Full Dark PART DEUX and a very exciting announcement!

Bonjour To All Of You Out There In Internet Land,

I know, I have gone all bilingual!

It is kooka!!

So, here we are half way through the summer of 2013 and instead of jetting off for Scotland I am doing my second workshop for my new piece, Full Dark.

Idle hands, people.

The first workshop back in March went extremely well, oh I learned so much...had a lot of fun...loved working with Cooch, Jamie and Jason...had some great feed back...had some people writing me with their thoughts and bits...interestings...I love me a workshop!

AND because it all went so well...I have an exciting announcement! 

I have just signed up with Sheridan College, my alma mater...yes, I said 'alma mater' ...fancy, right?...and Sheridan is going to put Full Dark up for the first time in November!

There will be an open door policy with the students during rehearsal, a couple of cabaret master classes (Loves) and a 10 show run, with band, set and lights...lord...true fanciness.

I am excited beyond words that Sheridan is taking the initiative to involve alumni to bring their works  into  the school and inviting to students to be a part of the process...we all can learn from each other, I think.

So, I am sitting up in Stratford...working away...watching the Beyonce documentary one million times (for research purposes, people)...reading and rereading Grimms' Fairy Tales...going to the dark side...becoming afraid of the dark side a bit...cleaning my bathroom...going back to the dark side...looking at footage from the last workshop...judging my choices...watching it again...seeing the truth...scrolling through lists and lists of music... looking back into my childhood...my nightmares... emptying the dishwasher... getting excited... thinking I am the worst writer ever...then becoming empowered...and so it goes...

KOOKA LAND!!

I can't wait for the Workshop Show!!

You wanna come and see?

ALL NEW PIECES...songologues, stories and songs!!!

All this material will be different from the last workshop!  

I got a show to fill...with music by Fleetwood Mac, Usher, Beyonce, Jessie J, Prince, the Guess Who and so many more artists that I have not even written in yet!!

I have a new bunch of musical artist who I will be working with on this phase of the show:

Steve Thomas as band leader, arranger and on keys...

Mike Doherty, flying in from out east, on drums..

and

Matt Marcoccia on guitar.

Amazing dudes ALL!!

OKAY!!!

Enough of that! Right?

Come on down

Sharron Matthews : Full Dark PART DEUX

August 17th and 18th at Tallulah'sCabaret in Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, PEOPLE!!

8:00pm

 

Here is link to the Buddies FULL DARK  Page...you can get tickets HERE!!!

http://buddiesinbadtimes.com/event/sharron-matthews-full-dark/

 

I got donations from some amazing people and organizations to help me move the process along so I am ready for November!

Thanks to all these wonderful donors!

Full Dark is being created with the support of:

LEAD SPONSOR
BMO Financial Group

SPONSORS
Joan Mathers
The John McKellar Charitable Foundation
The Ontario Arts Council
Sheridan College

And Buddies in Bad Times Artist Residency Program where I am an Artist in Residence.

FULL DARK
Workshop Performance March 2013 OVERVIEW:

FULL DARK
Strong Enough/ Stay/ Two Out Of Three MARCH 2013:
 

 
FULL DARK
Use Somebody/Mr. Brightside:

 
FULL DARK
First REHEARSAL:

 
FULL DARK
Second Rehearsal:

 
 
 

Rob Ford for High School President, NOT the end of summer and the BackDora Awards !

So...a couple of thoughts and ideas that have been passing through my mind this fine mornin' on the porch with George and these guys...

Number 1.

Why!?

Why is everything "Oh, summer is almost over!" and "Get your kid's pens and pencils and skinny jeans...which are hopefully ALMOST out of style...here" and "Wow, I have had a good summer." and "Look all our fall lines are in!"???

Why!?!

It is July-effing-24th in Ontario...and everywhere else, I presume...unless you are on another calendar...like the Buddhist Calendar...which, incidentally, George's IPHONE changed itself to...and he can't figure out how to fix it.

There is STILL almost an effing month left of the summer of 2013. The summer that EVERYONE in my part of Canada lived through 18 months of winter to get to.

SO!

If you have already had your time off...your time at the cottage...your family break or what not...don't piss on everyone's parade...some people waited till the last week of August to go away to Wasaga Beach!! 

This, incidentally, would be the time of year I would pack up my woolies and go to Edinburgh...the land of beauty and art but where no one gets to wear open toed shoes more that twice a 'summer'...so I am having a good ole Ontario July and August....and I am going to draw it out like Rob Ford's stay in office, bitches!!!

BEACH!
BEACH!
And what...OH YA....MORE BEACH!!!

   
Number 2. 

And speaking of that butthead,  Rob Ford...he is talking about building a special stadium for the Argo football team. I wrote about this on twitter yesterday, but I think it bears another mention.

Is the Argo team truly such a powerhouse money maker for Toronto that it is screaming for it's own BAJILLION dollar stadium...that the Mayor's office should invest time and thought into...and probably city money to investigate the feasibility it happening. REALLY!?!?

