Please yourself.

Dear Friends:

Please yourself. Get out there and do what you want, how your spirit moves you, how you see it. Paint it, dance it, play it, direct it, sew it, sculpt it, act it, write it in a way that makes sense to you. Seems obvious, no? But so many artists worry and self-censor. They want to please everyone.

But you can't worry.  Or, maybe I should say, I wouldn't if I were you. Why? Because you can't please everyone. There are always critics. Everybody's got an opinion and, sure as snow flies in February in this great town, someone is going to absolutely hate what you're doing. It's a certainty. Always. Every time you get out there. Doesn't matter how much you want to please, how you adjust or self-censor....

So, why not please yourself? Way better to be genuine and piss people off than to have to stand up for something that you don't really believe in or aren't really proud of, no?

And don't forget about the people who love your work. Your vision, your input, your turn on whatever it is that you do. Because, just as sure as there are folks who don't appreciate your work, there are those who are going to love it; no, even need it.

So, please yourself.


Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently prepping and leading her Shakespeare is Boffo! theatre arts camps for active kids, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and preparing to direct Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  


Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/

It's something to do.

Quite a ways away, in the distance, I can see the shape of a pennant suspended on a flagpole on top of some kind of structure built on a landscape all shrouded in mist. All I can see is the pennant, really, and even then I cannot see the details on the flag. Far, far, far too far away. Everything in front of me is some shade of grey except that pennant which, right now, seems vaguely red.

That's my next personal project. Not sure why, in my mind, it's a fortress in the wilderness but there you are. Right now, I am contemplating the journey across the fog-laden ground between there and here. Just having finished a show I produced and directed, I am a little weary. And it's safe here -- this sweet little cottage we built. There's food, water, good company, with my feet up and healing from the last trek; the light of a merry fire dancing on our faces. It's cold out there, clammy, a little drizzly, dark. Unknown.

And this, this castle I am going work toward is exponentially larger in vision and in scope and, right this second, it seems too daunting a task for me to even take the first step. Or, really, make the first decision which will, like a warm, gentle breeze, chase off a bit of the grey mist and reveal a something of the structure behind. And as I get closer, details will become plain.  But the journey will be long and hard. Often lonely. And I wonder, as I often do, what the fuck I do it for. Because it's difficult. It costs me.

I think it's because that building has always been there; sitting there, waiting. Waiting for me or someone like me to come along and take notice. And, it beckons and teases and dares me like something forbidden to be the one to show its beauty to the world. It's a temptation that's too hard to resist. So, I will get up from this fire and leave these friends and go out into the cold....

And, what the hell.  It's something to do.

Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and is looking forward to directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  


Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/



Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camp for Kids. The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $150. Quiet supervision available from 8:30 am for only an extra $50 a week. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca 

Now the work begins.

My cast is, I think, a little freaked out when I say this. We are rehearsing Oleanna, a very, very difficult show and we have been working very hard. We have the show blocked, including fight choreography, which we are practicing every night. But when I say: 'now, the work begins', I mean that we have lines to learn, intents and needs to remember, moments to craft until they are ready. Not until they are perfect, mind, but until they are ready. So we can put the book down and really listen. That, as far as I am concerned, is the hardest part.

'But, we have been working very hard already!' My poor cast. 'This is difficult.' They have been excellent about trying listen and stay connected to each other even though the books are in hand. I think, however, even they will be surprised at how much of a leap the show will take when the book goes down and they really start to play. I can hear parts of it already getting closer but we still have ways to go and never enough time to get there. Never enough time.

So, they are freaked out because it's been such a journey already.  I am sure they are wondering when it gets easy. When it gets fun! I think this one will be fun at the bar after and not before. If we are doing this show well, it should never be easy. Never. I think I am a little freaked out about this as well. But one could argue that this is always true. Regardless of what show you are doing, it should be hard.

So, onward. We will be presenting Oleanna as well as any could, I expect. If you are coming to see the show, you will not be disappointed. But, bring along someone you like to argue with because it surely ain't fun. It's work, even for the audience.

Except for, maybe, at the bar after.


Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing and producing Oleanna by David Mamet for a two week run at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, prepping and leading her Shakespeare is Boffo! theatre arts camps for active kids, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  




Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/



Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camp for Kids. The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $150. Quiet supervision available from 8:30 am for only an extra $50 a week. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca 

Uneasy.

As we work more and more on the script of Oleanna, we are all a little uneasy. The script is difficult. Facing it is difficult. Playing it honestly even harder still.

And I, as the director, am not pretending it's easy or even trying to make it easy for them. I am not giving my darlings 'emotional marks' to work toward. I am not indulging in the safety blanket of technique.  If they get hung up, I keep asking them (if my ego doesn't get in the way, dammit):  What does he want right now? What does she need, right now? What is she trying to do? How is he trying to do it? How high are the stakes?

I'm not even telling them where to stand or, specifically, what to do - unless we get really lost. Then, I'll get us out of it by shaping the moment loosely (all the while telling them that I am happy for them to adjust as they get to understand the moment better).

Why? Why am I trying to ask questions more than tell (although, jeez, my ego - you gotta believe I catch myself lecturing in rehearsal)? Why am I trying to faciliate more than impose my 'vision'?

For this show especially, and just about all shows really, I just want my actors to be present and honest for the hour and a half they are on stage. There is no sure and easy way to this end. There are techniques and ideas and such; there is conversation and there are concepts and agreements but in the end we, as artists, need to strip ourselves even of that and just be present and responding honestly.

Now, this is a path of thin ice, a tiny thread across which we must walk the gorge. This is leaning too far off the ladder to reach what we need. This is running into the fray to save someone we love. It's dangerous. Why? Because being present and responding honestly betrays the actor's soul. By definition. By necessity. In front of everybody.

It makes us all uneasy because it's scary. It should feel uneasy. If we were swaddled in technique and concept, vision and method, we would feel safe. But I am very sure we wouldn't be as truthful.

It's a lot like life. There is no quick trick to get us to a valued goal. If we are safe, we are not pushing ourselves. If we are swaddled, we are probably watching TV. One of the greatest challenges in life is to be there for people. To be present, to listen, and to respond honestly. But you do have to bare your soul and that makes you feel unsafe, uneasy. So few folks are willing to do that - except for actors.  Except for actors.


Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing and producing Oleanna by David Mamet for a two week run at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, prepping and leading her Shakespeare is Boffo! theatre arts camps for active kids, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. 


Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/



Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camp for Kids. The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $150. Quiet supervision available from 8:30 am for only an extra $50 a week. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca 

On toilet paper and underpants.

Don't worry. It's safe to read on.

When I was in my early thirties, I started working professionally as a stage manager. Stage managing is a very challenging, time consuming, hyper-responsible job which I handled with reasonable success and even some humour. But it could, at times, be difficult.  Over the course of a few years, I started to notice signs - I am sure distinct to me - that told me I was trying to do a tad too much.

First, the toilet paper would run out. This initial clue was almost invariably ignored because of the ubiquitous box of kleenex. Then a few days later, I would reach into my top dresser drawer and pull out the last pair of gotchies. Now, if I dealt with the latter problem by doing some laundry, all was well. But if I dealt with the lack of underwear by stopping by Zellers to buy new ones on the way to the theatre for yet another 18 hour call, I knew I was in trouble.

Well fast forward fifteen years. Haven't stage managed in a very long time but here's me, trying to do too much, again, in a completely different role. This time I am directing and producing Oleanna. We are well in the swing of things and I am dealing with all the great moments and the 'gah!' of dealing with problems. It's getting intense.

I know because the toilet paper ran out a couple of days ago and I have been to the Zellers. Even getting this blog out (and I like to write -- I really do), has been challenging. I've been quiet for a whole month. Just can't wait to see if I can beat the Nanowrimo challenge next month (which means writing 2,500 words a day) while getting the show on its feet. I won't have a stitch of clean clothing left.

But, you know:  I wouldn't have it any other way.

Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing and producing Oleanna by David Mamet for a two week run at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, prepping and leading her Shakespeare is Boffo! theatre arts camps for active kids, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  


Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/



Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camp for Kids. The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $150. Quiet supervision available from 8:30 am for only an extra $50 a week. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca 

Small Detail. Big Picture.

I am fussing about pens, and water. Forms and script printouts. And I can only describe it as fussing, though this kind of behaviour is really not like me. I have taken on the two jobs of Directing and Producing this time out and, because of a twist of fate, might have to stage manage the piece as well.

For those of you who don't know what that means: The Director is in creative charge of the big picture. She will make large and small decisions, including what pens go on the desk onstage, but she will not fuss over the pens and pencils we use in rehearsal. Or the coffee, or whether we need tea or milk or whether the signs are up or... She will, instead, focus on the talent and the creative. In auditions (we are starting them tonight), the Director's full attention aught to be on the actors coming in, on assessing their abilities and deciding whether they can play the parts on offer. It's the Producer who wants to worry about whether there is an audition secretary, whether there are signs, and who wants tea.

Preparation seems to be the key word for the day -- and will be, I think, for the rest of the production. I am pretty sure I can stay weeks ahead of deadlines as long as I am clear what they are - assuming I remember everything. Tall order being a lady of a certain age. Ha! So this is probably why I am fussing.

I was worried, I have to admit, that immersion in detail might affect my enjoyment of the process. Funny from someone who used to live for the detail. I was a professional stage manager for a very long time. Lists, lists, lists. Think, think, think. Safety, safety. For me, productions were like one huge puzzle of thousands of pieces. Each piece fit together or I made it fit together and, by the time we opened, the whole machine would work. And work well, for the most part. But, now, I worry that too much attention to detail might get in the way.

As a Director, I feel I need to keep my mind and heart open to express truthfully, listen simply, and respond honestly in the hope that we can, as a group, develop a piece that makes absolute sense, resonates emotionally, and tells the story extremely well. Now, don't get me wrong. I do my due diligence, my research, make my lists, know what I want, and read, read, read the text. It's all about the text. But, when I get into rehearsal, I am capable of throwing out the lot if we start moving down a new path that really works. That's fun for me. To discover. And, it looks like this process works judging from how folks tend to respond to the work.

So I wonder: will I be able to stay open while fussing over what time it is? We shall see. This production marks my first return to sorting detail in years. Years. I think I was staying away from the minutia on purpose, actually, in order to more fully become what I am now without falling back on behaviours that were comfortable or easy. Because making a list is dead easy. Honesty is hard.

So, onward with my new theatrical experiment. Perhaps I will find that handling the small details won't get in the way of the creation of the big picture. Who knows? But I will, definitely, find out.

And, oh shoot, I'd best print out that signage.


Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing and producing Oleanna by David Mamet for a two week run at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, prepping and leading her Shakespeare is Boffo! theatre arts camps for active kids, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  

Make a donation to Raising Oleanna, a fundraiser in support of Jacqui's production of Oleanna by David Mamet.

Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/



Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camp for Kids. The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $150. Quiet supervision available from 8:30 am for only an extra $50 a week. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca 

Can't thank everyone enough, so far, except...

I have been working away, working away trying to raise funds for Oleanna by David Mamet, my production opening in November, for the last few months. It's been my primary focus. I have had to stretch myself quite a bit and embrace behaviours that I previously would have found difficult. I have put certain things aside (like the blogging) as I learned about how to address social media platforms, assessed different marketing strategies, weighed options, and did the bookkeeping (bleck).

This project has been good for me. And the show has done well. We have not raised the lot but we have more than enough money to keep going and for that I am thankful. Never felt luckier to have this opportunity. And, once again, I want to thank those who were able to support Oleanna thus far. Can't thank you enough.

In fact, there are folks that have been so supportive for the last couple of years that I have been wracking my brain to try and figure out appropriate ways to thank them. I bet you know who you are. There is great food and wine in your future...  But, after really pondering this problem, I think I understand the best way to thank everyone.

I have to do not only a good but an amazing job on this show. The absolute best I can do.

That's it. Nothing more to say.

Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing and producing Oleanna by David Mamet for a two week run at the Red Sandcastle Theatre for her own company Jaybird Productions, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  

Make a donation to Raising Oleanna, a fundraiser in support of Jacqui's production of Oleanna by David Mamet.

Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/



Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camp for Kids. The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $150. Quiet supervision available from 8:30 am for only an extra $50 a week. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca 

It could happen.

Well, as one embarks on a new endeavour, there are those dark moments in which one contemplates the pure, utter disaster that a failure could be.  Whoosh.  Super-not-so-fun.  I know about his because I have failed before -- it's embarrasing, to say the least.  Usually costs a lot of money.  But...I've also managed a few wins.  

