See you next year

Its over and back in the pen until next year. Thanks to Scott Hebert Daly for an engaging and personal account of the magic of the Fringe. And to all the sponsors, community partners and volunteers that make the Piggyback Fringe possible.

Keep in touch - Theatre Wakefield plans a fall mainstage production, a documentary film festival with Rooney Productions, further history animation adventures in the Hidden Hills, and continued pursuit of a vibrant cultural economy in the Outaouais.

Night's End

And so ends Piggyback Fringe 2009.

We have met some new friends, seen some new things, and experimented with new ideas. We had local, national, and international talent come to our village and create experiences we can talk about for hours. For three days Wakefield was abuzz with theatre goers zipping between the venues and trying to stay dry. This year we had more offerings in more days and we experimented with different ideas just to see if they'd work.

This blog was one of those experiments. The immediacy was something intriguing for me as a writer. I learned a few new tricks...including being able to thumb type quickly. I hope that you enjoyed following along with my ramblings as much as I did writing them.

Eric and I opted for an earlier night tonight. We left Kaffe 1870 and Robert Rooney trying to figure out when we can bring back Archy and Mehitabel (the play with the most buzz this year), passed by the United Church and Chaotica packing up for the journey home, and drove out of the village talking about some of the actors we met in the past few days. The kettle will come to boil soon and we will sit in our living room and talk about the village we call home. We will talk about the last few days and how we got to spend quality time with our friends and neighbours.

Most of all, we will finish up this festival on this damp night with a sense of awe and gratitude that such an event can happen in this village of ours. And, not for the first time, count our blessings to live in such an odd and creative place.

May the same hold true for all of you.

Good bye.

Fifty-one weeks to Piggyfest 2010.

Dissed.

Geez Louise.

I just got summarily dismissed by th Speech Therapy guy. Could it have been because I was a Guidance Counsellor, because he was tired, or because he thought I was with the loud people who were sitting front of me?

Eric thinks I'm too sensitive and I exaggerate. I've told him millions of times that a piece of me dies when he says that.

Hooray For Speech Therapy.

Kurt Fitzpatrick offered us an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of a young person working his way through a number of different approaches and theories to cure his stuttering. In the end there is a moment of reflection that acknowledges what has been accomplished but also that resolution can also mean living with who you are and appreciating the inherent value in that.

It was an active, perhaps too rambunctious at times, crowd that appreciated taking the journay towards epiphany.

Grandpa Sol and Grandma Rosie.

Reminding of us of the dignity found growing old and the grace of finding love even after losing so many times, this play is charming and eloquent in showing us how one woman deals with her fear of growing old.

Her use of puppetry, of which I am not usually a fan, adds to the magic.

And if that wasn't enough, we are given the gift of recordings of the Yiddish accent which will soon fade into history.

Speech Therapy is about to begin, Eric has bought me a latte (Bless the little guy!), and Jill Rick is hanging over my shoulder while wearing a pink tutu (is she supposed to be security?) So it is time to take in the final show.

Already.

My One Regret.

If I have one regret this year it's that I chose not to see Archy and Mehitabel.

It was impossible to see all twelve shows, and a choice had to be made so I made it.

I was told by many that I should have dropped another show. Robert Rooney thought my choice was dead wrong. I stood by my choices...and still do...but I was sad.

Save Point ended earlier than expected so, as Eric sat in Rutherford to order our dinner, I snuck in and caught the very last bit.

The audience, as one, sat entranced by the subtle dance and poetic voice on the stage. I was immediately caught up in the spell and witnessed a charming ending to a story that I was desperate to know more about.

I returned to Rutherford, and Eric, grateful for a stolen moment. After I am done this entry I will tell Eric what I saw as we wait for our dinner.

Save Point

Self described as the fringiest of the fringe, this family holds great charm and no pretensions.

Simon Farrelton, one of the many young people in the audience thought that the costumes were the best part of the show!

Congrats go to mom for finding something meaningful to do with her sons...and kudos to the sons for letting her do something meaningful with them.

Eric has found me. I'm hungry. He should buy me something quick to eat.