What's on through the end of the year

First an update on creative writing.  Toronto Cold Reads isn't going to put on my short piece in the next two weeks, though they might in February after the break.  They encouraged me to join their writing group, and I probably should, though I do want to make more progress on a few things first (and decide what I want to focus on the most*).

Along those lines, I've typed up a few more pages for The Study Group but am not quite ready to share it more widely.  I'm actually a bit stumped on coming up with the questions for the science and social studies/history parts of the test.  I never actually took the ACT and don't know quite how high (or low) it was pitched, particularly in the mid 1980s.  I went over to Toronto Reference Library and they didn't have the material I wanted.  I have put one more modern ACT study guide on hold and will hopefully get that next week.  I also ordered a copy of the first edition of the Official Guide to the ACT, and that should show up in a couple of weeks.  I will see if I can run by OISE next week after work and look at some of their guides to the ACT, though they too mostly newer guides, since the number of people trying to do historical research on the ACT must be very, very small.  It turns out that Canadian high schoolers don't take the ACT or SAT, unless they want to apply to US universities.  Even then, the SAT would be the more common test to take.

The remainder of this post is basically an extension of this one.

There is one new addition to that list, which is a world premier of a George F. Walker piece called The Damage Done.  (Tickets here.)  I will try to make it tomorrow.  It's interesting that Canadian Rep seems to really be hooked on doing plays by Walker and Mouawad.  I guess they collaborated with Hart House on Tideline, which I didn't enjoy.  But last year, they did Reves, and I'm sure I would have tried to see that play had I heard about it.  I guess they were more effective with the advertising this year.  Walker is becoming a bit of a love him or hate him playwright, and the Toronto reviewers  (aside from Slotkin) have decided they don't care for him very much.  Well, it's no skin off my nose.  I'm fairly sure I'll find this play worth checking out.  I'm still hoping that The Crowd (which played at Langara in Vancouver in the spring) will turn up here.  As an aside, I'm just finding out now that the Walker piece that was supposed to be at the Brick Works in December has been transferred out to Caravan Farm Theatre out in B.C., which is pretty annoying.  It may play at the Brick Works in Dec. 2017 or plans may change yet again.  So that's one thing to cross off my list, for 2016 at any rate. 

I've decided that I will try to see Come From Away after all.  I was holding out for a discount code from Mirvish, but that seems unlikely to happen, so I'll probably be up in the nosebleed seats.  If I can make it work, I might see about a weekday matinee.

Sometime next week I will go see Measure for Measure at Red Sandcastle.  (In fact, it only runs one more week.  Details here.)  I was leaning that way anyway, and this review suggests that it will be worth my time.

That actually may be it for theatre in December, though I have a few concerts I'll be attending.

In January, I'll be back at Tarragon for Sequence, and Wolf Manor will be doing Danny and the Deep Blue Sea as well.  Shakespeare Bash'd should be doing Twelfth Night at the end of Jan. or first week of Feb.  I'm sure there will be other things of interest that spring up.

In March, I will probably check out Wolf Manor's Three Sisters and Panych's 7 Stories at Hart House, and I am likely going to head over to Buffalo to catch A View from the Bridge.  Perhaps a bit excessive, but I've travelled further than that to see a play...

Edit (11/30): Well, I guess I won't be going to see Come From Away after all.  I knew tickets would be difficult to get, though there are still a few scattered seats available.  But I am just too cheap to pay $95 to sit in the balcony.  It is only the last 3 rows in the balcony (quite bad seats actually) that were $65.  I just feel that is excessive, and I am not willing to go if I feel ripped off.  I probably have paid more than that for a few shows, but this isn't one that qualifies in my mind.  I'd rather apply that $100 to a couple of books on art, where I will enjoy them for much longer.

* It is somewhat interesting and perhaps a bit worrying that none of the characters are screaming out for me to finish up their stories (as happened with my first two full-length plays).  That may be because these are really intended to be ensemble pieces.