Trip 2: Winter is here

It fucking snowed today...

Trip #2: Second Entry

Busy busy busy, thats what I am. Today is my day off and I am currently waiting for my Canada Council grant to print off before I rush to the post office to send it.

Things are well. Found the DVD redone Star Wars Trilogy - thats added a whole new dimension to the knitting, and other than that working my ass off trying to make a kick ass show....we'll see what transpires.

I moved into a new apartment today, a great basement suite with my own laundry facilities. Oh yes to washing my clothes whenever I want.

Other than that my life is boring...when something happens I'll update...

Day 14 of rip #2: Whitehorse

Its been a long haul people - holy shit. I arrived here almost two weeks ago to a beautful fall in Whitehorse. everything is yellow, orange, gold, crimson, green and earthy. Its absolutley stunning. And surprisingly not too cold or dry. They got a lot of rain this year.

My first week was spend desperatley trying to cast a 13 person community theatre show. My musical director dropped out on me and I was just about to give up when I got another - a good friend I know from up here named Dave - a fellow clown and musician. Whew. I had to cast a part by going to the local Karoke night and begging a young 20 year old kid to be in the show - it involved quite a few beers between the stage manager myself and this guy but we suckered him in after the White Russian shots at 2:30 in the morning and now I have cast the show....

I am upto my eyeballs in work, but I am knitting a lot and yoga'ing to keep in shape. I am also choreographing a dance solo so I am swamped with work. I may teach a workshop while I'm here.

I miss my friends, but I have to admit that making alittle money ain't so bad.

Send me emails and I'll send you love

tanya_marquardt@yahoo.ca

Pictures ARRRG

Trying to find a way to upload the pictures - tryin' tryin' tryin' When I have them uploaded you'll be able to see my adventures.

We open the show tonight - a 10:30 show. It rained at the preview last night and the night before there were bugs the size of small birds. But its still fun...

My skin is dry and I miss the moist air of Vancouver. I have been slathering myself with oils and cremes so that I won't dry up like a prune.

If anyone is interested I have a show upcoming this weekend at BC Buds: An Arts Fair in Vancouver, May 18 th and 19th. Check my company blog www.chrysalistheatre.blogspot.com for details.

We're at countdown. Two weeks and I'm home.

We open in Two Days!!

Hey Friends,

The countdown has begun only a couple of weeks and I will be home. Am very tired. The show opens in two days, but I am knitting like mad and my place is lovely. Although last night I subjected myself to the movie Terms of Enderment until 3 in the morning. I wanted to knit for a while and dispite the pue factor I couldn't manage to turn it off. I did also watch Groundhog Day. Im dramaturging a friends piece up here, and Im generally staying busy....miss you all tons though.

Tommorow I am going to upload some pictures of Whitehorse and the set of Carnival. Look back here in a couple of days!

Missing My Friends

Three weeks until I come home, was struck by homesickness and knitting boredom. Its great to go away, but it is also great to return to. Home. Three weeks till home.

Not much to report. The show is moving forward, we open in a little over a week. I am trying to remember to bring my new camera so that I can post pictures onto this blog - of my Whitehorse adventures and adventurers.

I am going to move on may 10th to a new place, house sitting at my friend Celia's place. Iam cat sitting as well, which is a favorite past time of mine. It will be good to have a little friend for the rest of my time here.

Today's my day off, I'm going to go grocery shopping and knit. Oh I am bursting from all the excitement.............

Long Time No Talk too

Rehearsing Like a mad woman. We moved to the site-specific locale - a recycling depot called Raven. The set is fantastic, old cardboard bales made to look like a mine shaft. The ground looks like desert, and we're camping old school. I feel like Im at Burning Man again. Its a lot of fun.

Other than that not much to report, I can knit AND purl now, on my way to making yet another scarf and reading Tadashi Susuki's Way of the Actor. Basically I'm working a lot.

And Missing all of my BC Friends like crazy...

Whitehorse pics...just a couple

The Assistant Stage Manager's house

the icy lake I walk by on the way to work

me walking in the snow

beautiful rock formations

eagles are as big as three year old children...that could kill you

haines junction

My friend Charlie's dog Shadow

and her other pup...can't recall this guys name...

...and more pictures

ice-y

cloudy day out the cabin window

this is my face about 10 seconds after seeing a glacier for the first time

beautiful yarn for knitting

this is a thingy out front of this guys fish shop

More Pics...

more view from cabin

mountain

me buying extratufs

beautiful happy pup

me playing with beautiful pup

Pictures At Last: My Trip to Haines Alaska

Snowy Kluane National Park





















Roaring Fireplace













View from Cabin Window













No Alaskian Adventure is complete without Neil Young...
Or DB Cooper signs...

Hey All,

Sorry for the broken blogging..things are getting busy busy round here. Not much to report. The cast went out and we all had many beers last night, I ended up trying to play experimental sound music on some dudes guitar...everyone looked at me like I was a wierdo, tried to get people playing pots and pans and such. I guess no one's heard of John Cage in this town.

So I have a camera now and I will post pictures. Hope these pictures intice...Miss all of you soooooooo much. Can't wait to see you all,

Tanya

Pictures Coming soon...Week Off April 8 - 15th

I am downloading some pictures that will be coming soon, then I'll tell you about my amazing week off in Haines Alaska - think eagles, think big inviting fires, big dogs and great beer...

