Andrew Wade on Life, the Theatre, and Everything

Ah, post graduation life.

For the past seven years (aside from the first summer), I have leaped straight from classes (Septembers through Aprils) to full-time jobs (Aprils through Septembers), with very little in the way of breaks. This time, however… well… there’s no co-op job to hold my summertime, and no school year hiding along the horizon. For the first time in 20 years (including kindergarten), I don’t have school coming up in a few months, and I haven’t even been working a full-time job.

So this month has been the closest I’ve had to a vacation in a long, long time. So of course I have done my darndest to fill it to the brim. Thought I’d write out a few of the projects I’m currently engaged with:

BFA Logo Mk1

• BFA: The Musical! – Directing the show, complete with a brilliant seven person cast, music, dancing, large props, and much silliness, for the Victoria Fringe Festival.
  • Pays: Profit Share. So, perhaps 20$.
  • Timing: From now until the run, August 25th to September 3rd.

• The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – Writing, producing, and performing for the Vancouver International Fringe Festival. Just found out my show will be performing in Studio 1398 on Granville Island!
  • Pays: Hopefully I’ll make my money back, with a bit of spare change? Also, to positively expose myself to the Vancouver theatre community would be invaluable. I plan on offering a lot of comp tickets to do this.
  • Timing: Fri Sep 09 = 22:15 to 23:05. Sat Sep 10 = 16:30 to 17:20. Sun Sep 11 = 13:00 to 13:50. Mon Sep 12 = 18:45 to 19:35. Thu Sep 15 = 20:30 to 21:20. Sat Sep 17 = 20:00 to 20:50.
  

  Photo by Sarah Koury

• Sin City Improv – a weekly, live, improvised soap opera every Tuesday night at the Victoria Event Centre (with only 3 episodes left in the season!)
  • Pays: with Booze and Pizza
  • Timing: Season finale on June 21st!
• Theatreshorts – One Sunday night each month, performing Improv, and (as a gift from Dave Morris) directing an improvised scene in the second half.
  • Pays: with a drink and much laughter.
  • Timing: Every 4th Sunday of every month, until I leave town or until the show folds.
• Henry V – Acting as the Duke of Canterbury and the King of France, in a KeepItSimple production.
  • Pays: with a challenge
  • Timing: Performances: July 21st, 22nd, and 24th, in the Phillip T. Young recital hall at UVic.
• 4Villains.org – Acting secret roles for the 4Villains webseries/organization.
  
  •  Pays: Dude, I get to be a supervillain. Oh, and I had a burger at a BBQ.
  • Timing: I honestly hope to be coming back to work with these fine people for years to come.
• PirateAdventures.ca – Being a pirate, leading children and adults on a pirate adventure based out of Fisherman’s Wharf. Currently only for one or two days per week.
  
  • Pays: ~12.00$ per hour, plus tips. Also pays in sunburns wherever I neglect to apply sunscreen. Though the sun-bleached hair highlights are cool.
  • Timing: Ends in early September.
    

    Sin City Improv

• Victoria Walking Tours – leading tours around downtown Victoria.
  • Pays: Around 12.00$ per hour. Pay may depend on whether or not it’s a successful venture. Minimal hours per week.
  • Timing: Hasn’t started yet, should end in early September.

• How Socrates Bought The Farm – Student film, I’m acting in it.
  • Pays: wih gratitude and a clip for my film reel. And experience.
  • Timing: Filming should begin, and wrap, over this upcoming week.

• Unsound Innocence – Acting as a lawyer in a shortish film by HTVBC– excellent and crazy Hungarians who run a non-profit film company in their spare time.
  • Pays: They feed me, and there is a potential for royalties if it wins cash awards. Clips for my film reel.
  • Timing: Filming should wrap in July.

Henry V

Vancouver Young Playwrights Competiton / IGNITE! 2012, for The Romantics – I won 1st prize with my play, The Romantics. The prize comes with mentorship by a Vancouver playwright from November through March, and a performance in the festival come May.

• Pays: a 600$ prize plus the above mentioned mentorship.
• Timing: Performs in May of 2012.

• Auditions, auditions, auditions! – Auditioning throughout Vancouver and Victoria. Many ferry rides, trying to secure something, acting-wise, for beyond September. No luck thus far. Which is to be expected. I need to work more on my auditioning prowess.
  • Pays: Pretty, pretty please?
  • Timing: Never ends. NEVER, EVER, EVER.

As you can see, outside of IGNITE!, my schedule beyond September (with the Vancouver International Fringe Festival) is still an inky void, and I’m not earning quite as much as I’m spending right now, but I have had a string of opportunities I’ve reached for, say yes to me in turn, so I am currently a happy, busy artist. Until September, at least, and more specifically, until my birthday, September 18th, the day the Vancouver International Fringe Festival ends. I’m content with being a working actor, writer, improviser, and performer as much as possible for now, with the hopes that the ‘paid actor’ part will come along in time. We’ll see.

Cheers,
Andrew Wade