It was an old trick. Stephen had been using it for years – ever since he moved to the city. He wasn’t the first person to reinvent himself and all those years of high school French finally had a purpose. Ignorance is a great defence when presented in the context of a hapless tourist. He continued staring blankly at the museum guard and shrugged apologetically. It’s a finely balanced play, appearing to apologize but being Read more
He’s walking right to me. He walks with the springy gait and stiff shoulders of a resident gym rat, huge negative space between his bowed thighs and his arms sit well away from his torso. The subway platform isn’t crowded at this time of day but he’s not stopping at any of the available spaces. Why does he keep walking toward me? I am skilled at not making eye contact and yet he takes position on the Read more
Some things you just know. Zara’s Advanced Humanities teacher encouraged her to call it intuition. Zara was pretty sure sharing a bloodline with people gave you an intuitive edge about them but that didn’t necessarily constitute an intuitive gift. Since childhood Zara had a sense that her parents were living with a big secret. She had suspicions about the family history but there was conveniently no family with whom to cross check the facts. Zara imagined walking into Ms. Myer’s Read more
It’s not just because he wants better for me. That’s just the script, the lines he’s supposed to say to justify his actions in the never-ending scene of rage. He’s an angry man. He’s angry that all the things he didn’t have and had to fight for come so easily to me. He’s angry at my passive acceptance that this is my life. He’s angry I didn’t inherit his rage, or his soft curls and speckled eyes. Read more
8 minutes, March 26, 2014; platform for the A train (express) They’re supposed to be super fast in this city built for speed. Lightening speed, pulsating and caffeinated like the inky joe served up in the iconic blue cups. But minutes are an eternity when my bladder is full. Across the tracks, the local C and E rocket into the station at four minute intervals, each arrival a shot to my kidneys. Thundering out, they mock Read more
Despite my best intentions I’ve been MIA all year. The thing is my head got bashed in pretty bad. Ok, not really, the photo was taken while shooting CRACKED (CBC TV). The make-up department is stellar. The truth is I was up to my eyeballs with the transition to NYC and the polar vortex was kicking my ass. But it is now officially Spring. It’s raining. A resurrection is Read more
It’s a new year, a new chapter, a new city. New York City. It’s the city of my childhood dreams. I lived the dream briefly when I went to theatre school here. I didn’t stick around because I reasoned it would be wiser to strike out in a smaller pond (Toronto) than drown in a sea of triple-threat Broadway hopefuls. Singing terrified me – my knees actually knocked during singing interpretation class – and I Read more
It’s how an ordinary day becomes extraordinary. I don’t know it’s going to happen when I open I eyes. I’m just glad for another day and I try to practice all the mindfulness and awareness possible before I’m wired with caffeine and internet. If I’m not behind schedule with the alarm maybe I’m hopeful. I’m hopeful the agent calls with good news. I’m hopeful a residual cheque is in the mail. I’m hopeful there’s creative Read more