A Flimsy Plan

My 2026 Word of the Year: Nourish

January 7, 2026 No Comments

Remember last year when I said that it makes sense to post the Word of the Year a few days into the year? Once again, I am living that truth. (But, tbh… I’m mildly doing better than last year? Like… MILDLY. Like by 3 days…)

It’s mid-January, if we’re being honest, as horrifying as that is. I just got home from a long day that included work, the gym, emails I didn’t want to answer, play outline refining, and DM messages that required my full brain. I’ve eaten dinner, I’m in my comfiest clothes, and I’m settling in for a quiet night at home.

And honestly? That feels very on theme for this year.

Reflections on 2025’s Word of the Year: Elevate

Last year’s word was Elevate, and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that it worked.

I elevated my work. I did a workshop at the International Conference on Residency Education that was not supposed to be a solo presentation but still ended up highly regarded. Full Circle Theatre had a massive year… artistically, structurally, and reputationally. We pulled off projects that would have 2011!Erin. We received five CAT Awards, which seems insane as new members. I elevated my professional life at my day job, stepping more fully into leadership, responsibility, and trust. (Ugh. All the worst words… especially as I’m still not an official, compensated leader.) I elevated my personal relationships, my collaborations, and my expectations of what I deserve from the people around me, even when it sucks.

I also, quite literally, elevated my physical effort. If you asked anyone… I moved more. I lifted weights. I pushed my body harder than I had in years.

Until I burnt out and I stopped.

Because here’s the honest part:
I elevated a lot… but I didn’t always replenish what that elevation cost.

Somewhere in the process of doing amazing, meaningful, ambitious things, I quietly let go of some of the things that are just for me. Goodreads will tell you, I read fewer books. I cooked less. I spent more money eating out and drinking than I wanted to. Certainly, I moved.. but inconsistently instead of sustainably. I wrote constantly, sure… but often for output, not for nourishment. I created all the time, but not always in ways that filled me back up.

Elevate asked a lot of me. And I answered.

But by the end of the year, I could feel it: I didn’t need to go higher. I didn’t need to keep Elevating. I needed to come home. To myself. In this life that Calgarians live, barely above sea level.

My 2026 Word of the Year – Nourish

So this year, my word is Nourish.

Not discipline.
Not optimize.
And not grind (absolutely not grind). Last year was kind of about grind and I failed. I said I was going to move and feel better about my body and feel better about myself and I ultimately didn’t. So I’m picking something kinder for 2026.

Nourish.

I want to nourish my body… not punish it, not correct it, not chase some ideal version of it. I’m never going to be 24 again, as much as I love to joke about 2011!Erin. I recognize how things feel in my body. I want to move consistently because it makes me feel strong and grounded. Honestly, I want to cook more food at home that actually feeds me. I want to feel good in my body again, not just about what art it can produce.

If we want to put a pin on it, I want to nourish my creativity. That means finishing my novel. Writing on this blog because I want to, not because I feel like I should. Bringing Off Book back in a way that feels sustaining instead of another thing on the list. Making content that uplifts me, not just content that serves a brand or a strategy.

I want to nourish my attention. Less vegging out. Less unfocused doing. And less scattering my energy everywhere just because I can. I don’t want to do less. I don’t think. It makes me so incredibly mad when people tell me I’m “busy” like I’m not just doing what everyone else is doing… I’m just louder about it and I don’t always make the choices that make my personal life better. I want to do what I’m already doing… but more mindfully, with intention and care.

And maybe most importantly, I want to nourish myself with kindness. Less shame about my body. Less guilt about rest. And less beating myself up for not doing everything perfectly, all the time. (Yeah. Shockingly, I didn’t fix that in 2025. In fact, I may have made it worse.)

Elevate was about going up and out.
Nourish is about going inward and staying.

That doesn’t mean this year will be quiet or small. If you know me at all, you know that’s not happening. I don’t have that ability in this silly little body. But I want the work, the movement, the art, and the ambition to be fed by something real, not just momentum.

So that’s the word. Nourish.

If you were to pick a word of the year, what would it be? Do you do resolutions instead?

Culture

Six Things I Learned From Seeing 10 Plays in One Month

May 15, 2025 No Comments

Things I Learned from Seeing Plays photo collage with playbills

Since Porcelain Dolls closed, I’ve seen 10 plays in one month. Here’s what I learned!

On Monday’s Off Book, I mentioned that I had seen 10 plays since Porcelain Dolls closed just about a month ago and would you be surprised at all to know that I had lots of people reaching out to me? Asking what shows. And how I did it. And why? All good questions. Questions that I may or may not answer before diving into the meat of this post – what I learned from seeing 10 plays in one month.

