October 10th, 2008, 3 Comments »
Back in August, I mentioned the Conservative government’s cuts to arts programs, and their controversial grab for greater control over funding for film and TV production.
In roughly $5 billion worth of programs spending, Prime Minister Harper’s $45 million cuts feels like a rounding error. Did they hope to make the cuts quietly, or make a bold statement about tightening belts and, maybe, cultural funding? I’m not sure, but it feels like the issue broke the wrong way. Arts funding became an unexpectedly prominent issue in the campaign, providing fodder for the opposition Plus, the move may have provoked some previously apathetic non-voters to action.
As the Globe and Mail reports, Prime Minister Harper has repealed the problematic clause in Bill C-10. It feels like damage control:
The Conservative Leader’s about-face comes as Tory hopes of a majority fade, and support for the party is sagging in the crucial battlegrounds of Quebec and Ontario.
The move appears to be aimed at appeasing voters incensed at the provision in C-10, and at the nearly $45-million in recent cuts to a swath of other arts and culture programs.
The Globe also notes that all four opposition parties have promised to reinstate the $45 million in cuts.
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November 14th, 2007, No Comments »
My alma mater, the Theatre Department at the University of Victoria, has recently started something called ‘Spotlight on Alumni’. It’s a kind mini-series of productions produced by and featuring former members of the department.
The producer of Bolloxed, the play I wrote for the 2006 Fringe Festival, suggested that we submit a proposal for a remount in UVic’s 2008/2009 season.
I didn’t much fancy writing a boring dead tree proposal, so I whipped up a little interactive slideshow in Scrapblog. I don’t know if we’ll be sucessful, but it was fun to put together. You can see a small version below, but you’re probably better off checking out the full size one. There’s even some video clips from the show.
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July 16th, 2007, No Comments »
Jason Neufeld and Alix Sobler have a clever idea for a pair of Fringe shows. They’ve been together as a couple on the Fringe circuit for five years, but this year they allegedly broke up.
They’ve written two hilariously named shows about their relationship: “Alex Sobler Slept With My Brother” and “Jason Neufeld is Impotent”. From the latter site:
Hi. My name is Alix Sobler. For almost 5 years I dated the most selfish, laziest, unromantic jerk in the world, and now its pay back time. So maybe he is extremely good looking and insanely smart. So what? Just because he always did the dishes and never stayed out late and forgot to call, am I supposed to just stay with him the rest of my life?
It’s a great approach, and (I think) quite original. There’s all sorts of cross-promotional opportunities–apparently they’re going to picket each other’s show.
The only risk? What if one show is great and the other is awful?
I heard these folks interviewed, as below, on the CBC’s Q.
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