I figured that I would write about my Canadian Drama course here, because part of the reason I am studying the plays is to better inform my writing. Last class we got a brief overview of the development of Canadian Theatre from the late 1800s to around 1960. Today we started talking about Leaving Home by David French. I quite liked the play on reading. Part of that was a the well developed characters and the excellent dialogue. I had the advantage of living in Fort McMurray so I could totally hear the newfie accent as I read the play. I also connected to the struggle of the children as well as the struggle of the parents. I think the themes in this play are universal and well portrayed without melodrama. I know those people on some level. Some did not like the play, saying it was predictable and too 'everyday' but from those who have read my plays know, I like 'everyday' stories. I connect to them better than things that are out there. I think the 'out there' stuff has been done before and it frequently bores me. Hmmm. Interesting to think about.
I also saw Thunderstick by Kenneth Williams last night at Theatre Network. There were some weaknesses in the script - I could tell it was an 'earlier' work that lacked polish and had some silly situational things and some obvious exposition that was clumsier than it should have been. Lorne Cardinal was phenomenal. Craig Lauzon was passable (but I know local actors who would have been better). I enjoyed the night and had a lot of fun laughing out loud. The residential school issue was almost pasted in and it felt like the playwright wanted to say something and get it out there, but didn't have the finesse to really layer it in with more subtly. It did make me go online and read up on residential schools so maybe it served the purpose intended. I didn't realize that some were still in operation so recently. I thought they had all closed in the 50s/60s so I learned a little.
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