A Flimsy Plan

ShakesPeers Holiday Bash

December 8, 2024 No Comments

One of the hallmarks of this blog, ever since it started, was “fun things I do in Calgary”. And slowly – sloooooowly – I’ve moved into creating fun things to do in Calgary for other people. I mean, I’ve produced theatre on and off for over a decade, so that counts as something. But over this past year, Full Circle Theatre has started putting on community building Shakespeare-inspired salon events. And that is definitely creating “fun things to do in Calgary”. Tonight was our most recent event, the ShakesPeers Holiday Bash and it was everything I needed it to be.

First, What is ShakesPeers?

Great question! It is, obviously, a pun on Shakespeare. And the fact that we get together with our peers. And shake, I guess?

Basically, we wanted to make something that would bring theatre people together, but wouldn’t be a class or a performance. It would just be an opportunity to nerd out with other cool theatre people and potentially practice our craft a little bit in a low stakes environment. Our first event was a Roles in a Bowl reading of Much Ado (which was exactly what it sounds like) and our second was a Scene Exploration (where we just selected scenes, messed around, and talked about them). We’ve met new people and gotten comfortable with Shakespeare. And more importantly, for my sanity, they’ve been really easy to plan.

What About the ShakesPeers Holiday Bash?

Also, kind of what it sounds like! It was our holiday party for people we wouldn’t normally be able to attend a holiday party with! We rented a basement events room at The Joyce on 4th, and they were fantastic. Very attentive, gave us access to their full menu, and decorated the room in a cute festive manner… What more can you ask for in a private room!?

Kevin put together six rounds of Shakespeare inspired trivia and I learned I don’t know nearly as much about Shakespeare as I think I do. We did a classic White Elephant gift exchange. I brought some local bitters and fancy tonic water, and walked with a nice bottle of wine. (There were also gifts that weren’t beverages, but beverages is my brand, as we know.)

We did Burt Reynolds shots, which I certainly have not done since I worked at Earls.

Now, I will say that the one challenge with putting on events is that you never quite get to socialize as much as you want to. There are always small things that you need to attend to that pull you away from being fully involved with the event. But it’s so worth it when you know you’re creating something great for other people.

And, hey, maybe it’s just a good excuse to get back together with my friends again and again and again.

So tell me, what holiday party plans do you have on the menu?

YYCEats

Beer Exchange Day 4

December 7, 2024 No Comments

I don’t know if ya’ll know this, but I am a math expert. And as a math expert, I can tell you that, today, Beer Exchange Day 4, is officially a third of the way through the Beer Exchange. (And perhaps a third of the way through Blogmas? Unless I decide to do a full month.) This is a fact that I don’t love, because I have so many more festive things to do in the next two thirds of Blogmas. Including decorating my house.

I’ve been busy and tired.

Don’t judge me.

Also don’t judge me about the chaos that ensued last night, the night that I enjoyed Beer 4.

“Enjoyed”.

Yesterday was one of the big days at my work. (Our yearly retreat for all of our program affiliates.) While I didn’t present or receive an acceptance for a conference this year (unlike last year), I did still have a lot of high level work discussions. And then I had to bounce relatively early from the post-retreat social event, because I was going to see a play in Cochrane.

Hahahaha.

Or not.

Because it turns out, the show started at 7 pm and I assumed it started at 7:30, and showed up a solid 20 minutes after the curtain lifted.

So the only thing I could do was turn around, drive 45 minutes back home, and order way too much sushi for one person. And also drink Beer Exchange Day 4 (aka, my beer).

Fitness

5 Fun Ways to Stay Active During the Holidays (No Workouts Required)

December 6, 2024 No Comments

The holidays are here, which means cozy sweaters, hot cocoa, and approximately a million things to do. For me, December always feels like a whirlwind, and sometimes it is truly impossible to fit in a formal workout. And if you read Wednesday’s post, you know I’m feeling guilty about that. And working on not feeling guilty about it. Because staying active during the holidays doesn’t have to mean hitting the gym or doing a 45-minute cardio session.

If you’re like me and need to make your holiday movement to feel festive and fun, I’ve got you covered. (Plus, even Harvard agrees with me that you’ve got to keep moving!) Here are five creative ways to stay active during the holidays that you’re probably doing anyway—or can start doing now.

