Best Cadet

This is my brother’s trophy for “Best Cadet of 1965″ in his troop in Cape Breton. It’s fitting that I should have this hanging around as I work on “The 83rd”. Once again a process based on taking what happens not what I plan. Initially it was meant to be a monologue for Tony N (an excellent actor who I’ve wanted to work with for some time). As part of the performance I had asked Kirsten to play the “Girl In the Bed” - who was a kind of an angel. When Tony got a movie and couldn’t do the piece - it pays less than cab fare - I decided that I would shift the focus so it was all about the Girl In The Bed and that the soldier - who Tony was supposed to play - had yet to arrive. The soldier was now going to be represented by a photograph and a toy soldier that would come from a suitcase. I decided to use an old suitcase I found at a junk sale years ago. The suitcase is initialed “A.A.W”. I saw this as “Angel of War” and then the first “A” became “American”. Suddenly the piece became a monologue by this American Angel of War about how she helps the Canadian soldiers - fighting what is an American war - through to the afterlife. Without my “planning” the piece has become a comment on this war in Afghanistan specifically. Not what I had imagined it would be. Theatre is process. Kirsten and I rehearse for the next week and then we present the piece the 8th through the 17th. For those of you (like Elizabeth) who might be in town the piece runs twice a night in room 214 at the Gladstone Hotel on Queen Street West.

On another front entirely “His Greatness” has now been cast for the in-house reading next week. Evan Builiung will play the Young Man, Tom McCamus will play the Assistant and Brian Dennehy will play the Playwright.