One Actor - Another Show

Since the recent screening of "Fiddelity", people have been asking me about the equipment I used. So this brief blog entry will show the camera I used. The editing program I used was also very basic. It is a Microsoft program built in to my laptop. It is called "Movie Maker".  One of the few things that did not arrive at our home in Granville Ferry in our move here from Ontario in 2018 was my tripod. So, much of the filming was by hand-held camera. In some scenes, the camera was perched on whatever reasonably flat surface I could find or concoct. This was a very humble production.

The Nova Scotia Premiere of the film "Fiddelity" was a successful benefit for the Lower Granville Hall in Port Royal, Nova Scotia. The two sold out performances resulted in more than $1,100 going to the operating expenses of the Hall, which like many such performance venues has been hard hit by the global pandemic. The Hall volunteers provided a warm and safe space for the community this past weekend. One of my chief purposes in writing and producing plays is to raise money for worthwhile causes. Once the pandemic subsides and restrictions are lifted, this Community Hall hopes to provide a space for and promote local film, theatre, music and dance on a regular basis. I am pleased to have been able to help in this way.

I have been struggling with the new script that I have been working on for several months. I have called it "One's Company".  My problem: I do not love it as I did the script of "Fiddelity". I realized that one of the issues was that I had decided to write this new play as a screen play. This was the first such undertaking of mine. Although "Fiddelity" became a film, it was written, rehearsed and intended to be performed as a stage play. It was only the circumstances around Covid-19 restrictions that saw it gradually transformed into film. I am not a filmmaker by nature. Nor do I have the resources to become a good one. I undertook learning and performing monologues for several reasons, which I have discussed on this Blog previously. The principle one, perhaps, is keeping an ageing mind active and well exercised. For me at least, learning a film script did not satisfy this need. So, I have rewritten this new script for the stage. It is not entirely the...

Although the film Fiddelity has been screened in several Canadian provinces and indeed several countries, it has, by reason of fluctuating and unpredictable Covid-19 restrictions on public gatherings, yet to be screened publicly in Nova Scotia. This is where the film was produced. A planned screening at the King's Theatre in Annapolis Royal on January 8, 2021 was cancelled, when public performances were once again banned. However, restrictions have now been eased. I am pleased to announce that the Lower Granville Hall in Port Royal will be screening the film on March 13 and March 14, 2021. The event will be a fundraiser for the Hall.  The Hall is located across the road from 'The Habitation", where Champlain created the Order of Good Cheer in 1605 and theatrics frequently took place. Therefore, the location is most appropriate.

I have now completed re-writes on a script that has been formulating on my laptop for several months. I know, as I begin to work on learning lines, that it will evolve further. Although it is, essentially, a monologue, two other characters appear briefly.  This is the first script I have written with filming in mind. As Covid-19 restrictions continue, and the uncertainty of live theatres re-opening anytime soon, or remaining open if they do, I thought this the best route to take. This is the story of an older gay man whose partner of almost fifty years has gone away, allegedly on family business. The story is about communication, assumptions, loneliness and ageing. Originally I had intended to title the play ``Dinner for One``; however, I subsequently learned there is another film by the same name. I have now settled on ``One`s Company`` for this work. Following a very successful piece with another is always risky and unsettling. But it will be what it will be.

A film version of "The Lace" has now been published publicly on YouTube. The film is compiled from off-stage rehearsal videos of the on-stage productions of this fifty-minute monologue. Paul Rapsey performed in the monologue in Nova Scotia and Ontario in 2019.  It is in the "Talking Head" genre of film. The stage play raised money for various non-profit and charitable causes in both provinces. See:  https://youtu.be/J-VjEdGP2FQ

When I first sat down a month ago to begin writing a new play script, the title "Dinner For One" came  immediately to mind.  It is indeed about a Dinner for One.  But much more recently, I became aware, through German friends in Hamburg, that there is an iconic British comic sketch by the same name. It was filmed in Germany for a German audience in 1963. The original sketch was written for the British music hall scene in the 1920s. It has become a German tradition to watch this film every year at New Years. Indeed, o ur young German friend claims to have seen it more than 40 times in his 45 year lifespan. Strangely, it seems that the film had never been seen on British television until 2018.  Now, the title is perfect for my new play. Am I permitted to use this title? If so will it confuse people? There may be other possible titles. Yet they elude me.  The title "Table Setting for One" does not have the same ring, nor is it quite accurate. "Dinner with Oneself...