Author: Adrianna

Poster Reveal for my Western

Adrianna Acting, Playwright, Producer, Theatre , , , , , , , 0 Comment
Western poster with a red head in an orange duster coat and pistol raised to the viewer, the ghost of a man in all black in a black cowboy hat. in the distance a hauntingly dark saloon sits vacant on the hills of Canada in 1842

I am excited to have my haunted Western, Scarred Leather, at the first ever Whiskey Ginger Collective New Works Festival at Red Sandcastle Theatre March 19-24th (plug plug plug)

But more excited to challenge myself in not just writing a period piece, not just collaborating with talented actors Jason Martorino, Phil Rickaby, and Caroline Concordia, but to up my photoshop skills to make the visuals for it! That includes my poster:

Western poster with a red head in an orange duster coat and pistol raised to the viewer, the ghost of a man in all black in a black cowboy hat. in the distance a hauntingly dark saloon sits vacant on the hills of Canada in 1842

Thanks to Ryan Fisher I got some great cowgirl shots over the past year, and then Jason Martorino channeled his inner Man in the Black in an impromptu photoshoot with me; thus this homage to the early 90’s Western craze (which The Quick and the Dead is among my favourites! I mean do I even have to mention Back to the Future 3 as my favourite movie of ever?!) was made. I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out.

We are doing a staged reading as it is still in development, but we will be doing light rehearsals until the festival, and of course it will be costumed because why do a Western in plain clothes?! You can see behind the scenes and updates on Whiskey Ginger Collective’s social media:

https://www.instagram.com/whiskeygingercollective/
https://twitter.com/WhiskeyGingerC4
https://www.facebook.com/whiskeygingercollective/

Hope to see you there! Now, back to editing the script….

Puppets, puppets, and more puppets!

Adrianna Ramblings, Video , , 0 Comment
Fraggle puppet with orange hair sits beside a Fraggle Rock vinyl record and record player

I don’t think I have shared my non-secret with you… I LOVE puppets! Maybe it’s because I grew up in the golden age of puppetry with Fraggle Rock, Muppets, Mr Dressup, Mrs Rogers Neighbourhood, Sesame Street, and local favourite Today’s Special and Romper Room.

Over the years I have created with puppets as a way to get around production hurdles, mainly no one at my museums wanted to be on camera – yet I was tasked in creating content. Video has been the king of content for a while now, so I always tried to think outside the box when trying to make something on a shoestring budget of a few hours, an iphone, and a museum at my disposal.

Enter Little Red: a campaign for summer camp at Gibson House Museum. She was “mini-me” and a camp counselor helping people get excited for camps at the museum by having little adventures in the museum that were topical to the weekly theme of the camp:

And so Harry the Haggis episodes were born to explore the tradition of Hogmanay at Gibson House! Soon my museum workers were seeing the fun of content creation and I expanded my cast from fuzzy creatures and finger puppets.

It’s been a while since I created with puppets but just recently I had a resurgence of love for them with my new Fraggle, named Pebbles, commissioned by The Puppet Forge and designed by Jay P Fosgitt. I put it up on my personal page and its been viewed 700 times and people were so lovely with their comments that I was taken aback at my return to puppeting! It was a little rusty – and filming and puppeting all by oneself is HARD so it’s not the polished piece I would like it to be. But sometimes you just have to puppet dance, so that’s what I did:

I was back in love with creating with puppets! And so I brought my Eldritch Theatre monster puppet created by Eric Woolfe to one of my museums to do a silly idea…

It has about 700 views on Facebook, 11 shares, and such wonderful comments like these:

It sounds like Philbert Gilbert Dilbert needs to go on a museum adventure around our city! I’m currently researching what grants if any would support a web-series about a puppet interning at museums in the name of supernatural and history. Got any leads? I’m happy to hear them!

Western: First Draft

Adrianna Playwright , 0 Comment

Some of you may know I love the Western genre, so much so that I had a few cosplay photoshoots with RainyFresh Photography. I have been working on a one-act play for Whisky Ginger Collective theatre festival in March 2019, and it’s been a slow process. Full of procrastination and doubt, but after a few months I have a first draft AND a title:

“Scarred Leather” comes from a keyword search, themes exploration, and phrases around my story. It alludes to weather beaten chaps, worn saddles, sun burnt and scarred skin is the life of a cowgirl. But it also speaks to how the past leaves a mark on the present.