I often want to get up and have a gander at the world.  As short as I am, I will pile things up, climb on top and and have a good look around.  Makes me quite the target.  So, with Oleanna, my latest project, I am pretty much up as high as I can go and whosoever might be gunning for me (fate, circumstance, plain bad luck) should be able to take me out without too much trouble -- as I have gone ahead and piled up what could be considered some rickety stuff to stand on this time out.

Not that Oleanna is, in any way, a bad play or that I am unsure of being able to a great job of it but more this:  We are living in interesting times, as the old proverb goes, and most theatres are doing shows that are easier and more fun to go and see. They want as many bums in the seats as they can get. Oleanna is many things, including a riveting piece of work, but it is not easy. It's not fun. And, of course, theatre is supposed to be dying.... Yikes!

Well, I am pretty sure theatre isn't dying but I do think our audience is no longer aware of the innate benefits of seeing live theatre. I was shocked a year or so back when a woman in her late thirties confessed that she had never seen a live theatre production in her life. Never. Wow. And I am thinking there are more people in her shoes than I would have previously believed. Of course, there are a lot of folks for whom live theatre is only the last touring production of Beauty and the Beast.  Hmmmmm....

So, if a lot of my potential audience are in these boats, how would they know that intimate, live theatre is a fantastic, visceral experience shared between artist and audience? That there's nothing like it? Well. They wouldn't.

So, I am going to have to sell this one. And I will. As well as contacting the theatre lovers, since Oleanna is an altercation between college professor and student, I have a marketing plan that includes reaching out to the (how many?) college and university level students and faculty in the fine city of Toronto. Hopefully, I can intrigue some of them to try something that may be completely new to them.

Other than that, I have my fundraiser on the go and getting all my other ducks lined up nicely. All I wish is this: That I will do everything in my power to make Oleanna a success. If I do it all and still fail, then I will actually be proud of myself even though it will look a lot like failure to other folks. I am thinking that we only really fail in life by not trying, by not doing what we imagine, or by not trying hard enough when the opportunity comes along.

And maybe, just maybe, all that work will add up to a win this time out. It could happen.


 
Make a donation to Raising Oleanna, a fundraiser in support of Jacqui's production of Oleanna by David Mamet.


Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing and producing Oleanna by David Mamet for a two week run at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, prepping and leading her Shakespeare is Boffo! theatre arts camps for active kids, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  



Jacqui Burke
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/



Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camp for Kids. The Homeschoolers` Version: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $150. Quiet supervision available from 8:30 am for only an extra $50 a week. Spots are going fast. Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca 

Why this piece? Why now?

I am launching a project to produce a little show called Oleanna by David Mamet.  You'd think that, considering I am an articulate and intelligent type, I would have a dozen great reasons for the why of this particular play.  The project is going to take a lot of time and resources.  I will be begging favours, I know, for months before this project is done.  I will be drained when I am through. So what are all the reasons to embark on this craziness?

I can tell you it's an excellent piece.  It's written by David Mamet, arguably the best American playwright alive today.  Mamet has changed the way way we understand relationships -- even the way we hear ourselves.  In Oleanna, a student goes to her professor seeking help with course material.  In that first meeting, the student is convinced that the professor attempts to sexually exploit her.  She subsequently accuses him of such and ruins his life.  Their power struggle is riveting.  But that's not really why I am doing the show.


I can tell you that if I don't do this show myself, I will likely not be able to do the show in Community Theatre.  We are living in difficult times and the uncertain economy is having a huge impact on Community Theatres all over Toronto.  These organizations are responding with material that is easily approachable, that is funny or heartwarming.  It can be argued that all stories are worth telling but I think that we are shying away from stories that are challenging because we believe that  no one is interested, that no one will come.  I don't think this is true and I am looking seriously at many challenging titles.  But that's not really why I am doing the show.

I can tell you that this show is in line with many of my sociopolitical interests.  I am an unabashed feminist and interested in power as it impacts human relationships.  This show deals with a lot of these issues and a lot of my friends are into discussions on these topics; so I am sure I have an audience - even if it might be a small one.  But that's not really why I am doing the show.

I can tell you I will do a solid job.  I have just finished two two-handers in a row and had a great time doing them:  Wrong For Each Other for Encore Productions and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions.  Both directing efforts were well received.  But that's not really why I am doing the show.

Here are all the reasons why I am doing the show: 

1)  Because I want to.

That's it.  That's all of it.  I want to, committed to, ready to work like crazy over the next few months to do this thing.  And despite the fact that folks would assume I am much more complex being, the truth is very simple.

And I hope you come and see it.


Support Raising Oleanna, a fundraiser (similar to Kickstarter) in support of this project.


Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing and producing Oleanna by David Mamet and is looking forward to directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.

Want to contact me?

Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text:  647-292-0210
twitter:  @jaybird01
skype:   Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/

Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids.  Two installments in 2012:  The Homeschoolers` Version:  11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $155.  Premium Full Day Summer Camp:  9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $200.  Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012.  Spots are going fast.  Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca

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Invasion

On Wednesday, the Toronto Fringe Festival starts.  It's a crazy invasion of over 150 shows, hundreds of artists, thousands of theatre lovers tipified, in my mind, by The Great Poster Sprint (in which artists can put up posters advertising their shows) on Wednesday at about 4:30 pm. I am on a jury that is adjudicating as many offerings as possible to choose eight or nine shows for The Best of the Toronto Fringe Uptown, a fantastic festival in August that showcases some of the best of what the Fringe is all about.  As part of that jury, I will see, likely, thirty-five shows.  And then, after, as many as I can....  :)  I couldn't be happier.

But, you say, the Fringe can be so hit-and-miss!  You might sit through a lot of bad stuff. Yes!  Yes, it is and I do.  And yay!

For those of you who don't know how the Fringe Toronto works:  This festival is un-adjudicated.  Entries are chosen by lottery.  That's it.  So, if you have an idea and you want to submit your name, ya pays yer entry fee and ya takes yer chances.  Some of the companies who win are more than up to the task. Others struggle.  Some very worthy companies do not get picked.  It's completely random.  Once picked, a company builds and presents its show and ticket sales determine how much a company makes.  So, it's a good idea to do an entertaining show.  Some shows are hits; some not.  But the worthy ones tend to rise to the top.

