Hatched is happening as i write this

I’m sitting in the gallery eating my second small bag of doritos. we bought them as props for the play but then that was cut so now it’s up to me to finish 38 more bags. easily done. I’m not watching tonight. i’m guarding the gallery. Last week we opened the show to a sold out crowd on Friday and then again on Saturday! yay! as people were leaving I heard; “wow, that’s so fucked up”. which of course made me happy because yeah, it is fucked up. the six degrees of separation between kids these days and with fertility technology means that they could be sitting next to eachother in class and be half siblings, what if- gasp- half siblings fell in love and made babies because they simply had no idea of their shared parentage. what slew of x-files type babes would be reproduced then huh? HUH? The show seems to be going really quickly today. I think maybe they’re rushing cause it’s really cold in the theatre. this gallery has been an amazing space to work in. the theatre itself is really intimate and quirky- but there is a door to outside in the backstage area and there are strong gusts of wind blowing onto the actors. oh to be an emerging artist- you just can’t afford the big cushy places. but next time yes! 

I truly hope that people are intrigued by the play- the best i’ve heard is that my friends came with their moms and then went back to one of their houses afterwards and drank a few bottles of wine while discussing the range of topics that were brought up in the play. conversation is key. conversation and awareness is what I have striven for over the course of this production- and making some money wouldn’t be bad either!

 

Hatched plays Wednesday to Saturday this week and next. 

8pm. 1277 Bloor street west Toronto- the Toronto Free Gallery

There is limited seating so get your tickets on line at http://www.totix.ca

xoclaire

What! Two weeks away??? nov2..

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

We’ve been in rehearsals since Monday.

Fucking amazing group of people. I feel like I’m swimming in the script the questions have been so in depth. I’m really enjoying feeling so challenged right now. Every night I have fought off the urge to watch reruns of kids in the hall to write write. rewrite. Artistically i feel a bit muddy. it’s like oh do i take that in or leave it out and i’m wading through mayonnaise.

Now comes the time to invite and plan. we get to go buy props. for this i am excited. we get to pick out costumes. the set. word on the street is we are looking for lamp donations so if you have any to spare for the run of the show please pass the word along.

The music sounds incredible. i can’t wait for it all to come together. now i just have to really hope that the story is good. EEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Hatched runs Nov. 2nd-17th at the Toronto Free Gallery 1277 Bloor street west.

get your tickets at http://www.totix.ca

 

I’ve attached the poster so you can check out all the great people working on the show. 

Still wondering if this is going to have a lasting effect on the voice of egg donors.

time will tell i suppose. now. i write.

xocb

 

 

HATCHED November 2nd-November 17th 2012!!

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

 

It’s happening. Hatched is actually happening. 

When: November 2nd (opening!) to November 17th. Wednesday to Saturday 8pm

Where: The Toronto Free Gallery 1277 Bloor Street West Toronto

Who:  CAST: Astrid Van Wieren, Lisa Norton, Jakob Ehman

Director: Jeannette Lambermont-Morey

Sound/Music Designer: Ryan Gavel

Stage Manager: Meredith Henry

Produced by Triangle Pi Productions Co-Op

Why: Because you want to come and see it. Because you’re interested and curious about the topic. Because you love me and everyone involved. 

How: Well. A lot of people have been using the analogy of giving birth. “Wow. The play been incubating and now you’re birthing it!” I suppose, I mean…(between you me and the lamppost I’m pretty sure it’s not going to hurt as much but…)

In the first trimester circa 2010 I was exciting, refreshed and full of ideas and ambition.

The second trimester circa late 2011 early 2012 was fuelled by an ever increasing desire to dip cool ranch doritos into sour cream and crippling self doubt about my ability to pull the frikking thing off.

Now that we have entered the last trimester of the gestation of this babyplay I feel pretty calm. We’re on this ride and it’s not stopping til it ends and hopefully it will all come off without a hitch and the baby will be beautiful and perfect (in reality it will be pink and wrinkled and squalling but no one really tells the mother that! Right?

