If You Can't Stand the Laughter, Get Out of the Kitchen

Okay so here's the situation... You are the producer/director of your mother's cable-access cooking show. You get the word that the show has been cancelled and during the final episode, your mom's chief rival shows up to disrupt things. After all, her show's been cancelled too, and with the history that exists between her and your mom, she's not going down without settling a few things first. And if that wasn't bad enough, this is the week you've chosen to stop smoking!

Such is the starting point of "Kitchen Witches", Caroline Smith's hilarious comedy. Directed by Denise Gismondi and produced by Jim Monaghan it is the latest offering by Elora Community Theatre. Performances are being held at the Fergus Grand Theatre, 8pm each evening (Sunday Matinee - 2 pm), April 25 - 27 and May 1 - 3, 2008.

Yes, it's shameless self promotion time again, and once more I make no apologies. "Kitchen Witches" is my latest adventure as a soundscape designer. The unique challenge to face this time around is the production of some original music for the show. The play centers around a cable access cooking show and like any good TV program it needs a theme. And simply re-cycling the music from the Galloping Gourmet or even Bewitched isn't going to cut it. Besides somebody, somewhere likely still holds the copyright and they'd want their piece of the action.

Fortunately, I had the assistance of a very talented young man by the name of Ben Leibovitz. He came up with a great theme and with the help of some local singers and my friend Brian's in-home recording studio we're getting the job done. The final mix should be ready some time next week.

The show is also giving me an opportunity to work once more with Ken Cameron. I was privileged to work with Ken on "Death of a Salesman" at Guelph Little Theatre a while back, and in "The Missing Piece/Peace" with In the Light Productions this past Christmas. This time around Ken plays the role of the producer/director in "Kitchen Witches" and has to referee the tussles between the troublesome twosome. I have really come to admire Ken's talent and professionalism and I'll tell you, if I wasn't already involved with the show, I'd be coming out to see it anyway just to enjoy watching Ken do what he does so well.

So if you're going to be in the Fergus/Elora area during the run of the play (again that's April 25 - 27 and May 1 - 3, 2008 at the Fergus Grand Theatre) do yourself a favour and come out for an evening of fun and laughter with Community Theatre at It's Best.

Tickets are available in advance by calling Ralph Basset Associates @ (519) 843-4852 -or- Long Distance (866) 500-6652. The box office open one hour before each performance.

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Great Art and A Great Cause

Okay.. there two things that I want to talk to you about.

The first is art. The scriptures say that man was created in the image of God. For me the greatest evidence of this has always been humankind's ability to create. From the earliest cave paintings to the delicate intricacies of an electron guitar, I really believe our obsession with bringing what we can imagine into some degree of reality one of our most God-like qualities.

It's why I've always thought that those who believe in God should support those who make best use of their creativity. To the best of our ability to afford it, there should be art in our homes, original when possible, prints and replicas when necessary, but there must be art. It is an expression of the creative spark that God has placed in all of us. For this reason, I have always made a point of supporting and promoting the artists that come into my life, be they musicians, sculptors, architects, painters, whatever.

Which brings me to my friend Stephen. I have known Stephen Ascough for nearly three decades. And while I have long coveted his friendship, I will confess that what I envy most is his artistic ability. I am proud to have three of Stephen's original nature drawings hanging on the walls of my home. They remind me not only of a great friendship, but of the wonder of God's creation expressed in an act of love and creativity.

I know, I'm getting a little mushy here, but it's hard not too - Stephen's work always amazes me. Sometimes I look at the three pictures I have in my home, (the mushrooms are my favourite) and I still see things in them I never noticed before. But why am I telling you this now?

Because recently my friend Stephen was accepted as a member of Artists For Conservation, a "non-profit, international organization dedicated to the celebration and preservation of the natural world. The Foundation represents the world's leading collective of nature artists and an unparalleled pool of artistic talent focussed on nature. The organization's mission is to support wildlife and habitat conservation, biodiversity, sustainability and environmental education through art that celebrates our natural heritage." Membership is limited and by invitation, I'm thrilled for my friend that he has been included.

As a result of this for the first time, high quality art prints of his work is available on the web. The picture at right is from his home page at AFC where you can see more of his work and purchase a print. On selected works a portion of the purchase price will go to the AFC Foundation to support their work in world wide conservation efforts. I invite you to visit his home page and consider the possibilities. You can use the following link or the one in the sidebar at right.

http://www.natureartists.com/stephen_ascough.asp


The second thing I'd like to mention is The Ride to Conquer Cancer. The Ride is a 200km cycling tour from Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Ontario through the Halton Hills, down through the wine country of the Niagara peninsula, to the natural majesty of Niagara Falls, natural wonder and honeymoon capital of North America. The funds raised through this event will help to ensure that the vital cancer research that is done at Princess Margaret (one of the top five such centres in the world) continues.

I'd be surprises if there's anyone reading this who hasn't seen someone in their lives touched by this all to common disease. If you are so inclined to do so I would appreciate it if you would follow the link to my personal page at the Ride's web site and make a donation in support of my participation in the event.

On behalf of the thousands who will benefit from the work that goes on at Princess Margaret, I thank you.

