single post default
this week’s SPIN
News today is there’s a great article about SPIN in the Toronto Star! Courtesy of the very delightful Catherine Porter.   We head down the 401 for a show at the London Music Club on Wednesday, and then back in TO on Thursday for our Bike Union show at the Tranzac.
We’ve been rehearsing for this workshop performance in our tiny little rehearsal space all week, jam-packed in there with our bike-instrument up on it’s stand, Anna’s array of effects pedals, harmonicas, accordian, melodica and the wired imbera, my mounting pile of costume changes (bloomers? check! boater? check! bowler? getting steamed and shaped! Inflatable puffed sleeves? Still waiting to see if they will work…).
Yesterday Catherine from the Star squeezed in on the couch (next to our marvelous director, the patient and inventive Ruth Madoc-Jones) to watch rehearsal; as we were mid-run thru, Jason from Riddle Films dropped by to pick up some video stuff, and turns out that Catherine knew Jason from high school. I swear, all roads lead back to Northern Secondary, even all these years later. She remembered seeing Jason in The Crucible – he played John Proctor – and having a crush on him (like we all did). I played Abigail in that show – but she didn’t remember me….oh well, now it’s a whole other kind of play we’re discussing: bicycling at the turn of the century, rather than witch burning in the mid 1600s.
I’m losing my mind a little bit cause this show really requires some proper technical and production management support and a lot more rehearsal time, and we don’t have either right now.  But I keep reminding myself, this is a workshop.  We try things out in front of an audience to find out what works. This is all part of the process!  It’s about musical and script development. THEN… next year! When SPIN plays at Buddies for a proper two week run, THEN we will really do it up. THEN! we will have amazing set and video design.  THEN! i won’t be running around trying to do the job of 7 people.
There’s Brad, percussing the bike:
