My first encounter with a previously unknown blog reader.

Thursday night was…funny. It’s a good thing I can laugh at myself, otherwise this whole “being an actor” thing would probably make me cry. Frequently. How very Strasberg that would be…(and I can say that, I bawled my eyes out studied there for long enough…)

I went to my 10:30 PM audition and I really think that the best thing you can possibly do at 10:30 PM in front of people who have been watching countless auditions all day is be fun (well, and good, obviously). It’s called “play,” after all. And fun I am. And fun they were. But my favourite moment was our discussion of my resume (and seeing all my Shakespeare credits highlighted, methinks I probably need to start branching out…) and my latest production, the Twelfth Night…

One of my Twelfth Night castmates had auditioned earlier in the day and told the panel all about the production: the who, what, when, where, and how…but apparently one of them hadn’t been present for this. So Lovely Lady 1 told me to tell Lovely Lady 2 about the show…

Simple enough. I start giving my version of the who, what, when, where, and how, and all of a sudden Lovely Lady 2 gets this look of recognition on her face and blurts out, “OH, YOU’RE A BLOGGER!”

My reaction to this was half laugh, half cringe, a big  wow-someone-is-actually-reading-this (other than Sterling, HI STERLING!) and, “Yes, yes I am…”

So Lovely Lady 1 asks 2 how she knew that. Obviously, because I blogged about playing Maria in Twelfth Night. Which of course made me think about some of the things I blogged about Twelfth Night. And whether or not I should have blogged them…Fortunately, both Lovely Ladies were quite wonderful and fun and therefore this did not become the big awkward fest it might’ve been…

But it did all make me think on my long walk home about what I’m doing here on the interwebs. It’s inevitable that if I keep writing about these things and keep auditioning that I’m going to get “bloganized” (which is “blog” + “recognized” in case you didn’t catch it. Thanks for that, @magicalmudge) now and then. And I’m okay with that. I have a policy about not saying things behind people’s backs that I wouldn’t say to their faces. And obviously The Starving Artist here is only half the story—my half. As is any blog, really…so take it with a grain of salt…

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I started this blog because I was frustrated with what I perceived to be a lack of blogs/real stories about actors just starting out. Especially locally. I wanted to share my journey in the hopes that it might teach other people something and that they, in turn, might teach me something by sharing their stories. So far it’s going reasonably well. Plus, let’s face it, this is cheaper than therapy!

But if my mission is our mutual education (and it is) I think I have a responsibility to my readers (and seriously, if you’re reading, leave me a comment so I can properly say hello, please) and to myself to be as honest about my life as a theatre artist as possible. Because not being honest about the situation is not helpful to any of us. Honesty is educational. And, well, my candour just makes it more fun. But I do promise to do it all in the most fair and respectful way possible because, really, it is only my side of the story and I’m certainly not here to make anyone look and/or feel bad.

In the end, it was a nice audition night. And hopefully it will result in another show, but whether or not it does, it was nice to be reminded (as I frequently am these days) that there are all kinds of great people out there in the Toronto theatre community. And it was also nice to feel just a little more sure of myself, both in the virtual world and in the real one…

This is post is unrelated: my sister is hilarious

This post is completely unrelated to theatre or the arts, really. But it's an email from my sister, The Writer, and is actually too funny not to share. Also, it sort of deals with the joy of a "day job." She has a bright future ahead of her.

Also, she swears a lot...so if you're offended by that kind of thing, you should probably stop reading now.

Still reading?
Ok, don't say I didn't warn you...

Dearest Rick,

I have a method to writing e-mails. When I respond to my multitude of correspondence (I am a popular person and apparently a fucking MAGNET for chain mail), I usually look at everything that was written in the e-mail sent to me and address each point in the same order in which it was presented. And I have to say -- just an observation --that e-mail you wrote was possibly the longest document of all time. On the plus side, I read the whole thingand it was not painful on my eyes. Kudos.

In any case, let us proceed:

Point 1: Snow. In T.O.
Response: Fuck snow.

Point 2: Long-distance relationships.
Response: Fuck long-distance relationships.

Point 3: [Anonymous]'s long-distance relationship.
Response: That sucks. What happened? I like her.

Point 4: Prickly Pear people [This is a long story.]
Response: Who the fuck are the Prickly Pear people? And why are they bitches? And how you gonna own your shit and tell them hoes to step off right quick for you break your left Sorrel off in they ass? These are all pertinent questions.