1. Decorating for the Holidays

Holiday decorating is a sneaky way to stay active during the holidays. Pulling the box of ornaments out of storage? Strength training. Carefully balancing on a stool to hang garlands? Core work. Untangling miles of string lights? Maybe not a physical workout, but definitely a mental endurance test. Plus, once you’re done, your space looks festive and magical. Worth it.

2. Holiday Baking

Holiday baking isn’t just about the cookies (although let’s be honest, it sort of is). But if you’re feeling guilty, consider this: It’s about the movement—rolling dough, whipping batter, and crisscrossing the kitchen to grab ingredients. Add some upbeat holiday music, and suddenly you’re in your own baking montage. Staying active during the holidays can be as simple as dancing while you whisk frosting. Your arms might even get a little sore from all that whisking!

3. Playing in the Snow

Remember how much fun snow days were when you were a kid? Who says adults can’t join in? Go outside, build a snowman, or organize a friendly snowball fight. It’s like recess, but with mittens and hot chocolate waiting for you afterward. Running through the snow burns calories *and* boosts your mood. And happy people just don’t kill their husbands.

4. Volunteer Work

Volunteering during the holidays is a great way to stay active while giving back. Packing food hampers, sorting donations, or delivering meals to neighbors all require movement, and you’re helping your community while you’re at it. It’s a win-win that makes your heart feel as full as your gift bags.

5. Nature Walks

Sometimes, the simplest activities are the best. Taking a walk to admire holiday lights or enjoy a snowy trail gives you fresh air, gentle movement, and a little time to decompress. Throw on your coziest scarf and grab a warm drink to make it even better. Plus it’s warm in Calgary right now! Walking is a classic way to stay active during the holidays, and it’s easy to fit into your schedule.

Staying Active (and Festive!) This Season

The holidays are busy, but they don’t have to be sedentary. With a little creativity, you can stay active during the holidays in ways that feel festive and fun. Whether you’re dancing in the kitchen, climbing a ladder to hang mistletoe, or strolling through a winter wonderland, every little bit adds up.

I’d love to hear how you’re staying active this season! And why is it just sprinting across the room to your iphone so you can skip “Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time”? (The worst song.) Let me know in the comments below—and feel free to share your own favorite ways to stay active during the holidays.

YYCEats

Beer Exchange Day 3

December 5, 2024 No Comments

Woof. Yesterday’s post was… well, not heavy, but certainly not fun. And definitely not festive. So I aim to rectify that today by doing Beer Exchange Day 3. It will be fun, it will be festive, it will have a beverage. Perfect post, am I right?

Hooray!

Now, I must admit that I did not do anything too special while drinking this beer. I was a little bit behind on the Christmas advent puzzle that T bought me. (And by “a little”, I mean “I started it on the third day of December”.) So I started the beer while completing the first three days worth of the puzzle.

Stuff About Me

Feeling Like Myself Again (Wellness Wednesday)

December 4, 2024 No Comments

This is an interesting post for Blogmas. It’s not very festive and I don’t know if it’s going to end up positive. I mean, it probably will end up positive, because that is my default, but who can say?

It seems appropriate, though. What I’m about to write about is what has been on my mind lately and this blog has always sort of been about vomiting what’s on my mind onto the internet. Blogmas wouldn’t be Blogmas without me writing a few posts that are weirdly and specifically personal.

I feel like I’ve recently gotten on a real wellness kick, without actually doing anything, during what is really the worst time of year. I’ve been thinking and talking a lot about my sleep hygiene. Things like getting into my bed earlier, putting screens away an hour before bed (which I’m terrible at), building a nighttime routine. I’ve also been thinking – and talking – a lot about paying attention to how I’m nourishing myself. Maybe tracking my food and how I feel as a result for a bit.

This all sounds good, right?

But I’m also catching myself feeling guilty when I don’t work out. (Which, honestly, I do need to do more, for my strength and for my sanity and for my sleep. The guilt just doesn’t help.) I’m catching myself feeling guilty any time I have a drink or eat pizza for the third week in a row. And all that guilt and self-flagellation is making my wellness worse because I just reach this point of paralysis and stress where I let my current habits completely take over.

So why am I putting myself through this at notably one of the most stressful times of the year? (So they say, anyway. I honestly find the holidays full, but not that stressful. Which I know may not be normal.)

I’m just ready to feel like myself again.

We worked on Riverona for so long, which took over a lot of my life. And then I travelled in October and have basically been sick since I got back into the country. And, quite honestly, I’m sick of feeling shitty.