Long and short, however, is this:  The Fringe is the celebration of creative drive and spark.  A festival of intent, a festival of initiative.  Amazing. I am happy to sit through dozens of shows to see one terrific one.  If you feel the way I do and want some company, message me and I will let you know what shows I am seeing.

But, even if you are leery, there are options.  Hold off until Friday, for example. Many of the 'good' shows are determined in the first days of the festival.  Take a look at the following for feedback but be aware that if you wait, the popular shows will be harder to get into:

http://www.nowtoronto.com/guides/fringe/2012/
http://www.mooneyontheatre.com/
@Toronto_Fringe

And there are many other options for vetting shows.  Definitely by Friday, the hits of the Fringe will be apparent and you can go and see them without fear. As soon as I am able - bearing in mind that the committee deliberations need to be private - I will release what I can.

However, I invite you to come down right at the very beginning.  Come see a show on Wednesday night.  I think that part of the Fringe Festival is fear.  The artists lay so much on the line every time they get out there.  I think that, perhaps, audience members could also, from time to time, lay something on the line, too.  Be an integral part of the process.  Be a part of the invasion.  Super fun.


Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing Kidsplay 2012:  The Mayan Prediction opening June 20. 2012 at the Palmerston Library Theatre for one night only, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions running July 20-21st, 2012 at the Alum Studio.  Next year, she is looking forward to producing/directing her own show in the fall, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.

Want to contact me?

Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text:  647-292-0210
twitter:  @jaybird01
skype:   Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/

Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids.  Two installments in 2012:  The Homeschoolers` Version:  11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $155.  Premium Full Day Summer Camp:  9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $200.  Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012.  Spots are going fast.  Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca

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Skipping to the End

Have you ever looked back at yourself a few years earlier and wondered: "Who the heck was I?  I would never do that today!"  Or:  "I cannot believe I was so green."  It is a natural part of life that we live and grow constantly and that what we become, sometimes, is so different to what we were that we can hardly acknowledge that the you-now and the you-then are even the same person.  Some folks actively pursue change through self-improvement but most of us, without realizing it, are learning all the time, changing constantly, and becoming something new, something wiser, not always better, but always evolving.

Plays can be viewed as microcosms rife with change.  Something is happening here: something very important; something by which absolutely everyone will be affected.  Every character, from the chorus boy to the leading lady, will be touched in some way by the prominent story arc and, because of it, will change and will evolve into something new.  In some cases, that evolution will entail the individual literally changing her mind or actions completely.  In some cases, the change will involve the person becoming more rigid or justified in his beliefs.  But, something will happen in that character's head out of the process of the show that will require or force that character to grow - for the good or the bad.

And it is that growth, that dawning understanding, that realization of caring or hatred, that ownership of need that we, as an audience, recognize in our bones, identify with, and makes us love that character.  It's the journey that makes us care about them - whether they triumph in the end or no.  It's the journey.

So, I invite all my gentle readers, when preparing to present a character onstage or in scene study, to ask yourself two questions:

1. Who is this person at the beginning of the play/scene?
2. Who is this person at the end of the play/scene?

When you know where the character starts and where the character ends, much will become clear.  How did the person behave at the beginning?  Is she flippant and fun?  Is he morose and brooding?  How does this person behave at the end?  Does she become serious and forthright?  Does he lighten and open his heart?  Answers to these questions will give you clues on general character body work, energy, pitch of voice.  Answers to these questions will tell you how the character moves, talks, holds her head even, and especially, if the character seems not to change.

And how the heck does she get from point A to point B?  What moments affect her?  Where does she have her epiphanies?  Reading the story for moments of change is a great way to identify the character's journey and will fuel your own creativity as an artist trying to honestly portray a character in crisis.

So many shows lose the journey, somehow.  We are often presented, at the beginning, with the creature into which the character should, finally, evolve.  Sadly, so many shows skip to the end.



Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing Kidsplay 2012:  The Mayan Prediction opening June 20. 2012 at the Palmerston Library Theatre for one night only, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions running July 20-21st, 2012 at the Alum Studio.  Next year, she is looking forward to producing/directing her own show in the fall, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.

Want to contact me?

Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text:  647-292-0210
twitter:  @jaybird01
skype:   Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/

Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids.  Two installments in 2012:  The Homeschoolers` Version:  11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $155.  Premium Full Day Summer Camp:  9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $200.  Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012.  Spots are going fast.  Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca

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Clay and Dirt.

I am starting The Last Five Years in just a couple of days.  Now, just a week or so ago, at the fundraising event for the show, I was pleased to meet Toby, one of the industrious young folks producing and starring in this show.  I was dead impressed with the energy and talent at this fundraising event and was happy to have attended.  But Toby said the funniest thing when I met him and I paraphrase:  "You're the one who's going to mold me into shape, huh?"

It was and, I suppose, still is common in theatre to see a director as the only truly active artist in the room, the one who takes dumb slabs of clay, bends them and molds them and returns a work of art of which only she can conceive.  Actors are not a part of a generative artistic process and are considered vacant vessels waiting to be filled with the vision and wisdom of the director.

In my view, it's all poppycock, of course, but that's what some people believe.  I think of the process as a more collaborative one in which I have done the most thinking and research and reserve the right to final decision-making (thereby avoiding unnecessary conflict) but enjoy those fantastic moments of discovery and epiphany in rehearsal that can lead to a solid show.

I prefer to think of myself more as a kind of gardener, helping a performer grow into a role.  The performer is not a dead hunk of wet dirt but, more, a delicate plant trying to push itself up out of the ground and thrive in the sunlight.  In this way, if I think of the creative process as something quivering and young, as opposed to dead in my hands, I believe I will be less likely to ground these seedlings into the dirt before they have a chance to grow into a beautiful, majestic performance.

And, I always like to add when I am discussing this analogy, it helps this process of growth that I am so full of shit.




Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing Kidsplay 2012:  The Mayan Prediction opening June 20. 2012 at the Palmerston Library Theatre for one night only, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions running July 20-21st, 2012 at the Alum Studio.  Next year, she is looking forward to producing/directing her own show in the fall, directing Love Letters for Encore Entertainment, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for Scarborough Theatre Guild.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.

Want to contact me?

Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text:  647-292-0210
twitter:  @jaybird01
skype:   Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/

Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids.  Two installments in 2012:  The Homeschoolers` Version:  11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $155.  Premium Full Day Summer Camp:  9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $200.  Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012.  Spots are going fast.  Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca

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Balancing Fear

When I was a kid, people were still into afternoon tea parties at which foks were daintily and prettily dressed.  Everyone spoke evenly and smiled, but nobody laughed, and one spent most of one's time precariously balancing a cup of tea on one's knee. Some thirty-five years later, things change.  Now, it's definitely not afternoon parties and/or definitely not tea parties and I not only smile but, apparently, am famous for my laugh.  What remains, though, is the balancing act.

I am embarking on two new personal projects for Jaybird Productions, my own company, besides the shows I have committed to directing for other companies next year.  The first is David Mamet's Oleanna that I plan to mount in November of this year, assuming I can get the rights and a space.  The second is an all woman version of The Taming of the Shrew which I plan to do in some park, somewhere, in the summer of 2013.  Almost certainly in Leslieville or the Beaches.  And, though I have developed significant skill over the last four or five years of directing consistently and some-odd forty years of theatrical experience, every time I think about doing these things, I lose my breath.

What you may not know about me (because, folks, I come across as confident - sometimes a bit cocky) is the stress reaction - the losing my breath - is almost certainly a good sign.  But, usually, I get this reponse later in the process like, say, the day before rehearsal starts, for example.  It's a sign to me that I am personally invested in the project.  That I am committed.  If I get the reaction, I breath.  I steady myself.  It's all about balance.

Though tea is a lovely, sometimes soothing, and healthy drink, the thing about it is it's hot.  You can burn yourself if you spill it. So, too, with creative projects.  We have a burning desire to work, to do yet another show, but we don't want to get burned.  And when one is producing one's own projects, there's this wall, here.  See it?  White hot.  And there, too.  And there, another one.  Must be steady.  Navigate carefully.

Mamet's Oleanna is not usually a show that community theatres do - and, of course, in these economic times I should be doing a comedy - but I am desperate to do it and, therefore, am mounting it myself.  Why?  Well, it's not a dainty show.  Not in the least.  There's this little fight at the end.  It has to be believable and vicious.  Fun.  And don't ask me why I want to do The Taming of the Shrew with an all woman cast.  I can't articulate it (which means no Community Theatre would let me do it -- they like fast talkin' directors) but I am going to do it.  And there I go, again.  Just lost my breath.

How does one balance this fear?  Funnily enough, for me, by applying a zen-like focus on the the detail, on the doing.  By ignoring the big whys, the big picture.  It's important to be at the party.  The sun is shining.  It's a nice afternoon.  Everyone's here.  Just focus on balancing that cup of tea and you won't spill it.

Of course, I now have not one but two cups of tea.  Good thing I have a strong sense of balance, quite a bit of practice, and two knees.



Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing Kidsplay 2012:  The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.

Want to contact me?

Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text:  647-292-0210
twitter:  @jaybird01
skype:   Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/

Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids.  Two installments in 2012:  The Homeschoolers` Version:  11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125.  Premium Full Day Summer Camp:  9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155.  Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012.  Spots are going fast.  Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca

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Mr. Foster, I divorce you. Until next time.

Mr. Foster, I divorce you.

Because of the protracted nature of a community theatre rehearsal schedule, I have been involved in prepping or rehearsing or watching the run of one of your shows for about nine months, now.  Don't take this badly.  These were good shows.  Good.  Affections of May was the first. Produced by Scarborough Theatre Guild, it went up in January of this year and was well received.  Great bunch of folks.  Won itself some nominations.  Nice.  And we just finished Wrong For Each Other for Encore Entertainment yesterday.  Also, well received.  Truly lovely cast.

But I divorce you.

I have new playwrights' heads to inhabit and other projects on the go.  Make no mistake; it was a marvellous love affair but I have to move on.  Call me any name you will but I, definitely, love the one I'm with.

But, listen:  If you come around again, whispering to me with these characters that feel like friends, this dialogue that trips along and volleys back and forth, these jokes that come in surprising places but are still funny not shocking....  If you come around again with your strong, established female characters, your kind male characters, with your basic, honest, believable moments....  If you come around, again....

As I have said before, you, sir, might prefer someone younger and cuter but you will never find someone more devoted.  At least for a time.  Because, when I am done, I will leave you again as flatly as I am doing today.

And, I am sure, you wouldn't have it any other way (not that I am calling you names). As Richard Bach says, "A farewell is necessary before we can meet again."


Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012:  The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.

Want to contact me?

Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text:  647-292-0210
twitter:  @jaybird01
skype:   Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/

Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids.  Two installments in 2012:  The Homeschoolers` Version:  11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125.  Premium Full Day Summer Camp:  9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155.  Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012.  Spots are going fast.  Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca

Like what you read?
Encourage me by clicking on one of these ads in this blog. 

Bad dress rehearsal means...you had a bad dress rehearsal.

There is an old saying in theatre:  A bad dress rehearsal means a great opening night and a good run.  It's thought that the adrenalin produced on opening night after a disasterous dress rehearsal will solve all problems and even allow the show to transcend artistic expectations and really fly.  Some people secretly hope for a bad dress rehearsal.  After all, it makes for a great theatre story, right?

Not me.  No way.

I want a dress rehearsal that is almost boring, we know what we're doing so well.  I want a dress rehearsal in which the cast can start to move well through the space, listen to each other one last time, and make a few more discoveries before having to integrate the audience into what they are doing.  I want a dress rehearsal during which it becomes painfully clear that we need an audience.  And, I also want a black and white pony.

What I mean is that we can't always get that fantastic dress rehearsal.  We sometimes (as we did with Wrong For Each Other produced by Encore Productions here in Toronto) get a little behind in our scheduling goals.  This time we had a vacation half way through the rehearsal process, preceeded by a night of sickness (losing one rehearsal), and followed by Easter (losing two more rehearsals).  All in all, we lost about two and a half weeks from about a seven week rehearsal process.  This period (in the way I approach rehearsing), unfortunately, is the chunk of time normally allotted work the heck out of the scenes, doing them over and over and over again and practically learning the lines on our feet.  But we lost all that time.  Ooooookay.

