The Annual Navel Gaze

by Phil RickabyDirecting, Life, Theatre, WritingPosted on 3 Comments

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. They just seem to be a way to set unrealistic expectations, which lead to making you feel disappointed in yourself when you break them. So, no resolutions for me.

But I will set some goals for myself. So here, in no particular order, are my goals for the upcoming year:

  • Get paid to act. In the past, I’ve done too many shows just to be doing something. This has led to varying degrees of satisfaction. Some experiences were really great, others were not. So, the goal is to only do theatre that pays — unless (and the unless is important here) I am creating the play, or am invested in it (like a play produced by Monkeyman Productions).

  • Do more directing. I have an idea for a particular Shakespeare play that I would love to do. I need to find a way to fund that. Before I tackle that play, I’ll want to improve my directing vocabulary.

  • Write more. Write more. Write more. Finish the play I’m working on before moving on to the next.

  • Become a better theatre marketer. I am the “Marketing Manager” for Keystone Theatre and tried my hand at some publicity for Monkeyman for the last show. I certainly need some improvement. I have a bit of time before Keystone kicks into gear, so there is some time — but I want to know what I’m doing before that happens.

  • Become a better schmoozer. Be able to go to parties, make small talk, meet the right people, and the like. I’m not very good at this, and I need to get better.

  • Get an agent.

So, those are my goals for the year. There are more of them than I initially thought there would be. I might not complete all of them, but at least I’ll have made some serious headway if I accomplish some of them

What are your goals for the year?

Obligatory Year End Post

by Phil RickabyEnd of Year blather, Theatre, WritingPosted on No Comments

Now is the time of year, where everywhere you turn, you’ll find some yahoo with a blog providing a year-in-review post, or a top ten list, or something like that. And who am I to buck tradition? So, let’s get to it:

This past year has been pretty performance focused. I did the New Ideas Festival, made my directing debut, performed in a BYOV at the Toronto Fringe Festival, and finally turned a four year project into a theatrical reality with The Belle of Winnipeg. That’s more theatre than I’ve done in the last few years combined. This is good. I loved every second of it. After all, it’s what I trained to do. What I love to do.

I’m trying to negotiate the waters with my day job, to see what I will be able to do next year, theatre-wise. I’m taking on a bit more responsibility, but I need to make sure that I’ll still be able to pursue some theatre. We’ll see how that goes.

I’m also starting to concentrate more on writing. Progress on the next draft of the one-man play continues. I’m getting some feedback from some trusted sources, and then I’ll see where to take it next. I’m researching a historical drama, which I should be able to start writing within the next month to two months, and I’m going to be writing some short stories in the next little while.

I guess that’s the goal for this year. I want to keep acting going, but writing seems to be where the focus is right now, so that’s what I’m planning to be doing for the next little while. I’m talking to D.J. Sylvis about starting up a playwriting group, because (quite frankly) I tend to need the encouragement of others to keep the writing going. When it’s all over, I’d like to have at least 2 plays completed, and a few short stories.

Let’s review this next year at this time, shall we?