Yay, it's May!

By capturing 65.3% of the votes, Elizabeth May has become the next leader of the Green Party of Canada!

I am very excited, because I think that May has what it takes to get the Green Party focused and into the media, and thus into the minds of all Canadians. She has an amazing work ethic (has anyone read How to Save the World in Your Spare Time?) and the ability to raise the party from its traditional "one issue" brand.

From the mouth of May:

"We will have influence. We will exert power, but to be a majority government, as the mark of whether or not we're successful, is the wrong goal. It's not that it's unrealistic; it's the wrong goal because the issues are too pressing."

One more reason why the Greens are gaining momentum:

From Green politics sprouting roots in Alberta by Graham Thompson (Wpg Free Press, Sunday August 27th).

"One issue of growing concern to farmers involves coalbed methane, which is a technical term for natural gas found inside coal seams. Since 2002, energy companies in Alberta have been drilling deep holes into the coal to fracture the seams to free the gas, which is then brought to the surface.

In theory, the process is supposed to be clean, efficient and not allow any methane to seep into nearby water tables. In practice, some farmer discovered there was enough gas in the water tables that when they turned on the kitchen tap they could set the gas/water mixture on fire.

Hundreds of farmers have shown up at public meetings to discuss their concerns with officials from Alberta Environment, who maintain there is no proof linking the coalbed drilling to height concentrations of methane in the drinking water. If there's gas in the water, it got there through natural fractures in the coal, officials insist.

Farmers are incredulous. They point to contaminated wells, sick cattle, and the flame thrower in the kitchen sink."

So, here we go. The Greens have a strong leader to corral us into the next phase of politics. Where do we go from here? Can we make a difference? Of course, because everyone has the ability to foster change and to promote sustainability. With May at the wheel, I just hope that the message about how to do it, and why it is so critically important at this time in history, reaches as many people as possible.

Or maybe a water fountain that can sprout fire is what we all secretly want?

Comic Days

Well, we're well into the Comedy run now, and I must say that I am very happy. We've had great croweds, publicity, and donations. Thank god, b/c it was such a labour of love to get it together (a labour that almost killed Matt and myself), so it's great to finally see some rewards.

Thank you to everyone who has come out to see the show, you rule!

Green convention is underway right now. Unfortunately I've been so busy with the show and working looong days, I haven't really been watching any of the footage or keeping up with the debates. This theatre business is SELFISH - it's all me me me all the time, no time for participating in the rest of the world. After the 10th of September, I will try to restore some balance in my life.

Reading The Way the Crow Flies presently. I've decided that I want to be just like Anne-Marie MacDonald when I grow up. Yep, that's my goal.

Still looking for volunteers for Comedy, let me know if you'd like to help out!

And we're off!

We made it into the Free Press on August 17th! Also, Matt and I were on Breakfast Television this morning at 7:25am (had to be up at 5:30am. After these past few weeks getting this show together, my sleeping pattern is COMPLETELY screwed up). Hopefully we continue to attract a crowd!

Here's the article:

Shakespeare troupe opts for snappy debut Thu Aug 17 2006 By Kevin Prokosh

THE Comedy of Errors is believed to be William Shakespeare's first comedy, a knockabout bit of slapstick from the Bard's apprentice years. For a young band of twenty-something apprentice actors -- all University of Winnipeg recent graduates or current senior students -- starting out with one of the plays Shakespeare started out with seemed a perfect fit for its inaugural summer. Theatre by the River makes its official debut al fresco at 7 tonight with a performance of Shakespeare's shortest and snappiest play in Assiniboine Park.

"You can definitely see a young writer at work," says director Matthew TenBruggencate who also serves as co-artistic director of the fledgling troupe with partner Mel Marginet. "When he was starting out, the plays were still pretty basic. He was still doing the broad comedy that was bringing the crowds out then." Like many novice dramatists who find it easier to adapt an established work, Shakespeare borrowed the basic plot line for his farce from the Roman playwright Plautus' (254-184 BC) script Menaechmi. In turn, Stephen Sondheim fashioned A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum from the same material, as did Rodgers and Hart with The Boys From Syracuse.

The theatrical fun centres around two sets of twin brothers who are separated at birth and 20 years later end up in the same town where their friends, family and lovers repeatedly mistake one for the other. The classic set-up sets the stage for some vintage comic gags that seem not to have gone out of style through the centuries of sitcoms. "I watched Road to Morocco, the Big Crosby-Bob Hope road movie, while I was reading the play and was struck by the similarities of the characters on a journey," says TenBruggencate, who graduated last spring from U of W's honours theatre program. "These two guys show up in this foreign town on the way home and encounter all this trouble. "So we set it in the 1920s with a vaudeville style. I found out that the Royal Shakespeare Company has also set it in the '20s. After seeing this idea had establishment approval, I felt more comfortable going ahead." Amidst the 90 minutes of tomfoolery, Shakespeare attempts to examine the serious idea of two selves made whole. TenBruggencate, 23, says he has created a central image in a scene where all the characters as well as pieces of the set are running in circles, never quite catching each other.