What happened to us?  Well, fear not, gentle reader.  Enter my fabulous, glorious, hard-working cast.  Mario D'Alimonte and Kelly Ann Woods spent the rest of what was left of our rehearsal period hammering out their lines, working very hard, solving problems, and gracefully adjusting as we understood how scenes transitions needed to flow (because we hadn't even had a chance to rehearse them either).  We all had our eye fixed clearly on our goals and we worked hard.

And the process became about the lines.  Remembering the lines.  Not getting lost in the lines.  See, they didn't get that awesome chance to learn those lines as they moved through the space over, and over, and over again. They literally had to learn them by rote.  Ptui.  As we moved into the theatre, there was very little forward momentum in terms of progress in performing the piece.  After we moved in, we leapt ahead every night but, still, I had no idea what the dress rehearsal would bring.

It was a magical night.  It's so amazing to see two actors relax into their roles and really listen.  Turn off the part of the brain that worries about lines and turn on the part of the brain that understands timing and delivery.  Turn off the part of the brain that tells them where to move and turn on the part of the brain that just allows you to be present.  It's a kind of flowering of performance that usually happens a few runs in for most shows, sometimes later, and, sadly, sometimes never.  And such a gift for a director.   Notes were swift that night -- just remarking on this or that little problem and clearing up one interpretive issue.  They did a fabulous job.

And are still doing it, by the way. We are getting excellent audience response.  I am not necessarily saying that a bad dress rehearsal means a bad opening.  Far from it.  I am just saying that one can, even in the extreme circumstances as we had here, have an excellent dress rehearsal and an excellent run.


Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012:  The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.

Want to contact me?

Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text:  647-292-0210
twitter:  @jaybird01
skype:   Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/

Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids.  Two installments in 2012:  The Homeschoolers` Version:  11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125.  Premium Full Day Summer Camp:  9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155.  Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012.  Spots are going fast.  Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca

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Encourage me by clicking on one of these ads in this blog. 

A standing ovation just can't beat a walk across the lobby...

Just about every community theatre show I see gets some kind of standing ovation.  Which is super duper and really supportive of the audience.  And most folks I talk to after seeing these shows think they are just great.  Which, again, is super duper and really supportive.  Reviews of every community show tend to be neutral or glowing.  Which, again, is super duper and really supportive.   And, finally, a few days ago, I went to the ACTCO (Association of Community Theatres of Central Ontario) Gala, a party at which awards for community theatre are given out -- best actor, best show, etc.  This gala is the final event in a process designed to teach community theatre folk how to present shows better.  The awards were, for the most part, fairly and evenly spaced amongst the groups.  Every group got a nod in terms of a nomination.  Which, again, is super duper and really supportive.

What it isn't is discerning, which is too bad.  Because healthy crticism can make us better performers or designers or directors or whatever.

Our impulse -- and don't forget, mine too! -- is to support our friends and fellows busting their butts out there for no money and little recognition.  Ask me what I thought of the show in the lobby after and I am honestly going to tell you the positive bits because I, personally, honour all the effort and work put into every community theatre show.

But, wait.  What if what *I* am doing as a director actually isn't that good?  What if I'm not getting any better or floundering a little?  If I (and let me tell you, I have lots of opinions) won't give negative feedback after a show, how would I expect anyone else to so do?  And the corollory, if I am blind to something I am doing which is weak, how will I know without constructive criticism?

How does a director or actor or designer or whatever really know that what they are doing is entertaining or as entertaining and clear as it should be?

One would immediately say, what about that person's friends?  A good friend will be honest, no?  Well, not if one surrounds oneself with folks who idolize or who are politically silent. 

Me?  I rely on perfect strangers.  And not even the kindness of perfect strangers but, really, their feet.

Firstly, audiences vote with their feet and I don't mean getting on their feet during the applause.  The average theatre goer might not know all the whys of what they love about a show but it, usually, makes them want to come back for more.  So, a solid indication of quality is a growing audience or growing subscription base.  The group should be able to monitor by watching the figures over time what directors or actors or show choices their audiences love.  There should be a direct correlation between whether the public likes a show and the sales of the NEXT one or subscriptions to the NEXT year - allowing, of course, for solid show choices that should appeal to your audience.

Secondly (this happens but rarely and it is so sweet when it does), you are standing in the lobby after a show and a complete stranger walks over to you, seeking you out, and tells you that this show was one of the best they have seen in the space in a number of years.  Or they honestly tell you that you gave a great performance.  Or that that nifty design thing you did was cool.  Complete strangers.  Crossing the lobby.

As long as I am impressing people I don't know enough for them to make that effort to cross the lobby and talk to me, I'm pretty sure I'm on the right track.


Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012:  The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.

Want to contact me?

Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text:  647-292-0210
twitter:  @jaybird01
skype:   Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/

Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids.  Two installments in 2012:  The Homeschoolers` Version:  11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125.  Premium Full Day Summer Camp:  9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155.  Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012.  Spots are going fast.  Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca

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Encourage me by clicking on one of these ads in this blog. 

Welcome to my boutique....summer camp.

About a week before I was slated to start teaching the March Break Camp this year, I saw the signs.  The ROM was advertising all over town for its summer camps - early in March.  Of  course, my heart sank.  I simply do not have the advertising clout that can be marshaled by a major institution like that. And they were full on, probably expecting to get a ton of registrations during March Break or these weeks following as harried parents scurry to get their kids into quality programs.  Half of those slots will be filled in the next few weeks.  So what the heck do I think I'm doing out here in this crazy competitive market?

The wail of the tiny -- smaller than small -- business person.

 So, in order to keep the chin up, I believe a reiteration of core values is in order:

• I started these camps in the hope of attracting active kids to the study of theatre in general and Shakespeare in the specific.  How?  Give the kids boffer (soft) swords and let them bash each other about benignly (and then get them to do a bit of performing as well).  It's active.  It's fun.  They love it.  And kids who are active actually learn better.  So, so...
• I started these camps with the goal of sending kids home tired.  Course it tires me out, too, but what the heck?
• I started these camps to offer a premium artist-led experience
• I started these camps to get the kids outside for a significant portion of the day.  Fresh air is good for you. 

 Okay, phew.

 So, if you are looking for a freer, more fluid, and active experience for your child this summer, welcome to my tiny little boutique camp without the boutique price.  How did I manage that?  Not my fault.  I thank my friend Trish O'Reilly at The Open Door for her tireless efforts to make use of empty space at St. David's Anglican Church.  They have a great series of summer programs there -- all at great prices, all artist-driven with low teacher/camper ratios.

