It has been an incredible journey but, tonight is Preview Night for my latest play: Over The River And Through The Woods! I am so proud of this production for a variety of reasons:
I got to work with a couple of actors who I have worked with in the past: Joan Koebel and Sheila Keating. Both women bring such flair and panache to their respective roles as Emma and Aida.
I got to work with some new faces: Adam Arki – who plays Nick, Daniele Methner – who plays Caitlin and Mike Parker – who plays Nunzio
I got to work with one of my favourite directors – Don Briard. He is a very talented man with an incredible gift for making a play come to life.
I got to work with a great crew who run the lights, sound and special effects. A special thanks to Rosemary, our props person who has gone above and beyond to create the food for the various scenes
The crew for Over the River and Through the WoodsMy amazing Cast
My newest Stage Managing Gig!!! Running at the White Rock Players Theatre, June 1 – 18. Order tickets here
My newest production is just in the initial stages of rehearsals and it is shaping up to be one of my favourite productions:
Act 1 Synopsis
Nick is a young, carefree bachelor in New Jersey who spends nearly every Sunday afternoon visiting and dining with either of his two sets of grandparents, who are ethnic Italians. One Thursday he makes an unscheduled visit to announce that his corporate employer will be promoting and relocating him to Seattle, Washington in a few months. His grandparents are shocked, and dedicate themselves to making Nick stay. Without telling him, they invite a young Irish woman named Catlin to join them at the next dinner, hoping the two will bond and Nick will remain in the area. Instead, they embarrass Nick in front of her, causing Nick to repeatedly snap at them. This disgusts Catlin, and following her departure Nick yells at his grandparents, berating them at their attempts to control his life. The scene climaxes with Nick having a panic attack at the result of the stress.
Act 2 Synopsis
Two days later, Nick is resting at his grandparents house recovering from the stress of his panic attack. His grandparents try a variety of methods to cheer him up, first by playing Trivial Pursuit, then by Nunzio telling a thoroughly exaggerated story of how he and Emma met. Later, when the two of them are alone, Frank recalls to Nick a story of his own father back in Italy, and Nick meditates on the complexity of his grandparents’ lives. Later, Catlin comes to visit Nick and apologizes for snapping at him. She tells him that if he stays in New Jersey, she’d be willing to go on another date with him.
The next Sunday, Nick returns to his grandparents house for dinner. He announces that he’s accepted the promotion, much to the dismay and grief of everyone. Nunzio goes to tell Nick about his terminal cancer, only to refrain at the last second, realizing that Nick needs to find himself without the help of his family.
Two months after Nick moves to Seattle, Nunzio dies of prostate cancer. Nick states in an aside that had he known, he would have stayed in New Jersey without question. Two years later, Frank and Emma have also died, and Nick is engaged. While visiting Aida, Nick offers to move her to Washington so they’ll be able to see each other more often, but Aida refuses, stating she’d never be able to live in a house other than the one Frank built for her. In the final scene, Nick takes a few mementos of his grandparents (Nunzio’s camera, Emma’s prayer cards, and Frank’s car keys), finally appreciating how much they loved and looked out for him.
I am thrilled to be working with one of the best directors around, Don Briard, who is also reprising his role as Frank, one of Nick’s grandfathers. Adding to this cast are Sheila Keating playing Aida, who I had the pleasure or working with on a previous play, Joan Koebel, who is reprising her role as Emma. I worked with Joan on a few productions, so it is always fun to work with people I have had the pleasure of collaborating with in the past. The new faces that I am thrilled to be working with are Adam Arki as Nick, Danielle Methner as Caitlin and Mike Parker as Nunzio.
The set design
Meet my cast:
Adam – as NickMike – as NunzioDon – as FrankJoan – as EmmaDanielle – as CaitlinShiela – as Aida
Over the River and Through the Woods by Tony winning playwright Joe DiPietro
Company: White Rock Players’ Club Production Dates: June 1-18, 2022 Production Venue: White Rock Players’ Club, 1532 Johnston Road, White Rock
Director: Don Briard (dbriard@telus.net) Producer: Charles Buettner (buettnerboyz@shaw.ca)
Audition Date:April 10 at 7:00 pm Audition Venue: White Rock Players’ Club, 1532 Johnston Road, White Rock
About the Play:
“Over the River and Through the Woods” is a play about the relationship between a grandson and his four grandparents. It is a wonderful mixture of comedy and pathos, exploring the changing dynamics of family life and, by extension, the erosion of family ties as children and grandchildren scatter across the country. The grandparents struggle to come to terms with the departure of their grandson who announces he has been offered a promotion that will take him to Seattle. The wily grandparents try guilt, matchmaking and food in a hilarious series of attempts to persuade him to stay in New Jersey.
Characters needed: 1
Nick Cristano a rising PR executive in his mid 20’s to late 30’s.
Ideally the cast will be able to approximate New York accents, but this is not critical to the production. Rehearsal days will be Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, but this may be adjusted to meet the needs of the cast. All of the characters are in almost every scene..
Audition Process:
Interested performers please send expressions of interest (ideally including resumes and photos) to the director (dbriard@telus.net). Audition material may be made available on request.
Notes:
It is requested that all members of the cast and crew be fully vaccinated to ensure the safety of all concerned. All provincial Public Health Orders will be strictly adhered to. This is a non-Equity production (all participation is on a voluntary basis), but we are open to casting Equity actors. It is up to the individual to apply to Equity and obtain an exemption.
March 7, 2015. Today is the 7th anniversary of my sister, Anna’s memorial service. One of the worst days in my life. She left this world far too soon and we are all poorer for that.
I was honoured to speak at her memorial:
So, we are here today to celebrate the life of my sister. Wow, never thought those words would be coming out of my mouth.
