Tag Archive for performance

Getting the most out of MagNet

May 28, 2012 Books, Creative writing, Travel, Writing 4 comments

Toronto, Canada. Photo by M E Powell.

Going to a major conference to boost your business seems like a no-brainer. MagNet 2012, Canada’s Magazine Conference in Toronto, is an excellent example. Opportunities abound for savvy freelance writers who want to increase their knowledge, make business contacts, and network with colleagues from across the country.

I’m planning my third trip to MagNet, and my sixth AGM-and-conference with the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC). Each year it’s been useful and rewarding for me.

This year I thought I’d start by reviewing five ideas for getting the most out of the conference experience:

1. Prepare before you go. Read over the workshop schedule, and check your professional list-serves for issues that are percolating through the discussions. With PWAC, for example, business practice discussions coalesced into workshops on global markets in 2008, and on travel writing in 2009. These sessions weren’t on the main schedule, but they were among the most useful ones I attended.

2. Clear the decks of last-minute assignments and niggling details before you leave home. While it’s tempting to think you’re going to have time to get some writing done while you’re away, a conference schedule can be full of workshops and social events. The buzz should leave you thinking forward, not looking back.

3. Get those business cards made before you go. It’s worth it once you get there, especially at a conference like MagNet where some editors, publishers, digital producers and others mix with writers in each session.

4. Get to the workshops early. That gives you the chance to find a seat and strike up a conversation with those around you. More than one PWACer has reported sitting next to someone who later became an important contact. (Note: If the elevators break down or you can’t find the room or some other worst-case scenario makes you late: just get there. The best value for upgrading business practices can come out of the sessions themselves.)

5. Use breaks and social events to catch up with your professional colleagues and swap business tips and tricks. Standing in line for coffee or slipping out for a meal with friends and colleagues from across Canada is always enjoyable. It can also become prime time to compare workshop notes and share ideas.

One of the best things about PWAC is the camaraderie, and the generosity of other writers. PWAC conferences are always useful for tips about best-practices and valuable insights to take home — and for making new friends. (For more ideas, see my article “The Professional Writer in the Digital Age: PWAC meets MagNet 2009, Freelance 38:5, 29-33)

What are your tips for getting the most out of conferences this year? Leave a comment and let’s share thoughts about how to maximize these opportunities.

India in Canada – Transposition by Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust

July 12, 2011 Uncategorized, Writing No comments

I’m the best audience member you can imagine – I laugh, I cry, I’m generous with applause – probably because I’m not much of an actor myself. But I’ve come to believe, in spite of all the mistakes I’ve made over the past few years, that it’s good practice for writers to learn performance techniques. Lucky for me, performing with puppets is part of my day-job. It’s a demanding skill, but the benefits to presentation and storytelling skills make it worth the effort.

This week I had a rare opportunity to learn more about puppet theatre forms practiced in various regions of India. As part of the Year of India in Canada celebrations, I experienced first-hand the generosity and skill of world-renowned puppeteers during a workshop and later in performance. This video is one of many showcasing this talented group: Transposition – Presented by Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust

The Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust tells stories by using many theatrical elements, including over-sized and life-sized puppets interacting with dancers, as well as masks, set pieces, music, and lighting effects. Dadi Padumjee, a leading puppeteer and Ishara’s founder, treated us to a whirlwind PowerPoint tour of puppetry styles and their history in various districts of India. He draws from many styles, he says, to prevent the art from becoming a static “museum piece.”

Dadi creates and performs with a group of other top professional puppeteers, dancers and designers, as well as younger artists. They shared their love of puppetry and movement with us and each other in impromptu performances with marionettes, large puppet forms, and dance. Later, the more agile among us learned dance steps, while others learned to make a jointed puppet using only newsprint and masking tape.

Tonight I had a chance to see Dadi and the group perform Transposition. It’s the story of a love triangle between an intellectual, an athlete, and the woman they both love. When the two men are driven so mad by love and desire that they kill themselves, she invokes the god Kali to bring them back – creating a highly theatrical study of love, desire, and human nature. The life-sized puppets, “worn” by the puppeteer whose feet become the puppet’s feet,  provide the story’s archetype, as the announcer explained. The dancers provide a glimpse of the inner journey.

Transposition is a moving and visually striking piece of puppet theatre, and I feel lucky to have seen it performed. Please click “Comments”  or “Read more” to add your thoughts.