Sunday, August 9, 2009
Summer Joy
Last night sat on my balcony snacking on nectarines, riopelle cheese and caribou-cranberry pate while I listened to some John Coltrane. What a wonderful way to relax into a warm summer evening.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Find Some Comic Energy at the Calgary Fringe Festival
Want to know where the hidden gem might be at this year’s Calgary Fringe Festival? Meet Paul Hutcheson who is presenting On Second Thought.
Paul is in his sixth year as a solo performer with 20 festivals under his belt. He is a veteran of the Canadian Fringe Festival circuit as well as festivals in New York, Orlando, Colorado and San Francisco. He has a few awards to celebrate the experience.
“Performing is a passion, and I love appearing at the Canadian Fringe Festivals,” says Paul. He relates how a Wednesday, 2 pm show with only 4 people, who have never met each other, can essentially give a master class in stage presentation to a solo performer. “It becomes a real stretch to reach those four people, who have chosen to sit as far apart as they can, and draw them into the show,” Paul relates. “However, I have noticed this year that people are seeking comedy at inexpensive venues as an escape from the woes of the recession. So my life as a solo comic performer is a touch enhanced – mentally and financially!”
Paul reports that On Second Thought is a reflection on the choices we make on life’s journey. He hopes to demonstrate that a linear approach can lead to ridiculously unfortunate psychic traps (bored is a good clue you are in the wrong place). While, on the other hand, poking a life choice with a quirky second thought can spark a wondrous trajectory leading to unexpected places that fit the soul. As he speaks I can hear the inventive humor (some risqué, some digestive track focused, and some just plain fun) that will be driving this show. In other words, if you are feeling alienated, drop kick a kinky thought at your social or work scene, and let the world turn until you recognize a place and time as your normal.
I am looking forward to having some great laughs when sharing this journey with Paul at a show this week.
UPDATE: Caught the show - Precisely observed vignettes rich in comedy. You will celebrate how we as humans persevere in our journeys of discovery.
Find Paul and On Second Thought at the ArtPoint Gallery – 1139 11 St SE.
August 2 – 1:45 pm
August 3 – 3:45 pm
August 6 – 9:45 pm
August 8 – 5:45 pm
Paul is in his sixth year as a solo performer with 20 festivals under his belt. He is a veteran of the Canadian Fringe Festival circuit as well as festivals in New York, Orlando, Colorado and San Francisco. He has a few awards to celebrate the experience.
“Performing is a passion, and I love appearing at the Canadian Fringe Festivals,” says Paul. He relates how a Wednesday, 2 pm show with only 4 people, who have never met each other, can essentially give a master class in stage presentation to a solo performer. “It becomes a real stretch to reach those four people, who have chosen to sit as far apart as they can, and draw them into the show,” Paul relates. “However, I have noticed this year that people are seeking comedy at inexpensive venues as an escape from the woes of the recession. So my life as a solo comic performer is a touch enhanced – mentally and financially!”
Paul reports that On Second Thought is a reflection on the choices we make on life’s journey. He hopes to demonstrate that a linear approach can lead to ridiculously unfortunate psychic traps (bored is a good clue you are in the wrong place). While, on the other hand, poking a life choice with a quirky second thought can spark a wondrous trajectory leading to unexpected places that fit the soul. As he speaks I can hear the inventive humor (some risqué, some digestive track focused, and some just plain fun) that will be driving this show. In other words, if you are feeling alienated, drop kick a kinky thought at your social or work scene, and let the world turn until you recognize a place and time as your normal.
I am looking forward to having some great laughs when sharing this journey with Paul at a show this week.
UPDATE: Caught the show - Precisely observed vignettes rich in comedy. You will celebrate how we as humans persevere in our journeys of discovery.
Find Paul and On Second Thought at the ArtPoint Gallery – 1139 11 St SE.
August 2 – 1:45 pm
August 3 – 3:45 pm
August 6 – 9:45 pm
August 8 – 5:45 pm
Dreaming in the Park
The MRC Shakespeare in the Park production of Midsummer Night's Dream is well worth sitting on the grass on Prince's Island this year. Across all the roles the cast is very strong. It is a real treat to see this play presented so effectively. Particularly enjoyable is having the actors double the roles of Thesus/Oberon and Hippolyta/Titania - the first time I have seen this (Peter Brooks did it first in the last century).
As usual with this company, this is a very fresh and totally engaging reading of the play. If you go, it will be like seeing it for the first time again - how often do you get to be a virgin twice? Of course, that thought is part of the whole mix resulting from the collisions between power and ambition impacting politically correct sexuality and the sex drive hard wired into us that drives this play. The music of Queen, with its androgynous scope, fits naturally into the play as incidental music - a wonderful choice.
Go - you will chuckle, you will roar with laughter, and you will stand and cheer at the end.
As usual with this company, this is a very fresh and totally engaging reading of the play. If you go, it will be like seeing it for the first time again - how often do you get to be a virgin twice? Of course, that thought is part of the whole mix resulting from the collisions between power and ambition impacting politically correct sexuality and the sex drive hard wired into us that drives this play. The music of Queen, with its androgynous scope, fits naturally into the play as incidental music - a wonderful choice.
Go - you will chuckle, you will roar with laughter, and you will stand and cheer at the end.
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