With the internet going crazy for #BernieMittens I just had to jump in as the accounts I manage!
For Festival Players I created the Bernie Mittens One Man Show:
And for Eldritch Theatre, the classic Black Lodge….
It can be fun to jump into a collective joke and meme, it can be an easy way to raise your voice and show off your branding in a new and fun way.
This year marked the ten year deathaversary of my dear brother Andrew’s suicide in November. You may know that I created a one-woman show to help digest my grief through storytelling and resource sharing in Everything But the Cat… which I also wrote about on my mental health and suicide prevention blog on tumblr. I have hung up the show and put it into archive digitally on YouTube, so if you ever wanted to see it but it wasn’t up on stage now you can see it:
Moving forward I am taking my skills of storytelling and putting them on TikTok as @ladydeathdoula as I start my certification as a Death Doula end of life caregiver in the new year. Combined with my years of suicide prevention and intervention training, and recently my grief literacy training, plus lived experience – I hope I can continue to be a resource for people who are dealing with loss and death.
With the pandemic putting a pause on the entertainment industry indefinitely, this seems like a good time to pause and reflect and do some work behind the scenes is it were. This is what I am doing. I still have my new agent trying to help me get voice overs, I am still producing and marketing Eldritch Theatre (we just had a great digital theatre experience/experiment!) and I just finished my term at Centennial College for the Museum Curatorial Management program – but in the new year when most all of those things hit pause until next fall I have something to lean into that fuels me forward.
Happy holidays and I hope this finds you smiling.
These are strange times we are living through; I wrote about the impact of our new “normal” on my mental health blog that tries to encapsulate the surreal reality we find ourselves in. The imagery of pushing through the darkness (IE depression, anxiety, fear of living through a global pandemic) and trying to still access creativity as a means of expression without all the avenues we are used to. No more theatres, no more festivals, no more gatherings.
Enter the idea of Graham Abbey and Dylan Trowbridge: Ghostlight.ca
I love the image of the ghost light being left on in the absence of our brick and mortar theatres, and making space for where we find ourselves: a digital storytelling space. Which just happens to be where I have found myself for the past few years telling stories on social media and digital platforms. When Graham and Dylan approached me for insight and support I fell in love with the concept immediately! Here’s a bit more about the project:
Further down that About Page you will see my face as the Digital Strategist and Social Media lead and I am excited for what our team is creating.
With a focus on “illuminating, creating, collaborating,” Ghost Light is looking to become the Canadian theatre hub for thespians of all trades.
I hope you come along for the ride! Subscribe, comment, and give us a like 👍I would love to hear what you think about this project as we are building it to meet the needs of local artists and we want to hear from you! Our guests and mentors are just about ready to be announced, so hold on to the edge of your digital seat – we will leave the light on for you and for the art form we love.
Stay safe. Wash your hands. Illuminate your art online.
I have been working behind-the-scenes (well behind-the-screen) for Groundling Theatre and Crow’s Theatre’s adaptation of Julius Caesar as their social media specialist. I have been having a blast managing their Facebook and Twitter, where so many audience members and critics are able to interact with me and tell me how much they LOVE this production.
I still haven’t seen it outside of a rehearsal I was lucky enough to attend, so just you wait until I start raving about it too – I’m seeing it this week!
Want to see it? Catch it quick as it closes February 2nd and it’s selling out all the time: crowstheatre.com/caesar and if you need accessible tickets check out: https://www.crowstheatre.com/1920promo#JuliusCaesar
I am so excited for Checkpoint 300 at Fringe this year – ok ok I’m bias, because not only am I working on the show as their marketing and publicist, but I also know Michelle Wise (Playwright and Director) and Geoff Mays from a long time ago from my actors life. Plus bringing to life such a heavy but important subject as xenophobia and religious conflict in the middle east – this show won an award for being such a great piece of theatre. I hope you can see it: https://fringetoronto.com/fringe/show/checkpoint-300
I took photos from their rehearsal for media use and I am happy to put my learning curve of photography to use: (and a little graphic design to add in the mix!)