I am hoping to have the budget to compete in advertising, at least a little bit, with the more established camps and institutional camps.  Well, maybe next year....  :)


Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions opening in April, Kidsplay 2012:  The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July.  She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.  She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp sessions for 2012.

Want to contact me?

Jacqui Burke
Artistic Director
Jaybird Productions
talk/text:  647-292-0210
twitter:  @jaybird01
skype:   Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/

Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo! Premium Summer Camps for Kids.  Two installments in 2012:  The Homeschoolers` Version:  11:00 am – 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125.  Premium Full Day Summer Camp:  9:00 am – 4:00 pm, July 16-20, 2012 for only $155.  Both prices hold until May 15th, 2012.  Spots are going fast.  Register, now at www.shakespeareisboffo.ca

Choose A Performance Teacher Who's Right For You

One of the best ways to hone our craft as performers is to find a great teacher who helps us take our next step forward.  Teachers come in all shapes, styles, price tags, and sizes.  And you only have so much time and so much money.  How to pick one that's right for you?

1. What's your budget?

Decide ahead of time how much money you are willing to spend in any given month toward classes and skills improvement.  Divide it by four and you have a weekly class rate.  Stick to that rate and go out and find teachers who are offering classes within your budget.

2.  Does this teacher teach for a living?

Does this person spend the bulk of her time in the studio or in the classroom teaching?  Or does this person take the odd student on the side?  No matter how brilliant an actor/singer/musician/director the individual is, her performance or directing abilities do not necessarily make her a good teacher.  This is especially true in Community Theatre.  If the person in question is a desk jockey and has been for the last ten years, that's what she does best.  This is not to say that she might not have something to offer or that she might not be passionate but, still, I would opt for a pro as they tend to have more to offer in the long run.

3.  Is this teacher one of the most experienced around?

As a corollary to the second point, hire the best.  Always the best.  Well, the best you can afford.  It's a proven fact that surgeons with the most experience make the least mistakes on the table.  So, get out there and use word of mouth, industry reviews, and research.  Find out who's available and hire the teacher who is considered the best - who is most in demand and always working.  AND look for someone who's been teaching for at least ten years.  That should give her her ten thousand hours - the estimated time it takes to really get good at something.  Always, always choose the best you can afford.

4.  Does this person primarily teach in your discipline?

Good teachers can jump disciplines but it's wise to go to an acting teacher for acting and a dance instructor for dancing, and a guitar teacher for guitar.... 

5.  What kind of teaching style does this teacher employ?

Don't be shy.  Go to a few trial classes.  Or give it a good go and try him out for six weeks.  What kind of teacher is he?  Is he the kind who admonishes or is he the kind of teacher who calmly corrects errors?  Is this person mean? 

Remember this teacher's voice is going to sit in your head.  You are going to hear this teacher's voice in your head at auditions, while you are standing in the wings, and even while you are performing.  So, so.  What voice do you want to hear?  Would you like the voice that belittles?  Or the voice that raises you up?  Do you want to be reminded of how flawed you are?  Or do you want that voice to focus on your strengths?  It's a common belief that the meaner the teacher, the better the performer does.  This does not appear to be the case.  The brain flowers when it's ready.

Further, it is a basic psychological premise that a person who believes they can succeed - someone who is confident - will, statistically speaking, do better at whatever task is in front them.  And significantly better than a person who believes they are not worthy or ready.  So, I would choose a positive voice.  Not only is that voice more pleasant, it might help you win more roles just because it makes you feel more confident, or helps you feel strong enough to perform really well.

This is not to say that, at times, your teacher might not make you feel very uncomfortable.  A good teacher sees our flaws, all of them -- especially those that we think we are getting away with.  But there are ways and ways of teaching.  Why not find someone who is good, who is also kind?

6.  Do you like this person?

Again, try out a few classes.  Do you feel comfortable and open?  Choosing a teacher is similar to choosing a therapist.  It's much easier if you get along well with her.  I am not saying you have to be soul mates, two peas in a pod.  You can be as different as chalk and cheese -- in fact, that might spur your creativity -- but still get along well.  You know when you feel confortable.

7.  Who does the teacher blame for your success?

This might be a sort of corollary to point 5.  Does this teacher believe that you won't get anywhere without him?  Or does this teacher want help you along the way?  Does the teacher believe he can make a difference?  Or does he believe that you can make a difference?

And it might help to take a moment to let you know how we learn.  Scientists have started to refer to the learning process as The Flowering of the Brain.  And the process is similar to titration - the process in which we slowly add one chemical solution to another.  We have a solution in a beaker and the other solution that we are adding slowly, drop by drop.  Drip, drip, drip.  Nothing happens.  Drip, drip, drip.  Nothing happens.  Drip, drip, drip.  Still nothing.  Then, finally, the last drip falls into the beaker and the whole solution changes.

This is how we learn.  We struggle to take our acting to another level.  It seems so hard.  And, along the way, we have multiple experiences.  On stage experiences, rehearsal experiences, in class experiences, life experiences.  Each exoerience is one more drip.  But still it is hard; still we don't get it.  Then, all of a sudden, we have a breakthrough.  Our brain flowers.  And suddenly, what was once hard is now easy.  We know it.  In our bones.  We even wonder what we thought was so hard for us before!  By the way, age does not affect the flowering.  We can (and should!) continue to learn all of our lives.

So, really, the person doing the hard work, putting together all the pieces, and allowing it to stew in their head is you -- not your teacher.  There are teachers out there who, out of ignorance, seem to have this process the wrong way around.  (They can be forgiven because the research is relatively new and, especially in the arts, we like to deify.)  Because a teacher happens to be present at a flowering, it makes him believe that his teaching was key to that flowering -- even though the student learns absolutely everywhere.  This particular breakthrough might be the result of hundreds of drips over the last year.  Any one teacher cannot take credit.

So, mistakenly, some teachers believe they can guarantee an improvement in a person's performance in, say, six weeks.  This is not true.  Each person flowers at different rates.  We know that intelligence is part of the process and we think it speeds up flowering but we are not sure.

At any rate, be wary of teachers who are arrogant in their craft.  Their assumption is they are the source of a performer's development -- and that if you, as a student, can't flower during that six weeks, the problem is you.  Nothing can be further from the truth and nothing can damage your confidence as a performer more than having your teacher take credit for your success and blame you for your failure.