 

I have been incredibly fortunate to have some really great supporters on this project. Including YOU! (well hopefully you support this project and aren’t reading these blog posts with bitterness and resentment towards me)

Thank you so much for getting excited about the show. I am I really am!

We are trying to push a final fundraising effort so that we can rent lights and pay for a weekly AD in the Now Magazine. If you know of anyone who would like to donate please direct them towards

http://www.indiegogo.com/Hatchedeggdonation

WOO HOO!!!

talk to you soon. I can’t wait for the first rehearsal- October 15th. I’m probably gonna have super nervous indigestion…typical. 

xoxooclaire

 

SUMMER IS DONE!!!

It’s okay. I feel great.

Just moved into a new place. not wearing the same jean shorts everyday. feeling relatively healthy because i’ve been cooking at home with lots of butter. cast the play. oh yeah baby.

but i think i have to keep it secret or something for a little bit. I CAN TELL YOU WHERE IT IS THOUGH!!!

For months we were toying with some sort of secret location deal. i like this idea a lot. Like say you email a certain secret account and then it sends you back a code word and an address of where to go the night of and that night you show up in a dark alley where there’s a guy creeping and you give him the word and he hands you the ticket and lets you in a secret door. and yeah. this idea did not go over well with my dad actually. he’s all like. wouldn’t that be a little hard? I mean what if I just want to go on  a whim kind of thing. and I was like dad you don’t even know, I’m feeling a little defensive lets just walk up ossington and forget about it. and then i was like you’re right.

so.

 

The Toronto Free Gallery

http://www.torontofreegallery.org/

An old converted hardware store. There’s a gallery in the front and a theatre in the back. Lots of potential for art and conversation. Great location at Bloor and Landsdowne!

And for all of ya’ll who didn’t get to donate to our earlier campaign we started another one! We are still waiting to hear on a grant so fingers crossed on that but please do feel free to donate to Hatched right up until opening night and beyond!

http://www.indiegogo.com/Hatchedeggdonation

xoxocb

Spiral of shame is over! SOUND IT OUT 2012

Link to the indiegogo campaign!

It’s been a while since I’ve written. I think mostly because I’ve been in a horrible artistic shame spiral.

i felt really good about the fundraiser but then just sort of lost steam for the beginning of June. Sometimes I am just loath to do anything technological- i’m essentially a luddite- which really doesn’t bode well for an individual trying to promote herself in this computer dominated, computers rule the world, i don’t even wanna open my laptop unless i’m gonna watch a kitchen nightmares, age we live in.

I digress. Things have been going well! We have raised $1,730 on indiegogo with 52 days left of the campaign! Hey I’m turning 30 next week- if you feel like leaving a present on my viral doorstep I wouldn’t say no to a donation- I’d say YESthankyouthankyouthankyou.

So far we haven’t been very successful courting big business. I though big pharma would want us for sure. It’s a play loosely inspired by a medical procedure! come on! It could be they’re worried that I’m an artist and might subvert their good intentions or something like that, but I can assure you big pharma, I do not slag you in this play and all I will do with your money is pay some nice actors to rehearse and perform the show.

I THINK WE HAVE A VENUE AND DATES!!!!!!!

but i won’t divulge that little tidbit til next time…always leave them wanting more I say.

Been hanging around with lots of babies lately…biological clock is ticking?! What! Who knew…wouldn’t it be terribly ironic if I couldn’t have kids after all this. somethings you have to laugh at, so you don’t claw your face off with neuroses.

This weekend- if you are a Torontonian- you can come out to the Victory Cafe on Markham st. at 6:30pm and get a sneak peak of the beginning of the play. I have some great actors joining me- including a real live teenager ( you don’t know how hard it is to get your hands on a teenage actor in this city…apparently all the kids on Degrassi are actually mid 30s…) Please try to make it out if you’re interested!

http://thesp.ca/

Funds have been raised

Okay. sorry. it took me a little bit to get back in the saddle after the fundraiser.

