Dracula - The Undead - A Dramatic Reading at the Bathurst Street Theatre, October 28, 2009

I'm on stage! And with a great group of talented people for a great show!

Wednesday, October 23, 2009, at the Bathurst Street Theatre.

My friend Alex is putting on a performed reading of the new novel, "Dracula - The Undead," by Dacre Stoker (yes, he's a relative of Bram) and Ian Holt. This is part of the publicity for the novel and is going to be a lot of fun. And I'm reading Count Dracula!

Alex directs good shows, and I have not doubt this will be another one. Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt will both be joining us on stage, as narrators.

Click on the picture above to go to their website. And do come out to see us if you get the chance. It will be a great show, a lot of fun, and copies of the book will be available at the performance!

Twelfth Night by Urban Bard

Late night posting tonight. Just saw Urban Bard's production of Twelfth Night. They did a great job, and I wanted to spread the word.

Urban Bard is "...focused on using Toronto's urban landscape in unexpected ways to stage entertaining and relevant theatre." Their venue was the park space behind the College Park building at the corner of Yonge and College. The production had the audience moving from one location to another to see the action of the play.

The actors all did fabulous work, the physical work was great -- especially the fight work. The venue sometimes worked against them, with people walking through or behind the scenes, and with others having loud conversations near the locations. And, of course, College Park is near the hospital district, so we got to hear sirens on regular occasions as well the normal street noises.

All this, however, added to the experience, rather than detracting from it. It gave a fun, entertaining ambience to the production, which the cast and crew carried off in fine style. They made excellent use of the surroundings, including the fountain, stairs and various other obstacles.

My compliments to Scott Moyle, the Artistic Director, who did a great job bringing his vision to life, and to all the cast and crew. Excellent work from everyone.

Urban Bard's Production of Twelfth Night runs September 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 24, 25, 26 at 7 p.m.

Billy Bishop Goes to War

I'm here at Stratford, slightly drunk and happily stuffed, having just finished a wonderful dinner at Down the Street, after spending the afternoon watching West Side Story, which I will rave about tomorrow, because tonight I want to talk about a magnificent performance I saw on Tuesday: Billy Bishop Goes to War, featuring Eric Peterson and John Gray in the roles they originated 30 years ago.

My God, Eric Peterson can act, and the dynamic between John Gray and him on stage is incredible. They've been friends for 30 years, and it shows. John Gray's music and lyrics are as powerful now as when they were first written, and Eric Peterson has the ability to grab an audiences attention and hold it in a way that few actors can manage. Even when a cel phone went off in the audience, which can be a killer for a one man show, he managed to keep his cool, gently scold the audience member and get everyone else in the audience to check to make sure their phones were off, all without being mean, without losing his dignity, and without ever losing his hold on the audience.

Soulpepper has "Talkback Tuesdays," where the actors stay and talk to audience members who wish to ask questions. Wonderful idea - a great way to learn more about the show, the performers, and the concept behind it.

An interesting thing that was raised in the talkback, and that one saw in the performance, was the change of the nature of the show for the actors. When they were younger, it was a play about coming of age, and the horrors of war. Now, as both actors are the age Billy Bishop was when he died, the play for them has changed, taken on a new meaning as a story of survival.

Great play.

Tomorrow, I will rave about West Side Story. Tonight, I'm going to sleep.