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

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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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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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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