A little too early for Halloween

True horror story: The past week, I have been working desperately to overcome a disastrous database problem in wordcurrents. Two fields in the database totally disappeared, making linking from page to page impossible. All six hundred-plus posts were there, but there was no way to read anything but parts of the front page. Search engines could not find me, and my readership dropped dramatically. I tried several approaches to resolve the problem, but the ultimate solution was to delete the whole database and install a backup copy of the database I made a couple of weeks ago.

Am I glad I believe in backups! I have altered my back up procedure to have the system back itself up automatically on a regular schedule.

I am almost back to normal: I have just a dozen and a half posts to restore, in order to fill in the gap left between September 27 and October 18. The saving grace here is a program called Clipbook that came with WordPerfect. Clipbook saves a permanent copy of anything you save to the clipboard. So, when I knew that I was going to have to replace those items, I went into the database and saved them all in Clipbook, so I could restore them, even the drafts I have not yet posted, like my unfinished review of the production of The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood.

My thanks to Fei-Jan, who called my attention to the problem.

Mouawad's "Scorched" -- about my review of the play

I have been amazed by the number of hits on my review of NAC's production of Scorched, Linda Gaboriau's brilliant translation of Quebec playwright Wadji Mouawad's stunning play Incendies. Granted, it is my first positive review in a while; but let's face it: this has been a bleak theatrical season, generally, with NAC's new Artistic Director Peter Hinton and GCTC's new AD, Lise Ann Johnson both retreating to seasons mainly consisting of short plays. Just a few minutes ago, I checked with statcounter.com, one of my hits analysis services, and discovered that every hit today started with a direct Google for or email link to Scorched. The review is so popular, that when one Googles "Scorched Mouawad" or any variation of the title and his name today, my review is at the top of Google's list. That is astounding to me.
What is also very interesting is that in the past, long before I the advent of the Internet, when I saw a play about which I had an opinion, my recourse was to talk to friends about it. Eventually, I became tired of having such a limited audience, and started reviewing plays in an email newsletter for Vagabond Theatre, our local community theatre club. When I started wordcurrents, it occurred to me that this was a place for my theatre reviews. I soon realized that the cast and crew were Googling my reviews.
Now think about that for a moment. It means that I have a pipeline directly to the people on stage or backstage, including the playwright, the director, artistic director -- that's a great aspect of the Internet: it gives us direct links to people responsible.
So if somebody does something that I react to, I am not limited to showing my response by my hand clapping at the curtain call: I can say it in a review, fairly certain that it will go directly to the people involved and others who saw it with me or will decide whether or not to see it based partly on my review.
Let's hear it for technology!

Rain, rain, rain . . . .

"It never rains but it pours" is a suitable motto for my present situation: not only is it almost perpetually raining, but I seem to go from one review to the next these days. At least, we are attending plays every few days it seems, and of course, I am reviewing them. As I write this, I am just finishing my review of Vagabond Theatre's production of David Belke's comedy That darn plot, which, except for some directorial choices and technical issues, I liked. Within the past couple of weeks, I posted reviews on GCTC's The Oxford Roofclimber's Rebellion by Stephen Massicotte (two days ago), and NAC's The Dream Machine by Blake Brooker. In just two more weeks, I shall be up to NAC for another play.

Our Barbershop Chorus' show, Daddy Sang Bass, in which I sing baritone (not being Daddy, I guess) hits the boards at Aultsville Theatre on November 18 at 8 pm. We are working for a sellout.

The deadline for my poetry entry in the CBC Literary Awards is fast approaching (November 1). I am still revising it. Fortunately, I can submit it by email, so a last minute submission is okay. The word length is 1000 - 2000 words, and I am coming in at 1546 at present. This is the kind of poem I like best: long. I cannot write more about it here until the judging is over, as the entries have to be submitted anonymously.

I have a conference by phone later today with my dramaturg for a murder script I am writing, and a script phone conference Tuesday with the MCs for the Barbershop show, for which I am also doing layout for the printed program.

It just keeps on raining showbiz.