Thanks Lori for reminding me about this thing!

I don't know if I'll ever get any better at remembering to use this thing, but I'm trying. I swear I actually am interesting...I'm also just busy and these really cool things that I wanna talk about take up all my time and mental energy. So, huge shout out to my pal Lori who's offered to remind me to use this blog--Lori, you rock!

So, what's new and interesting? Well--Justin Foley Entertainment isn't getting much work right now. That's fine, it's my own fault for shutting it down in the first place when I was among the "kings and legends" of the local party entertainment world. It's right that I should have to fight to get my footing back. That's how it should be. So I'm not giving up. JFE is going to keep on keeping on, and updates will keep happening. 

What else? Halloween! So, you guys might be aware that I enjoy cosplay. I'm not big into it mainly due to time issues, but now that I've stepped back from my organizing duties at various sci-fi conventions, I now have more time to have fun with it. Anyway--for Halloween, I built a devil costume based on the Prince of Darkness from Legend. Most elaborate build I've ever done, and it turned out great. I need to do more of this, for sure. 

I really wish I knew how to make this picture smaller...

Anyway--onto the last and biggest piece of info: Opera on the Avalon's "Into the Woods". I've been hired on as an Assistant Stage Manager for this show. This marks the first time I've worked in theatre as a non-performer in a very long time. Perhaps it's even the first time...and in some ways it's very similar to working in film but in other ways it's quite different. The people for whom I'm working are great--they're actually very lovely people who are mentoring me in the way the theatre works and they keep on building me up, countering my constant worry of screwing it up. Also, the performers are spectacular. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story of Into the Woods, it's rooted in the classic fairy tales (Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Cinderella--so forth), but with it's own story and quirks. It puts Cinders and her family, Little Red and her family, Jack of giant-killing fame, Rapunzel, the with and the two Prince Charmings (they're brothers) into a shared universe which is actually led by a nameless Baker and his wife, who represent the "everyman" of the fairy tales--and in this story are the protagonists. The show is really funny--at times it's deliberately riffing on fairy tales, and other times the humor is subjective (to the audience, to the cast, to the director--it could go either way). What I can tell you for sure is that it's going to be a fantastic show that anyone with an interest in opera or musical theatre definitely won't want to miss. The show is being presented at the St. John's Arts and Culture Centre from November 23-25, 2017. If you want to buy tickets to the show, you can do it online HERE  and ticket prices range between $30.00 and $100.00. Sadly, I couldn't tell you what the difference is, but I'm sure it's something.