This is semi-common knowledge, but I am a new member of the Calgary-ACTS Nom Com (nomination committee) this year. In exchange for a free ticket or two, I try to see all of the shows our member companies present so that I can nominate the best of the best for awards and vote on the eventual winners. I take this responsibility extremely seriously and, while I will end up missing about five shows, I see almost everything. Plus, I have subscriptions to the Vertigo Theatre and Alberta Theatre Projects opening nights. And then I try to see projects that my friends are working on. It adds up! (So that’s the how and why.)

6 Things I Learned from Seeing Plays in One Month

As for the what? Well… I’ll answer what I learned. I am actually not going to name names when it comes to the shows. These are holistic lessons that came from seeing so much back to back. Some of the shows were really good, some were less good, and I don’t intend to categorize them in this post. What would anyone gain from that?

Acting is Reacting

This month, I’ve caught myself going all theatre school and talking about motivation and tactics more times than I ever thought I would over ten years out of university. I rarely do tactics anymore as an actor, unless I hit a wall when it comes to understanding or performing a scene. It’s a tool, not a standard for me, at this point.

But boy, is it obvious when no one has ever bothered to explain to an actor that their character wants something out of every single scene and each line should help them get that thing! It’s obvious when actors think it’s just about learning their lines and making the movements on the stage that their directors told them to make. And it’s especially obvious when they aren’t listening to the other actors onstage because they are too worried about just doing those two things right.

Good Director? Game Changer.

Okay, this isn’t revolutionary. This is in line with my first point and it’s something I knew, but I re-learned it. Directing isn’t just about making pretty stage pictures. In fact, I would say it’s rarely about that. A good director helps the actors understand the human emotions behind the words they say and evokes motivation to create those stage pictures. A good director sets the tone and tempo. A good director creates a rehearsal room energy that draws out those inspired choices from actors. And all of this is way too evident onstage.

Simple Is Better

Maybe not always. I mean, we all love a good Cirque du Soleil show or Broadway mega-musical. But especially when resources are limited (time, money, space, people, knowledge), it is better to focus on the small things you can do well, instead of throwing things at the wall and seeing what will stick. Now, don’t get me wrong – simple is not always cheap and it’s not always easy, but it’s usually my favourite.

The Gap Between “Good Ideas” and “Good Execution” is a Canyon

Not always. But it happens. And I think we should always keep taking big leaps and seeing where we land. Because no show is ever the last show – so let’s take the lessons we learn and do better next time.

The Audience Vibe is Everything

A good audience evokes a great performance. So that makes me think about Full Circle Theatre – how do we find and create the audiences we want? How can we set up our audience experiences as soon as they walk through the door so that they know what to expect and can show up for us?

Theatre is Alive

Seeing 10 plays in a month is totally different than seeing 10 movies in a month. I think a lot of people can easily watch 10 movies in that time! But theatre is a living, breathing experience where you share the same air as the storytellers in front of you. When things go well, you are ecstatic for them. And when things don’t go well, you choke on your own breath, praying for them to get it together. It’s uplifting and exhausting.

And I learned that even when something isn’t to my taste, I will hunt for the things they did well and the bright side of the experience. Because after I shared a room with those artists who invited me to share a story with them, how could I not?

Seeing 10 plays in one month reminded me why I make theatre. And I cannot wait to do it again.

So now I ask you – what is the last thing you learned from seeing a play?

What Seeing Plays in Taught Me About Theatre Header Image

Full Circles

Off Book with FCT

April 27, 2025 No Comments

Okay, sure. Maybe this post should be a Theatre Thursday. It’s vaguely theatre related. But this is my blog and I do what I want, even when it flies in the face of everything I should be doing based on conventional wisdom. It’s gotten me this far… which I’ve learned to celebrate. So this is a new little thing that I’m going to do when I feel like it and I have the bandwidth. The series will be called… Full Circles? Full Circle Diaries? I haven’t figured that out yet. It’ll be about writing about Full Circle Theatre type things. And today… today it’s going to be thinking about… thinking around… thinking on Off Book.

Right now we’re in this weird twitchy space between projects. Doing both nothing and everything. Planning and prepping and building up energy for the next month.

Porcelain Dolls closed a few weeks ago.

It was beautiful and raw and overwhelming. It was the type of show that some people hated. However, many people deeply, viscerally saw themselves in it. We had people practically vibrating with excitement to talk to us about it.

And now we’re suddenly doing something completely different.

