Welcome to the inaugural edition of a continuing series on The Next Stage. When I started this blog back in March my intention was to offer a glimpse behind the curtain of a neophyte theatre company mounting its first production, a chronicle of our formative period to hopefully drum up some interest and inspire conversation… Continue reading This One Goes to Eleven: Ian MacKenzie
Category: art
Papa’s Got a Brand New Blog
Are two blogs better than one? I guess I'm about to find out. I've been accepted to the writing staff of Beyond Robson, a candid street level newsblog site that must be widening its readership, as they've hired a bunch of us newbie writers over the past week. (We're actually on a probationary term, I've… Continue reading Papa’s Got a Brand New Blog
Coma-Chamaeleon
...and then Mr. Walters goes ahead and discusses the issue himself, eloquently.
Theatrical Catechism
I've been thinking about the responsibility of the theatre a lot lately. Or rather, our responsibility as theatre artists. I think I get theatre's obligation, it's to entertain and educate, and in that order, right? It's the question of what each of us owes to the medium and to its audience that's got me to… Continue reading Theatrical Catechism
Game On.
I've been spending a lot of my newly freed-up schedule lately bouncing around what is unfortunately termed the theatre "blogoshpere" (one of those jarring newly-minted tech terms that don't quite sit right in my language palate, like "lol" and "webinar" and "blog"). However, like calling a rose by any other name, the essence of the… Continue reading Game On.
All right, I’ll stop whining…
Well, that's one play in the bank, the reviews are in, the sets, props, and costumes have been returned, and the receipts have been counted. On to the next, as soon as all involved do whatever it is they do to recuperate from the physical and emotional exertions of pouring their all into such an… Continue reading All right, I’ll stop whining…
You start by not sucking…
Week two of the run started tonight with a packed house, thank you very much. For us that is quite literally the greatest feeling in the world, for two distinct reasons; one: we need dough to cover production costs, and two: if you create a piece of art and it falls in the forest...you get… Continue reading You start by not sucking…
LSP is Open for Business (back in 8 hours.)
That's it, our little boat is officially launched. Tonight was the premier performance of our inaugural play. If the world blows up tomorrow, the Lyric Stage Project will still be a produced theatre company, and I would die a happy man. I would say that the feelings I have right now are indescribable, but that… Continue reading LSP is Open for Business (back in 8 hours.)
Curtain Up
Good grief, it's hard to keep your blog updated when you've got a play coming up. Sorry about the delay, let me try to recap the last couple of weeks. Monday was load-in, always an intense day what with renting a one-ton to pick up all the props, lights, furniture, costumes, etc, etc that have… Continue reading Curtain Up
Miss Julie and Dutchman: Coming Very Soon…
I gotta tell ya, putting a play up is an unbelievable amount of work. I'm not bitching here (really, I'm not), just making an observation, albeit a self-evident observation. This is surely one of the reasons that theatre is scarce in our west coast vibey-city, with our below-national-average amount of type-A personalities. That, and the… Continue reading Miss Julie and Dutchman: Coming Very Soon…
Allow me to introduce you to us…
Trying to come up with a dope name for your creative project has got to be one of the hardest parts of getting the thing started. The more people involved in it, the harder it is. Like band names; one guy wants to call you Drone, another guy want it to be Drones, the drummer's… Continue reading Allow me to introduce you to us…
Happy World Theatre Day!
Woo hoo! Finally, World Theatre Day again! I don't know about you, but I thought it would never come. I'm so excited, and there's so many things to do before tomorrow! Let's see, put together a costume of a great historical theatre actor or playwright, decide which World Theatre Day house parties to make an… Continue reading Happy World Theatre Day!
Me? I’m an actor.
One of the girls in class tonight said something that smacked me square in the side of the head. We were all having a conversation about the responsibilities inherent in calling oneself an actor, and about taking personal ownership of the choice to wear the mantle of "artist". This particular young actor mentioned that she… Continue reading Me? I’m an actor.
My Modest Proposal
First off, welcome, and thanks for stopping by. Just by visiting this site you've already expressed a little bit of support for theatre here in Vancouver, and that, gentle reader, is my mission in a nutshell. Long lost are the days in this city when taking in a new play was part of the cultural… Continue reading My Modest Proposal
Simon Ogden 