Look What We Saw!

This happens only occasionally on the BC Ferries, and we were really excited that we were right there on deck when this mum and her kids showed up off the port side!  Especially cool for Magdalena, who has never been to BC or the Pacific Ocean before!

So, now we're on Vancouver Island for:

   Sunday morning (excerpts) at St Dunstan's church - 10:00 am

   Sunday evening at St Mary the Virgin, Oak Bay, 7:00 pm

   Monday evening at Camp Columbia on Thetis Island, 6:30 pm 

         (so folks from the mainland can catch the last ferry at 9:15)

   Tuesday evening at St Mary's Church, Nanoose Bay, 7:00 pm

Personal Pylons

Our own pylon?

    ooooooohh, stardom!

COAST TO COAST ! !

From the Atlantic to the Pacific....

June 11, 2010:

July 23, 2010

Remember this sign from Signal Hill in St John's ??

The one that says "Vancouver 5,031 km" ?

we made it.

Vancouver!

Lunch at a Japanese restaurant with the Dean of New Westminster AND the Diocesan Youth Coordinator...

....seeing downtown and the waterfront...

       ...technical runthrough...

....  and a fantastic show in an amazing space at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Vancouver - over 100 people in the audience, and an engaging 'talk back' with them afterwards

Rocking the house in the Central Interior of BC

Kamloops... July 20

    Sorrento .... July 21

Two back-to-back shows, both of them well attended by FABULOUS audiences who were really excited to see the play.  Hats off to Louise Peters, Melissa Green and Christopher Lind who organized these two venues and ensured that we were well-fed, well-housed and well-advertised.

Sorrento was our first outdoor show - in the Kekuli, which is a dome shaped covered space.  Fantastic! It was really fun to feel like we were doing summer theatre; being outside on a warm, sunny July night surrounded by mountains, lake and trees.   Because we were staying at the Sorrento Centre over a couple of days (thanks for your hospitality!) we had a chance to meet most of the people for whom we were performing, and it seemed the change the energy of the show, and the response of the audience.  It was like performing for a group of many many friends, rather than strangers.  After the show, the chaplain, Rev. Dan Hines commented "This was truth-telling at its best. It was a rare voice for the church; it's what we need to hear, but so seldom hear."  

We've been joined by our producer Judy and her son William for the last leg of the journey. William is rapidly learning how to be 'crew' for a travelling theatre company.

And now, the recent photos: 

A vibrant sign out on the road advertises our show in Kamloops:

Karyn and William discover the electronic drum kits at "Lee's Music" in Kamloops while Judy and Jenny get the rental of the lighting board and lights sorted out:

Jenny transforms from Director to Technical at each venue.  In these two locations, she had a lighting board to play with too!

The Kamloops show, at the cathedral:

After the show we pose for a photo with the Dean, Louise Peters:

William our budding Roadie helps do the load after the show:

Next day, setting up for the show at the Sorrento Centre:

On Tuesday morning, we joined the community for Eucharist at the Sorrento Centre in their beautiful outdoor chapel overlooking the lake.

A packed and overflowing house!  135 people saw our show in Sorrento as we rap the house down in the final number:

The Big White Van hits the road through the lower Fraser Valley, on the way to Vancouver for Friday evening's show at the Cathedral.  (We are currently travelling with the van and a rental car):

From Cranbrook

After the Cranbrook show an older man came up to me and, without saying a word, gave me a big long hug. He whispered, "Thank you" and I said, "Thank you so much for coming!" He smiled and said quietly, "You're welcome". And then he left.

Stampeding to Calgary

Calgary show was last night - about 75 people came and we had a lot of great conversations with folks at the meet n' greet sesssion afterwards.

What an awesome welcome sign!

In every space, we need to re-create the layout of the show to fit into the space available.  In the large movement piece, such as the reflection on St Augustine's Confessions, it's always good to rehearse this at the tech runthrough.

After checking sound, setting up props and set, and running through a couple of scenes, we often have supper with members of the host congregation.

After that it's warm up, costumes, make up and - we're on!

