Pictures, in no particular order

Red Bull crashed ice

Pet therapy

Parliament, attempt 4

Marion bridge

The Audience, rotation imposible

The BodyGuard

Countries Shaped like Stars

American Idiot

Carmen

Avenue Q

Colony of Unrequited Dreams

The Aviation museum 

Post Marion Bridge

Hello theatre-ites,

This show felt like a serious case of déja-vu. Our past experiences are said to influence our perception of any new experiences we have.  Mine was influenced by a play I worked on last year. Crimes of the heart by Beth Henley  has similar plot and characters to that of those found in Marion Bridge. Three sisters reunite to cope with the bedridden state of a family member. Tho the characters were going through different things they are similar archetypes.

I thought the acting was stellar, the set was minimal yet well done and the jokes were quick witted. The only thing I didn't get was the transitions, they seemed overly complex and I didn't think they added anything.

Overall I enjoyed it but I couldn't help but feel like I've seen it all before.

Have an awesome rest of the semester.and good luck on exams.
Elyse

pre show: Marion Bridge

Hello World,
This post will be regarding Marion Bridge. So close to the end of the semester expect a lot of posts coming out soon to finish up anything that has been sitting in my drafts folder. Please enjoy!

This is my first time at Ottawa little theater and I have very few expectations regarding the performance. I'm seeing a mostly unknown show at a mostly unknown theater but I'm excited every time I set foot in a theater.

I heard in class that all the actors and crew for this production are volunteer. This raises the debate of passion vs paid actors who are paid have the background and training but then sometimes not always lose sight of why they're there. Actor who are not paid my not have all the skills associated with theater but they always are driven and love what they're doing or they wouldn't be there.

I think the outcome of this debate varies case by case and you’re never quite sure which side the production will fall on until you see it. I'm excited to see where this one falls so break a leg to all and enjoy the show.

Have a great day!
Elyse Hodgson

Pet therapy: Merged

Hello world!

I'm back writing about an unorthodox theatrical event, pet therapy.  Pet therapy takes trained animals and puts them within reach of people who need them.  I have been to one pet therapy session before and the reactions of the types of people in the room are not only unique but evolving. The handlers are calm and collected watching out not only for themselves but for their pets.  The second group to watch are the participants. They are eager or nervous but they wear their emotions on their sleeves.  They have all chosen  to be vulnerable and accept that those around them will be the same. The last group to watch are the animals themselves.  The one I have attended was with dogs, who each behave differently.  Some were relaxed and simply lay down to enjoy the attention. Others are curious and explore the room and try to meet everyone.

Due to each of these factors each session will be different and I look forward to getting back to you on this experience.

After:

This session was completely different form the last.  The first difference is that this one was done with rescue cats instead of therapy dogs This change up the dynamics as unlike dogs, Cats refuses o sit still and be pet instead one hid in the back of her cage and the other kept attempting to escape.   This changed the atmosphere of the room instead of the comfort of petting animals we were laughing together collectively. It was therapeutic in it's own right.

I want to take a second and acknowledge the amazing work that J's animal rescue does.  They rescue animals and place them in caring foster homes insuring to vet any candidates for adoption. So thanks to them for their great work.      

Thanks and keep up the great work helping animals and people

Elyse

Colony of unrequited dreams : Post

Welcome back!
(Wow sorry This post took so long)

Looking back on a play is always a pleasant experience. Whether I enjoyed a show or not I always love looking back on them and remembering all the good bad and the ugly of show. I enjoy in a lot of shows each year so the highlight reel of my memory of each is only the scenes that truly captivated me with either how good or bad they were.

One scene from Colony of Unrequited Dreams that I remember clearly as if it were yesterday is the war of the written word scene, in which Smallwood and Feilding dance with word as their swords.  The stage was bathed in yellow light and fog. the two began on opposite sides of the stage sitting at their desks and recited the articles they were writing. they steadily pick up in intensity. They circled each other until they met center stage. The scene was captivating and so unique in comparison to the other stage arguments I've seen.