Point 5: Dog walking with BFG.
Response: You live in a zoo-land. With pee and creatures. And Internet. What a strange twilight zone of a world.
Also, Golden Doodle sounds like someone's massive and highly-valued shit.
Also, animals are like incontinent human beings. I do not tolerate vomit on my couch. Regain your continence, I say.
Also, job hunting has become a hobby of mine, now greatly impeded by the fact that I am employed. Also, no complaints.
Also, I support your yoga pants/not having real jobs correlation. I myself have worn yoga pants everyday this week.

Point 6: You requested an account of Francis' eight-year-old birthday party a la [very big fancy] Hotel.
Response: Fucking ridiculous.

[Roomie] and I show up at 3 p.m. and wander into the hotel side of the [very big fancy] Hotel when we should have gone into the residence tower. God forbid. We proceed to the 12th floor to meet Marge, Executive Assistant to the family, and Nancy the Doormat, Francis' mother. Nancy is nice, smiles often, and is kind of old to have a young child. No offense, Nance. Francis' father, Frank, looks like a pot-bellied, balding pedophile. He followed his son around all afternoon with a creepy half-smile.

In any case, [Roomie], me, and Carlos the bellhop load balloons, face paint, and loot bags onto a hotel cart and head over to the Atlantic room on the hotel side to set up. When we arrive there are linen table cloths and small Fiji waters on the buffet table. Someone is presenting the Juicy Juice boxes in a fucking Longaberger basket and there are waiters in full uniform (complete with bowtie) preparing to wait on eight-year-olds, possibly the most degrading gig of their lives.

As we wait for Nancy to bring over Francis and her husband, Marge provides us with the Xeroxed, highlighted, colour-coded, seizure-inducing schedule of Francis' eighth birthday, including a fifteen minute increment for arrival and shuttling of children to the appropriate room, checking tiny midget coats and sticking nametags on snot-nosed kids so that when I feel inclined to yell, "Stop the fucking shenanigans, you heathen bastard," I can instead take a deep breath, calm my nerves and respond in a simpering voice, "Stop the fucking shenanigans, Sebastien, you heathen bastard." We assemble with four other babysitters, all of whom are post-college twenty-somethings and find this entire experience just as ridiculous as [Roomie] and I do.

There is one guy, Tim, who is a godsend in the presence of twenty or so young boys who apparently fear eye contact with females other than their mothers. The children dance briefly on the checkerboard dance floor to Rihanna and Chris Brown before realizing that dancing is stupid and tackling is awesome. In the presence of Nancy and Marge, I'm not sure how forceful to be in my disciplinary actions. I should also mention that, prior to the arrival of the other children, Francis ran into the Atlantic room, did not respond to our hellos, informed us that he had a fever, and then walked over to the corner. When Marge brought up a game called "Leopards on the Loose," Francis insisted that it be called "Leprechauns on the Loose," and the nine adults in the room spent the next twenty minutes frantically coaxing out of the child what we would call the people the Leprechauns would be capturing in the game.

From the moment they entered, the girls were clearly the most well-behaved. While the boys attempted to asphyxiate one another with hula hoops, the girls used them for hula hooping. The face paint that Francis so vehemently opposed ended up being the highlight of the party, and I got to make children look ridiculous without being punished for it. Two kids had green faces, and I drew a dragon on someone's cheek that looked like a circle. When the girls came over for face paint, they requested a guitar on their left cheek with sparkles and glitter and stars and hearts and flames and ponies and magic in the center. I painted a guitar in the two inches of free face they had and then dabbed some colours inside. Fucking Picasso.

By the end of the day, I had all but ripped off Sebastien's arm, who seemed unfamiliar with the abstract concept of stay-on-the-mother-effing-dance-floor. Tim walked around with a megaphone, trying to convince the heathens that they were "helpers," and without him we probably all would have died. Or maybe a child would have. Whatever.

We gathered up coats, distributed loot bags, and ate some cake. Francis puked later on, and by six-thirty I had made a hundred bones for smearing washable face paint on children and memorizing the problem kid's name. As [Roomie] and I left, I realized that Nancy the Doormat had given each of the six crowd-control sitters a hundred dollars, and I tried to imagine how much the gourmet pizza and the high-end juice boxes might have cost but I thought I might cry if I knew those numbers. So I went home and drank heavily. It was a good night.

