Update #52: Year In Review

*NOTE: There are photos in this update. If you're reading this in your podcast player, go to https://staging.awoolner.com/podcast/update-52-year-in-review/ to see them.

THEATRE

• December 2022 and January 2023 pretty quiet, artistically
• Just meeting to talk about the next show
• Deciding between several novels/novellas to adapt
• Out of nowhere, decided on Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde because once we read the novella, we actually realized there was much more there than we thought
• Did March showcase of Jekyll and Hyde with a small ensemble
  • Ended up being better than we expected
• Started rehearsals for the summer version in June
• First large intern group since 2019
  • Group didn't work as well as the 2019 group
  • See update #34 if you want the full post-mortem
  • Got me rethinking how I run the summer show
  • Need to lay out a few ground rules so that the freedom of collectively creating a show doesn't blow back
    • I need to make clear that there are certain decisions that I have to make, since I am responsible for YTG's long-term health and I'm basically the only one there who will work on more than a single show
• Mainstage Jekyll & Hyde was fine.
  • I think I liked the showcase better, both as a process and in terms of what we made
  • I think parts of the summer show had potential and I'd like to develop them further
• I was unsatisfied and had missed working with Marie over the summer
  • I proposed a mini show
  • Mini show ballooned into around 50 hours of rehearsals and a 35 minute show followed by a 35 minute discussion, performed 3 times
• Mini show became the "Theatre Lab" Consent
  • _Overslag did the improvised music
    • Ended up doing sound design too, almost live!
• 35 minutes not long enough to cover the theme as deeply as I would have liked, but I knew that going in
• The "Capan Show": had a few meetings, but ended up pushing it to this year
• Xander and I plotted and hung the new house lighting plot for JDS/World Peace Theatre
• Also designed and ran lights for several JDS shows

NERD NITE

• 10 shows
• Would have been impossible without the other Andrew handling the speakers and a bunch of other admin details
• I like the event, but it's a lot of work as-is.

PODCASTS

• Still editing Miss Charlotte's Finishing School for Wayward Readers
  • But did 6 episodes in '23
  • 3 are rough edited by intern Kate
  • Should be able to wrap up and release this spring
• Does It Hold Up is still in production
  • 1 episode recorded in late 2023

ACTING

• 1 big job in 2023: Netflix animated series voice-over
• I was only one of two characters to appear in every episode (maybe fewer lines than a lot of the others, though)
• Best paying job I had all year— and we were still paid less than union actors in the west would have been
• I still can't talk about the show
• I hope it's successful: will hopefully lead to future roles with this company
• I don't really want to be a voice actor, but getting a gig like this one occasionally would make me very happy

PHOTOGRAPHY

• Had a few paid photography gigs (private and corporate), but not enough.
  • Family sakura shoot
  • 2 big corporate jobs through an events management company
  • Work for the Sharing Caring Culture NPO
    • Low-paying, and I shoot some stuff for free, but when they get a grant, they write a photography budget into it
  • Pole dancing school recitals
• Also shot a lot of stuff for family and fun (and art)
  • I've shot a lot of stuff that I'm proud of
    • Hammy's after-school club events & festivals
    • YTG rehearsal and show photos
    • My friend Duncan's drag anniversary party
    • Japan Dance School events
    • Shelly the Snail

OTHER ARTS

• Poems & soundscapes
• Not much guitar: music side of me languished in 2023
• Website maintenance, but no major updates
• Struggled with admin
  • BUT got the YTG annual report in almost on time this year instead of months late

CAREER

• Applied for 2 Artistic Director positions in 2023
• Applied for another just last week