Archives
My preview of Globe Theatre’s production of Peter Pan…
...is in today's Regina Leader Post. It begins: For Ruth Smillie, artistic director of Globe Theatre, the key to Globe's upcoming production of J.M. Barrie's classic tale of Peter Pan is that children don't differentiate between reality and make-believe the way adults to. Smillie, who is directing the production, recalls that this past summer she overheard a group of boys walking up and down the street, "very engaged in what they were doing," and overheard them say, "We have to save the president," with "enormous concern and conviction." It's that kind of immersion in the world of make-believe that Smillie hopes Globe's Peter Pan will provide to people of all ages.Tent Meeting featured in LeaderPost
No, I haven't been blogging much. There's the novel to rewrite and the Johnny Cash biography to proofread and Fine Lifestyles Regina editing duties to look after and...well, lots. Including directing and being part of the cast of Tent Meeting, Regina Lyric Musical Theatre's fall show, which opens next Tuesday, November 3, and runs through November 8 at the Shumiatcher Theatre in the MacKenzie Art Gallery. I'd tell you about it, but you can read all about it in today's Regina LeaderPost. The story begins: Regina Lyric Musical Theatre's production of the gospel-flavoured musical Tent Meeting opens on Tuesday. Edward Willett, who is directing and performing in the play, ...Preview of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is online
My preview of Globe Theatre's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream is online now at the LeaderPost. An excerpt:For audiences, it's not physical vocabulary but Shakespeare's 400-year-old verbal vocabulary that may intimidate. But Geoffrey Whynot, who plays Theseus and Oberon, points out that "in real life we don't necessarily hear every word someone speaks. I think if the actors are clear on what they're saying, what the relationships and the journeys are, even if the audience hears a word that's archaic, they will understand it contextually, and they will still hear the emotional life of the line."There's a lot of "emotional life" in A Midsummer Night's Dream. "The point of it is love," ...Putting on my acting hat again…
I'll be part of the Saskatchewan Playwrights' Centre's Spring Festival of New Plays this month--but not as a writer (although I like the idea of writing plays, somehow I rarely get around to actually doing so): rather, I'll be one of the actors.Here's how the festival is described:Local actors work with directors from across the country to help develop new plays by Saskatchewan Playwrights. We workshop the plays and then take them for a spin in front of a lively local audience.Each play will be workshopped (2-6 days) with professional actors and directors and then the plays will be presented as Staged Readings. The readings can range from actors at music stands to full ...Analyzing Oscar
As I write this, the announcement of nominations for the 80th Academy Awards still lies in the future.Nevertheless, I can make a make a few bold predictions: the actors nominated most likely appeared in dramas from major film distributors, and have either been nominated in the past or appeared in a film starring or directed by previous nominees.Yes, for those of you who think that scientific research is too often focused on the needlessly esoteric, I give you “I’d Like to Thank the Academy, Complementary Productivity, and Social Networks,” a working paper by Nicole Esparza and Gabriel Rossman of the California Center for Population Research at UCLA.As the abstract states, “This paper explores ...Coming soon to a theatre near you…
...(if you live in Saskatoon, that is)...me!Looks like I'll be part of the cast for Beauty and the Beast at Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon in December. Should be fun, and it's also exciting because this will be the show that launches the brand-new downtown theatre: I gather our first preview will also be the theatre's grand opening night. Very cool!I auditioned for the Beast but didn't get that; instead, I'll be playing Monsieur Dark, who runs the asylum Gaston tries to get Belle's father committed to, and "as cast," which could mean anything from villagers to wolves to animated dinnerware--or all three.If you're in the vicinity, hope to see you in ...Photo of the Week: The Widow Simone
Here I am in all my glory as the Widow Simone in Class Act Studio's upcoming production of the comic ballet La Fille mal Gardée:Perhaps I should ask that this be used as my photo on book covers from now on...?Laurey is now Aunt Eller
This caught my eye, since I just played Jud in Regina Lyric Light Opera's production of Oklahoma!:Oscar-winner Shirley Jones will be featured in the Pittsburgh CLO's upcoming staging of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic Oklahoma!, according to the theatre's website. Oklahoma! runs through July 1st.Jones, who famously played Laurey in the 1955 film version of Oklahoma!, will now play sensible Aunt Eller.Of course, the first I knew of Shirley Jones was as Ma Partridge on The Partridge Family.Laurey becomes Aunt Eller. I'm tempted to write something mystical about the mysterious workings of time, or maybe burst into a chorus of "The Circle of Life," but really, all I'm ...Pore Jud…
...may well be dead, but at least he's not Ed--not any more.We wrapped up Regina Lyric Light Opera's production of Oklahoma! yesterday, and, as the rural correspondents of the Weyburn Review were wont to say when I was editor there, "A Good Time Was Had By All."I received a lot of compliments on my performance--more than I can ever remember having had before, actually. This either means I am just naturally believable as a creepy loner who can't get a girl--which may well be the case, since I am, after all, a science fiction writer--or that I did a not-half-bad job of acting.I prefer to believe the latter.Of course, a lot ...Accents and dialects of the U.K.
This is a very cool site from the British Library: click on a map of the U.K. and hear a recording of someone from the region you've clicked on speaking in the local dialect.A great resource for actors trying to nail a particular accent, among other things.(Via The Corner.)
Edward Willett is a The Shards of Excalibur, Book 1: Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel, coming in October from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