The true mark of a show is it's lasting effect.  This one showed me something I had never seen which means it will be remembered.

Thanks so much,
Elyse

After Parliment

Hey theatre nerds,
Wow this was a struggle, all starting weeks ago. It took 3 weeks to visit parliament. I tried for three days in a row, the first it was closed, the next it was full so I contacted my MP about a ticket, but it ran at a different time on Fridays so I couldn't go. Then they were out for a week, so the third week I tried again, and this time I finally saw what all the fuss was about.

Both sides behaved like children attempting to ignore, tease and enrage the other side when they did not agree. They only cared about what they had to say and refused to hear opposing opinions. The behavior was unacceptable for a 5th grade classroom I was slightly shocked that it was common place for politicians.  

It really makes you question the ability of our leaders. We should have a group of people who question each other but overall are working towards the benefit of the people not their own agendas.

Overall quite an unpleasant yet eye opening experience.

Have an awesome day,
Elyse

Merged post: Aviation and Space museum

Hello everyone,

I was super excited to visit the Aviation and Space museum, as these were the kind of places my Dad used to take my brother and I when we were very young.  My mom worked from home so she was with us all the time, when I said young I meant so young we hadn't started school, we spent all week with her but my Dad was out from very early in the morning till late at night and we would only spend an hour or two a day with him. However, on the weekends he would go a little crazy come up with cool things to see and do. Some were parks that looked like castles and others were open house adventures. He's a mechanical engineer and would always explain how the train engines or the cool cars we saw worked. Going to this museum felt like something we should have done together, which would have been hard as he is back in Erin, so I was very nostalgic about seeing the planes.

I had high hopes for I am now older and have studied combustion engines and drag force and would understand the choices made by developers in each case, but like most things with me things did not go according to plan. I had wanted to take a tour, which the website had specified ran between 8:30-5:00, turned out to run twice once at 8:30 and once at 2:00 so arriving at 10 was a bad idea.  We decided to stick around for the 2:00 tour, but it was canceled due to a concert from the Centralaires Concert Band.  So no tour for me but I got to see a lovely concert where they played the usual military marches, selections from Fiddler on the Roof and the Sound of Music, along with Amazing grace and a swing jazz number.

I was skeptical at first, as military marches are not really my style of music but they played a selection from many genres and I quite enjoyed it.  Music tells a story even without the words present.  When the swing song started I got up and danced. Though it was just me dancing it was still fun.

So it wasn't the day I was expecting, nor was it everything I hoped for but it was fun.

Have a great day,

Elyse

Before Parliament

Hello world,
I know it's been a while since I've posted anything but here I am.

This week I'll be visiting parliament to observe the proceedings and hopefully question period.

I've been on a tour of parliament before, but I have never seen the proceedings. What I have heard, read and seen about it lead me to believe that some days are quite a spectacle. With a chamber of commons designed to separate the majority to the opposition by the length of two swords, they were anticipating conflict. However most of the time it tends to be proticall.

Politicians are a peculiar breed. They act high and mighty, above all us common folk but then we see videos like the ones released in January. In which prime minster Justin Trudeau was caught on camera assisting someone through the crowd and accidentally nudging a member of the house along the way. This was blown way out of proportion in my opinion but I digress. It made the politicians appear like children on the school yard that couldn't get along. All of these play into the preconceived notions of how politicians behave and what people expect to see.        

I'll let you know how it goes,
Elyse

The Crashing Red Bull Disaster

Hello everyone,
I know this post was a long time coming so let's get into it.

Before
Before going to the Red Bull Crashed Ice event I was super excited. I had a friend competing and had seen some super cool footage online. The event had so much hype surrounding it; the city, the players, the university and my classmates were all very excited to share in this event. It was promising to be exciting and quite a party.