The end.

Point 7: Original thoughts I might like to add.
I am going to NY this weekend. Irresponsible. Huzzah.

KBYE.

xoxo,
dfg

Theatre Bloggers of the World, Unite!

Ken Davenport, Broadway and Off-Broadway producer and fellow theatre blogger, is hosting a theatre bloggers social. Because sometimes having conversations in the real world makes those in the inter-world more interesting. Also, theatre people are fun. Here are the bare bones details:

Thursday, April 23, 2009
6 PM - 8 PM
Planet Hollywood
Broadway @ 45th St.
New York

Mr. Davenport does request that you RSVP (which you can do by leaving a comment on his post). And for all us out of towners, there may be the chance to connect virtually. The food won't taste as good, but we can still be a part of it!

Which books lift you up?

As promised for the WTD photo challenge, here is my standing on books picture, based on what I have available at the moment (the majority of my collection is at my parents' house in Michigan). It sort of felt like taking a class picture...I also included my own journal on the side. Because I heart it. Notably absent are:

Shakespeare First Folio (too heavy to travel well)

Angels in America (because I keep lending it out and people keep stealing it!!)

The Empty Space (just MIA, apparently)

It was fun and easy! Have you stood on books yet?

WTD Photo Challenge

Remember when I said Toronto didn't do much for World Theatre Day? Well, that may not be true...

It started when Ian Mackenzie took a picture of himself standing on a stack of books for World Theatre Day. Then Kate Foy did it. Then Simon Ogden did it. And then Rebecca Coleman joined in (I like her nailpolish!). Before we knew it, we had a little meme going. And Ian had the idea that maybe we could turn this a WTD09 poster. So here is the challenge:

Theatre friends, what books lift you up where you belong?

Take a picture of yourself standing on them and email to frabbaurt633[at]tumblr.com, which will add them to our World Theatre Day 2009 tumblog. Ian will be able to get his hands on them from there, I believe. Also, leave me a comment here so I can go check it out. And, being an avid little reader, you could also tell me about the books you chose...Just a thought!

I will post my own version up here tomorrow after I have a chance to take one!

And, for my purposes, I am also interested in seeing what my non-theatre friends might choose...so if you fall into that category, take a picture, post it on your blog, let me know about it, and then I will link to it from here.

Hey, I think we're having fun!?

Today, all the world's a stage. But then again, isn't that true everyday?

I've been thinking all week about what I could contribute to World Theatre Day and, the truth is, I haven't come up with much. At least, not on a large scale. I have my little blog here with which to share my theatrical thoughts and artistic ideas with all of you, but I haven't much of a theatre home out in the real world at this point. So other than going to play rehearsal tonight, which I would have to do regardless, what am I to do?

I've been on Twitter all week reading the tweets about everything being planned in Ottawa and Vancouver and Chicago (which I can't even link to because I can hardly keep track), but there's been no real response here in Toronto (at least, not that I've heard about). The exception to that is The Canadian Stage Company. They're offering 2-for-1 admission to their current production of Shirley Valentine if you bring in a receipt or ticket from any other cultural or arts organization you've visited recently. But that's it. And I have to say, I'm disappointed.
Now, I can't really complain too much because I'm here and I haven't organized anything either. But my real disappointment is more about the general lack of enthusiasm. Do we just feel like we're too cool for WTD? What's our beef?

J. Kelly Nestruck, theatre critic for The Globe and Mail, had this to say on The Guardian's Theatre Blog today: "Try as I might, I can't get excited about this depressing little event. Its existence implies that theatre is in crisis." To paraphrase the rest, he goes on to discuss how the whole event is sort of vague and silly and how, ultimately, the theatre is not dying. This being the case, World Theatre Day is kind of ridiculous and unnecessary because, after all, "we only organise capital-D Days for things that we fear are in peril. (See also: Earth Day.)" He's right, in many respects, and his arguments are definitely worth considering. But he's also wrong.

I disagree with the idea that assigning something a capital "D" is equivalent to announcing its terminal diagnosis. Yes, we have Days for causes and for the things we feel are threatened. But we also have Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, New Year's Day, St. Patrick's Day, etc., etc., etc. And, for the record, the first Earth Day was April 22, 1970, which was long before we really realized the threat to our planet and certainly before being green was in style. Certainly some of these days are silly and celebrate things we should do every day (you know, be good to our mothers, celebrate love, drink green beer), but they exist and they are meant to be celebrations. I think World Theatre Day should be embraced in the same spirit. It is a bit vague, that's true, but I don't think that's a negative. Rather it is an opportunity for creativity. Which is a fundamental element of theatre. WTD is just an excuse for creative celebration.

