As some of you may or may not recall, one of my New Year's Resolutions for the last two years has been to "finish my stupid play that's set in the Yukon."
I am ashamed to say that I've been "working on" this tiny 30-page oeuvre since...no no. I'm too embarrassed to admit how long it has been. Suffice to say that it has been languishing in my computer's memory for several years and every couple of years, I would call up the 15 pages I had already written and remember that I really liked the play and then I would glance around, hoping to find some way to motivate myself to finish it.
Here's the thing. I am an Olympic-level procrastinator. I keep meaning to make myself a symbolic gold medal for procrastination but I haven't gotten around to it. It's a terrible cliche but I do work best under pressure - without a compelling reason, I tend not to finish anything, preferring instead to let it exist in my mind as this perfect, blemish-free project that I will one day complete.
Thus, there are only two reasons that I will ever finish a creative project:
1. I am due to perform it at a certain place on a certain date and if it isn't done by then, I will look the fool.
2. I am applying for a grant/workshop/writer's group and have to prove I don't just have "ideas".
In the case of this particular project, a one-act comedy called Camp Victoria, set in 1898 during the Gold Rush, I had applied unsuccessfully for a couple of different things over the years - a Fringe fest here, a writer's group there - but I had a good feeling that this would be the year it would get done. So I sent off a brazen cover letter and my 19 pages to Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary and lo and behold, they accepted me! HA ha! Oh shit, wait...now I have to write the rest of it.
Every year, Lunchbox Theatre has a festival of new play development called the Suncor Energy Stage One Festival, where they set you (the playwright) up with fantastic actors and a lovely dramaturge/director for five days and at the end of the five days, there's a public reading of your play. You work with the director/dramaturge/actors for a few hours every day and then spend the rest of the day frantically writing in order to have new and improved stuff to work on the next day. Basically, it's the biggest fire anyone has ever lit under my ass.
Fortunately for me, I was staying with my aunt Suki and her partner Jemi (Star Trek names) in Calgary and never has there been a more welcoming environment for the writing. It was like I was a guest in a Jane Austen novel.
I was treated to incredible gourmet, made-from-scratch meals (lunch AND dinner daily) and was not allowed to walk anywhere (which worked out, because as it turns out, Calgary is quite large). There was scotch and poppycock in my workroom (I availed myself of both) - there were gluten-free brownies in the kitchen - a generous supply of my favourite tea and wine was laid in and the company was extremely delightful.
I was also treated to a sumptuous repast at my aunt Pegi's house one night, where the salmon is planked and the home-made lattes are highly inspirational. We all agreed that was so lovely to visit with family and not be at a funeral. Score!
And my childhood friend Chma had me over so that I could finally meet the fruit of her loins, both of whom were incredibly cute. A scene from our dinner:
Chma's eldest child: You laugh a lot.
Me: (feeling a little defensive) I think a lot of things are funny.
Chma's eldest child: (conspiratorially) Me too.
Basically, I was treated like a visiting dignitary the whole time I was in Cowtown. I would come into the workshop every day and brag about how spoiled I was. I'm sure it was super, super charming.
After five days and a lot of poppycock and only a few tears (the crying means it's working!) - Camp Victoria was in a whole new place. And thanks to awesome dramaturge Pam Halstead (also Lunchbox's artistic director, who let me in in the first place!), fantastic director Glenda Stirling, and wonderful actors extraordinaire Shawna Burnett, Lindsay Burns, Julie Orton, I FINALLY FINISHED THE PLAY. Woooo!
Well, mostly. I, uh, still have some polishing to do before I send the final draft back to Pam. But the play was read aloud, in front of an audience and no one turned around at the end and said "That sucked a lot of wang."
Ideally, I would have blogged about this while I was actually there instead of three weeks later but I was busy actually writing the play.
Anyhoo - that was my Calgary adventure. Next up - my trip to New York for Chezza's wedding last weekend! There will be photos. Get ready.