"So we set it in the 1920s with a vaudeville style. I found out that the Royal Shakespeare Company has also set it in the '20s. After seeing this idea had establishment approval, I felt more comfortable going ahead."

Amidst the 90 minutes of tomfoolery, Shakespeare attempts to examine the serious idea of two selves made whole. TenBruggencate, 23, says he has created a central image in a scene where all the characters as well as pieces of the set are running in circles, never quite catching each other. "It's like our lives, running in circles, trying to find ourselves," he says. With The Comedy of Errors, the 13 cast members are also trying to find themselves as full-time actors in this non-Equity production. They are creating their own work and while they are presenting a free show, they will be passing the hat for donations. Nobody is being paid. All the money will go to a future production, probably to be staged next summer. Although Theatre by the River bowed with the well-received kids' folk tale The Elfin Knight last month at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, the troupe purposely opted to perform a bawdy Bard laugher outdoors as an introductory presentation.

"We want to create accessible theatre," says Marginet, 23, who plays Dromio, the servant of Antipholus. "Performing in the park allows us to tap into an audience that normally wouldn't go. There's always a crowd when you do Shakespeare. We chose that location so the foot traffic going by will see a play going on and come and sit down."

The Comedy of Errors is performed on the northwest side of the footbridge in Assiniboine Park, Thursday through Sunday at 7 p.m. through Sept. 10. The audience can sit on the grass of a natural amphitheatre, so blankets and cushions are appropriate while lawn chairs are not.

Opening went great, over 50 people!! Wow! Hopefully we have a good sized crowed at our shows this weekend, as the forcast for next weekend is rain (but who can tell this far ahead anyway?!)

We had a bit of a snag when one of our set pieces wouldn't go into its socket, requiring some last minute (seriously, last minute as in mid-performance) blocking changes. But, c'est la vie!

If you'd like to volunteer to work the "door", please let me know!

Let the COMEDY Begin!

Theatre by the River is pleased to present Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors in Assiniboine Park!

Comedy will run August 17 - September 10, Thursday - Sunday evenings, at 7pm - Weather permitting! The show runs at approximately 90 minutes. Please feel free to bring blankets, pillows and anyting else to make yourself comfortable at our outdoor venue.

Comedy of Errors is FREE for all, but a donation to the company is suggested.

Please visit theatrebytheriver.com for more info!

The Kite Runner

I just finished The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I loved it and definitely recommend it to all!!

"Taking us from Afghanistan in the final days of the monarchy to the present, The Kite Runner is the unforgettable, beautifully told story of the friendship between two boys growing up in Kabul. Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan nonetheless grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant, is a Hazara, member of a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them."

This is definitely my reading recommendation for the month. I also just finished Home From the Vinyl Cafe, which is amazing (Stuart McLean is definitely a great Canadian storyteller). But you can't beat The Kite Runner, so go read it!!

Coming Soon:

You've got to be kidding me

The national aired tonight aboard a ship in Canada's north, following several climate scientist. When the story was heading towards the "isn't it weird that all of this weird weather is happening at the same time? If arctic ice melts, there will be draught from BC to South America" direction, the story shifted in a really REALLY disturbing direction: If all of the arctic ice melts, there will be a short-cut to Asia! Therefore Canada needs to assert its sovereignty and claim these waters as their own.

You've got to be kidding me.

On that not, go to the ol' Hummer web-site to check-out their intelligent advertising. My favourite is Tofu, where 2 guys are at the check-out counter, one purchasing health food (they had to do a close-up of the tofu being scanned). Right behind him is a guy buying some manly meat (big racks of ribs). Guy #1 is clearly embarrassed by his obvious lack of manhood when he spots a Hummer magazine on the counter. He zooms out of the store to the nearest dealership to purchase the solution to all of his problems: The Hummer. As he drives off chewing on a carrot, the tag like RESTORE THE BALANCE flashes across the screen. They even advertise the 20 MPG and the fact that they start at $30, 000! Wow! Yep, restore that balance. I think their next commercial should deal with the fact that you could save thousands of African children from disease for the price of 1 hummer. Restore the balance and be proud of yourself you giant asshole.

As one blogger, commenting on the same commercial, said - "when you're the bottom of the barrel, all you can do is scrape the garbage." So, if you're working in advertising at GM, make sure you take a lot of showers because you smell like rotten eggs.