To me, self promotion is a little like being forced onto a roller coaster by a really close group of friends. You know you should- like you could have a really good time, but actually you’d rather die than do it. Maybe that’s just me. I have a paralyzing fear of roller coasters. and throwing fundraisers apparently, but now the fundraiser is done and i am old enough to know better than to set foot near Canada’s Wonderland so… onwards and upwards.

The fundraiser was amazing. Gallery 1313 is a beautiful spot. artsy and hip and hot (fans were not provided by me..sorry guys). The cheese was flowing and the beer was chilled. We had some fantastic speakers:

Erik- gave us the young everyman’s perspective of  that age old “what the hell is infertility/ivf/egg donation” question. he’s looking for a lady by the way…

Sara- She’s a lawyer I met at that Global Health conference a while back, she specializes in IVF and the law and she gave her perspective about egg donors and the current laws surrounding “donation”. feisty that one. real feisty. i like it.

We did a scene reading from the play. I think it went well but it’s hard for me to judge my own words.

Natalia was born of sperm donation and she gave a new perspective to our conversation. did you know that her records haven’t been tracked? she was born in ’82 and now can’t find any evidence of her birth father. weird.

Danny spoke about his mother. she raised six kids and was a foster mom to scores more. he emphasized the celebration of fertility when someone really wants kids.

I was interviewed by the Grid and by Matt Galloway on metro morning CBC both in the same day. never had that happen before.

Now we’re looking for a space for the play…leaning towards more “underground” theatre spaces right now- november is set as the production date.

I am slightly nervous that the issue surrounding the play might overshadow the actual playwriting. I hope that the story and the acting and total performance will be judged and appreciated (hopefully) for it’s artistic merit and not only because of the whole egg donor thing.

ya ole egg donor you. 

TWO DAYS til FUNdraiser

TO DO:

– Pick up cheese

-Buy liquor

– Hope that people show up

On May 24th 2012 I am will be throwing my first ever fundraiser. (Okay that’s not true- I threw a fundraiser once in high school to raise money for prom- but I had to leave in the middle because I was having an anxiety attack)

Personal, gut wrenching neuroses aside- it’s gonna be a great night.

We’ve got an egg donor, an activist, a foster brother, an adoptive mother, a donor daughter and a fertility lawyer on the line up.

it’s gonna be fast, two minute talks every twenty minutes or so- idea is that these amazing speakers will get people talking- just having some chats about important issues. Nbd.

and of course we will be reading a scene from Hatched.

and eating cheese and drinking wine. well I probably won’t drink wine until after- and then it might be less drinking, more guzzling but shmeh!

I hope that it creates buzz and is a fun night for all.

xoxoxclaire

NATIONAL Health Law Conference. Yes. I attended.

I went to a conference this weekend. It wasn’t my first but it was probably the most interesting. the only other conferences i’ve attended were the ones i used to go to in high school for the student council people- there was a lot of icebreaking games and )comradery, camraderie) camaraderie (..there we go.), so it was a bit different. 

I attended especially for GLOBAL TRADE IN BODIES AND SERVICES PANEL 2: NEW REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES!!

• SPEAKERS

  Jocelyn Downie, Dalhousie University: “Cross-Border Trade in Human Eggs” 
  Erin Nelson, University of Alberta: “Global Trade and Assisted Reproductive Technologies: Regulatory Challenges”

I got there early and listened to the end of the first panel which was really interesting as well- about globalization, transnational law and regulation. I got there for the Q & A and the conversation mostly surrounded stem cells. 

During the break i covertly slipped some HATCHED postcards onto the table with all the Health Policy and the LAW books on it. In and amongst Michael Ignatieff’s books. I was in. With the big leagues. plus they had tropicana orange juice in a bottle- no pulp. my fave. 