To try and sum up her life in just a few words is impossible, but, I am going to try.
Anna was an intensely private individual. She rarely showed what was truly going on in her life. But, when she let you in, you were in her life forever or at least until you pissed her off….
My earliest memories of Anna were when (and I am regaled with this tale by my mother on many an occasion) I was very young. Apparently, I was angry with everyone at home and decided I was going to run away. So, Mom packed up a lunch for me, gave me my favourite blanky and my teapot (I have no idea why a teapot, but, what the heck… shades of my future self perhaps?), a fistful of pennies, a sandwich and some koolaid. And off I went. I didn’t wander far, just around the block, as I knew I wasn’t allowed to cross the street. I eventually came home, but, I am told just for refills….
Anna had to follow me from a discreet distance and make sure that nothing ever happened to me.
That is who my sister was: She was my protector.
Anna was funny. When I was 10 or 12 years old, the family went on one of the BHUTAN DEATH MARCH vacations. You know the type of trip I am talking about? The trip where the family patriarch gathers kith and kin into the car at the crack of dawn and begins the never-ending journey to wherever it was that we were going, at break-neck speed just to see if he could beat the traffic. You needed a bathroom break? Hah! We just had a rest when we filled up for gas 5 hours ago. And you need to go AGAIN? Hungry? Eat some beef jerky that we scored at the last gas station. Carsick? Meh, just roll down the rear window of the station wagon and let ‘er rip on the car following too close behind (that did actually happen to me).
But, I digress. We were eventually in Disneyland: The Magic Kingdom. The land of eternal joy for kid and adults alike. Unknown to us, it was also the land of pervs dressed in costumes.
Anna, being young and pretty, caught the eye of one lecherous looking Goofy. He proceeded to chase her around the parking wanting a “Hug”. Anna wanted none of it. She started darting around people, screaming “Mother” at the top of her lungs all the while Goofy was lurching after her, arms open. Eventually, she lost him in the crowd and I sat there and laughed, as this was the funniest thing I had ever seen. She got her revenge on me, though by dragging me on to the Matterhorn. And thus began my life long fear of amusement park rides. Thanks, Sis.
Anna was my cohort at family functions. Case in point: when my aunt would come to a Zylstra family function, she would often zero in on a family member who had somehow given her a self-perceived slight at some point in time between these visits. That person would be cornered at some point in the evening and my aunt’s ginsu-sharp tongue would leave her victim in a pile of blubbering mess on the floor.
One year, it was my turn.
As I walked in the door from my flight from Vancouver, Anna grabbed me, a bottle of Black Tower wine (Yes, black Tower…) and we hid in the basement until my aunt left. We sat there in the semi-darkness, giggling and passing the wine back and forth daring each other to go and find my aunt. My aunt would eventually give up and went home. A major tongue lashing avoided.
Anna was my confidante. When I was struggling to accept who I was, she was the first family member I talked to. She merely hugged me and told that it was okay. She still loved me and nothing would change that. With that simple statement, I felt like I could breathe. If Anna could accept me, then everything else in the whole world could suck and I would still be okay.
Anna was the first family member I introduced Alex, my husband to. Back in June of 2003, we made the treacherous journey from Vancouver to Edmonton to meet the family (insert dramatic music here)… The first person we saw was Anna. We met for coffee when Anna was still working at West Edmonton Mall.
After a very friendly coffee, I excused myself to go to the bathroom and she looked over at Alex and said with nary a thought, “You’re a couple, aren’t you?” Alex answered quickly, “Yes” and with that, she hugged him, welcomed him warmly into the Zylstra fold and told him she was “glad that Al had someone in his life, finally.”
When Alex and I decided to get married, Anna was the first family member we told. She was thrilled for us. Almost as much as we were.
Anna was smart, funny, brave, considerate and stubborn. And she could fight the best of us. When the Zylstra men got into our usual Christmas Eve family gatherings, or as I liked to call them, “the WWE Main Event”, the discussions were frank, loud (really loud) and passionate. We argued over politics, religion, politics, news, politics, human rights, politics…. Did I mention “Politics”?
When the arguments became too much for Anna, she would call on us to stop being so “REDUNDANT”. I am not sure if she knew what “redundant” meant. But, the over-riding thought was for us to stop being juvenile, argumentative and just get along.
Redundant. A good word and one she used a lot. The real meaning of the word redundant is:
Characterized by verbosity or unnecessary repetition in expressing ideas.
Being in excess; exceeding what is usual or natural
Having excess or duplicate parts that can continue to perform in the event of malfunction of some of the parts.
Being characterized by redundancy; being predictable.
So, I am going to tell you today in Anna’s words: Don’t be REDUNDANT.
Don’t go through the rest of your life being unnecessarily repetitive. Say it once and MEAN IT.
Don’t be a duplicate, a copy of everyone else. Be unique. Be yourself.
Matter to someone….anyone!
Don’t be predictable. Shake up your life and make it matter.
Alex and I have been renovating our home since the day we bought the place and we have had seen some massive changes. From all new appliances, new flooring, new draperies, furniture, the transformation has been so impressive.
I cannot take credit for about 90% of the stuff that we have done. It has been Alex who has taken the mantle of home renovator to heart.
Our latest project has been the living room.
As it was on the day we moved in.
Alex started to redo by painting.
The end result 2014
In 2017, we ripped up the floor and Alex replaced it with Vinyl Plank Flooring.
The finished results were impressive
Then, we decided to replace the furniture
The boys approved whole heartedly agreed with our choices.
Fast forward to 2022. Alex found a discount store that was referred to us by a neighbour. So, of course, we went. Found drapery panels for $17 each…. and that resulted in looking for a new paint colour.
Al Zylstra 