weekend of wonders

Last weekend was an amazing, dream-fulfilling type of weekend.

On Saturday, I was lucky to be one of sixteen chosen to attend an all-day master class with Lynda Barry, hosted by the Vancouver International Writers Festival. We were given strict instructions to not socialize until after the workshop was over, but I did have lunch with my husband and John Vigna who was my desk mate. We mostly followed the rules by not talking about the content of the workshop, but did talk about it briefly to agree that it was fantastic.

I have never taken a class like Lynda Barry's, though any of you familiar with her work is probably not at all surprised by this statement. I was completely impressed by her and how she conducted and organized the class. I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to learn from her. I was given tools that I hadn't considered before, and even better, that I know I will use. If you ever have a chance to take a workshop with her, move mountains to make it happen. I'm so thankful that I had.

And to top it off, she gave me a hug at the end. I'm a lucky, lucky lady.

*

On Sunday, my dearest friend, Jennica treated (TREATED!) me to the Madonna concert. We went with Nancy Lee and her husband John Vigna. I rarely go to concerts and I have never been to something like that. It was a visual assault and simply amazing. Sure, I don't really know her new stuff, but man alive, Madonna can put on a show. And she made sure that some of her oldies-but-goodies were represented. My two favourite Madonna songs were done (Express Yourself and Like a Prayer, in case you were wondering) and they were phenomenal. It was spectacle and theatre and left me giddy for a long time.

*

On Monday, it was my birthday. It was strange to be away from my husband and my boys, but I got the best gift. The universe gave me the first day of rehearsals of my first professional theatre production. Yes, dear reader, Initiation Trilogy is in rehearsals and I was fortunate to be in the room for the first three days of rehearsals. I would have liked to have been there longer, but I had to get back to my family as Kevin had to leave town.

There is so much I want to write about the process of bringing Initiation Trilogy to life and I know I won't have the time or space to do it in, but will try to in subsequent posts. Right now I will simply say that the first day was magic and that I am so incredibly lucky to have the creative team on this piece.

a whole lot of great things

It's been a very busy summer, full of movement and acceleration and there is just too much to catch you up on everything, so I'll do the dreaded list.

* I ran my first 10K! 1:03:03...and I haven't run since. Shameful, I know, but I hope to get back at it in September.

* We moved! We now live in Victoria as my husband has got a skookum new job at the university. We live a block from the beach and I can see America from my house! Crazy.

* I've written a play and it's being produced! This October as part of the Vancouver International Writers Fest! I'll write more about it soon, as it's very exciting, but you can read about Initiation Trilogy here.

* Glossolalia is being published this October! My wives have found a home at Anvil Press. There will be even more about this in the coming months, but to say I'm thrilled is an understatement.

I have a couple of interviews that I started in the spring that I'll be putting up once I've unpacked our books and I hope to be around ye olde blogge a lot more now that we're somewhat settled.

all we'll have left is us

Jay: How far we all come, Mary. How far we all come away from ourselves. So far, so much between, you can't even remember where you started or what you had in mind or where you thought you were goin'. All you know is you were headin' some place. One way you do remember. You have a boy or a girl of your own, and now and then you sing to them or hold them, and you know how they feel, and it's almost the same as if you were your old self again. Just think, Mary, my paw used to sing to me. And before my time, even before I was dreamed of in this world, his daddy or his mother used to sing to him, and away back on through the mountains, back past Great-Grandmaw, away on back through the years, right on back to Adam, only nobody ever sang to Adam.

Mary: God did.

Jay: Maybe God did.

Mary: We're supposed to come away from ourselves, Jay. That's the whole point. We're supposed to come away to--

Jay: I know. To God.

Mary: I don't see how you can feel the way you do and not believe in Him.

Jay: We come from people, Mary, and in time they fall away from us, like Great-Granmaw. We give birth to others, and in time they grow away from us, like Ivan will. When we’re about eighty years old, you’n me, all we’ll have left is us. And that’s what I believe in. Maybe that’s it. Maybe that’s where we’re heading – to each other. And the sad thing all our lives is the distance between us. But maybe if we keep goin' in the direction we think is right, maybe we can't ever get all the way there, but at least we can make the distance less'n it was.

from Electric Company Theatre's production of Tad Mosel's All the Way Home