Between the friggen "Red Paint For Idiots & People Who Pretend They Can't Read Signs Parking and Traffic Ticket Campaign" (It is a long title...but it was approved by the Mayor's office I think...I'm pretty sure...) and the BILLION dollar THREE STOP Subway...I didn't even know it was THREE FRIGGEN STOPS... when I found that out I almost passed out...AND all the city contracts he has given his family and friends...I have had an epiphany about his Mayorship.

Rob Ford is running the Mayor's Office how someone running for high school president proposes to run the student council....PIZZA DAY EVERYDAY!!! LONGER SPARES!! SHORTEN THE GIRLS SKIRTS!!!

THEN it all made sense.

Number 3. 

I had the pleasure of attending the "BackDora Awards" at Statlers on Monday. It was an award show put together by the hard working Jeni Walls, ( @jeni_walls on twitter) who packs Statlers www.statlers.ca every Monday night from 10:00pm to 1:00pm, with her event called SINGular Sensation...an amazing open mic night.

Jeni had attended the Dora Awards for Toronto theatre this year and decided that the mainstay group of singers, players, cabaret artists and patrons who supported her event every week for the last few years deserved to dress up and have some recongnition.

The "BackDora Awards" were born.

What a lovely evening.

One gent who won an audience support award said, "I have come here every week to watch everyone sing...and it has changed my life...the people and the songs alike..." ( I may have paraphrased a bit here...but you get the gist.). 

So many lovely performers and hard workers...these guys are out in the trenches creating their own work...making their own futures. Collaborating with each other and supporting each other's  work day in day out. 

May I say here that plying your trade in the clubs for almost no cash, creating, writing and arranging your own shows, becoming as multi-disciplined as possible, while holding another job or two, guesting late, late at night on as many variety nights as possible for about 10 audience members is fucking fucking fucking hard.

And, if you can manage it, incredibly effing rewarding. 

And I admire and am inspired by all who do it.

SO!!! Go out people!! Go out to the wonderful Maggie Cassella's FLYING BEAVER PUBARET on Parliament any night of the week... www.pubaret.com ...and see her varied and awesome list or artists...go to SINGular Sensation and see a BUNCH of different performers work it out...and all the other wonderful clubs around Toronto NOT because I tell you to...and NOT only because you want to support the arts...but because the performers are AWESOME, hardworking and brave...if you happen to see a clunker, chalk it up to adventure and keep going. There are A LOT of amazing artists out there!!!

IN THE SUMMER!! IT IS STILL SUMMER!!!!

 

  

 

 

I love the beach.

I love the beach.

Love love love.

AND For the last few years it has been diffucult to get there...with all the touring and non-beach type climates...but one of my fave things at the EdFringe last year was when our PR lady invited us to the beach near her home. We were tired and at the end of a long day...I was carrying my gold dress along in the wardrobe bag...the team all still had their work shirts on (with a big picture of my face on the front) and we took a couple of cabs to Portabello Beach,  just out side of Edinburgh on the North Sea...and a truly amazing day ensued.

It is one of my fave memories of the EdFringe 2012.

The beach is one of my fave memories from growing up as well.

I know I am not alone in this...and it is no surprise...but the beach is my happy place.

I don't know how my mom did it, because after my dad died she had 4 kids to raise on a very very modest salary...but for about 5 years in a row she took us to a beach bungalow right on Wasaga Beach...and I remember it like it was Canada's Wonderland, Disney World, Disney LAND, and Awesome Town all rolled into one.

(Awesome Town is a place...it truly is.)

We were happy at the beach.

There were chips at the beach.

My mom was all ours (and not working 7 days a week) at the beach.

My sister almost liked me at the beach.

My grama came and played on the beach.

My older sister would drive up from Hamilton and hang out with us at the beach.

We would go on rides at the beach.

You could walk out into the water for miles at Wasaga Beach.

I would get french fries with gravy at the beach.

I wore my fave bikinis at the beach.

Sometimes I would get to bring a friend to the beach.

Life was truly special at the beach.

   

That is my sister, Kim (with the hand floatie aroung her head) her best friend at the beach whose name I cannot recall and myself in my fave Kardashian style bathing suit...with the mid section cut out. 

Whenever I think of the beach I think of the upper right hand picture.

I could stay in the water for hours.

When George came home yesterday from Toronto he found me sitting on the porch in my fave bathing suit cover and straw hat...waiting...waiting to be taken to the beach...and he jumped on board with the last minute idea right away...even though I know his hip hurts...he was so excited to take me there. You see, I had had a couple of shit days...and he knows it will always make me feel better...we jumped in the car...went to the Giant Tiger and purchased new beach towels...rode down highway 7 with the sun roof open, we bought some fried chicken and had a cooler full of booze that you are not supposed to drink of the sand...for some reason...why can't we drink at the beach? As George said, it is all we truly want to do there besides swim and eat chicken. 

And when we finally got there it was perfect.

I like to go at the end of the day when everyone is leaving. 

Magic.

We swam into the sun...and then watched it go down.

   

The beach is my happy place.

That is all.