July 6 was another busy day for us. Malia went to CTV for a brief stint promoting our show and the Fringe while my friend Jill, Shelby, and I headed downtown to eat some delicious perogies from the Baba's Food Spot truck. We distributed a few handbills and watched a yoga class on the grass (looked fun!). Jill and I headed to Atlantis for a white chocolate Americano latte (yum!) and then took in James and Jamesey's In the Dark (so cool) at the Sask Express Theatre. Diamond Girls was up at 5:30 pm. We were a little nervous about setting up in fifteen minutes, but it was no problem, thanks to a little help from our house tech Tyler Toppings. We had around 60 for this performance, including Mary's daughter Chick, Chick's husband Darrell and Gene's son Jim McFaul. My good friends Lynn, Glennda, Barry, Jill, Don, and Stacy were also in the crowd. So wonderful to have familiar faces! The show ran over about five minutes, which gave us only ten for the strike -- but again, no worries. Standing O for Malia and Shelby's work. So appreciated! Shelby and I took in some chow at Shannon's pub, watched the Jays finish off the Royals 4-2, and then slipped over to the Unitarian to watch Rob Gee's Smart Arse -- very funny and intelligent show! And bed.
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Yesterday we did a short performance for Arleene and her fellow residents at Qu'Appelle House. Malia acted out Arleene's scenes -- what we call the "Leave it To Beaver" episode which begins with Arleene asking, "Mom, can I go?" We were concerned about the ability of all the residents to hear. There is no way Malia can hold a hand mic and work with the props needed in each scene, so she just belted it out. We ended with singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." The Leader Post was there to interview Arleene and take a few pictures.
Afterwards we had tea and cookies with Arleene and her daughter Carol Lee. It was lovely to just sit and chat for a while, as our schedule is about to get a little crazy. Malia performed a short segment from the opening of the play at the Regina Fringe Preview last night. I was impressed with the number of Fringe patrons who were there to get a taste of what's in the 2016 lineup. There are so many accomplished performers and storytellers here. It's quite intimidating, but we are hopeful we can draw some "Fringe virgins" because of the baseball content. Everywhere we go, people say, "I know someone who saw this show! I hear it's great!" or "That's the baseball show I've been hearing about!" Hopefully they will all buy tickets. On Monday night, I also did a presentation at the Regina Public Library on the researching and writing of Diamond Girls. We had about 12 people out, including Daisy's dear friend Marj Wilson, who came to the Artesian performance. It was great to "talk shop" for a while with people who are interested in all aspects of this play -- from league history to wrestling the content down to 60 minutes. Excited to get Malia on stage at St. Mary's Anglican tonight! I was sitting downstairs in the Artesian with Arleene, enjoying the ambiance of the preshow party, which included hot dogs, adult beverages, and popcorn, and I found myself remarking, "This is one of those days. It's right up there with the day I got married, the day I gave birth to my babies, the day Coteau Books called to tell me they would publish Power Plays, the night of the 2008 Saskatchewan Book Awards." Sometimes you just don't want a day to end, and this would be the case with June 28th -- when Diamond Girls opened in Regina for Arleene's, Mary's, and Daisy's families and for the SSHF staff and board. One of the great things about June 28th was that for us, it was our fifth performance. Sure we had a few issues with the powerpoint. This unsightly line kept running through it, much like a bad television signal (kind of reminiscent of the 50's, I guess!) but Shelby and I came up with an alternate plan, hooking up my laptop to the projector and placing it backstage. Malia might have had a few butterflies, but as usual, she rocked the performance, delivering her best one so far. The audience actually became a second character, responding to everything she said or did. It was glorious. Afterward, the theatre was quickly converted to a reception area, and the best part of the evening began -- with dozens of people, one or two at a time, paying homage to Arleene and Malia. I sat with Bill and Kenn as we autographed posters, then handed them off to Arleene or Malia, who were usually too engaged with their admirers to get an opportunity to add their signatures. June 28th was a mountaintop experience. I don't know what the rest of the tour holds for us, but we are all sure looking forward to sharing some of Diamond Girls with the residents of Qu'Appelle House on July 5th and opening at the Regina Fringe on July 6th at 5:30 pm. |
Maureen UlrichPlaywright Archives
September 2018
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