May 30, 2007 by maureen.ulrich.

Randy and I are off to the U.K. tomorrow for nine days – splitting our time between London, Edinburgh, and Oxford. Needless to say, we are very excited. I’ll be sure to post some pictures of our trip when we return. Cheerio!

Posted in On Travel | 1 Comment »

May 15, 2007 by maureen.ulrich.

Last weekend I attended our annual writers’ retreat at the Feathertick Inn, which is located just south of Estevan. It’s a beautiful bed and breakfast – loaded with character. I have added a link so you can visit Barb and Neil Collins’ website. They take such good care of us.

There are about six core members in my local writers’ group. We’re at the inn for 24 hours altogether. We arrive around 6:00 PM on Friday night, have supper, and do some writing. This year three of us stayed overnight, and three more joined the retreat on Saturday. I awaken early in the morning to do some more writing before brunch, which is typically served around 10:30 AM, followed by – of course – more writing. Supper is at 5:30 PM, and then we head home.

Writers’ retreats are a terrific way to refocus your energy on writing. I can accomplish so much more – without the distractions of phones, work, television, and the internet – not to mention cooking and cleaning (not that I do much of that anymore!) Our writers group pays $100 for the retreat fee, while I pay approximately the same amount for my room and three fabulous meals.

A special treat were the two foals – both under a week old – in the pasture next to the house. We tried to coax them to come over to the fence so we could pet them, but they – as well as their mothers – were too shy. Still, we got a very good look at them. Too cute.

I spent most of the weekend working on a play called Fast Food. I have a notion to perform it at the Saskatchewan Region 1 Drama Festival next March, which Lampman School is hosting. I think Pleasantdale’s middle years students would really benefit from the experience. I have written four short segments so far – one of which involves a drive-through church. Each segment is designed to show how we are not taking the time to properly feed our souls, bodies, and minds. It will have both humourous and dramatic moments.

My play – A Pirate’s Tale – was a huge success. Lots of eye candy. Colourful costumes and set. I do think that Angela Smeltzer’s 3-D backdrop was the best set I’ve ever had for a school production. The kids really rose to the occasion. I think I gave out a half dozen cues in three performances, which is amazing – considering how intimidated they were feeling the week before. I was very proud of all the cast and crew and dancers. The Grade 6/7 class’ presentation of “The Last Saskatchewan Pirate” was definitely a highlight.

Next year’s production will take place in Egypt. It will involve an archaeological expedition led by the great grandson of Howard Carter searching for the remains of Cleopatra. Naturally I will be using “Walk Like An Egyptian” by the Bangles for our Grade 8 dance troupe. Should be loads of fun.

Posted in On Student Productions, On Writing | 3 Comments »

May 7, 2007 by maureen.ulrich.

I am in the final week of production for a school play – A Pirate’s Tale, which will be performed at Pleasantdale on May 10th.

We performed the same play about nine years ago at the junior high, but I revamped it by adding some extra dialogue. It’s nearly an all-female production – with sixteen girls and five boys.

We are getting brilliant performances from this handful of Grade 6, 7, and 8 students – most of whom are scared to death of performing in front of their fears. Sometimes a director gets so wrapped up in the technical or logistical details that she forgets about one of her primary functions – being a cheerleader.

The last two weeks of rehearsal are always a stressful time for me. I spend most of my time hunting down and constructing props and costumes. Every little detail needs to be looked after. I’m not great at delegating, and consequently I end up feeling like the weight of the world – or at least the weight of the production – falls squarely on my shoulders.

Today I finally felt like I could sit back and watch the kids work. My cast and crew have been terrific. Many of them are already the world’s busiest kids – involved in music festival, confirmation, baseball, soccer, martial arts – you name it! I feel very fortunate that they all took time out of their busy schedules to fit in some drama.

Wish me luck! We have dress rehearsal tomorrow, and performances on Wednesday and Thursday. Arrrrgh!

Posted in On Student Productions | 2 Comments »