After

This hype was what made the results so crushing. I arrived an hour(ish) early which evidently was not enough but I could still see. Honestly it was a bit anticlimactic, the racers were fast but no one around me was cheering. I was in a open spot but yet a friend of mine had trouble finding me.  The worst part had to be the cold. This will be an exaggeration but I swear it felt like negative 30 degrees. on top of all this the shear amount of people around me brought on one of the most painful panic attacks I had ever experienced, it felt like a heart attack I was in tears and almost screaming from the pain. So overall it was not a very enjoyable night.

Sorry this took so long to put up but there you have it, one of the worst events of my life, exceeded only by palio but that's a story for another time.

Have a great day,
Elyse

Avenue Q: After

Hello people of the internet!

Avenue Q was every thing I hoped for. Well presented, staged, acted and puppetted ( I think that'a a verb). The choreography was beautifully cheesy and the vocals were strong.

There were a few instances that took away from the overall production, each actor had multiple parts and occasionally both puppets had to interact , then the puppeteer was required to  voice two puppets fighting and in my opinion it took your attention away from the story and made you focus on the actor behind the characters.  

Was it "real"? Was it "authentic"? Not at all, you had felt puppets as both people and monsters engaging in a story together. There is not a moment that you feel like this actually happened. However, you still related to the themes of love and lose presented.

As puppets they could get away with saying things that were not necessarily accepted for humans to say. Like everyone's a little bit racist. This show was designed to push barriers with comedy that can only be accomplished when non humans were stating things. It allows us to think that maybe some of this is us without directly calling people out.

Thanks for reading, more updates coming soon,
Elyse  

Avenue Q, pre show

Hello everyone I hope your reading week was  as enjoyable and as (un)productive as mine! So far this reading week I have seen 4 shows, 2 Mirvish productions and 2 one act plays at my local high school so why not cap off the week at a highly inappropriate comedy with my family.

Unlike all the shows attended earlier this week, I know all the music and plot of Avenue Q. I have seen the Broadway version  (online not in person unfortunately) more  then once and know the entire show backwards and forwards.  In fact the only one in my family who has never seen this R rated version of sesame street is my younger bother, and I'm curious as to his reaction.

My mother is a puppeteer and for her sake I hope this small theatre's production does a decent job with their felt counterparts.

As you can already tell I have a lot of hope resting on this show even before I've set foot in the theatre.

Have a great day and all let you know how it went soon,
Elyse

A grand day of Theatre : After

Welcome back everyone.

Wow this was quite the day, full of usual pieces and really good food.  

The first show we saw was The Bodyguard. It was a fun show with great music however the plot was rushed and there was zero character development. For instance in the span of the same speech she went from I hate him to I love him. Yes I know this is a romantic comedy trope that occurs often but in this version it was faster then normal and with even less reason. the stalker was over exaggerated and quite frankly I felt that the subtle moments the scariest.  The second act was far better then the first as the music was used less to advance the plot and more to represent that the main character was a musician. 

The second piece was The Audience, which was a collection of scenes from the Queen's private meetings with her prime ministers over the years.  This show was packed with wit and humor demonstrating the true strength of the women behind the crown and how she unwavering supported the prime ministers while contradicting them behind closed doors. She changed the way things are done so that she ruled as a sovereign in a new fashion. 

The day was long and wonderful even if the shows weren't quite in my wheel house. The meaning of theater as a whole to me anyway is to share in a story, and that's exactly what we did.

Thanks

Elyse

A grand day of Theatre

Hello World. I know it's been a while but I wanted to let you in on today's excitement. This afternoon I'm going to be heading into Toronto to see 2 very different and equally exciting show with my mother.

Every since I was a little kid, as in like grade 2 ish, my mother and I have been enjoying days out at the theater together.  She introduced me to this world with a Stratford production of As you like it by William Shakespeare. Ever since we've been enjoying are escape days to go have a meal and see a show together.  They are just a chance to relax and talk and laugh.  These days are something I miss about living in Ottawa so far away from home.