In the end, you want to be around someone who knows that you own your performance.  After all, you're going to be the one giving it.


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Jacqui Burke is a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other for Encore Productions (www.encoreshows.com) opening in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction opening in June, and The Last Five Years for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also, serializing The Pretender, her first novel, online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/. 

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What's Your Tell?

When we get out there to perform or create, all of us -- all of us -- are attempting to do something special every time.  But all of us are forced, at some point or in some situtation, to cut corners whether we like it or not -- and sometimes we don't even realize what we're doing.  Now, the problem with cutting corners as an actor is this:  sometimes whatever technique we employ becomes part of our style.  Yikes.  Forget about doing something special when we're just doing the same old same old.

I call these bad habits 'tells'.  A tell, in my mind, is a repetitve behaviour that implies the actor is opting for the first solution or thought or technique that pops into her head.  Now, is that such a bad thing?  The first thing that pops into our head, the thing we do naturally, is by definition organic, is it not?  Well, no.   Tells are quick, shorthand solutions to acting problems.  They might be good or bad but, by definition, they are not special.  Over time, the impact of a performance can be undermined by choosing what's there as opposed to digging for what's difficult to find.  Great performance, like any art, is hard.  So, funnily enough, for such an organic director as I, I tend not to leave it as it was at first.  I like to keep sifting for those tiny little specks of gold.  And, I encourage actors to do the same.

So how do we clear ourselves of these tells, these bad habits?

Firstly, we need a third party observer.  Usually an acting coach or teacher, director, or friend, our third party observer should, over time, be watching our performances for those moments/motions/actions that are the same.  You can be your own third party observer if your performances have been videotaped.  Catching your own tells are hard (remember you do them because you like them or are confortable with them); you'll have to be honest with yourself.  But your first job in clearing up tells is identifying them.

Look, a cautionary word about this.  Your third party observer is not there to make you feel crappy about what you're doing, or to create a voice in your head that makes you  constantly question the authenticity of your work.  Choose someone who makes you feel at ease with yourself as a performer, someone you can trust to leave their own ego at home and assess your acting in a neutral and kind way.  This person can be your maiden aunt, for goodness sake.  All they need to be able to do is see when you are moving the same, or employing that same vocal turn.

Once you identify your tell, life can be a lot easier.  You want to use the tell not as a thing to fight -- fighting rarely achieves anything in art (or in life for that matter) -- but more as a sign, a marker that shows you where you have more opportunity to dig a little deeper.  So, you know that thing you do when you put your hand on your hip and shift just a little to the right in that almost coquettish way?  Or that way you drop your voice and avert your gaze?  Those are your tells.  When you find yourself doing them, take the opportunity to work a little harder.  There might be an emotional issue with the character that you are avoiding facing head on or an aspect of the character that you are having trouble understanding.  Happily, your tell could be showing you those places.  Nice.

Now, some people might call a series of tells acting style.  I dunno.  I personally don't think so.  But when you catch yourself using a tell, ask yourself one simple question:  Is this really how this particular character would act?  If the answer to that question is 'uh, well, no, not really' then, awesome, great.  You've got a chance to drop the tell and tease out a performance that might be more authentic, more believable, more special.

Better than the same old same old.  After all, you don't want them walking away even a tiny little spackle of bored.


Jacqui is a theatre director and writer.  Current projects include  The Pretender, an online, serialized detective story, and Wrong For Each Other, a Norm Foster play she is directing, opening the end of April.

Squirrel!

After the success (completely in my own mind) of my first play writing attempt in recent years, I am off, again, scribbling a new one.  This a full length and, hopefully, funny play.  I have the outline all figured; plot twists, such as they are determined; a solid understanding of the characters and their motivations are outlined clearly.  Nice.  That took two days.  But the framework is there.  It just needs to write itself.  I just need to focus.

Wow, okay, what was that over there.  Look!  A friend of mine just posted on Facebook:

"Love don't need a reason, love don't always rhyme.
But love is all we have, for now. What we don't have is time.
~ Peter Allen

Wow, super sweet, considering it's Valentine's.  I really like the sentiment.  Nice.  I am going to 'like' this.

Oh wait, a talk by Noam Chomsky.  Facebook is so coolie.  Hmm, sound quality's not that good.  Best get back to...

Yikes!  Ten more tweets on Twitter.  Just a sec, here.  Extreme yurt building, what's going on with theatre in Toronto, a valentine's card from a version of Nunsense they're doing out there in Scarborough....  So much to read.  So little time.  Best get back to....  Oh, ten more tweets on Twitter....

Oh hee.  Just got poked on Facebook.

Whoops, it's getting pretty late in the day already.  Almost time for my daughter's guitar teacher (who happens to be an old friend) to remind me that she has a guitar class.  Best get the day rolling.   Shoot, I didn't get one word written on that play.

Well, at least I got a blog entry done and posted.  That's important.  :)

The Ride Begins

 I have done a few shows over the years, some of my own choosing, some not.  Some in a significant capacity, some not.  Most just because I love it.  But you'd think that you might get a bit jaded over time, that some forty years on, the process would become pedestrian, normalized, maybe a little boring.  Yeah.  Well, no.  An emphatic no.

At some point as I approach the start of a project, regardless of how burnt out I am, or tired, or stressed, I always get that tingle, that sense that something extraordinary is going to happen.  That it might be fun, or difficult, or intense but never dreary, never mundane.  I have been lucky enough to never start a show without getting that feeling and I hope I never will.  If I do, that might be the day I move on to do something else.  Could you imagine?  Jacqui without theatre?

Tonight, we audition Wrong For Each Other for Encore Entertainment.  This is the second in my Norm Foster offerings for this season and we are looking for Norah, a highly contained, fussy but surprisingly fun-loving Arts Administrator who falls in love, despite seemingly insurmountable differences, with Rudy, an entrepreneurial house painter.  The marriage fails but a chance meeting of the pair in a restaurant and  their subsequent reminiscences allows us to see the history of their relationship play out.  It's sweet, sentimental.  And despite its simple premise, it will be a challenge to do well.

Every show is.

Okay.  Hey!  What are you hanging on for?  Arms up high.  Eyes wide open.  Here we go.  Wheeeeeee!