I’m ready to start feeling good. And more importantly, feeling like me.

So that’s what Wellness Wednesdays are going to look like for the foreseeable future. Wanna join?

YYCEats

Beer Exchange Day 2

December 3, 2024 No Comments

Another day, another beer exchange bevvy to write about!

I say that like this is already routine and boring, which it absolutely is not. Look, it still feels so good to be writing and I absolutely did an exciting thing while drinking Beer 2.

We had our first readthrough of our upcoming Full Circle Theatre play, Porcelain Dolls! Yes, I know if you clicked through to the link, you saw that the play is in March and this might seem early. And that is because it is.

We had a couple reasons to want to do this read early. One – we wanted to engage the cast early, get them hyped, allow them to get to know each other. The other reason was that Porcelain Dolls is a new script that recently went through rewrites and we wanted to hear the new script in the actors’ voices. It was incredible to hear out loud and our cast is outrageously talented. After the reading, we have a few little tweaks to do, but I already know that this production is going to be one that cannot be missed.

Also, you must know that this play takes place in the women’s washroom at a bar, so of course we had bevvies for the read. And I had to drink the Day 2 beer! It was wrapped in penis wrapping paper. Extremely necessary. (Long story, very relevant.)

Life, Stuff About Me

My Holiday Bucket List

December 2, 2024 No Comments

Y’all. It felt so freaking good to hit “post” on yesterday’s post. This is why we do it, friends! (For the dopamine and the self-indulgent attention.) As you can imagine, life has been very full lately, between Full Circle Theatre work, launching ShakesPeers, a trip to London, actual work, training at Moveology, joining the Calgary-ACTS executive board and nom-com, friends, family, relationship…

Well, I hate it now that I wrote it down. That’s too much.

But Blogmas is so good. It feels good to write down my thoughts and feelings, to document my life, to share with all of you. I also really love finding new blogs that are doing Blogmas every year. It’s so much fun to learn about wildly different people, the type of people I would probably never stumble across by accident. Blogs somehow still feel more pure and less curated than vlogmas and tiktok, and I love that.

But this post is not about how blogs are still a weirdo fun corner of the internet. This post is about my Holiday Bucket List!

Because why not create yet another challenge for myself this holiday season? But I’m going to make this very easy. And fun. And use a classic productivity hack – including things that I am going to do anyway, so that I can check them off my list and feel like I’m getting some momentum. The Progress Principle, am I right?

My Holiday Bucket List

YYCEats

Beer Exchange Day 1

December 1, 2024 No Comments

It’s Blogmas! It’s that time of year where I actually write on my blog because, as we all know, I only ever achieve things when I have a structured challenge. I like to create internal pressures that I disguise as external pressures. (Shut up. I’m working on it. In theory.)

I also like Blogmas, though. And this year, maybe this year, will be the year where I parley my Blogmas momentum into actual momentum. This will be the year where my blog becomes something. (At least until I start rehearsals for my next show in February. Wait, was that my outside voice?)

And you know what else I like? Beer Exchange!!! Yes. This is a A Flimsy Plan Blogmas mainstay. Mostly because it means that I only have to come up with twelve post ideas for Blogmas, but also because I love doing activities with friends.

If you’ve read my blog literally ever before, you probably know what the Beer Exchange is all about, but if not, here is a quick run down.

Megan organizes it every year. Sometimes this is very easy and sometimes it is like herding cats. I leave it to you to guess what this year was like.
12 people each buy 12 tall boy cans of a different local beer and then we all take one of each beer. (This is why it can be like herding cats. Megan tries to find out which beer we’re all buying so there are no duplicates and not 12 IPAs.)
Plus the beers are wrapped up, so it’s like an advent calendar! But social! With friends!

So you probably guessed what today’s post is all about – it’s about the first beer from the Beer Exchange! And this year, we actually had a kickoff party! Like for real! No illnesses to get in our way!

And that means we got to enjoy the first beer as a group. Sure, first Tyler and I enjoyed a really good bottle of wine while we were waiting for all of the beers to arrive, but then it was time for five people to drink the same type of beer. And what was that beer? Well, follow me through the cut to find out!