The first show of the day we are seeing will be The Bodyguard. All I really know about this show is that it's a musical based off of movie. The second I know even less about, only that it's a play called the Audience  So my expectations are only the ones that I have of Mirvish. That the show will be clean and polished, that the actors will be committed entirely to their  roles and that the viewers will be silent, respectful and just as "professional" as the show. Shows in big theaters like the Royal Alex. and the Ed Mirvish theater expect their audiences to be dressed in fancy clothing and be just as committed to the show as the actors. They create an environment where the people seeing the show now have expectations of each other and that becomes just as much a part of the experience as the show they are watching.

Anyway Have a Wonderful day and I'll be back soon,
Elyse    

Colony of Unrequited Dreams, Before

Hello Everyone, Hope you have been having a good week. Sorry about the late update both of these were supposed to be posted on Saturday but I hope you'll forgive the tardiness I had a midterm yesterday.

Before going to see this show I had a lot of information. We had thoroughly discussed it in class and I had spoken to playwright.

Getting to listen to Robert Chafe, was  awesome. From the moment he said hello he had me hooked. I was so excited to see his work of art it hardly phased me to hear that it was three hours long. Robert was a curious playwright who has had better luck writing with adaptations than with original work. He told us the story of his beginning as a playwright in Newfoundland, where he was a disgruntled actor who believed that he could write a better show with a better part. To his days converting the story of a midwife to a national production, and now his work against Newfy (sorry it's spelled wrong) stereotypes. Robert was a joy to listen to and it made me so excited to see his work come to life.

I have always loved history and whenever it is brought to the stage I find that it can give the trired old tales new life and breath, I hope that this one will be that and more.

Thanks again
part 2 will be up soon
Elyse
   

Carmen, Conclusion

Hello Divas,

Carmen was a lovely piece. It was not what I was expecting at all but in hieze sight I probably should have understood that it was an opera production and not just an orchestra performance  from who was putting on the show.  The vocals were the strongest part of opera performance and all the actors seemed more at ease when they were singing. their stage business was not as well done.

The costumes were simple yet effective. The use of red was smart as it highlighted not only the emotion but the lead. Carmen (the leading lady) was extremely well casted she was always on. Not in the  physical sense of the word as there were scenes without her but when she was on stage she was focused and at ease. She was a focal beacon for the entire show.

As an experience for me this one was odd.  The language flipped between English spoken and french song, (which was often overshadowed by the awesome orchestra). This made the show a little awkward. I wasn't sure of the setting until I read the program so I was a little maladjusted for the first act. I kept trying to compare the show to that of a musical however the genres have far more different than I realized.

New experiences are always exciting and I'm so happy to continue to try new things and see new shows.

Keep it up Divas!
Until next time

Elyse

Before the curtain : Carmen

Hello Theater nerds and classmates alike.  I hope you've had a wonderful week.

Tonight, Tonight I will be going to Bizet: Carmen presented by the University of Ottawa Opera Company with Chamber Orchestra. I don't know much about the show but I am excited none the less. My guess is that they will be preforming in the traditional we stand/sit here and play while you listen type of environment without elaborate sets or costumes but I could be completely wrong.

The last time I went to a strictly orchestral performance was longer ago then I would like to admit as I makes me feel old.  It was while I was staying in France as my exchange partner played cello  and her mother was first violin. It was lovely and I should go to classical productions more often.  The way the instruments can tell a story without a word and the harmonies created by everyone playing in unison . Each instrument sound utterly different separately but together they speak as one. It gives me hope for the human race.

(wow can you tell I'm feeling metaphorical today.)
Anyway.... Have a wonderful night and I'll tell you how it goes later.

Elyse

Curtain call : American Idiot

Hello again i can't think of another clever title for my theater classmates!

So this was quite a show. High energy, complicated choreography and those voices, incredible.  This show was good, I enjoyed the whole thing and was completely and utterly confused the whole way through. When we walked in the ensemble was scattered on the stage and in the audience as if they were just hanging around waiting for everything to start.  My friend and I were even approached by a member in the cast who asked us if we knew when the meeting was going to start and who invited us.  It was a little surreal with posters and newspaper scattered around the floor.  It felt like we were gathering for a protest not a play.  In the opening number the choreography worried me as it was slightly out of sync, but they showed me later on that I had nothing to worry about, they could hit a perfectly synced number if that was the goal.

