NB: This post is basically just one long brag about how happy I am with my show and how great my birthday was, it was great, I'm so great, blah blah WE GET IT YOU'RE GREAT.
So, Saturday March 1st was the preview/sponsor appreciation Gala for my play Camp Victoria at Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary and it was a little embarassing how awesome the whole night was.
My parents, my brother and his lady and my aunts all GOT ON A PLANE to come see it and another aunt, uncle and three cousins and my brother's lady's parents also came and my parents hosted a pre-show dinner and we all drank and ate and traipsed over to see the show and it was even better than I'd hoped. And then after there was wine and schmoozing and I got to meet and celebrate with all of the wonderful folks who'd made the theatre magic happen!! Basically, it was a fantastic night and it served as a yet another reminder of how ridiculously lucky I am to have such support from my lady wife and my giant, super cool family. HA ha! Winning!
And then, last Monday, Camp Victoria "officially" opened - ON MY BIRTHDAY.
Like the glamorous playwright I am, I started the day with a leisurely breakfast, then coffee with Lunchbox AD and old friend, the lovely Glenda Stirling. That's right - I drank coffee on my birthday.
Then it was time for some hot Camp Victoria action!
Outside the theatre, there were headshots...and one of them was me! I swear, I am not loaded in this photo.
I had "Happy Opening" flowers from some super sweet friends.
FLOWERS, MOTHERFUCKERS!
And then, it was magic time!
The set...because when someone produces your play, they also produce a set.
Acting!
Drinking!
These actors are professionals. Not only did they all turn in stellar performances, but they managed to keep going after this old man in the front row got up in the middle of the show, walked across the front of the stage, leaned out the door of the theatre to talk to a volunteer, closed the door, walked back across the front of the stage to return to his seat and THEN, 10 MINUTES LATER, got up, took his coat and walked back across the front of the stage, then stood beside the stands PUTTING HIS COAT on while I sang "Killing me. Killing me softly. With his coat. Telling my whole life...with his loud parka" to Glenda, who was quietly dying beside me. Kudos, ladies! I would have punched him in the junk.
After the show, my aunts took me out for fancy birthday lunch because they are lovely. You can tell just by looking at them that they are HILARIOUS.
Then I treated myself to a manicure, because Katr was taking me out for a fancy dinner.
After she worked at our client's all day, Katr treated birthday me to a delicious dinner at Rouge, where jeans are inappropriate, but apparently yoga pants are okay. We got all dressed up and took fuzzy pictures of ourselves and I saw a rabbit! And I was born in the Year of the Rabbit!
After a boozy dinner, we rolled fatly back to our hotel, where I spent the last moments of my birthday being gloriously full and laughing about that old man and his parka. Good times.
It was hard to come home after the glitz and glamour of Calgary (although -40C made it a LITTLE easier to leave). I wish I could be there for every show to tell everyone how great they are but I guess that might get wearing.
Anyhoo, if you're in Calgary, Camp Victoria runs until March 22 and I'm not the only one who thinks ladies getting loaded in the woods are fun- there are nice Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun reviews to back me up!