Of course, Nestruck points out that we celebrate theatre every time we put on a play. Furthermore, "We don't need to celebrate theatre; theatre is celebration." And this is true, but what each piece of theatre or each theatre artist celebrates is different from moment to moment. While one show celebrates the complexities of human relationships, another highlights the importance of ritual and tradition; while one artist embraces the darker depths of the human psyche, another simply shares a love of laughter. So here is where World Theatre Day is specific, even if it hasn't meant to be so. It's World Theatre Day. Today is an opportunity to celebrate our global theatrical community. It is a chance to connect all across this planet and to recognize that, while theatre may mean different things in different places, it exists everywhere, whether we see it or not. It is both on stages and on sidewalks, in living rooms and in coffee shops, it's everywhere. Today is about connecting everyone who is a part of this wonderful art and remembering that we do all share a common goal, which is that very celebration of which Mr. Nestruck speaks. Today is a celebration of the celebration.

Question...

Why does it seem that everyone is producing Twelfth Night this spring/summer? I have no objections, I am just curious. I have seen audition notices for at least six upcoming productions, and today the NY Times announced that Anne Hathaway will be playing Viola in the Shakespeare in the Park production of the same this summer.

I have no objections, I am just curious--why this play now? Thoughts, anyone?

One Year. The Countdown Begins.

Tomorrow we will be one year away from the Opening Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. I, for one, am very excited. I am not a huge sports fan (except for hockey), I am not an athlete, I am not even an Olympic nut (I don't much care for the summer games). But there is something really cool about the Winter Olympics coming to Canada. And I am going to celebrate it. Sadly, I only have 4:12 left on my library computer, which is not enough time to link, but there are lots of events happening across the country tomorrow in honour of the One Year mark. I'm sure if you live in Vancouver, you won't be able to avoid them. If you live in Toronto, the festivities are down at Nathan Phillips Square from noon till 2:00. Anywhere else, you will have to Google. And you should, if you can. Because the Olympics are a pretty amazing show. And because this is an opportunity to display your patriotism, your pride in being Canadian. And to let everyone else on the planet know that we look forward to hosting you, just 365 days to go.

An exciting morning!

My blog got a lot more traffic than usual since I posted my interview yesterday--I am holding Rob responsible. Very cool. Both that and the great comments were a pleasant surprise this morning. I have a post planned for later today, but since I haven't yet gotten to it, I just wanted to say thanks! Oh, and keep stopping by, it only gets better from here!

Better know this blogger.

My blogger friend Rob over at Inukshuk Adventure posted this interview some time ago and I decided to play, too. So here is my interview--Rob being the interviewer. And let me just say, I am impressed with the questions he came up with given that we don't actually really know much about each other. The interweb is neat. And yes, I do realize this is somewhat reminiscent of those survey things from when I was 13.

Me, at the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, circa 2007

So you are an artist of the performing kind with a day job, to pay the bills presumably. How do you keep the right balance of time and energy to feed both?

I think of my life lately as a daily battle between the things I want to do and the things I have to do. Some days being an artist wins the battle, some days not. And it's a battle because I haven't entirely got the "balance" part figured out yet. There is a learning curve.

Balancing the time is, for the moment, easy since I spend much of my day at a computer with liberal internet access at a job where I am not frequently busy. My energy is more prone to waxing and waning, but having both aspects of my life helps to keep me going. If it's been a tough day in the artist's world, the day job is frequently a good distraction. Likewise, when I am frustrated with my day job, I can remind myself that it is, after all, just a day job. And the system breaks down on occasion. I think most artists have an idea of this going in.

The corner of the stage at The Globe.

But really, it is all kept in check by the knowledge that this being an artist is a process to be taken one day at a time and by the gentle reminder to be patient, it will all turn out in the end.

You are a fellow Torontonian and with 50% of the locals having been born outside of Canada, what would your family tree reveal?

Unfortunately, not as much as I would like. I don't know a great deal about where my family came from, one side of it, at least. I wish I knew more--I think roots are important. And my own personal experience has been a more modern, strictly North American version of an immigrant tale, which the family tree can hardly tell.