Much Ado About Nothing is Shakespeare, and with that comes Expectations. In fact, this play comes with a lot of capital letters. Love, Wit, Miscommunication… The Shakespeare Company.

A whole other factor that we wouldn’t have ever imagined a year ago. And it is utterly amazing and terrifying at the same time.

So, yeah. We’re between big projects. And between a lot of big emotions. We live in extremes, baby! (Which you know if you’ve been following our company for any period of time and have seen what kind of work we put out. Or if you’ve been following me personally.)

I feel like something that we don’t often talk about in theatre – especially when you run a theatre company – is this space. We definitely don’t show it to our audiences.

You know. The Blurry space. The space where we are between projects but we definitely aren’t on a break.

(But also we sort of are?)

This is publicity planning season.

Annual retreat season.

This is getting-thing- together-for-the-next-season season.

And this is also… reflection season.

Which brings us to the point of this post. I’m trying something new in this blurry half-break time.

A little digital storytelling project.

I want to show you what we are thinking about when no one is watching.

What I’m unpacking.

What we’re fighting to carry forward.

And even what we’re willing to leave behind.

This is the first post in what might become a podcast, a stream, a blog series, a little bit of it all… who can say? (You can say! By weighing in on what elements you like, how you like to consume your digital storytelling, all of it. Your clicks will tell me what to carry on with.)

It might be a mess. It will definitely be a little scrappy. But it’s a place to share the parts of theatre-making that don’t always fit into a rehearsal photo or a classic reel.

If you want to come along, we’re here.

Between the bathroom and the Bard.

Between the glitter and the war.

We’re calling it “Off Book” and a podcast to go along with this post will be here before you know it.

Have questions about how we made Dolls?

Or what we’re doing with Much Ado?

Drop them in the comments and we might turn them into future episodes.

Stuff About Me

My 2025 Word of the Year: Elevate

January 10, 2025 No Comments

Remember last year when I said that it makes sense to post the Word of the Year a few days into the year? Well, I’m really leaning into that this year! Not since 2021 have I posted my Word of the Year so late. But still. Posting it today feels right. I just got home from a very long day, including a committee meeting, working at my day job, a full body workout, and a super-fun rehearsal for an upcoming project. And now I’m sitting at home, drinking soda water and watching Drag Race. When you look at my 2025 Word of the Year, it’ll seem very appropriate.

Reflections on 2024’s Word of the Year

Last year, I wrote that my 2023 Word of the Year, Intentional, was a garbage fire of a word. This was true. But thank god this year’s Word went better.

I’m not going to pretend that I picked the word Priority and then immediately got all my priorities in line. I’m not going to pretend that I immediately phased out the people in my life that didn’t ever make me a priority. I don’t think anyone could do something like that.

However, what I will tell you, is that I feel like I walked out of 2024 with a good sense of what I want to prioritize in my life. I spent the year slowly building more and more habits to focus on my wellness, from journaling to regularly seeing a chiropractor to actually delegating things for the first time in my life. We did a massive production of Riverona this summer (as my readers likely know) and I actually let people help me.

The whole process of letting people in to help also served to identify what qualities I want in my collaborators moving forward. I may be a little bit pickier in the future, who can say? And I made so many new friends!

All of this culminated with Tyler and I joining a gym and getting personalised workout plans. I know I go to Moveology regularly, and I don’t intend to stop that, but I want to lift weights. To be quite honest, I’m ready for a body transformation and I’m willing to work hard.

My 2025 Word of the Year – Elevate

And I’m also very embarrassed to admit it. The fact that I’m eating and drinking and working out to change my body in some way. It goes against all the work I’ve done on loving myself and breaking down the toxic discourse around my body. It’s not supposed to be where I get my value from. Yet I still want to change.

All that brings us to my 2025 Word of the Year. Because I’ve decided to reframe how I’m approaching this. It’s not about changing my body because it’s bad. It’s about elevating it. Making something I love even better.

That’s what I think this year is going to be about. Elevate. Full Circle Theatre is ready to go to the next level and we have so many amazing things planned for the first half of 2025. (Some announced, many not yet in the public consciousness. Y’all are going to lose your minds when you find out, though.) I have some plans that I think will make keeping this blog alive easier. I’m building the type of relationships I want to have in my life. Even at my day job, we just hired a good friend of mine to work on my team and I know we’re going to do such amazing work. (Also, I’m motivated by collaboration.)

Plus I’m literally going to lift some weights.

