Month: May 2013

Just over two weeks now until Water Wings hits the Montreal Fringe Festival.  I can’t believe it.  The show is coming along well – got most of the lines memorized.  And dance moves.  What?  That’s right.

I’m super excited about my first Fringe experience – as a performer, that is – I tried the spectator role, as well as the volunteer role, but something tells me I’m going to like this role a whole lot more.

In the meantime, I’m trying to get as many people as possible to attend the Toronto Preview of the Water Wings.  Since we won’t be able to perform at the Toronto Fringe Festival this year, we’d really like to give our friends, family – and sketch comedy fans in Toronto a taste of what we worked hard to put together.  So, if anyone reading this is available, come on down to:

Comedy Bar: Thursday, June 6th 2013 @ 10PM.  

Erin promises treats!

-3

Sometimes I watch stuff that sparks my imagination and creativity and makes me want to go on a writing/creative binge. 

So I go to my computer to get going.

I get sidetracked on Facebook and immediately feel all that joy and inspiration disappear. 

Three hours later I come out of it, and realize all the time I’ve wasted in my life.

And then I go to sleep feeling miserable and unaccomplished.

 

Thank you Mark Zuckerberg – or my addictive personality.

 

I wish to complain about the service I received at the Sobeys on the Queensway this evening.  I stood in a line behind two people, because the line next to me, where there was only one person in line, had a sign on it indicating the register would be closed after the last customer.

So, I waited in the other line.  The man in front of me began checking out and stopped the cashier (Barbara) because he did not believe he was getting the right price for the 4 cans of tuna he was purchasing.    (I got to hear the whole story – I was there long enough!)

Barbara, unaware as to why the cash register wasn’t showing the appropriate discount, took all the necessary measures to try to help the client she was serving.  While I waited.  And while a line behind me began to form.

The register next to me re-opened and took two more customers, both of whom had been BEHIND me in line. And then she closed again.

Many people were called to try to assist the man in front of me with his tuna crisis, and I continued to wait patiently.  (well, MOSTLY patiently) <— added for the blog

While I was waiting, it seems they opened up a few registers at the self-checkout aisle, where I would have been glad to go in the first place except, when I got in line, they were closed.  And nobody came to tell me they had opened up any additional registers.  It would have been nice to know.

I know you can’t help it when a customer really wants his discounted tuna, but it would have been great for someone, the cashier or ANYONE else to take notice of the other people in line, who have had long days, and who would like to get home, and who do not want to wait in line at Sobeys until 11pm.

The cashier even went out of her way as to offer the tuna-complaint man a free chocolate bar.

But I was waiting longer than him.  I had no complaints holding up the line for a half-hour.  I had 8 items or less.  So where’s my chocolate bar?

It’s hard to believe a year has past since I shared a stage with Dave Foley.  Not just any stage, the main stage at the Second City.  But alas, here we are, one year later, watching my successors have their moment in the limelight alongside another Kid in the Hall, and a most royal queen, Scott Thompson.

God Save the Queen
God Save the Queen

The show was really good, I was super impressed by the performances, a lot of the writing, but mostly the sheer joy on the faces of the performers as they showcased  what they worked really hard on, ans what they learned over the past two years.

…and I can only IMAGINE the infinitely more positive environment these kids had to work with in the writer’s room and in rehearsal.  They were having fun.  And being creative.  I bet they were encouraged to create, explore and push a couple boundaries.  And you could tell all that by the performances.

It was also nice to bump into some fellow alumni and other industry folk for the evening.  🙂  (Including the good news I heard about a sponsorship for Water Wings – but more on that to come…)

I left the Main Stage feeling pretty encouraged and motivated to work hard on my own stuff.  Nothing like a bunch of kids graduating and entering the world of what you want to do to motivate you to make sure you keep at it yourself!  But first, I must rest… because I’ve got this nasty  cough that just started out of nowhere and I’ve got a busy week (month, life) ahead of me!

Congrats Humber Comedy class of 2013!   Y’done good.  Now keep up the hard work and I’ll see ya on the circuit!