My father's family has been in Canada for generations, though at least part of it originally hails from Scotland. There is an old newspaper clipping somewhere in my parents' house about one of our relatives being out west during the gold rush. But, alas, I know none of the details.

The wall at Ellis Island bearing my great grandparents' names.

On my mother's side, my grandmother's parents landed at Ellis Island in the 1920s, I believe, where their names can now be found on one of the walls honouring the multitudes who crossed the ocean in search of a better life. Their journey began in Italy and ended in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, where they raised my grandmother and her two sisters, twins. My grandfather's family called the Soo home, also, after leaving Warsaw, Poland in the mid 1920s. There they met and the rest, I suppose, is history. I often wonder what it was like, coming to the New World, when it was still known as such.

My own story reflects, I think, a more modern trend in Canadian immigration. I was born in Toronto and lived here until I was 9.5 years old, at which point my family moved to Michigan. People often assume that our country and our southern neighbours are so similar a 9.5 year old would hardly notice the difference between one and the other, but they would be wrong. It was an early traumatic experience on many levels, most of which I am still sorting out to this day (and not the least of which might include my having been a child of French Immersion prior to said move). On the other hand, it provided me with many opportunities I wouldn't have had if we had stayed. And it was always very important to my family to keep our connection with our home and native land. So now, many years later and now a dual citizen, I am back in the city in which I was born.

Toronto, being the fifth biggest city in North America, is known for its multicultural mix. With this in mind what are your favourite Toronto things?

One of the joys of being a "newcomer" of sorts is that I am still discovering what I love about this city--it's changed a great deal since I was 9.5. Some old favourites have endured: the Leafs (and I am young enough still to believe they might just win the Cup in my lifetime), Harbourfront, St. Lawrence Market, Future Bakery, the Islands. And I am constantly adding to the list--the city has more to offer than I can possibly keep up with. In the category of new attractions I enjoy: Toronto FC, Ghandi (the best roti on Queen West), Union Station (which may seem like a strange thing to love, but I enjoy the possibilities it presents), and all the theatre tucked away in little corners all over the city. I love the pace of life here and the fact that wool socks and sweat pants are socially acceptable as streetwear. Silly as it is, I love that people smile. And the green spaces--no major metropolis I have been in has near as many wild places as Toronto. Toronto has its own distinct character, much the way that New York City and Paris and London all do, and that is my favourite thing about it.

What drew you to blogging and what do you enjoy about the blogs you visit?

Three things can be credited for my presence in the blogging world: boredom, frustration, and Penelope Trunk. I started my blog because I was bored. I figured it would at the very least kill some of the seemingly infinite time I had on my hands. And in the boredom that helped spawn the blog was frustration at being unable to find the kind of blog I was looking for--a blog about theatre written by someone who is still figuring it all out. There are a lot of blogs out there by people who are established in the theatre world (and don't misunderstand, most of them are quite brilliant). But I'm interested in hearing about people on the cusp, getting a grip, figuring it out--where are my classmates in all of this? And I was frustrated that I couldn't find it so I decided to stop being frustrated and to write it instead. As a result, I have since found a lot more of it. Which is really cool. And finally, Penelope Trunk says everyone should have a blog.

The neat thing about reading blogs, especially the ones that are written by an individual, is that people are far more candid online than they generally are in life. I appreciate people's humour, honesty, wit, and anger. It's an interesting window into someone's life. And mainly, I am interested in people. What makes everyone tick? What are their stories? What are they afraid of? What moves them? What enrages them? As an actress, I am always telling stories--I like to believe that everyone has one.

Stockholm, as viewed from the promontory

I've lived in a few places and travelled to a few more, so I'm always keen to hear of others' travel experiences. Where have you travelled and what places are on your must see list?

I want to see the whole world! I love to travel and have lived in a few places myself--I spent my university years roaming a few parts of the planet. I would take off by myself not knowing anyone at the destination. I studied/lived in both London and Paris, venturing into the environs as frequently as finances permitted. I rode trains to Monaco and Italy and the Alps. I spent hours on buses in the English countryside and Wales. I flew to Dublin and to Stockholm. I've explored much of New York City and Hawai'i. It was all exhilirating for a while. Now it seems a bit exhausting to do by myself. So when I venture to the parts of the world I haven't yet seen, I want to share it with someone.