The whole way though the plot was foggy that left myself and the rest of the audience with a choice, cling to the hope of understanding the plot or to forget about the what and focus on the who. (not the band the characters, though the band for this show was awesome)  Once you did that you could see this guy who's just as messed up as you  (and handling it poorly) go through the trials he created for himself.  This show was enjoyable but made you feel both lucky and upset to be there. Lucky that you're not these characters and upset that someone may be.

I never realized how much Green day I knew until I was sitting there mouthing all the words to these songs.

On that note see you all eventually,

Elyse

PS- comment your favorite green day song !

One hour til curtain: American Idiot

Welcome back Theater Geeks of all shapes and sizes.

This afternoon I'm planning on attending The University of Ottawa's production of American Idiot.  I'm very excited to see it as it promises to include some of Green day's biggest hits to tell the story of struggling with mental illness and government controlled media.  I'm curious to see how they deal with these sensitive topics and how they progress through some of the darker topics. A musical always has so many moving and corresponding elements that have to work perfectly together to form the cohesive piece. With so much that can go wrong the stakes are high and it's always exciting to see things play out.

Having a very close location will be a nice advantage and I'm going with a close friend of mine who also loves theater so I know it will be a good time.  

break a leg actors

Elyse

RE: Countries Shaped like Stars

WOW.....

Hello Thespians I'm back.  I'm not sure what I was expecting but that was not it.   The show was a wonderful, hilarious and felt like story time with the family. The tow performers brought a book to life to a beautiful soundtrack of lighthearted catchy melodies.  The dialogue was quick, witty and incorporated the audiences reactions seamlessly. The stage was surrounded by the audience on the two log sides leaving a runway for action down the center.  The lighting was controlled by the performers and switched from lamps to Christmas lights along the ceiling and ladder.

Enough about the traditional theater-y things. The performers created an open and welcoming environment for the audience that felt like an evening with good friends. The high energy and interactive show made sure no one was left behind from the kids to seniors in the audience everyone was laughing together.  I went to this show hesitant and alone but was I was not lonely for a second.

But I'm rambling.  The show was great check it out if you get the chance.
Countries Shaped like Stars at the Ottawa fringe festival.

 Until next time,
Elyse

Pre Show - Countries Shaped like Stars

Hello World!  

Tonight I'm going to see the play Countries Shaped like Stars at the Ottawa Fringe Encore Festival. My first, completely and utterly uninformed,  impression of this show is to class it in the same realm of Maureen's performance in Rent. Its look makes me nervous and I'm still not quite sure what I'm getting myself into.  All that being said, I'm always excited to see new theater that pushes boundaries. It promises to be interesting and thought provoking and I'm curious to see how it all plays out. 

Another curiosity I have is for the audience.  If it is as zany as the photo suggests the crowd could either be very cold and unreceptive. However, if they embrace it with open arms this could be one of the most welcoming environments in the world with all those who are there, just enjoy the moment.   

Looks can be deceiving, is one of the mantras in theater and every performance brings something new. 

Get back to you soon

Elyse

The Start

     You are here
     at the start of a moment
     at the edge of the world
     where the river meets the sea
---------- Welcome to the Rock, Come From Away

Over the next few months I will be writing about my experiences at different theatrical events.  From traditional ones like the amazing new musical quoted above to hockey games to immersive experiences the world is full of theater.  The first traditional theater event I attended was Shakespeare's As You Like It at The Stratford Festival Theater, depicted as the background of this blog.  I was so young that I did not truly appreciate the words of the play but what I did understand was the experience and the eventfulness. The emotions of the crowd and actors, the stage and lighting, the sheer joy of my mother at seeing my enjoyment of her favorite art form. There was so much to take in.

This class will hopefully introduce me to other truly remarkable and unique moments with new individuals and I can't wait to get started.

Elyse