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*NOTE: There are photos in this update. If you’re reading this in your podcast player, go to https://awoolner.com/podcast/update-52-year-in-review/ to see them.
THEATRE
- December 2022 and January 2023 pretty quiet, artistically
- Just meeting to talk about the next show
- Deciding between several novels/novellas to adapt
- Out of nowhere, decided on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde because once we read the novella, we actually realized there was much more there than we thought
- Did March showcase of Jekyll and Hyde with a small ensemble
- Ended up being better than we expected
- Started rehearsals for the summer version in June
- First large intern group since 2019
- Group didn’t work as well as the 2019 group
- See update #34 if you want the full post-mortem
- Got me rethinking how I run the summer show
- Need to lay out a few ground rules so that the freedom of collectively creating a show doesn’t blow back
- I need to make clear that there are certain decisions that I have to make, since I am responsible for YTG’s long-term health and I’m basically the only one there who will work on more than a single show
- Mainstage Jekyll & Hyde was fine.
- I think I liked the showcase better, both as a process and in terms of what we made
- I think parts of the summer show had potential and I’d like to develop them further
- I was unsatisfied and had missed working with Marie over the summer
- I proposed a mini show
- Mini show ballooned into around 50 hours of rehearsals and a 35 minute show followed by a 35 minute discussion, performed 3 times
- Mini show became the “Theatre Lab” Consent
- _Overslag did the improvised music
- Ended up doing sound design too, almost live!
- _Overslag did the improvised music
- 35 minutes not long enough to cover the theme as deeply as I would have liked, but I knew that going in
- The “Capan Show”: had a few meetings, but ended up pushing it to this year
- Xander and I plotted and hung the new house lighting plot for JDS/World Peace Theatre
- Also designed and ran lights for several JDS shows
NERD NITE
- 10 shows
- Would have been impossible without the other Andrew handling the speakers and a bunch of other admin details
- I like the event, but it’s a lot of work as-is.
PODCASTS
- Still editing Miss Charlotte’s Finishing School for Wayward Readers
- But did 6 episodes in ’23
- 3 are rough edited by intern Kate
- Should be able to wrap up and release this spring
- Does It Hold Up is still in production
- 1 episode recorded in late 2023
ACTING
- 1 big job in 2023: Netflix animated series voice-over
- I was only one of two characters to appear in every episode (maybe fewer lines than a lot of the others, though)
- Best paying job I had all year— and we were still paid less than union actors in the west would have been
- I still can’t talk about the show
- I hope it’s successful: will hopefully lead to future roles with this company
- I don’t really want to be a voice actor, but getting a gig like this one occasionally would make me very happy
PHOTOGRAPHY
- Had a few paid photography gigs (private and corporate), but not enough.
- Family sakura shoot
- 2 big corporate jobs through an events management company
- Work for the Sharing Caring Culture NPO
- Low-paying, and I shoot some stuff for free, but when they get a grant, they write a photography budget into it
- Pole dancing school recitals
- Also shot a lot of stuff for family and fun (and art)
- I’ve shot a lot of stuff that I’m proud of
- Hammy’s after-school club events & festivals
- YTG rehearsal and show photos
- My friend Duncan’s drag anniversary party
- Japan Dance School events
- Shelly the Snail
- I’ve shot a lot of stuff that I’m proud of
OTHER ARTS
- Poems & soundscapes
- Not much guitar: music side of me languished in 2023
- Website maintenance, but no major updates
- Struggled with admin
- BUT got the YTG annual report in almost on time this year instead of months late
CAREER
- Applied for 2 Artistic Director positions in 2023
- Applied for another just last week
Next update: looking ahead to 2024…