The audience warning so far reads “use of gunshots, foul language, and R’lyehian. Vengeful Gods may be invoked.” Here is a sample of it:

Now to give it a rest and then re-read for a 1.2 draft then it’s off to beg for eyes on it to see the holes I can’t see because I’m too close to it. Welcome to my process for playwriting.

The Producer’s Hat

Adrianna Producer, Theatre , , , 0 Comment
The Producer’s Hat

A few years ago I started working with Eldritch Theatre and it was magical – no really there was actual magic! The creatives in Eldritch Theatre are pretty stellar and even though I’m the Marketing Monster and Producer, I’m still made to feel a part of the creative team. 

This year we have a smash hit magic/horror/retro-sci-fi/sexcapade/puppet space adventure! And I took the set stills for marketing (eep!) and I made the opening credits, inspired by the 1930’s Flash gordon serials:

There have been great reviews, great fan feedback, and the houses are always bursting with laughter (and people! We keep selling out!) So as a Producer this is making my heart happy, and as a theatre creator it’s making my heart explode because we need more risk taking, more ridiculous, more PUPPETS in our lives.

I hope you get to see it – and because I’m the Producer I’m going to share a secret with you… “Comic Horror” is the discount code for $20 anytime tickets and there is always PWYC Sundays that you can book ahead!

www.eldritchtheatre.ca/tickets

Happy intergalactic space travels!

 

Join me next month for Suicide Loss Survivor Day

Adrianna Ramblings , , , , 0 Comment

Some of you may know I am a suicide loss survivor, and some of you even know I am a safeTALK trainer. It would be amazing to have you at my first public workshop this November 19th for Suicide Loss Survivors Day at Red Sandcastle Theatre in Toronto. 

I will be leading the workshop, and Jason Martorino, a teacher and Distress Centre volunteer with his ASIST, will be on hand to help those who may feel triggered or need a moment with someone who has crisis intervention training. 

This workshop is for those who want to help those around them by being alert to signs of suicidal ideation, and want to learn how best to help those who need resources to help them stay alive. I like to think of it as suicide prevention first aid: you are the first responder, and you will help keep them alive until you can connect them to a resource that will help keep them alive. 

Details:

safeTALK (suicide alertness for everyone) Workshop with Stories Like Crazy

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day

Adrianna Acting, Beyond the Stage , , , , 0 Comment

One of my fondest memories and best acting gigs I ever got was playing Anne Bonny in the Toronto Pirate Festival between 2006-2008. I got to swashbuckle, carry an axe, wear fun costumes, and pretend my red hair meant I was Irish. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before smart phones and before social media this video was taken of myself as the irate Anne Bonny and the now Artistic Director of Dauntless City Theatre Scott Emerson Moyle. 

 

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day! Yarr I be missin the golden age of my piracy days 😉

World Suicide Prevention Day 2018

Adrianna Everything But the Cat..., Mental Health Advocate , , , , 0 Comment

black and white photo of Adrianna by Johanna Haughton

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day and as a suicide loss survivor I would like to share some resources and thoughts around the subject.

First, the photo above was taken by Joanna Haughton as part of her Strength in Vulnerability photo-series.  Here is what she wanted to share about it:

Strength in Vulnerability. The moments of our greatest strength are those we are most vulnerable. We think strength is hard, but it isn’t. That’s weakness. Strength is found when we are broken, when we let all our defenses down, and find that after everything we still stand, love, and live. 
I started this series a couple years ago. Finding people willing to be totally open has been hard. But I feel this needs to be shared and can’t wait anymore. 

I thought it a fitting day – Suicide Prevention Day to start to share this series. Because we all need help sometimes, we all need love, and support. And sometimes we don’t have the strength to do it alone. 

I am happy to share my story in hopes it will help others through Stories Like Crazy, my co-hosted mental health podcast with Lori Lane Murphy. I live with anxiety and situational depression each year November hits as that was the date when my brother took his life in 2010. Each year I find new ways of managing and dealing with the anniversary of his death, and each year I try to spread awareness and resources so others can be alert to suicide in their community. So today of all days I would like to give you places to learn from and lean on when dealing with suicide:

Me: I teach a workshop called safeTALK https://www.adrianna-prosser.com/safetalk-trainer/ and I would love to take your group of 10-30 people through the steps of being alert to suicide in your community and what you can do to help prevent it.

