Whew! Full day yesterday of packing and running errands to get ready for our trip to Winnipeg. We are settled in our new Air BnB home on Boyd Avenue, a short haul from our venue -- the Asper Centre on the University of Winnipeg campus.
We finished #2 at the Regina International Fringe Festival -- not bad for a little production company from Lampman, SK. With two radio interviews already in the works and the assistance of Winnipeg Fringe guru Jim Gibbs, we are hopeful that we can put some bums in seats at the Asper. The blue uniform is nearly ready to go, thanks to our costume designer Victoria Utman. Shelby will add a few buttons and snaps, and we'll hopefully roll it out at the Golden Eyes game tonight. Tech rehearsal begins in just a few hours. Wish us luck!
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One performance left at the Regina Fringe. As Mary (at least DG's Mary) would say, "Shucks." What a terrific experience this has been. Two sell-outs, so many positive reviews, and the overwhelming support of the Baker clan, or as I call them "Mary's Mafia." Nine of them attended the Saturday afternoon performance, all there more than an hour beforehand to ensure a front row seat. I cannot properly put into words how much it has meant to me to have them in the stands when Malia goes up to bat -- three times already. Mary's greatgrandaughter Zoe stands in the center of the photograph, a catcher herself with a scholarship to a university in Kentucky. Chick celebrated an important birthday this week, and the family flew in to surprise her. It was delightful to be a part of this big secret. Also attending Saturday's performance were Sheila, my cousin Keith, and the Lausch clan. Nice to see you all!
Hats off to the Regina Fringe volunteers, organizers, and fellow performers. It has been a pleasure from beginning to end. Today we pack our gear and get our act together for the trek to Winnipeg, our eastern road swing, We re-open at the Asper Centre on the University of Winnipeg campus on Wednesday at 8: 15 pm. If you're in the Peg, please join us! Special day yesterday. It began inauspiciously enough. I put up a few posters at sporting good stores throughout the city. In the afternoon I attend Melanie Gall's Piaf and Brel: The Impossible Concert (beautiful, educational, and moving) and Breakneck Hamlet (exhausting!) before heading over to St. Mary's to get ready for our 7:30 pm performance. Barry from Firecube was there to film it, as we are creating a high quality production for the Hall of Fame. And then it happened.
"They're really lined up out there," one of the volunteers told me. It quickly became apparent that we were going to run out of chairs. Tyler set out every one he could find, determined to accommodate as many patrons as possible. My husband Randy, daughter Robin, and friend Dan opted to stand at the back. I perched in a pew along the side wall with another lady -- and we were off! Afterwards, I found out Tyler had crammed in 132 bodies - 118 of which were paying customers. I don't know who was more excited -- me or the volunteers or Regina Fringe board chair Layne Arthur. "Congratulations," he told me, "Attendance is up all over the Fringe and I have to get more tickets printed." "A wonderful problem," I told him. Two ladies attending were friends of Mary's and remarked about some tidbits from the play. "The part about the Hugas range was ironic," one of them said, "because Mary was such a great cook. And also, I didn't know that was how Chick got her nickname." Although this will be the seventh time I have seen the play, for the first time I heard "South Bend, Michigan" in one of the announcer's sound bites. South Bend is in Indiana, the home of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In fact, many of those football fans were quickly converted to Blue Sox fans in the 1940's. I checked the script -- and the reference isn't in there. Hmm. We'll definitely have to fix that! 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. 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. Malia as Arleene Johnson Noga. What a gem. We loved performing in the Tommy Douglas Performing Arts Centre in Weyburn, formerly the Calvary Baptist Church where Tommy was a minister. First of all the little church/theatre smells just like the junior high where I taught for eighteen years AND St. Luke's, where I played the organ for nearly thirty. The acoustics are magnificent, and our audiences were warm and welcoming. Several of my friends from Estevan -- like the Kindopps, the Calders, and Amber Fornwald with her children Matty and Ella -- made the trip because they had missed the Estevan performances. Thanks so much for coming!
Tommy's House was the perfect place for Malia to settle into her 21 roles and for us to tighten up the length. We are within spitting distance of 60 minutes now. What's left for us to work on? Set up and strike in under fifteen minutes. We'll timing the strike after our performance tonight at the Artesian to a SOLD OUT audience! After two well-received performances at Frehlick Hall, Estevan, we are all set to take this lovely little show to Weyburn (June 26 & 27) and Regina (June 28).
Just as we were starting our second performance in Estevan, the skies opened up and poured. The sound on Frehlick Hall's tin roof got increasingly louder -- forcing Kenn to stop the show. He and Bill even "tarped" home plate! Five minutes later, the rain eased off and we were underway again. Thank you Estevan for being such a great audience for Malia to stretch out her wings and find the sweet spot with this show. And for anyone who is wondering, she is rocking it! Many have remarked on the quality of the script, but truthfully, it takes an entire team to win a game. We have a brilliant, creative, and energetic director, actress, and technical director who see the soul of this script and are determined to bring it to life. Please join us somewhere along the way. It’s less than three weeks to D-day, when rehearsals for Diamond Girls will commence at Frehlick Hall, Woodlawn Regional Park, Estevan.
This venture has been a rollercoaster since I embarked on it last fall. Thanks to the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, it has generally been an uphill journey – with performances negotiated in Battleford, Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, and the ISHA conference in Calgary next September. However, in early April I became actress-less. I was on tender hooks for three weeks while Director Kenn McLeod searched for a qualified replacement. While I chewed my nails on the other end of the line, Kenn assured me, “There’s talent in this province. Don’t worry.” In the end, he pitched the project to Malia Becker, a 27-year-old Regina actress with a strong dance background, and she jumped into the rollercoaster’s front seat and gripped the rails with both hands. “This is an amazing opportunity,” she told me. “I love the movie A League of Their Own, I love this script, and I love these Saskatchewan women.” Although Malia has little experience with softball or baseball, she has played soccer and football, so competition and athleticism are familiar to her. Several years ago, she played with the Regina Riot, and for that reason, the “looks vs. skill” theme in Diamond Girls resonates. In addition, Malia is surrounded by a great team. Kenn, Technical Director Bill Hales, and Stage Manager Shelby Lyn Lowe will help Malia find the sweet spot and hit this script right out of the park. Diamond Girls has undergone a number of changes in the past few months, incorporating characters such as Chet Grant, a reporter from the South Bend Tribune, and Doris “Sammie” Sams, a Muskegon pitcher and close friend of Arleene Noga’s. Scenes have been reworked, utilizing more dialogue and less monologue. All this will keep Malia on her feet, switching roles. Diamond Girls is still arranged in nine innings, though none of these segments will be identified to the audience. Our summer schedule has been fleshed out with appearances in three –possibly four – provinces. Recently, the Potash Corp Saskatoon Fringe Festival was added. By the time October 1st rolls around, Malia will have performed the show for at least 37 audiences. Not quite as grueling as 126 games in four months, but grueling enough. We can’t wait to get started. |
Maureen UlrichPlaywright Archives
September 2018
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