Workshop done, Day 10 - 14

The last legs of the workshop were pretty grueling, not much changed, just building stamina. Really getting to know everyone here, a lot of really wonderful people to work with and work for. We had a staged reading of Carnival this week, with one audience member who was pretty mesmorized. We read the scrip aloud and then did some physical work. I like the audience of one, I felt pretty grounded.

Today and tommorow are the last days I am in my apartment alone, alas...but Veronica our set designer and found object artistian is coming from Toronto so I am looking forward to some company. The solitude was welcome but also a bit lonely. Although if one ever wanted to find a place to do some soul searching, this would definetly be the place.

It's Easter weekend and the streets are barren, moreso than usual. However, Spring has arrived after a mild snowfall and so I think over the next few weeks I'll see more folks out for a rare chance at B12 rays.

Our director had a petite mal seizure this morning so rehearsal was cancelled. He has epilepsy, but I just saw him and he's doing ok. We're all going to have dinner together later...soon my camera is coming and I'll try and put more pictures up on this site.

Day 10...Whoa

A long couple of days. Excited by the rehearsal process, but very very tired. It was snowy and cold this morning. I moved into my new apartment, and I have the place to myself for the next week which is lovely to have my own space. Must stop working now...

Day 8...The All Natural Led Zepplin Laser Light Show

Last night was our night off - went to cast member Brian's cabin out of town for a bon fire and some amazing food. Ate steak, bison burgers, salad, baba ganoush, chips. Then the fire and smores. It was a Whitehorse feast.

Sat around chatting for hours and hours, got a tour of Brian and his wife Emily's esquisite cabin. It was built by an artistian before they bought it - Emily, a potter, has her own studio outside and they're going to build a work studio for Brian as well. An atrium and a garden is also on there 2 1/2 acre plot of land. It made me want to cry with envy.

Emily is 3 months pregnant so we didn't get to into the drinking which was great because I was drinking cranberry juice and soda water. I found out the hard way not to drink a glass of wine from the local pubs - I think it comes out a box that's been fermenting in some back room somewhere.

As we sat under last nights full moon, I saw the most amazing fucking thing I have ever seen: The Northern Lights, but not just the Northern Lights. It started off small at first, strange looking cloud formations that we identified as the Lights, then the formations turned into columns and then waves of white light. The waves kept lapping up against the shore of the moon, as all the formations looked as if they were coming straight out of the moon's glowing face. Then the waves became the entire ocean on an incredibly windly day, eddies and tributaries in pink and green and purple and blue, the entire sky full of light and colour. At one point the sky turned a brilliant pink and then glowed with white, the stars barely audible behind the scream of colour and movement. I wept - it was so awe inspiring. None of my words can do any justice to what I saw. I can understand why the Lights were worshipped as something to behold and also something to fear. It looks like both armegeddon and some goddess raining down well-wishes. Beautiful, in the real sense of beautiful. Not a hallmark card or a box of chocolates beautiful. But life-affirming, alarming and full of silent sound. Even the old timers hadn't seen anything like that for a long long while.

I went to bed dreaming of the sea and the sky making love.

Day 7

tired....

Day 6...Day 6

Slept 10 hours last night. Was sooooo tired. Today was much better. Rehearsals were much the same, much physical work, many sore muscles.

Many of the cast went out for Friday night beers at a local pub to listen to fellow ensemble mate, Charlie play the flute along with her band - very folky. We had a wicked time, it was about time we all met for a pint.

It was a clear night so I walked home. I live over this bridge right now and looking at the frozen lake is spectacular. Its 9 and still light out. Probably will be until 10. I guess when we put on the show the light will be out until 11 or later....wow.

Day 5? Or whatever...

Day 4 of rehearsal, I think Im going to stop counting, I feel like an astronaunt. It was great. I'm really getting to know the cast much better, I'm sure we'll be sharing our life stories soon, it will be eight more weeks. Got there at 7:30 did yoga by myself, which was a real treat.

It was really really fucking cold this morning. I feel like my face could be removed from my head, its usually pretty frozen by the time I get to the rehearsal hall. But there is a child care facility upstairs - sorry thats too politically correct - a daycare beside us so they keep the place toasty warm. I love rehearsing to the sound of kids.

Again there are many many children here. People don't have much to do in the winters I guess.

Rehearsals are gruelling physically, but I like it that way, so they are interesting. My thighs and legs are pounding from a full day of physical work. I think a cold / hot / cold / hot shower is in order...

Found out about this crazy bar in Dawson city where they have a severed toe in formaldihyde (spelling?) Apparently there is a prize for anyone who goes into the pub and takes a shot with the severed toe inside it. In order to get the prize the toe must either a. touch your lips or b. be held in your mouth.

F-ing gross. Course I'd go and watch. My friend - the one who told me - can't go because he has a pretty high gag reflex. Go figure.

I have to say not much happens here. Feels wierd writing a blog - Im not in Paris or anything. Still its absolutley spectacular - the snow and the frozen lake. In the mornings its extremley quiet. Its a David Lynch movie. Apparently all the taxi drivers, or a large majority have offenses ranging from minor theft to child molestation. And the rate of fetal alcohol syndrome is like 30% in the Native population. This of course is all speculative.

But yesterday when I went to go get wine every liquor bottle or can had signage on it: Do not consume liqour if you are pregnant, it will harm your baby.

Crazy.

A David Lynch Movie.

Or maybe not.

I mean what the fuck do I know. Im exausted and Im listening to all the local gossip. Must sleep.