Dennis Gray

Thank You All for Your Support

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I want to thank all of you who attended our Christmas production, "The Missing Piece/Peace". It was a great run and in tickets sales, donations received and raising awareness of the work that iProjects.ca does in the third world - it was a tremendous success! Thank you and may God bless you all!

I'm always of two hearts when a show ends; on one hand I'm glad the work is over and there are no more ghost glitches to track down, on the other hand after three months working with some great people there is a hole left by their absence. I know I'll see many of them again but I miss the camaraderie.

I particularly want to express my thanks to Marion, Julie, Katura, Faith, Verese, Michael, Alan, Mike, Mark, Laural, and Adam. I have mixed a number of bands and chorus in my time, but this is the most fun I've had in years. No matter how tired I might have been when I arrived at rehearsal, no matter how much the day may have worn me down, listening to these talented singers and musicians work their craft always brought me back to life. Bless you all.

So... with the show over, and Christmas 2007 all but out of the way, life will soon fall back into it's usual routine. But there will be new projects I'm sure, and I look forward to the adventure.

Merry Christmas Everyone! And may God bless you richly!

-- Dennis Gray --

The Cast and Crew of "The Missing Piece/Peace" (click for larger image)

Great Whiteboard Animation

Stumbled across this on YouTube, I love it! Enjoy!

The Missing (Piece) Peace

Every year I find myself taking on at least one major theatrical effort. For many years it was either with road companies or in church groups, but the last two years I find myself working in community theatre. Last year, as some of you may remember, I was priveledged to work with some great people on a production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Saleman." This year I find myself doing soundscape design once again on a new production called "The Missing Piece Peace."

Written by Deborah Briggs and Alan Garrett "The Missing Piece Peace" is a Christmas production with a difference. I can't go into a lot of detail without spoiling the experience, but trust me this is not your parent's Sunday School Christmas play.Taking place in different dimensions and different time zones, it chronicles one man's struggle to make sense of it all. I'll leave it at that. The play features a great cast under the direction of Deborah Briggs; and Alan Garrett as Musical Director adds his own touch to the proceedings with a live 7-voice chorus accompanied by a five-piece ensemble. All in all it promises to be a wonderful dramatic and musical experience.

But if that isn't enough, there's an even more compelling reason to take in "The Missing Piece Peace" this holiday season. All of the proceeds from the ticket sales will be going to assist iProjects.ca in funding the building of an orphange in Peru. The land for the project has already been acquired and they are now looking to build the needed buildings.

iProjects.ca (Isaiah Projects) is a Christ centered charitable organization, working in partnership with local leaders in third world countries to help fund infrastructural development projects that will significantly impact the lives of the local people. Projects are selected on the basis of how they will offer hope and improve the quality of life for individuals with a bias towards helping the young and most needy in society. Iprojects funds the construction of schools, orphanages, youth centres and other projects which empower youth to become leaders in their own communities therefore enabling them to have a positive influence in the area where they live.

In addition, we are also asking patrons to bring Canadian Tire money and/or pop cans to be donated to Habitat for Humanity to help them in their efforts.

So if you are going to be in the Guelph area this holiday season I would ask you to contribute to two great causes and enjoy a great show by attending "The Missing Piece Peace." Performances are being presented at Guelph Little Theatre, on the following dates:

Saturday, December 15, 2007 @ 2pm & 8pm

Sunday, December 16, 2007 @ 2pm

Thursday, December 20, 2007 @ 8pm

Friday, December 21, 2007 @ 8pm

Saturday, December 22, 2007 @ 2pm & 8pm

All seats are $17 and available through the Guelph Little Theatre box office by calling 519-821-0270 or through their website at www.guelphlittletheatre.com

Thanks everyone... and see you at the show!!

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A Bright Light shines no more.

I'll tell you up front, this is the same post as I placed on my Java and Jesus blog two days ago. I Just felt I needed to post it here as well. The subject seems appropriate for this venue. For me it's a pretty black and white issue....
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I had fully intended to write the next episode of 'Exploring the Kingdom Gospel" this week, but then something unexpected happened. Late Wednesday night a man walked out of a local bar, got into his truck and drove off. Because he was drunk, instead of taking the on-ramp to Hwy 6 south, he took the off ramp and wound up driving south in the North-bound lanes. A few minutes later he drove head on into a car, killing the driver. That driver was a wonderful young woman named Anna Graham.

I first met Anna about a year ago. Her uncle asked me to work on a production of "Death of a Salesman" that he was directing for Guelph Little Theatre. It was one of the best experiences of my life, and Anna was no small part of it. Anna, along with Anthony "Pooch" Brown, was designing the lighting for the production. You didn't have to watch her work for long to know that this woman not only knew what she was doing, she enjoyed it immensely and had a real gift for creativity. You also didn't have to watch for long to see just how proud her uncle, my friend Lloyd, was of her.

And now she's gone!

As you scan the status lines of her friends on Facebook you can see the range of emotions. One person "is sad", another "is numb", one more is "trying to come to terms." The most vocal of the lot is "Really mad....and hurt...and not understanding why this life has to be so f**kin unfair!!!" (the asterisks are mine). I know how he feels. I felt the same way when James died a year ago (I wrote about it here.). But somehow, I don't feel the same pain about Anna, not the same way.

