January 31, 2013. What did I do this year? What will I do next year? Is it worth making any resolutions when the odds are stacked against me from accomplishing any of them? A study by the University of Hertfordshire found that 88% of people break their New Year’s resolutions. Or to put it another…
This past summer I was in Montreal for a day. My daughter was writing her LSAT. She had to write it in Montreal because of timing and availability – she only had a small window that she could study and write it without interfering with her other courses. Anyway… I found myself in Montreal with…
A couple of days ago, I got an email from a friend. He is involved with a web series in development and included a link to a Kickstarter campaign. (Kickstarter is one of those crowdfunding sites where you get family and friends and hopefully rich strangers to contribute money to finance your projects.) I clicked…
When Felice Gorica spoke to our group about The Business of TV and Financing, I think a lot of us felt shell shocked. She gave us some great information and left out the sugar coating. It was good, but I know that a few of us started to question the viability of the projects that…
I hate talking about myself. Especially in a situation where “it counts”. Last week, I had a preliminary interview with Erin Brubacher for the Tarragon Emerging Theatre Artist Grant. The grant is valued at $15,000 and basically you spend twenty weeks at the Tarragon Theatre “pursuing you own training and artistic goals by working in…
After being out of work for a year, starting a regular commute again was a shock to system. For seventeen years, I went to the GO station, got on the train and then walked a block to work from Union station. Usually a 40 to 50 minute journey door to door. Now, I take the…
Our second class was called “Drama Fundamentals” with John Burns. A better title might have been “Getting to know each other” or “Team Building”. Although we did a bunch of theatre-related exercises, the main purpose of the session was to get to know each other better. Because of the size of our class, we were…
Our first “class” is at the Latvian Centre in Toronto. People come in dribs and drabs. Additional seats need to be found as 33 of us assemble, waiting for Karen O’Donnell and Kelli Kieley to get here. Usually, the course only has 25 participants. Karen has been running this course for years and this year…
This week, I started the Independent Television Producer (ITP) program which is part of the Ontario Self-Employed Benefit (OSEB) program. Basically, it’s a program to teach me how to run my own business. Last year, I was outsourced and gladly became part of the unemployed. I had hated my job for years. Although it had…
I arrived at the rehearsal for my reading and was introduced to the actors. They were all age and gender appropriate, which is quite a treat. In our playwriting group when we have our plays read, the other playwrights read parts as required. So frequently you have men reading for women or women reading for…
peter gruner 