Culture

Talking About Writing

August 15, 2024 No Comments

Lights Up! poster with session details
(Aug 16, 5pm in the Acadia room)

Play With Us poster with session details
(Aug 18, 2pm in the Acadia room)

I am writing this blog post on the eve of the 2024 incarnation of the When Words Collide writing and reading festival, and there is nothing else I could possibly write about tonight. It is filling about 90% of my mind. Some of what is filling my mind is bubbly anticipation of talking about writing and theatre, but most of it is kind of nonsense. In fact, the thought that is currently at the top of my mind is that I actually didn’t realize that it was called a “festival”, not a “conference”. Was it once called a conference and it changed? Who can say?

It’s probably on the internet somewhere. But that’s not important right now.

Hey Erin, what are you doing at WWC? And how is this relevant to theatre?

I mean, what I’m doing at WWC is going to lots of fun panels and readings to get me inspired to write, competing with other artists and intellectuals in game shows and Quiplash games to entertain the general conference public, staying up way too late with other cool nerds, and generally immersing myself in the world of writing and reading for 72 hours.

Perhaps more importantly, I’m presenting two interactive sessions with blog favourites, Claire and Megan, on the very important topic of writing theatre. We are, in fact, the only scripted theatre related sessions during the weekend. (The Kinkonauts are doing a very cool improv thing, but improv is a whole other art form, thank you very much.) We’re doing one classic presentation on writing/putting on your own play, which we’ve been presenting in one form or another since 2018, and a newer hands-on workshop where we introduce people to our collaborative creation process. As discussed in last week’s Theatre Thursday, collaborative creation is FCT’s bread and butter, you know we’re going to bring that to a writing event.

This year, When Words Collide has quite a few active sessions on writing, which is great. There’s even a drop-down space where attendees can write and decompress whenever inspiration strikes!

I’m also doing a few other little things. Like I said, I’m competing in a trivia based game show that Kevin has created/hosted. I won last year, so I need to defend my fancy pumpkin trophy. Also, I need to be a woman forcing my way into nerd spaces in a bubbly and cute way. I’m also participating in Kevin’s Quiplash session for *entertainment*. And, finally, I’m speaking on a panel for fanfiction writers, which I am psyched about. Writing Riverona made me legally qualified to speak on it, but my years of writing Newsies, Rent, and The Babysitter’s Club fanfiction made me spiritually qualified. (Don’t go looking for it.)

Why Do You Love When Words Collide? (Or Specifically Talking About Writing, I Guess?)

I feel like this maybe might have come through above? But there is something that is just so inspiring and comforting about being around people who like the things you like. I remember the first year I “attended” WWC (aka, I visited Kevin at the hotel and crashed a few parties), I was so surprised that it was a place for me. But it truly was. It’s kind of a place for everyone I’ve ever invited there.

I’ve also never walked away from WWC and not been inspired to immediately get to work on a project. A ton of great work has come as a result of being in this great place.

I want to go to this place!

Of course you do. A few logistics:

WWC is a Calgary based festival, which takes place in the Delta South in the August of each year.
Conference passes are very affordable. (Like, less than $100.)
That said, you usually need to buy your pass early. Like, before the release of all the session details. You go to this festival for the vibes, not necessarily for the speaker line-up. But the cool thing about art is that it’s subjective, so you will absolutely learn things no matter who ends up presenting. Plus, the conversations with your fellow attendees! That also gives you a lot.
Presenters really run the gamut. Writers, editors, agents, book designers, book sellers, theatre artists, industry specialists. Widely published commercial writers, wildly published indie writers, poets, people who have just gotten their first book deal, former English teachers. However, session blurbs and presenter bios are available when you arrive, so you can make the choice that is right for you.
There is a Merchant’s Room where many of the presenters have their books and even some other merch on sale. It’s nice to support your favs.
Interact with people. Socialize. Take advantage of the experiences outside of the formal learning opportunities, that’s where this adult educator feels like the learning really takes place.

Now, I’ll be completely honest. This year’s When Words Collide is 100% sold out. However, I’ll be sharing a lot of the experience over my stories on Instagram and I’ll post a recap here. If you’re a writer or just writer-curious, I hope I’ll be able to convince you to join next year! Let’s get to work talking about writing, my friends!

Culture

A New Season (Theatre Thursday)

August 8, 2024 No Comments

Man, what a full year it’s been so far, my friends. So much Riverona and building my relationship with people and growing my career and reading not nearly enough books. And now suddenly it’s been 6 months since I wrote here and I have the most intense imposter syndrome known to man. I wrote that really fun post about my 50 favorite things and then bounced, you know? I feel like I don’t even know where to start and that’s part of why I haven’t been writing at all. The less you start, the less you start, you know?