I know part of the reason is the simple fact Anna and I weren't as close as James and I were. It's no reflection on Anna; we worked together on 'Salesman' and then went our separate ways, her to her circle and me to mine. Most of the pain I feel is for her uncle Lloyd. Him I do consider a friend, and as both actor/director and human being, have a great deal of respect and admiration for the man. I can only imagine what he is going through. He's never far from my thoughts.

But the biggest difference in this case is there was some good to be found in Jame's death. He had been sick for a long time. In many ways his passing was a relief. His suffering is over and the spiritual part of me can at least begin to wrap my head around the idea that God decided it was for the best.

But in Anna's case this logic does not apply. The hard cold fact is Anna died because someone couldn't find anything better to do with a Wednesday night than get drunk watching naked women dance on stage. And even that might not matter except he then compounded things by making the selfish decision to drive himself home, and no one, not the bartender, not the servers, not his friends, nor the big burly guy at the door took the necessary steps to stop him. Anna is gone because human beings made selfish and wrong choices! Plain and simple!

Do I sound like I'm ranting? Of course I am. I'm angry! Because the simple fact is THIS IS WHY WE NEED GOD!!

Every day on the news and in other media I hear people trying to tell me how outmoded a concept God is. How human beings don't need some invisible being in the sky, they are quite capable of conducting their own affairs. Morality is a flexible concept and changes from day to day, what's good for you is bad for me, etc. etc. etc. Religion is no longer required because we can run our own affairs quite nicely thank you.

But the fact is, human beings, generally speaking, as a species, are no where near smart enough, wise enough, deep enough or insightful enough to be their own moral compass. When push comes to shove each of us, left to our own devices, will make a decision based not on the common good, or the welfare of others, but on our selfish wants and desires. The only hope for us is to have a moral guide that comes from outside of ourselves. A culture of accountability which holds us personally responsible for our actions on a level above and beyond the human trappings of law and order. This is the role religion fulfills.

And before you get started on the evils of organized religion, let me say it's not the institution of religion I'm talking about. Rather it is the ground level, day-to-day belief that God is watching, and that someday we will have to face Him one-on-one and He will say, "Explain it to me again why you were a complete and total moron" - or words to that effect. For thousands of years the love for and fear of God has kept human beings from acting out of selfish motives and inspired us to think twice before we act, even if the only reason is the slim possibility that if we don't behave we might find ourselves spending eternity roasting on a spit over a lava-fed barbecue. Though personally I have always suspected the lake of fire in Revelation is a metaphor for something far worse.

I know - I'm preaching. I'm taking advantage of Anna's death to get on my soapbox and call down fire and brimstone. Well, I make no apologies for it. I'm not trying to be comforting, I'm trying to stop this kind of thing from happening the only way I know how.

I know full well that if it were not for the work of God in my life, I could well be that same moron getting drunk watching naked women dance. Or possibly something much worse. This is why Jesus came to earth as a child and sacrificed himself as a man - to save us from ourselves. To give us an option other than hopelessly trying to be our own moral compass. He is God's response to our insistance on doing things our own way.

The hard cold fact is that this world is the way it is because human beings, collectively and individually, have said "Sorry God, we don't need you any more. We are totally capable of making our own decisions. We are the captains of our own fates. Thanks for all your help in the past - we'll take it from here." And like it or not - this fractured, faulty, unfair world we live in is the result. I don't like it either, but that's the way it is.

The good news is this; when we said that, God responded by saying, "Fine. Have it your way. But when it all falls apart, when the unfairness of it all gets to you and you just can't take it any more - please, please, PLEASE! Come crying back to Me and I promise - I WILL HELP YOU GET THROUGH IT!"

Good-bye Anna.

Shalom everyone.

The Chinese Gov't Doesn't Like Me!!!

Well, It would seem that folks surfing the Internet in the People's Republic of China are not allowed to read the musings of yours truly.


But then that's hardly surprising when you think about it. I mean, it's not like they would want the Christians in China being encouraged, or exchange ideas about what the Bible is really saying, or learn something of church history. No we can't have that now can we? If you want to know if your favorite URL is blocked in China check out The Great Firewall of China. Just enter the URL in the space provided and see if their test location can access your site from inside China.

Sarcasm aside, it actually serves to remind us that we are extremely privileged in this country. For all of our complaining about inept government, inconvenient bureaucracies, lengthy commutes and the lineup at Tim Hortons, the fact remains that we are the most fortunate people in the world.

We live in a country where we are free to vote for the worst candidate, make the wrong career choice, and over indulge our every desire. We can be complete and total idiots and the only consequence will be those of our own making. There's no one telling us where to live, what to do for a living, or what to think. We can worship who we want; Jesus or Buddha or Mohammed or no one at all. And it's all because of the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to secure these freedoms for us.

So I add my voice to the hundreds of others and ask you, when you see the poppy displays at Tim Hortons, or the veterans in the mall with the poppies and pins, please give generously, shake a hand, and say, "Thank You!"