My Life on Stage (short memoir) by Leanne Dyck

    An actress? Me? Um, not! Or at least that's what I thought before encountering Mayne Island Little Theatre. After that meeting, I was never the same. MILT taught me to step outside my comfort zone and have fun doing it—mostly.

    My acting career was brief, varied, and coloured by many happy memories. I played a Greek citizen in a Greek tragedy. In a tribute to Monty Python, I played a (possibly) expectant mother and a monk. Yes, a monk.

   As a monk, my only task was to walk across the stage while chanting and striking my head with a foam tablet. The challenging part was doing this in sync with the two other monks. Unfortunately, I found this synchronization to be quite difficult. While they hit their heads in perfect unison, I was two beats off. I was convinced I would never get it right. However, during one rehearsal, I finally managed to hit my head in sync with them. You can't imagine my relief when Director Carol McAndrew said, "No, I think it's funnier when you're not in sync." 

 

   So, no, you'll never find my name among the cast of your favorite drama or comedy.

Playwriting by Leanne Dyck

Written on Friday, November 21st...

I'm leaning against a wall but I feel like I'm sitting on pins. All is dark but just ahead of me is light. Through the curtains, I see the backs of heads. My words are being voiced by others. Laughter. The scene ends and I scramble to place props. Don't forget, I remind myself. I work silently, in the shadows, like a rat, and flee quickly before the light catches me. All is set. I flip the flashlight's switch  -- signalling the lighting technician -- and the stage is once again lit. The actors, my team, my friends skillfully work through the play I've written. Last scene. Applause. Sweet applause. 

What is a prop mistress?
'the person in charge of all the props and who usually works with them during a show'

One of the essential characteristics of a good prop mistress or master is a good memory. But what if you have a poor memory? What if you're like me? Can you still be a prop mistress?
Well, I was. To help me perform my duties, I...

Used visualization. I drew a map in my brain of the steps I would need to take to place and clear the stage. (i.e. I need to do this and then I need to dot that, etc.)
Carried an index card with notes on what I needed to do, when. This kept me focused.

Written on Saturday, November 22nd...

MILT (Mayne Island Little Theatre) is my favourite theatre group and so I knew I was going to accept this opportunity to flex my writing muscles. But I didn't know how fortunate I would be. I worked with a talented cast -- friends, old and new.

A playwright writes a play. A director interprets this play for the actors. Actors breathe life into the characters. Georgia, Deb, Mary, and Mike did far more. They gave Aster, Kate and Kjartan an identity on stage. 

But wait there's more...

I wrote a five scene play. Working together, this team of friends, we added a sixth scene. Working together, we gave Aster a happily ever after ending.

On Friday night I was sad that this odyssey was ending. But tonight I feel like partying.

After every ending, comes a new beginning. 

Would you like to run away and join the theatre? Well you may not have to run too far. Why not consider volunteering to work with your theatre group. Amateur theatre needs our support. Your reward:  fond memories and new friendships. Of course, you could answer the casting call and take an on stage part but there are also many positions to fill off stage -- stage manager or prop manager or house manager or director or producer or... or... playwright. 

These last few months I've been living a dream as I make my debut as a playwright. I share more about this journey here.

All three nights were very enjoyable and at the end of every night the audience got to vote for the play they felt deserved to represent Mayne Island on a five island tour. Well, the votes are now in and The Audition won.

Brian Crumblehulme (the playwright and director) describes The Audition as 'a satire about life on an island. Not all aspects of course, but enough to include most of us from over-serious directors, volunteers, local politicians, tourists, kids, nerds, rural urbanites, old f--ts, and Oh, I forgot -- audiences too.' 

Congratulations to the playwright, director (Brain plus Michele Steele), cast (Shaye Steele, Haylee Stobart, Mark Smith) and crew (Stage Manager, Sarah Noyes).

Look for them on a stage (or near a stage) near you in February. 

PRISM international's creative non-fiction contest has been extended for another week. The new deadline is this Friday (November 28th). Learn more about this contest here.

Friday's Guest:  David Burrowes will share part two of his three part short story -- a look at island life, through the relationship of two men. If you missed part one don't worry just click this link.

Sharing my author journey...

How to write a play by Leanne Dyck

In 2014, I won the right to have my short play staged. Here I document the journey--including what I learned from this experience.

photos by Leanne Dyck

The MayneNews blog announced the Mayne Island Little Theater's Play Writing Contest 

Members of the community were invited to submit a one-act play with an island theme. Characters were limited to three and props were to be minimal. 

I didn't know what I could enter but I knew I had to find something. 

I'd just finished milking all the 'thriller' out of a thriller to transform it into a literary novella. So I thought I should be able to write a play.

With the deadline hanging over my head, I sat down to write something new but nothing was as good as that novella. 

The novella fit the criteria--it was set on an island. Could I transform it into a play? 

I searched the novella looking for the perfect part. It had to involve no more than three characters, have strong dialogue and action. 

I re-read the rules. Minimal to no props, I read. I took this information seriously and thought creatively. Chairs can be a ferry bench or a car. Gosh, you're brilliant, Leanne. 

But what was I going to do with all the internal dialogue. A friend pointed out that much can be conveyed by facial expressions and gestures. And I knew she was right. But I also knew that it wouldn't be enough for the type of internal drama I wanted to build. I can let my characters talk to the audience. And once again I told myself I was brilliant. 

My pen flew and soon I'd finished writing my play. Worried that I was too dazzled by my own brilliance I sought out feedback and brought the play to my writing group. Other members were working on submissions.  So we workshopped our plays. This resulted in one of the most enjoyable meetings we've had. I received lots of helpful feedback. My play was further strengthened when I shared it with my husband. 

"This doesn't make sense... What does this mean?... Why did you include this?..." He was very helpful--I'm not kidding, he was.

Feeling confident that I was sending my best work, I clicked send on July 24th (about three weeks before the deadline). 

Playwriting tips...

1)fall in love with the story

2)vital ingredients:  strong dialogue and action

3)if you are writing your play for a contest, closely follow the rules

4)once you've finished writing your play, gather feedback

-ask friends to dramatize it

5)two ways to convey internal dialogue on stage:  by letting your characters talk to the audience or through facial expressions. Pick what works for you.

B. Danesco's tips for writing a one act play

And a very helpful YouTube video 

with a lot information on the nuts and bolts

Sharing my author journey...

My life on stage by Leanne Dyck

An actress? Me? Um, not! Or at least that's what I thought before I encountered Mayne Island Little Theatre. After that meeting, I was never the same. MILT taught me to step outside my comfort zone and have fun doing it--mostly.

My acting career was brief, varied, and coloured by many happy memories. Choosing from them proved to be a challenge.

My first part was in a tribute to Monty Python--a monk in The Holy Grail. My role as a monk was easy. All that was required of me was to walk across the stage chanting and hitting myself in the head with a piece of foam. Oh, yes and the tricky part--do this in sync with others. Well, this tricky part proved to be too tricky for me. I thought I'd never get it right. I did eventually manage to reach this goal once during a rehearsal. 

You can't imagine my relief when Director Carol McAndrew said, "No, I think it's funnier when you're not in sync."

So now when I must prepare for an author reading memories of my brief time with MILT are my ace in the hole.