So I’m just starting!

What I thought might be cool on Theatre Thursdays this year is to write about all the different things that I’m doing in theatre, week-by-week. Of course, I’ll still write about shows that I see when the mood strikes me, but a documentation of the actual things I’m doing in close to real time feels good to me.

Why the Change?

Good question, self! (And by extension, you, gentle reader. I’m sure.) A few reasons for the change.

Recently I’ve been looking for blogs and vlogs and podcasts about the day-to-day reality of making theatre and art. I’ve stumbled backwards into a few blogs that have documented the process of creating a production and I think that’s really cool. I love hearing about other artists’ thought and decision-making processes. So I should create the thing I want to find in the world!
Full Circle Theatre is actually producing a full season for 2024-2025. (Well, a full season for us. We’re a little indie company.) That means that I’ll have a lot of organic inspiration for things to write about, rather than just trying to pull post ideas out of the ether.
I always enjoy blogging more when I’m a little bit more personal while I write. A little bit more real, as it were. Not a diary or anything like that, I’ll still be professional, but I like to throw myself in there.

So all in all, this seems like a solid plan to navigate through the Sunday scaries when it comes back to writing. Maybe a way to make my blog a bit more of a priority, perhaps?

Excellent sweeping declaration. Now what are you going to write about first?

Ha! Did you really think I wouldn’t have a plan coming back into this? I feed on plans, my friend. This blog is called A Flimsy Plan, after all. (I just don’t always follow through on them. Or they’re flimsy. Don’t worry about it.) I even revealed what I was going to write about up above…

Full Circle Theatre has announced our new season!

Like, we literally dropped the reel on Instagram yesterday. This is hot news!

Actually, we did give a sneak peek announcement of the upcoming season during our first week of Riverona and I’ve not been good at keeping it quiet, so some people knew, but still. It was a big moment! The reel is performing pretty well, which is all you can really ask for, as we try to grow our audience on social media, and people seem excited about the season. Which, for those of you who haven’t seen it, it is:

May-Apr 2025: Porcelain Dolls (a FCT classic, first developed in 2016-17, which we will be rewriting for this year)

Jun 2025: Much Ado About Nothing (a Shakespeare classic, one of his most popular)

Why did you pick these shows for your first new season?

Great question!

Like everything FCT does, we decided by committee. Claire and I always make the final decisions, but we take in a lot of input from our collaborators, current cast members, audience, board, and friends. Our philosophy is that one of the reasons we tell stories is to entertain, so we should consider telling stories that people want to hear.

Our mandate has always been to do brand-new works (aka shows created under the FCT umbrella) paired with classical works (aka public domain, foundational plays). When we came back after Riverona, we had no interest in changing that. But we had a few logistical things to consider.

We are burnt out after Riverona. We needed to take the summer to relax, have fun, and pursue other passions. So it likely wasn’t practical to create a new play completely from scratch in the second half of 2024. Our brains needed some time to reset.
One of our top shows that we wanted to do was Twelfth Night. We actually have the perfect Sebastian/Viola twin actors in our sphere. But in April, The Shakespeare Company announced that they would be doing Twelfth Night this fall, and to do the same show as a professional company in the same season is just inviting comparisons. So if we could avoid doing that, we would. Back to the drawing board!

There was very little drawing on the board.

Porcelain Dolls was our biggest hit to date the year that we originally produced it and it still has a lot of components that still work. (Home tacos, anyone?) It counts as a FCT original creation and, most importantly, it would give our core team a bit of a break after two years of writing without breaks. In the future, we plan to write a new work in the fall of each season, but not this year.

Much Ado was another show on our short list and is a Shakespearean banger. It’s like bringing Bugles to a party – everyone is going to want to be your friend. Since we are still newly re-emerged, still rebuilding our audience and performer base, we wanted to do a show that will bring people in. If you want to attract a good director, designer, actors, and audience, you do a show they love. I mean, you have to pair it with a good production, buuuut… Local theatre company, Untold Stories, has figured this formula out all too well and has truly exploded onto the scene over the past three seasons. (They also mastered the art of co-pros early on, which we haven’t yet, but that’s a conversation for a different day.)

Anyway. That’s our new season and how we announced it and why we picked it.

And I wrote a post. What a good day.

Full Circle Theatre Season Announcement Image

What do you think about our new season?

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