently in the shower, taking a VERY brief break from his work on the 24 hour playwriting competition.  He has to finish the play in the next twenty minutes, because we have to do tech for our show.  Poor bastard.  The play doesn’t even have a title yet.

More flyering tonight.  W came to town with about 800 flyers to give away — and we may have to order more…

First day in Toronto

// July 4th, 2007 // No Comments » // Blog, Kris's Soapbox

It was a bit precarious, but we made it.  I got a lift to The Big Smoke with Dave Dawson and the crew from Blacksheep Theatre (they’re doing Tangelico and Trashcan Duet) and got into town sometime after 1 AM.  I imagine we would have been here earlier, but we had a lot of stuff to pack into Dave’s van (a seat, a goat, a pot, a very nice sweater, and a ton of clothes) and we had to attach Cara Yeates’ bike to the roof.  Cara Bye Bye Bombay Yeates bought a bike for the Ottawa run of her show and asked Dave to bring it to Toronto for her.  He said yes, because he’s a sweet guy, but he wasn’t thinking about how he was going to attach the bike to the van.  Being theatre people and having no bungee cords, we resorted to duct taping the bike to the top of the vehicle.  There were momentary fears of having to give Cara only one wheel when we got here, or having to pull over to pull a helpless woman out of a burning car that was suddenly stuck by a flying mountain bike on the highway… but it all worked out.

Today we hang up posters and give flyers to anyone who will take them.  Tomorrow, we tech.  I hope I remember my lines.

Ottawa Fringe recap

// June 25th, 2007 // No Comments » // Blog, Kris's Soapbox

The 11th Ottawa Fringe Festival drew to a close last night under a veil of light rain. For some folks it’s the end of a journey; for the bohemians like us it is just the beginning. Overall, this was one of the most incredible Ottawa Fringes the city has had — everything from the organization to the volunteers and especially the performances was top-notch!

We picked up a Best In Venue award as a jewel for the crown of our three sold-out performances; the award gave us an extra show last night (in addition to some bragging rights that will be handy for the show poster and publicity). I had to go from a 6:30 PM performance, to a friend’s gorgeous wedding, and then back to a 9:30 PM performance. I was tired after the 6:30 show but the wedding perked me up immensely for the second round. Both of last night’s shows sold well and I think we made enough money in Ottawa that we’re a little bit ahead in terms of paying off the up-front expenses for the production (which we were initially spreading out over our six festivals).

We have a week off, now, before heading out to Toronto for their Fringe. I got home from the closing night celebrations desperate to try out some script changes, and made a round of revisions before I went to bed at an insanely late hour. The time off is a gift because it is a chance to breathe before the whirlwind that will be Toronto and Winnipeg, but it also gives us a chance to reflect on the week’s performances and tweak the script. The show will be more tight in the new city — see you there when we open LATE on July 7!

Our first sellout!

// June 20th, 2007 // No Comments » // Blog, Kris's Soapbox

The gods of small venues and good buzz have smiled on us: we sold out last night’s performance!

The enthusiasm of the audience and the general reaction to show is a bit of bird-flip to the Ottawa Sun reviewer, who compared us to Dr. Strangelove, complimented the performance, and then gave us one star, saying that we made the audience work too hard.  I don’t fault him; I suspect that following a plot can be difficult for someone who confuses goats with sheep.

We’ve had fantastic feedback on the show, and some excellent constructive criticism as well.  We’re already making some minor changes to the script, and will likely do a bit of precision editing before we open in Toronto on July 7.

There are three more opportunities to see the show in Ottawa, so do check us out if you can!