Alright so, in the spirit of verbatim theatre and Busted Up: A Yukon Story, I thought I would, uh, narrate this, orate this, instead of trying to write something out. Umm, so I’ll try to keep it to about three minutes, and here goes…
Uh, we just finished cue-to-cue, er not so much finished as got about halfway through. For those that are not initiated, cue-to-cue is this painstaking process that, once you’ve gotten out of rehearsal you, uh, go through with the lighting designer and sound designer every step of the way to make sure, you know, the actors look good. They’re lit properly, the sounds come in at the right time. It’s not a very flattering experience for a performer because you, come to realize that you’re largely a puppet in a much… uh, broader scenario. I don’t know, umm… (pause)
But, in some senses that’s what I like about this show. Because, aaaacting is a very self-involved, and or can be, a very egocentric endeavour, and uh, I think this show is… eehhh… collaborative, ensemble-based, community-oriented in the best sense of the word and I’m not trying to blow smoke. I’m just trying to say that, uh, it’s a very good coming together of people who want to tell a story about the place that we love. Which is Yukon, obviously, the Yukon, whatever.
Bout 10 years ago when I abandoned the idea of, ah, acting professionally and elected to, uh, be an amateur for life, uhh…. I, I felt very empowered because I wanted to do theatre on my own terms. Umm, projects that I felt had merit. Umm. And, uhhh, that’s been doubled down since I’ve become a father, I have so little spare time. I want to make sure that anything that I’m going to invest my energy into and my time into, is something that I feel, uhh, is worthwhile. Not only in terms of my growth as a individual performer, but in terms of the audience and the community that the works are being presented to.
So, I don’t know how this is going to go, because, uh, it it’s a, it’s a brazen thing that that I think Open Pit Theatre is doing here. Umm, it’ll probably be well received because people are polite and diplomatic, umm… But, but hopefully… uhhh, hope, you know, hopefully it, resonates with, er, our community. And uhhh, helps us reflect on ourselves and actualize or visualize what we want to be into the future.
Umm, the play deals with a lot of themes about, uh, the legacy that we’re handing to our children, and our unborn children. And that’s become a very acute realization for me through this process, having my daughter Lupin present at rehearsals and participating in rehearsals – thanks Jessica. Umm, we want to make sure what we’re doing is propelling us towards a future that that is something that we’re proud of. And I’m pretty sure even though, uh, we’re in the melee here, I’m pretty sure I’m proud of this.
Um, so I’m humbled and grateful and thankful to the… all those involved for making this experience what it is. And, uh, it’s a it’s a gift to me. And I’m pleased to share – I want to share it with you. So, come see the show, it’s opening week! Uh, and let’s have a good yak about it.
Much love,
Roy (Performer)