Whitehorse 2007

Trip 2: Winter is here

2007-09-22T14:44:00.001-07:00

It fucking snowed today...

Trip #2: Second Entry

2007-09-17T15:09:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-17T14:32:00.000-07:00

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!!

2007-05-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

The Assistant Stage Manager's house

the icy lake I walk by on the way to work

me walking in the snow

2007-04-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-04-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

more view from cabin

mountain

me buying extratufs

beautiful happy pup

me playing with beautiful pup

Pictures At Last: My Trip to Haines Alaska

2007-04-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-16T12:10:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-08T12:14:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-31T21:50:00.000-07:00

tired....

Day 6...Day 6

2007-03-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-03-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

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.

Day 4...

2007-03-28T23:05:00.000-07:00

sooooooooooooooo tired. ate a chicken and had great conversation. met two big dogs....

Day 3 is Day 1 of rehearsal...

2007-03-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

3 days in and I begin the reason for my trip: rehearsing Carnival. It was fantastic - I am so lucky. Here I get to be in a small community with a whole bunch of artists creating work. Oh fuck yeah....we went to the site where we're performing. Raven Recycling depot. We all donned work gloves and carted out garbage for props: huge brass pipes, old signage, a fucking huge box size thing of crushed cans, old sink facets and a huge bag of shredded paper to make a llama mask with. Don't you love the theatre...

Then we read the script and watched this amazing movie called the Devil's Miner, which is about 10 year old - 14 year old boys working in the mines in Bolivia. It was both hard-wretching and totally life affirming. I was pretty speechless at the end, I highly recommend the film.

Got to meet the playwright, Mitch. He looks like a 14 year old boy. If he is he's a fucking genuis because his play is great. Oh, and he has two kids. So much for the pre-pubencent boy genius cover...

Went and ate expensive Mexican food and then came home and pretty much passed out. What a day. I woke up to the moon again. It rises in the same spot everynight over my house and through my window, becons me and comforts me. Everyone knows the moon rising.

And then this morning I looked out my window and saw the biggest neon green snow-mobile I have ever seen with an anarcist A spray painted along the side. God, I love this town...

Day 2: Let there be beer...

2007-03-27T09:56:00.000-07:00

There are so many bars in this town. Michael and I went to yet another and had a round (or two) at another old time bar on the Main Drag of this town we call Whitehorse. Walked around a bit, chillllyyyy...

There are very friendly folk up here, everyone looks at each other, lots of beautiful children. The people Im staying with have two bright eyed little hockey kids, very curious with the tell tale sign of happiness: fat red cheeks.

Woke up last night and saw the biggest moon I have ever seen shinning down through my window. I could have read by it, it encompassed the entire sky it seemed. A little gift I guess.

About to head off to the first day of my rehearsal....nervous and excited...more to come.

note to self...

2007-03-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

when out in minus 0 weather, wear something around your arse so that your thighs and ass don't become a frozen piece of flank steak....

Galloping Through Town: Day 1

2007-03-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

There is something about the sensation of flight: both exilerating and terrifying all at once. I felt like a kid being dropped off for my first day at kindergarden as I walked into the Vancouver International airport yesterday. Filled with anticipation - like having to piss or something. Yukon Air has to be the most lax airlines, which was a welcome change. It took me a mere 20 minutes to go from the opening gates to the waiting lounge.

Met an adorable 4 year old on the plane and played with a cornocopia of cars, motorcycles and baby blankets. He was a real country baby - rosy fat cheeks, big and present gaze, chubby fingers. Looked really happy. We red books about trains and we rode through the air.

I got to see the snow snow snow that I was about to be enveloped by. I really didn't see much out the cabin window except for the heavens above me, the clouds below, and the occational break in the vast cloud blanket that revealed a snowy peak or a frozen lake.

Landed in Whitehorse 2:10 - 20 minutes early and met David Skelton and Jason - both from Nakai Theatre. We drove into Whitehorse and I got a bit of a tour as we picked up one of the Toronto actors Michael. I immediatly got along with all of them, which was fantastic, and before long we were all making dirty jokes and talking about divorce, sex, and theatre. Ahhh, what a life is this life in the theatre.

Michael and I went to meet our billets, took a tour of the performance venue (an old recycling depot) and did some grocery shopping before Jason dropped us off at the Capitol which is this old bar down on Main Street. To the beer and the free pool. Michael is a wicked pool player and I got my ass kicked, but then these drunk folks came along and challenged us so then we beat them, and then left before we got our asses kicked again...(haha)

This bar was pretty great, chicken wire in front of the stage, old pictures of 'ladies of the night' on the walls. Had the smell of cigerettes and cheap booze. Good times.

We all met up later at David's place where I made miso rice and Michael brought some amazing steaks. We ate like gods, continued the talking, and then walked home in the Christmas like snow.

Not too exciting, which is exactly the way I wanted my first day to be. More excitement later....I get a digital cam soon so pictures are coming.

T

The White horse rides...

2007-03-23T17:22:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving tommorow for my adventure in Whitehorse. A little excited, a little nervous, a little (gulp) scared even. Don't know what to expect. Expectations...plahhh. Haven't been on a plane in quite a while. I'm bringing an acorn and a rock from my house, want to keep connected. WHat hippy shit. Or maybe not.

At any rate, ready or not, I'm coming to ride the Whitehorse stampede....