So, we’ll see how it goes this year! This year, my regular challenge spread is going to look a little different. Though I’m stretching and yoga-ing a ton, the 12-week challenge at my gym is going to override my usual yoga challenge. However, I will still be completely a Slightly-Damp January, and a No-Spend challenge hosted by the wonderful Jenny. For interested parties – I’ve only drank once in January so far, and it was a single beer, so things are looking good!

If you were to pick a word of the year, what would you pick? Do you do resolutions instead?

Life

Holiday Bucket List Wrap-Up

December 31, 2024 No Comments

Happy New Year’s Eve, everyone! I have thoroughly enjoyed my week off posting – I’ve just been hanging out, working out a little, finishing some books, and socializing like crazy. On Saturday, we had our third annual Cheese Party and it was everything anyone could want it to be. Full of delicious cheese, gossip, and games.

This morning I took a very satisfying Power class taught by my friend Nicole. I washed my hair and then made a healthy lunch… and I’m just about to get ready for a 90s Bingo Night at Bottlescrew Bill’s to ring in the new year. I’m thinking Britney Spears mini-ponytails.

But before I do any of that – what is the point of making a plan if you don’t check in on it? I haven’t been great at closing the loop on this blog, but this time things are going to be different. This time, I’m going to let you know what I’ve actually completed on my 2024 Holiday Bucket List. Look at me go!

YYCEats

Beer Exchange Day 12

December 23, 2024 No Comments

We did it! We made it all the way to the last day of the beer exchange. And I think I avoided spoiling any beers for anyone, even though it was harder than I expected. (Both my boyfriend and my best friend decided to drink their beers during the 12 days leading up to Christmas. And my dad has done something chaotic that means he still has more beers left than days before Christmas and none of them are in any sort of numerical order.) But I did it! And I am a little bit tipsy and it’s very late at night, so let’s talk about Beer Exchange Day 12.

Why am I a little bit tipsy? Because I very much wanted to drink Beer 12 while I was recording Academy versus Audience. Other than an extra credit episode that I had to throw together because I messed up our schedule, this was the only recording date we pulled together in December. Of course I had to enjoy a very special drink.

Life

Hot Chocolate Showdown

December 22, 2024 No Comments

Photo by American Heritage Chocolate on Unsplash

Y’all. I write about beverages on this blog a lot, but there is one that just has not gotten enough love. Hot chocolate is the drink of the season. It’s cozy in a cup. It’s the only drink that can make you feel both like a kid on a snow day and like a festive adult who has their life somewhat together. (Spoiler alert: I do not. Remember my burst pipe?)

But let’s be real — not all hot chocolate is created equal. Oh no. There are good ones. There are bad ones. People have opinions. And many of them have wrong ones. So today, we’re diving headfirst into the great hot chocolate showdown. Buckle up, because I have a lot to say. (Spoiler #2: White chocolate is the reigning champ. Perfect drink, no notes..)

Classic Milk Chocolate

Okay, so it’s the standard. The OG. The cocoa powder you stirred into hot water as a kid and topped with enough marshmallows to form a flotation device. Classic milk chocolate hot cocoa is a vibe. It’s comfort, it’s simplicity, it’s the sweater of holiday beverages.

But here’s the thing: is it exciting? Does it thrill you? Or is it just… there? Look, I love it. I respect it. But in the hierarchy of hot chocolates, it’s the shallow squats during the warm up in a fitness class.

White Hot Chocolate

Only slightly different but oh so much better. White hot chocolate doesn’t get the love it deserves, and honestly, I’m tired of it. Yes, white chocolate is chocolate. It has chocolate in the name!

Besides, it’s creamy, it’s rich, and it’s the perfect base for holiday experimenting. Feeling fancy? Add a splash of vanilla or almond extract. Feeling festive? Crush some candy canes and sprinkle them on top. Feeling like you need to enter a sugar coma? Whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and chocolate shavings. (They can be “real” chocolate if you insist.)

If regular hot chocolate is a hug, white hot chocolate is the kind of friend who shows up with wine, asks how you’re really doing, and burns shit with you. In a good way.

Gourmet Hot Chocolate

Is my debate actually turning into a tier ranking? Who can say? It’s not like I actually plan these things… maybe you’ve leveled up from your cocoa powder days and are now dropping $12 on a hot chocolate with gold on it. (As you should.)

These are the hot chocolates that come with edible glitter, handmade marshmallows the size of your head, and more toppings than a sundae bar. They’re decadent, they exist for the ‘Gram, but who cares? You have to do it at least once! (Witness my Zoolights post.)