Keepsafe connections: this is from my workshop and GTA specific: https://www.adrianna-prosser.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Toronto-Keepsafe-Connections.pdf 

Ontario wide connections:http://ospn.ca/index.php/helpful-links 

I am planning on a safeTALK workshop in November to commemorate Andrew’s passin; let me know if you would like to be notified (in comments below) as I have about 12 spots this time around. Time and location TBA – but definitely in Toronto and most likely November 19th. 

It’s ok to not be okay, but it’s also okay to ask for help. 
💚

 

Red Anna… a black and white photography project with Rainyfresh Photography

Adrianna Acting, Print, Ramblings , , , , , , , 0 Comment

My talented friend Ryan Fisher of Rainyfresh Photography let me check a bucket list item off my list: being a historic cowgirl. I have always loved Calamity Jane (from Deadwood was an amazing interpretation!) and Back to the Future 3 – heck I live my life in the times of the Gold Rush, but I’m stuck in Toronto 1850s not the Klondike! My costume in this photo-shoot was inspired by Calamity’s classic look from her 1880’s portrait, too. I have been training to be her with stage combat, whip work, gun work, and of course horseback riding. 

My friend Phil from Stageworthy Podcast wrote this when he saw the Rainyfresh edit of the photos: 

“Red Anna. Some’ll tell you that her hair wasn’t always red. That it turned blood red from the entrails of the men she killed. Others say that it’s red because it was touched by the flames of hell. Still others say that its the dark mark upon her, placed there for some sin too dark to mention. What the truth is, none can say. But she’s earned each and every tale that’s told about her, and more.”

So here is Calamity Jane’s 1880 portrait I used to inspire my costume that I put together myself:

Calamity Jane circa 1880 Adrianna Prosser as cowgirl Red Anna cowgirl circa 1880 Adrianna Prosser as Red Anna cowgirl circa 1880And here is Robin Weigert as Calamity Jane on HBO’s  Deadwood TV series (which I adore and renewed my faith in great parts for actresses – what a gift and what a stellar performance, you have to see this show!)robin weigert portrays calamity jane on deadwood

 

Here are some of my favourites:

 

Find Ryan at:

https://www.facebook.com/RainyfreshPhotography/

https://www.rainyfreshphotography.com/ 

https://www.instagram.com/rainyfresh/ 

 

 

I’m a Fraggle down at Fraggle Rock

Adrianna Off stage/Off camera, Ramblings , , , , 0 Comment
I’m a Fraggle down at Fraggle Rock

I can’t help but gush about this great moment in my geeky life: I am now a Fraggle at Fraggle Rock and part of the Jim Henson universe!!

Did you watch this amazing (Canadian?!) muppet puppet show?! It was one of my very favouritest as a child and it fills me with great joy to be a part of this universe as Pebbles Fraggle:

Fraggle Rock work in progress by Jay Fosgitt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My nickname is Pebbles, as in Flintstone since birth from my Dad, in fact my little brother Luke didn’t know my real name was Adrianna until he was about 6 years old as he always just called me Pebs. They still do today ❤ so when Jay Fosgitt who is SUPER AMAZING and asked if he could make me into a Fraggle in his Fraggle Rock Comic book debut I was over the moon! Of course she would have big red hair but… Red is already a beloved Fraggle so the name was taken. Enter my nickname: meet my Fraggle doppelgänger Pebbles from Fraggle Rock! I am so excited to have my copy and one day I will have her as a real muppet puppet too. 

Adrianna in a comic book store very happy holding Fraggle Rock comic book

 

 

 

 

Thank you Jay for making this little redhead’s dream come true! 

 

Spell Tutor: On Set

Adrianna Acting, Webseries , , , , 0 Comment

green screen on set for the Spell Tutor with boom mic

Adrianna as Dottie Green screen on set of Spell Tutor
Adrianna as “Dottie” in Season 4 of The Spell Tutor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was on set for The Spell Tutor as the creator Herman Wang asked if I would want to play a Victorian witch, knowing full well that 1. I am a huge geek 2. I am a Harry Potterhead 3. I am a Victorian for most of my time at the museums. So naturally I said yes! I played Dorthy Kelpie, a Victorian woman trapped in another dimension.

This is their final season and it looks like I will be in episode 4 of it. I had my scenes with Parissia played by Alexandra Bayer. I don’t want to spoil the plot but I will definitely post the final result when it airs as I haven’t had much fun with green-screen and this was a treat to do. 

Thanks for having me on the show! And congrats on 4 seasons!