I have been fascinated with the concept of the 10,000 Hour Rule since reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers a few years ago. He talks about the concept that people who are masters or geniuses in their field of expertise have spent upwards of 10,000 hours delving into that topic. Mozart wrote his first “masterpiece” when he…
Earlier in the year, I was talking to a professional writer when they went on a rant about books on writing. “Writing can’t be taught from a book!” I nodded in agreement, but with a guilty heart. I had a few books on writing at home — I had even read a couple of them.…
Last year, I wrote a post called “My Year of Living Dangerously” and I called it that because I was starting the ITP (Independent Television Producer) program and journeying into the world of self-employment. The ITP program provided a bi-weekly stipend until August. But with the stipend being absent for almost four months, I realize…
It’s the morning after the night before… Actually, it’s the “evening” after the night before. Last night, I had a public reading of the play (“Out to the Folks”) I’ve been working on for two years. And I’m still basking in the afterglow… However, I don’t want to fall into the trap that I usually fall…
Last week, I was invited to go see some young poets read from their works at a Chapters store. My friend Kevin teaches grade two in an elementary school and runs a writing club after classes. He had arranged the reading. The club is made up of kids from grades 3 to grade 8. I…
The Good, the Bad, and the Mean As artists we put weeks, months and sometimes years into a project and present it to an audience. A reviewer sees it once and, depending on their skill and time pressures, writes something in a fraction of a fraction of the time we’ve spent on it. Sometimes…
The currency of a Fringe Festival is word of mouth. And reviews of shows are what get carried by word of mouth. Tom Mackan is a familiar presence in the Hamilton area theatre scene being a well known director, actor, reviewer and general encourager of Theatre. He won the Theatre Ontario Maggie Basset Award in…
When you rehearse a play, you spend weeks with the same people going over the script, learning lines and testing out blocking. It is an insular experience and after a while, it is easy to feel that you don’t have an objective view about the piece that you are working on. Something is missing… You…
The countdown is on and the campaign has begun! For the next two weeks or so, I will be living, breathing and spouting about the Hamilton Fringe and my show Mommy’s Mask. Let me apologize in advance for getting on your nerves. Advertising for your Fringe show is a delicate balance of informing and annoying…
The 2014 Hamilton Fringe Festival is almost upon us! It opens a week from today on July 17, 2014. There will be some great theatre to be seen and some not-so-great theatre to be seen… or not-seen. But the Fringe is an important part of the theatrical environment in any city and Hamilton is lucky…
peter gruner 