Spiked Hot Chocolate

Actually, speaking of my Zoolights post… This, my friends, is where hot chocolate truly shines. Nothing takes a cozy drink to the next level like a splash of something hard. (Ugh, I need a better word. I’ve been trying to stop calling alcohol “adult” beverages, but this is not the best alternative.)

Okay, sorry for the non-sequitur. What I am trying to say is that if you haven’t tried Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey in hot chocolate, stop what you’re doing. Right now. Go.

It’s like a Reese’s in a cup. Sweet, boozy, and absolutely perfect. And if peanut butter isn’t your thing (tragic), Baileys, peppermint schnapps, or spiced rum all bring their own holiday magic. Spiked hot chocolate is forgiving, festive, and guaranteed to make even the most aggressively cheesy Christmas movie feel like peak cinema.

Wildcards

You know that I’ll put something doing its own thing at the top of my lists. Spicy Mexican hot chocolate with cinnamon and cayenne? Iconic. Frozen hot chocolate? Chaotic but fun. Vegan-friendly or matcha-infused variations? Absolutely valid.

Do they stick to tradition? No. Are they delicious? Also no. (Just kidding, they’re great. I just feel bad for the cocoa powder people. I dunked on their taste, I can’t let them be the only ones.)

And the Winner Is…?

Please. As if I’m going to pick a winner. At the end of the day, the real winner of the hot chocolate showdown is you. Because you get to drink it all. (Yes, even the weird ones with turmeric.)

So, what’s in your mug this season? Are you a classic cocoa devotee or a fan of the spiked-and-chaotic? Or are you right, and you obsess over white hot chocolate like me? Let me know in the comments.

YYCEats

Beer Exchange Day 11

December 21, 2024 No Comments

Yesterday was just the most perfect late December day. In yesterday’s post, I talked about my really fantastic work lunch. (I just love eating very good food and getting to talk to acquaintances. That’s how you make friends!) After work, I ran a few errands, finished my Christmas shopping, and felt very productive. And then Tyler came over! We popped an edible and watched The Santa Clause and Muppet Christmas Carol. (We’re Canadian. It’s legal here and way cheaper than wine.) Plus I enjoyed Beer Exchange Day 11.

Ooh, and look at that locally purchased popcorn! The YYC Mix is specifically very good – it’s a mixture of spicy buffalo and maple syrup. Delicious. And, actually a pretty good pairing for Beer 11.

Fitness

Yoga with Adriene – Energy (Fitness Friday)

December 20, 2024 No Comments

Today’s post is just going to be a little baby post. Just a little short one. Today was my last day in the office for 2024 – I’ll still be working on Monday and Tuesday morning, but from the comfort of my basement. We went for a cute lunch at NOtaBLE as an office to celebrate and I very well might never eat again. The food was so good and I had so much left over… I cannot wait until I decide that I must eat my leftover Stilton cheesecake in the middle of the night. So, as you can imagine, I’m thinking a lot about delicious food and also a lot about moving my body. Specifically, Yoga with Adriene – Energy.

Longtime readers will remember that I have sporadically in my life announced that I am going to do a Yoga with Adriene yoga journey. This announcement regularly appears in my Word of the Year posts, and usually I actually do complete the journey. Sometimes I complete it a few days into February, but I think Adriene would support that. She is all about honouring the journey that you are on and finding your way back to your mat.

So obviously, I need to be doing that again this January. Those days where it is dark outside when I drive to work and dark outside when I drive home from work so I just don’t feel like driving to the studio, I need something that I can do to keep moving. That thing, of course, is Yoga With Adriene. (And maybe some other YouTube workouts.)

But Adriene isn’t doing a 30 Day Journey this year! At least that’s what I heard! What to do!?

Not to worry. Yoga with Adriene – Energy has come to the rescue. Only the first seven days are new (a Pranayama practice), but that doesn’t matter. It’s still videos that I haven’t done often, if at all, and someone else is picking the video that I’m going to do for me. What else can I ask for?

I love not making decisions!

So there we have it. Who’s doing Yoga with Adriene – Energy with me? Most do-able workout challenge ever. Sound off in the comments!

YYCEats

Beer Exchange Day 10

December 19, 2024 No Comments

I have water! I have water! Okay, I am also $250 poorer, but the last time I had a pipe burst, it took over five days before it was repaired, so this is pretty okay. The turnaround was only about 36 hours and hopefully I don’t have any memorabilia that got wet and isn’t salvageable. We’ll see. In the meantime, I’m just going to think about how much I enjoyed last night’s Survivor and also Beer Exchange Day 10.

Follow me through the cut for all my thoughts on both!

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