I recently participated in a show at the Guild called Raised on TV (ROTV) which showcased 7 directors doing a short piece of some TV show that influenced them. The quality of the shows varied as did the content, but I was fortunate to be part of a show directed by Rob MacDonald. The premise is that it was an episode of As the World Turns, but the twist is that it was the particular episode where Walter Cronkite cut in announcing that JFK had died. I got to play Walter Cronkite which was interesting. The interesting part of the show was the juxtaposition between the fake drama taking place in the soap opera, while the real drama was occurring through Cronkite's announcement. Capping it off was a TV pitchmen selling coffee. The piece was fun, but what I loved most was how Rob interpreted the piece and we dug deep into each line of the piece which was only 7 minutes long. I hope ROTV becomes a tradition as there are lots of sub-themes and genres that could make for some interesting episodes.
It has been a busy couple of months. Vicki is taking Driver's Ed and is doing well. She was a little nervous at first, but is doing well now. Dan is doing well at UPEI, although he had a rough patch over the past couple of weeks. He seems to be doing better now. The stress of university and to work and tutor others was getting to be a lot for him, but he seems to be in a good place now. Hopefully he is able to realize that he is not alone. Most university students feel overwhelmed, especially as the semester draws to a close. Andrew seems to be doing ok on his own. He is still working at Screenscape and renting a room from Heather Peters.
Really missing not heading south this year, especially as Mark and Cathy just got back from their family trip to Jamaica. We had every intention of travelling south, but after a major windstorm ripped 50 shingles from our roof, our trip turned into a new roof. Unfortunate, but necessary. It is going to be a tight year with a new roof and a new oil tank.
