Also, thanks to Julie Laurin for these photos-

Of course, an antechamber’s really just a smaller room that leads into a larger room (in the case of St. Paul’s, that larger room is the sanctuary), so it’s not even a room, exactly. Just an in-between space.

So what happens when we actually take a moment to Occupy the space between? Between sacred and mundane, inside and outside, past and future, here and there? Is this what it means to be “present” or “in the moment”? And really, where else can you be? The most present place you can be is always the place you’re in right now. And that’s not hard to do, because you’re already there. Just be there.  But the present is such a teeny tiny moment, and my mind is not all that comfortable staying there. There’s nowhere to sit down.

Huh, I’ve just gone from pondering honest questions to that feeling I sometimes get when I try to meditate and I start to get a little bored.

Maybe I should just continue to enjoy saying “antechamber.” And thinking about how my lovely little antechamber has such nice stained glass windows.

Or even better, I could get back to actually working on the new piece.

“Occupy Me” at SubDevision – opens May 10 – that’s in two weeks!

• Updating the website (long over-due)
• Working on applications (cover letters, resumes, and collage?)
• Trolling various websites for job postings
• Calling grants program officers
• Trying to figure out where the most affordable printing is
• Running to the library
• Looking at recipes online
• Facebooking
• Editing my to-do list
• Trying to squeeze in time for actual creative work: script analysis and preparation for two plays I’m working on and writing/generating material for a new piece I’m developing
• … and, I suppose, writing my first blog entry in far too long.

In case you’re wondering, here’s what’s coming up:

Occupy Me – my first solo piece, will be performed at SubDevision in Ottawa May 10-12

Circle Mirror Transformation – I’m Assistant Director to Lise Ann Johnson at GCTC; opens May 25

My Name is Asher Lev – I’m directing this beautiful script for Ottawa’s new 9th Hour Theatre.

Here’s a quick update of what’s been going on since the 2010 Fringe Festival:

I (Bronwyn) finished my MFA, acted in a couple productions at the Gladstone Theatre (The Importance of Being Earnest & A Flea in Her Ear), and have been teaching and doing other freelance-y work. Just a little busy, if you know what I mean.

I decided not to submit the Counterpoint Players for this year’s Fringe for many reasons, but I am excited to say that I will definitely be quite active at the Fringe. I’ll post more info on those projects, as well as future CP projects soon.

Don’t miss this chance to see and participate in the Kitchen of the Oppressed – the ultimate in live, competitive cooking shows! It’s a lot of fun, and a different show every single night, thanks to you, the audience.

Also, you can bring a food ingredient – any ingredient – and it will be incorporated into the show. If you bring something especially cool, we might even give you a prize!

Our next show is this Wednesday at 8pm – be there!

And we have 2 more after that:
Friday 9:30pm
Saturday 11pm

See you soon, and bon appetit!

We had an incredibly warm and responsive crowd with lots of excellent participation. A huge thank you to our audience for really whetting our appetites for the rest of the run!

To quote Jessica Ruano on my Facebook wall:

Jessica Ruano Congrats on an awesome opening night! Mixing Boal was colourful, clever, and totally unexpected. That’s my unofficial review.

Our next course will be served on Saturday at 3:30.

Your ingredients are essential to our cuisine, so please bring your own ingredients if you want to see them in the show, or you can redeem your ticket to buy from our vendors.

The show is coming to a slow boil, all other projects are on the back burner, and soon enough, we’ll all be able to say the whole thing was a piece of cake.

Mixing Boal: Kitchen of the Oppressed opens on Thursday, June 17 at 9:30pm in Academic Hall. Opening Night is the 2-for-1 Special.

Hungry yet?

Okay, so I’m still not really a blogger – it’s been almost a month since I last posted…oops… But, what a crazy busy month it’s been! And wonderfully productive.

We had a great turnout for the auditions and I’m super excited about my terrific cast, as well as all the terrific people who aren’t in the core cast but who might be involved in the show a bit later on.

Rehearsals, workshops and brainstorming sessions are underway, with lots of amazing ideas falling into place already.

Also, we put together some fun media materials, so those of you who actually visit this blog are the first to see them! (You’ll also see them on facebook and around pretty soon…)

Read the Mixing Boal Press Release

It’s called “Mixing Boal: Kitchen of the Oppressed” and here’s the program description:

“Join the Rideau Award nominated Counterpoint Players in the Kitchen of the Oppressed as they dish up political theatre that’s easy to swallow. Four seasoned chefs go spoon to spoon in this interactive cooking show inspired by Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. And you decide which ingredients go into the Mixing Boal!”

So, as you can see, it’s a “cooking show,” and I’d like the four chefs to be great female characters from important plays (that you would never imagine in a kitchen – like Phaedra or Mary Stuart). And of course, there will be elements of improv as well, since it’s inspired by Theatre of the Oppressed. There will also be a 5th character, an emcee/”joker” type that may be played by a man.

The Fringe is June 17-27, so the rehearsal and development period will be about 6 weeks starting in May.

There will be an informal audition/workshop this coming Wednesday (April 14) from 6:30-9, to see how everyone plays together and to give more information, so that everyone can make an informed decision about if they want to participate or not. You’ll all be auditioning me, as well as me auditioning you.

If you know someone else who might be interested, please invite them along.

Please email me at bronwyn42@hotmail.com to let me know:

1. That you’re interested & available.
2. Can you make it on Wednesday the 14th 6:30-9?
3. If you’re interested in performance/tech/both.

The Counterpoint Players operate on a profit-sharing system.

…drum roll, please…

Academic Hall!

You might think I’d be less than excited about this, being that I have been spending nearly every waking minute there this week, but really, it’s a great venue, and I’m thrilled to be working in there again! (I will be glad for some time outside of the space in the meantime, of course, but I know I’ll be glad to get back in there.)

Speaking of the meantime, tech and q2q for Blood Relations are going great, my actors are beautiful, and you won’t want to miss this play that’s pretty much a Canadian classic (despite its American subject matter — kinda perfect for me, really).

So yeah, we run next week, Tuesday through Saturday. Be there.

Also, be sure to check out our bilingual-multidisciplinary graduate student conference: Staging History in Canada on Saturday the 10th. (Yet another event taking place in Academic Hall!)

And as for Fringe… ideas are still cooking, but rest assured that we’ll be serving up some delicious theatre that’s very easy to swallow!