My must see list changes with the seasons. While I want to see the world in its entirety, I think it would be a shame to get halfway around the globe without ever knowing what's in my own backyard. I haven't seen much of Canada beyond Ontario and Whistler. Newfoundland and the North are high on the priority list.

Roses for Mark Rylance's final bow at The Globe.

I think it is much easier to know where you're going when you figure out where you came from.

And now, if anybody else would care to join in the fun, here are your instructions:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pose the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions and let me know when you have posted it, so I can link it.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

A rant to precipitate change...

I really, really dislike not having an internet connection chez moi. The plan to go web-less was originally conceived as a cost-savings measure and was feasible, given that I surf from 9-5:30 Monday to Friday. But since I've gotten more heavily involved in the online community this plan leaves me feeling very disconnected on the weekends, as if I'm missing some very important appendage. It must be remedied in the coming weeks, time to bite the bullet and succumb to my www(dot)addiction. Because now I have spent the first two hours of my Monday catching up on everything I missed over the weekend and well, that's just silly.

Or maybe I'm just grumpy because I got all the way through the hundreds of posts in my Google Reader before blogTO posted today's Morning Brew. What can I say, it's how I like to start my morning.

There is more to this post, though. This one is about politics. Again before noon, I know. I apologize. But I can't help it. It's in the air. Can you feel it? Like electricity, crackling, igniting...sending shock waves through the populace. It is the eve of an historic event and the world is watching.

As Capitol Hill prepares for the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States of America the national news networks seem unable to report on anything else. Other events of global importance are occurring, to be sure, but there is nothing to top this. It is literally all anyone can talk about. Well, almost. A few people up here in the Great White North seem not to have forgotten that our very own government will be back in the office in the coming week. Whether or not it will be as glamourous, as exciting, as momentous, or even as productive as the political process occuring to the South remains to be seen. I imagine not. Nevertheless, the return of Stephen Harper to his throne office should be of some significance to those of us residing in Canada as, following a deep freeze in government only barely matched by our frigid winter weather, change may be on our door steps, too.

To begin, no one (at least no one in the artistic community) has forgotten Mr. Harper's now infamous comments about "ordinary Canadians" and the arts. While outrage over his statements and budget failed to sway the outcome of the Federal Election in October, the artistic community's passion on the topic has not yet been exhausted. Not even close. Rather, in what has become to many a war for our survival as a culture, we have set about proving him wrong in every way we possibly can. The rise of the Department of Culture has certainly helped in the call to action and now arguments about the reality of living and working as an artist in Canada are just about everywhere.

The latest example is an article in the Toronto Star, part of a series examining the lives of Canadian artists, extolling the virtues of other government's relationships with their artists and proposing some changes to our own troubled association. I realize that in these darkening economic times supporting the arts seems rather indulgent and unessential, but the reality is that culture create jobs. No, they are not automotive or industrial jobs but their value is no less and the product they create is equally as exportable and profitable. How do we decide, really, who deserves a "bailout?" According to the Star, last year arts and culture generated $84.6 billion in economic activity, which is approximately 7.4% of our GDP, and "employed 1.1 million Canadians directly and indirectly." Isn't that worth supporting?

And heading into the battle over the budget is a new leader, arguably a cultural contributor himself. Michael Ignatieff heads to the Hill as the new leader of the Liberals when Parliament at long last resumes later this month. Ignatieff, who could perhaps be placed amongst the "gala-going elite" moreso than most of us humble artists, has one of the most impressive C.V.s in Ottawa. Amongst his many accomplishments are sixteen books, including three novels. One of the most recent, The Lesser Evil: Political Ethics in an Age of Terror, has been dispatched to Mr. Harper as required reading by one Yann Martel, who almost a year ago vowed to send Mr. Harper a new book every two weeks for as long as he is prime minister. While there has been little talk of the Coalition by Mr. Ignatieff in recent days, Mr. Ignatieff writes in his book that "liberal states cannot be protected by herbivores." In light of such, I would encourage him to go for the jugular...

Finally, the political buzz is that the soon to be President Obama will be heading North to see us in the near future. In his attempts to temper expectations amongs the American people, which have soared beyond proportion and reason since the election, Obama has Canadians wondering what his administration might mean for us. While this interdependence is unfortunate in many respects (they could inadvertently make things much worse here, as we could to a lesser extent there), it is what keeps the lines of communication open. It is, I think, what keeps us from killing each other. At any rate, Roy MacGregor at the Globe and Mail has some excellent suggestions for beginning the conversation between the American head of state and ours (oh wait, he isn't really, is he?...scratch that). It is an excellent look at the paradoxes of Canadian politics and of the Canadian character. Certainly an important introduction to any visiting diplomat. At the very least, he'll be familiar with The Hockey Song.