I listened so intently to the Jocelyn Downie talk about the Egg trade that i started to get sweaty. surely this wasn’t the way to present oneself at a professional event. i tried to calm down and focus my energies instead of wanting to bounce out of my seat asking any questions that popped into my head, no matter how ill formed. How best to present myself? I went with ambassador. i figured that was better than diplomat. 

You can be compensated now .under the law. reimbursement for expenditures with receipts. 

there must not be “purchase” of eggs. the donor must meet consent requirements. and there are some health and safety regulation s that must be met (thank christ). 

The second speaker spoke about surrogacy and specifically stories like this one:

A couple in the UK receives eggs from a Croatian donor then implanted into a surrogate in the Ukraine. 

The law in the Ukraine acknowledges surrogacy legally so the Ukrainian government sees the kids as citizens of the UK but the UK does not acknowledge surrogacy in the same way so to them the kids are Ukrainian citizens- the children of the surrogate mother.

okay that was sort of general because i can’t remember the specific countries but you get the picture that the ramification of reproductive technology has not been easy on a legal level because each nation state operates by it’s own laws. crazy. 

I asked a couple of questions, made some comments. people thanked me for speaking up afterwards, that” we need more accounts of what actually happened”. i felt kind of embarrassed by the attention. I met up with a fertility lawyer that i’ve been following on twitter. (Media Saaaaaaavy) we had a great chat. she talked about open donations which i’d never even realized existed. everyone sits in a room and talks about what they want and it all gets figured out. none of this secrecy, alias stuff. good. good. 

I ate two cupcakes then left. on the way home it was sunny and i wore my purple sunglasses. i was on top the world! i then made the mistake of trying to buy jeans. #ihateshopping.

xoxo

WORK.SHOPPED.

Wow. 

we did two days of workshopping on the show this week. 

My stay in the manor motel did wonders for igniting a re-write. (Thank you Southampton!) 

I was able to come to the workshop ready to write more. In case ya’ll don’t know what a workshop entitles here you go:

-Director. the amazing Jeannette Lambermont Morey. She essentially runs the workshop and acts as a dramaturg ( I had to look up the definition of a dramaturg. )

Dramaturgy: The art of writing and producing plays. (princeton’s def.) IVY LEAGUE! Whatwhut!

She asks alot of questions. hard ones. “why do you want to write this?” “what are you trying to say?” questions that i mostly try to answer out of some high school ingrained trait where i feel i have to answer every question posed to me AND get it right…usually after i mutter and stammer for a few moments she’ll say…you know, you don’t have to answer that. Fucking EH!

She helps shape the script into actable form. 

Three actors: Catherine Fitch, Laura Schutt and Roger Bainbridge. Amazing all. They are integral because they’ll let me know if the words sound funny coming out of their mouths and if the general story has points that don’t make sense or big holes or weird archaic references to death metal that no ones gonna get. 

So i listened and i wrote and i went home and wrote and drank wine and came back the next day and listened while they improved (that would be the art of doing improv- they had nothing to improve upon. they were great) and made notes and hummed and hawed and drank too much coffee. 

and after ten hours of that. i have a brandly new re-worked play. based on the old story but told a different way. 

huzzah! things be moving up. 

Now onto planning our fundraiser. (which the mere thought of makes me go into anxiety provoked digestive failure. too much information? i don’t even give a care)

xo

 

 

THE MANOR MOTEL

Hey Ya’ll! 

10:27pm at the Manor Motel in Southampton, Ontario. Drove out to Sauble Beach to see if I could find a motel there but that place is a dead zone in April. Seriously creepy. I’m here to do some re-writes for Hatched. We have a workshop coming up April 24-25 and I need to revision the structure of the script. I am totally excited about this. The entire project has wings right now. 

I have been reading and researching more about the recipient’s experience with egg donation. I have come to a sort of conclusion that IVF inspires HOPE. Can you really put a price on hope? I guess you can. It’s been done throughout history. Just a little money in exchange for ONE life. Twisted perhaps but true. Stay tuned for an updated blog look! Less needles!xo