St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival ~ Maid for a Musket ~ Jack of all Trades

www.stlawrenceshakespeare.ca

Ian Farthing, Artistic Director, St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

Lucia Frangione, International Award Winning Playwright

“THE INSIDE SCOOP” is excited continue with the “SCOOP” from the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival, Prescott, Ontario about their upcoming performance “MAID for a MUSKET”, a brand new comedy by Lucia Frangione, Original music by Melissa Morris. Ian Farthing, Artistic Director of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival has kindly introduced us to Ms. Lucia Frangione, internationally produced award winning playwright and actor, we continue …
“Jack of all Trades” … How to survive as an artist in Canada! …

Ontario Visited came upon this quote about Lucia Frangione… “Frangione is considered one of BC's most promising writers. Critic Colin Thomas called Espresso "one of the best scripts ever produced by a Vancouver playwright." Ian Farthing, Artistic Director, St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival was telling me that he worked for some time in Chemainus previously … For our readers today, they might be interest to know from Lucia, how much does a young person today need to be aware of their career path? Do they need to focus on a “core base” or be willing to travel, be adaptable and flexible, or, is it advisable to remain consistent with your path.

Frangione replies … “I believe one has to be a real “jack of all trades” to survive as an artist in Canada, especially in BC: the province with the least funding by a long shot. I write and act for stage mostly and that has been my focus, my first priority. And I established that first as I do have to work in several provinces. But along the way I have also done a bit of screen, anime scripts, industrial writing, audio scripts, radio plays, online magazine articles, voice over work. I teach playwriting and I’m a drama editor for Talon books, a single Mom, I’ve been a producer, an artistic director a board member and to make ends meet I nanny.

My advice to a young person: diversify. What you learn as an actor will inform your writing. If you learn to play guitar it will inform your writing. If you direct a play, it will inform your writing.

Also, there are many programs out there for emerging talent as a writer and actor, take them. There are grants out there specifically designed for emerging talent: apply. You’ll network, you’ll learn, you’ll build community. What theatres are looking for is someone who is talented, yes, but almost more importantly, someone who can be relied on to work hard, to be able to take direction/dramaturgy, and be humble and open in the creative process not precious or lazy. Find a few heroes, watch them, read them, ask them out for lunch (and pay) and then ask them questions about their career and any advice. Most people in theatre are very accommodating and happy to lend an ear or share experiences.

Don’t give people or theatres your scripts, they’ll never get read. Invite them to a reading you put together. And put together a reading with professional actors: they don’t cost much and they’ll make your script sound genius. Volunteer for events, find a theatre that has a mandate you can get behind, see everything you can, get to know the major players. If you care about who they are and what they’re doing, eventually they will start to care about who you are and what you’re doing.”

Stay tuned for more exciting “SCOOP” from Lucia Frangione and Ian Farthing, St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival! Check out their website for the details (www.stlawrenceshakespeare.ca), plan on a fun, and great, memorable time!