Suffice to say, changes are taking place all over and with greater speed than most of us can wrap our heads around, even in this post-twitter global village we inhabit. The whole thing is, in many ways, a mess. It would almost be laughable if it weren't so serious. But there is something in the wind that suggests we may yet come out on top.

On the one hand, the future is bleak. But on the other hand, maybe it isn't.

My Day.

I am literally drowning in work at my desk: invoices, shipments, updating the reception manual before the new girl starts.

And I haven't had any real caffeine today: I was trying to avoid coffee in an effort to cleanse my system. Then I realized it was stupid. Now I'm going to make myself a cappuccino and get down to business.

Sit tight, I have a story from last night and I will hopefully get to it before the end of today.

Snowmageddon.

Snowmageddon in the GTA: I had a picture I waited five minutes to take of the passing streetcar and the swirling snow. But someone stole my camera cord. Someone is dead. Anyway, further blogging will be suspended today in light of insane snow storm currently raging outside.

The very kind bosses even bought everyone sushi lunch so we wouldn't have to go outside. Except I had to go outside with said boss to pick it up. I even had to ride in the backseat as a result of giant box o' sushi. But it was delicious. I now feel like a large piece of raw fish. We are what we eat, after all.

Anyway, closing shop early in order to go home and bond with mug of coco and couch. Stay warm and safe!

The Blogging Bug.

A few things have happened since I started this blog not so long ago, and I think they are positive changes in my personal development. I am exploring the vast reaches of the internet to a greater degree and with more serious intent (which, on the downside, has significantly contributed to the number of hours I spend on the internet). It is teaching me a lot about a variety of subjects, not the least of which is what I care about--in reality, in a clicks-per-day kind of way, not just in my head. I am definitely experiencing a quarter-life crisis of sorts, which is apparently the signature of my generation, not that I find that terribly comforting, but blogging is helping me, I think, to figure out what I am doing and how I am going to do it. It's all still in the nascent stages, but it's coming along. As am I. And I'm hoping it is something I will carry through and not give up on--I think it has to be.

Right now Brazen Careerist is featuring a whole series of posts about blogging--why it is great, how it can help you, etc. And if you need more encouragement, Penelope Trunk can point you in the right direction. It has been a great help and source of direction for me. And if you don't know where to start, surf the web and see what others are blogging about--everything from technology to art to design to families to travel to food to politics to well, everything.

Good night, Grand Aspirations. (Good morning, Reality.)

As if the epic amounts of snow that seeped into my ballet flats on my way to work this morning (I, genius that I am, forgot my winter boots at the office last night...and, by winter boots, I mean Uggs, which anyone who has ever stepped in a cold slush puddle whilst wearing them knows aren't really winter boots), I was reminded of the harsh reality of my life this morning when the first courier into our office was wearing an ACTRA Toronto toque. We had a chit chat that basically amounted to how I don't have a reel, an agent, or, it would seem, a hope.

I am consoling myself with the fact that his toque said ACTRA and not AEA because I don't really want to do film, commercials, or television that badly anyway. He did, though, take care to remind me that it's almost impossible to make a living in the theatre. He was a nice enough guy, it's the facts themselves that are distressing...

A very wise and experienced man, one of my favourite theatre critics/professors, once told me that, while it is very difficult to make a living in the theatre, it is quite possible to make a life in the theatre. So which would you rather have? A life or a living?

Sundancing.

My illustrious alma mater just sent me an 8 page single-spaced list with the names of all my fellow alumni who are in any way involved in the Sundance Film Festival. 8 pages!?!


What am I doing with my life?!?

Savouring a Jamaican beef patty and a ginger beer. Eating my feelings, that is what I am doing.

But I'm really not a negative person and I'm over feeling sorry for myself. So congrats to my fellow alumni on your accomplishments. I really am proud of all of you. Now win some awards and get some slope time in while you're there!

P.S. The No Name Saloon, pictured above, has the best buffalo burgers in Park City. Go with it, trust me.

How interesting...

