Oh wow, I can’t believe we’re already at the end of February! After the House Lights has been quiet as I’ve recovered from an illness. Of course, Edmonton theatre hasn’t slowed down at all! Here’s a quick look at what’s going on…

Opening this week

• The Debutante’s Odd Wednesday returns Wednesday March 1at 8:30 at The Sewing Machine Factory. The line up includes Amy Shostak, Success 5000, The Debutantes, and Colton Taylor Thomas! This week’s Odd Wednesday will be recorded by What It Is Podcast.
• The world première of The Mommy Monologues, presented by SkirtsAfire herArts Festival, runs March 2 – 12. Similar to The Vagina Monologues, The Mommy Monologues is a series of monologues written by female Edmonton playwrights:
  • Beth Graham
  • Andrea House
  • Katherine Koller
  • Annette Loiselle
  • Conni Massing
  • Nicole Moeller
  • Mieko Ouchi
  • Dana Rayment
  • Glenda Stirling
  • Michele Vance Hehir
  • Cat Walsh
• Aaron Posner’s Stupid F#@king Bird runs at The Backstage Theatre March 1 – 12.

Listen up!

What It Is Podcast has been busy! Take a listen to some of their special episodes:

• Following Theatre Yes’ Anxiety last fall, they held a small & independent theatre symposium. Listen to What It Is Podcast’s episode “Particle Collisions”, which records the day-end panel featuring the companies that contributed work to Anxiety.
• I was honoured to be part of a panel at the Chinook Series on the future of arts coverage. My fellow panellists were Liz Nicholls, Ken Davis & Murray Utas.

Other panel discussions on a variety of topics were recorded as part of the Chinook Series, available on Chinook’s website:

• L’Art, Monsieur, L’Art – a conversation on making art that feeds you
• Politics ‘n’ Poetics – a discussion on the bridges connecting the poetic and political within Black life
• Dance Dramaturgy – a discussion on the ins and outs of dramaturging dance
• Speaking Globally: A Salon of Celebration – a celebration of stories and the myriad ways they are expressed across our globe – through the body, through song and through rhythm
• Because of Them We Can – a conversation on Black Legacy
• It’s all Datt – Theatre Passe Muraille’s discussion of the newly implemented Deaf Artists and Theatres Toolkit (DATT)
• Is There Art in Artistic Producing – this salon discusses the question “how do I make a show, and how do I get people to see it without losing the focus on the art?”
• The Future of Arts Coverage –  a discussion of how audiences and artists connect with each other through media

Awards

• Edmonton Arts Council has announced its 2016 winners of Cultural Diversity in the Arts project grants.
• Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 nominations are now open!

Theatre company news

• Walterdale’s newsletter contains a casting announcement for their From Cradle to Stage festival and an audition notice for Follies!
• Punctuate! Theatre‘s latest newsletter includes an announcement of their upcoming Dino Ball on March 24.