Tomorrow morning we're off to Cranbrook for our Sunday performance there: an excerpt of the show in the morning during worship, then the show at 2:00 pm.  Monday we head up to the Central Interior and a show Tuesday night in Kamloops at the cathedral, then Wednesday night at the Sorrento Centre.  

Vancouver and Victoria are coming up next weekend!

Getting Educated in Saskatchewan

While in Regina some of us took the opportunity to explore another science centre.

And when we were in Saskatoon, we visited 1910 Boom Town.

A genuine steam powered engine!

Regina and Beyond

Hello There!

In Regina we stayed in a lovely home owned by a lady who wasn't there, and so we had a whole home to ourselves. The house was filled with really good books, travel magazines, and small statues of birds, and had a piano, a large television, and a beautiful, sun-lit kitchen. What more can you need?
We found we had landed ourselves in the middle of a film set, with the CBC filming a new TV series called "InSecurity" in the house right across the road. We couldn't park on our street and had to constantly tiptoe in and out of the house while the lights and cameras were rolling. We were welcomed very heartily to Regina by all sorts of people, including the bishop, who had us out to dinner not once, but twice! The space in the church was beautiful, with lots of lights and plenty of room. We had a great audience come out, as well! We met a very nice lady named Erika who complimented us on our German and wished us well for the rest of our trip.
We spent our time off roaming the streets of Regina, going to a Fringe play produced many of Melissa's acquaintances, shopping the cute boutiques along 13 Avenue, watching Serenity and FIFA soccer matches, and amusing ourselves with the TV shows Extras, The IT Crowd, and Doctor Who.
Ah, what leisure! HA!
On the road out of Regina we stopped in Craik, Saskatchewan, for their Farmer's Market. There were three vendors, one of which had sold out, and so we bought spinach and cinnamon rolls from the other two.

And off we were to Saskatoon.

Saskatoon times

The schedule didn't have the right times for the shows in Saskatoon this coming weekend.  Times are:
Saturday,  8:00 pm
and
Sunday, 2:00 pm

If you told someone the other times, please let them know the correct ones (sorry for that error!)

Winnipeg

Well, we've had our show in Winnipeg, now we're just kicking around for an extra day or so until we move on to Russell Manitoba.

Overall I would say Winnipeg has been fairly good to us, despite the intense heat and mutant mosquitoes,  I've really enjoyed my time here.  Seeing old friends, making new ones, and getting to see a lot of the city, especially when we take our "scenic routes".

On the day of our nation's birth, several of the cast drove out to Lower Fort Gary, explored the grounds and saw how people once lived.  I think working at a fort like that, in costume as a character from the time would be a fun summer job, but of course, it can't compare to my summer job right now!  After a lovely dinner with friends, we took in the fireworks, although some of us got absolutely eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Our show yesterday was at an awesome theatre, with a nice big stage where we had lots of room, something we're not quite used to anymore, but we made the most of it.  The audience was phenomenal and I felt a bit like royalty at the end, as we all got flowers from the same man who made the Queen's bouquets!

Keeping our flowers cool in the fridge so they don't wilt in the heat!

IGNACE OR BUST

Ignace or Bust? 


This was a phrase that was coined early on, way back in Cronyn house. We also thought of doing the Ignace show naked and adding our inside jokes we came up with during rehearsal. We decided to forgo the nakedness and just do the show the same way we did it in Marathon and St. John’s, to name a few. 


After our wonderful Ignace show, we had dessert with some members of the audience and got to chat with them over delicious macaroons and brownies and kool-aid, which I haven’t had for years but I digress. After dessert, we were treated to an amazing homemade dinner by the ladies of Ignace. These women were so good to us and their kindness and hospitality is something I will not forget for a long time. Every city or town we go to, there are always people willing to help us in any which way, from feeding us to giving us a house to ourselves, I was unaware that kind people still existed but this tour has shown me otherwise. 


The support from everyone makes me love this process more and more each day. I also had the pleasure of meeting two younger people in Ignace and one of them was involved in every type of performing art there is and she was thrilled to meet us. We also bonded over our love of Adam Lambert and our giggles were heard throughout the church hall. I feel so blessed that we were able to do this show and young people came and saw it  and liked it. I will remember Ignace for a long time and all the fond memories I have so thank you Ignace!