I mentioned War Child Canada yesterday in this post and, lo and behold, the first thing I saw in the Globe and Mail this morning was this. The founder of War Child Canada, Dr. Samantha Nutt, has been nominated as a Nation Builder for 2008. Follow the link to see what people have said about her. I just thought this was an interesting coincidence...

Fighting Back Through The Magic of Song and Dance!

This is quite possibly the greatest thing I've seen all week. Better even than the Bad Sex Lifetime Achievement Award. Not possible, you say? Oh, but wait...

I found this on Perez Hilton (my guiltiest of all guilty pleasures). I have to say, it's pretty brilliant. It originally came from Funny or Die. What is it? You really should click the link to find out...

Okay, but I'll still tell you. It is Proposition 8: The Musical.

In case you've been living under a rock, Proposition 8 was the ballot initiative that just squeaked by in California, effectively writing discrimination into the state constitution. While the US took a massive step toward equality as a country in the recent November election (they Ba-rocked the vote, if you will), California banned gay marriage. This sparked mass outrage and became a hugely divisive issue...just as the country was on the brink of some sort of unity.

Anyway, I won't go totally political, but the video--a star-studded affair with Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Neil Patrick Harris, Maya Rudolph and many more--is hilarious. And, spoiler alert, basically says that gay marriage is the answer to the current economic crisis.

Funny or Die just keeps getting better.

Art and Justice

Critically acclaimed film director Roman Polanski, 75, has requested that the charges against him be dismissed because of "prosecutorial and judicial misconduct." Polanski was charged in 1978 with having sex with a 13-year-old. He entered a guilty plea and then fled the country before sentencing. There is still an active warrant for his arrest. He has been living in voluntary exile ever since, also avoiding any country that might extradite him to the US. Apparently, the victim also wishes to see Polanski go free. More details can be found here.

Really, my interest in this story is how it relates to the things we, collectively as a society, let celebrities get away with and why. If he were any other individual, Polanski's request would be laughable. He would be summarily dismissed as a child molester and no one would even think twice about it. If he were any other individual he most likely would not have been able to flee the country and live in exile for thirty years, either. And if he were any other celebrity, I might suggest throwing him in prison...he faced life behind bars at the time of his flight. I am really not one for letting celebrities off the hook (especially those who drink and drive, they especially should be dealt with), but I find Polanski to be a difficult and fascinating case...

Roman Polanski is a celebrity of sorts, yes, a famous director. But he is also an incredible artist. He has made some phenomenal films in the years he has spent in exile; he has made great artistic contributions to society. He even won an Oscar in exile for The Pianist. So, while I don't think his status as "celebrity" should excuse him, should his status as artist? Would we be worse off as a culture for the loss of his contributions? Well, there would have been no Adrien Brody-Halle Berry smooch at the Oscars. The question, really, is are his contributions enough to constitute repayment of his debt to society?

It's very shady territory...and I don't think I really have a good answer.

I do not believe that art, even great art, should be a get out of jail free card. Especially when no one could have known what would Polanski would produce artistically post-1978. In hindsight, perhaps it would have been a crime against culture to send him to prison all those years ago? So what do we do now, 30 years later? Fortunately, it isn't a decision that I have to make. Especially as I gather there is more to this than just what I know--his claims about "prosecutorial and judicial misconduct" may have grounds. But he admits having done it, that much is clear. And since the aim of art is generally some kind of truth (as I'm not sure I believe in art for art's sake...though I could, I played a lot of cell phone Tetris during that class), isn't it hypocritical of us as artists to turn a blind eye? Aren't we, especially as film and theatre artists, here as a voice for the voiceless?

History has let artists commit similar sins while looking the other way. And we have been wealthier, culturally, as a result. Sometimes I think we let celebrities get away with things because we like to watch a train wreck--chances are that if they've done one outrageous and illegal thing, they are bound to do more. All this keeps us "entertained" and makes excellent fodder for tabloids and celebrity magazines. We're willing to let one person's life spiral apart so that the masses have something to talk about. But there is always collateral damage--nameless, faceless victims--that we don't consider.

Where do we draw the line?

This Blog Needs More Pictures.

This is a picture of the Thames in London. I took it the last time I was there (New Year's 06-07). You can see the London eye, Big Ben, etc. London is one of my favourite cities and certainly one of the best cities in the world for theatre. I saw more theatre in my time in London than ever in my life otherwise. I also went to school there for a while. At RADA. More on that another time. Just enjoy the picture.