Happy Fringing to you all! And let me know what is on your “Fringe Picks” this year, I have some theatre to see 🙂
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:
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.
Thank you Jay for making this little redhead’s dream come true!
Recently I had the pleasure of sharing a story with Stories We Don’t Tell, a storytelling gathering in Toronto. I like their mandate:
“There are some stories that we get really good at telling, we tell them to our friends, our coworkers, and even strangers at parties. We tell them because they are a part of us, and in doing so they build up our sense of self.
There are also stories we don’t tell, maybe because they’re sad, or weird, or just a little too intimate. These truths are just as much a part of who we are, despite being erased from our day-to-day conversation.
The Stories We Don’t Tell is a monthly live event, held in living rooms across Toronto, and podcast that gives you a window into experiences that are so often left unseen.”
*Content Warning: swearing and talk of suicide
Have you noticed my sweet new look? It’s all thanks to Ann McDougall! She is a talented storyteller herself, and has used her abilities to read a person and brand like a script and translate it into some great graphic designs. Like me! Check it:
Here is her notes on why she made this design for me:
“Adrianna is a delightful person to know and work with. She’s an outstanding actor/historical interpreter/ web series host/ social media manager and a bundle of ideas and enthusiasm to boot. I wanted this logo to be bold and energetic but kind of classic, too.”
I can’t recommend her enough! Being a theatre specialist too she can be a huge asset to your next show, your next round of business cards, posters, or even social media campaign. She is on the top of my go-to list! https://www.facebook.com/AnnMcDougallDesign/
If you scroll through the gallery of pictures you will see the types of guns I learned to handle correctly and safely. I got 100% on my written and 96% on my unrestricted (rifles and shotguns) and a double 90% on my restricted (handguns) tests. This was an intense weekend! The first day was 12 hours and the second was 6 hours – all safety and handling and legalities of guns in Canada. I’m fascinated by guns in movies as part of character development or the time period they live in. Keep your fingers crossed and send good vibes as a Western script is up for funding and should it go through yours truly will be a leading gunslinger lady who is out for vengeance. This character would have an 1850 hip hugging Colt single-action pistol (see, I learned some things!) and she would be a dead-shot marksman. Looks like I will have to hit the range and work on my targets so I can shoot as badass as my character demands!
Next phase is a one-day workshop at Rapier Wit Studio to learn about the actor side of gun safety. This is when I will finally be able to shoot my historic gun and get a feel for just how much recoil/kickback it will have. Nothing says badass like falling on your butt after the gun shoots. I will have to learn to keep my feet planted and look my enemy straight in the eyes 😉
Yee HA!
Great news! I have a new adventure and it includes magic, horror, and puppets! Check out the upcoming show from Eldritch Theatre:
I am now their Marketing Monster and I am in LOVE with what I get to do for them. You know I’m addicted to social media right? And I’m polishing my Producer hat to help Brimstone McReedy come to be this Halloween. I really hope you can make it.
How did this come to be? I actually went to see Eric Woolfe’s show Doc Wuthergloom last year for Halloween (my partner Jason and I LOVE LOVE LOVE Halloween) and we had such a great time that we talked about it for days. So I had to email the theatre because this doesn’t happen everyday! The Artistic Director (Eric) was very humbled by our reviews and when I said I would be delighted to help with social media for the company in the future – guess what? 8 months later he asked me to do just that 🙂
So please give them a follow on Twitter: @EldritchTheatre
And let me know if the revamped website makes sense (because I revamped it! Eep!)
www.eldritchtheatre.ca
And here is their super secret Facebook Group that gets all the news and discounted tickets first:
Cabal of Horror
And do you want to get letters from Doctor Wuthergloom. the twisted Victorian freak? Ya you do: subscribe here: Cabal of Horror Mailing List
I hope to see you at the Halloween show!