I’m excited to announce that I’m going to start covering local theatre again!
After this year’s Fringe, I realized that I really missed writing about Edmonton’s excellent theatre scene. I left Vue in 2016 and kept up my annual Fringe reviewing, but aside from a few posts on this blog I otherwise dropped theatre writing altogether.
It wasn’t that I was bored or tired of writing about theatre. Quite the contrary; I really wanted to continue the work that I had been doing for years at Vue. I was sad to leave it all behind. But it came down to time and money, as these things so often do. I have a day job and a freelance writing side hustle, both of which pay me real money. Blogging is fun, but it ranks a distant third when it comes to my work priorities because it pays me precisely zero dollars. Actually wait, that’s not true – it pays me negative dollars, because it costs money to run this site.
Also it’s really hard, psychologically, to do something for free when you used to get paid for it. I didn’t earn much, writing about theatre (no one is getting rich writing local play reviews, trust me) – but it was still something.
To top it all off, over the last 18 months I was busy being pregnant/having a baby/raising a baby/going back to my day job after only four months’ maternity leave, so my free time was/still is very limited. When managing to shower or sweep the floor once or twice a week is only accomplished through a marvelous feat of time management, blogging is hilariously impossible.
I’m still adjusting to my new work-life balance. (Side note: how long can you call yourself a new mom – when do you become just a mom?) At the risk of totally jinxing everything and sending this precarious balance spiralling into disaster, I think I’ve reached the point where I can squeeze in a bit of blogging.
So, here I am! I’ve reached out to the local theatre companies and asked to be added back to their media lists. Everyone has been really gracious and welcoming. (Thank you!) I’m not sure why I thought maybe they wouldn’t go for it, but I did feel like I had to justify myself even though I’ve been writing about theatre for close to a decade now. (Also, I’m sure I missed reaching out to some, so if that’s you and you want some coverage from me, shoot me an email.)
I’m only one small voice in the local community and my platform is small. But this is my little corner of the internet, and I’ll try to do right by everyone here. And hey, maybe someone will launch a brand new local arts magazine and hire me. A woman can dream.
I will be focusing on reviews for now, due to my aforementioned time constraints. However, I have always really enjoyed doing theatre previews/interviews, so I will try to do some of those when I can.
Autumn is a wonderful time for new beginnings – September always feels like the actual start of the new year and I really enjoy the back-to-school vibe. (Must be Virgo in my fifth and sixth houses, amirite astro nerds?)
It’s also the perfect time to get back into theatre writing, because all the new seasons are about to start. I’ve been busily filling in my schedule for the next few weeks as I learn of show openings. Here’s what I’ve got so far for September. (October is when things really get going). I’ll add more as I hear about what’s coming up.
Season launch and panel discussion – Azimuth
The Color Purple – Citadel