Grant Tilly: news

"Wrecked!" is a play for young audiences by Edmonton playwright Chris Craddock with Roseneath Theatre. Starting mid January, we'll be touring theatres across the states (and by across, I mean from Tacoma, Washington to Durham, North Carolina) and then coming back to do Ontario, ending up in Ottawa in April. Lots of time on the road, and hopefully lots of inspiration from it. I'm going to be sneaking in whatever music gigs I can in there, so come by if you can.

Back in Barrie, once more-- third times a charm I hear, and so far things are going quite well. Emily has opened and the combination of new cast along with those from the remount has been fabulous. And while doing the acting... keeping the singer Songwriter going! If you're in the neighbourhood, I hope you can make the following:

Moonsoon in Barrie, 11 pm show with Alison Jutzi

Free Times in Toronto, 8 pm with Trevor Campbell and Alison Jutzi.

Check out the calendar section for more specific details!

So, I'm writing from the new place I'm living in on the Danforth-- as per my father's advice, i am not including the address on the website (as I did with the last one... yeah.).
First off: Gig, next Thursday 25 october, Bread and Circus with Jeff Straker and Michael Cooper-- I have a new bunch of songs I'm itching to try out, and may do the STD song again.
And some wonderful theatre gigs coming up, including a remount of Emily in Barrie, and a great tour of "Wrecked" for Roseneath theatre that will go across Ontario and into the states. And on a more personal note, just finished a trip out to Nefoundland and met my new cousin Cole-- congrats Andrea and Peter! Also won a Singer/Songwriter open mic night at O'Reilley's while I was there, but don't think I'll be able to make the finals... Hope to see you all at a gig!

Pumpboys has opened, and it's been awhile since I've had so much fun in a production-- maybe it's because it's being done in almost the round and something about the closeness of the audience... We run until the 1st of September, so if you're in Barrie or the area, get your tickets! Now that the show is up, It should be a great few weeks of performing and maybe a little writing while getting to know Barrie.

Just started the Humber Songwriting intensive today, should be a great week of workshops and writing-- though also bizarre as I'm taking a musical theatre writing master class through ScriptLab with Canada's Queen of musical theatre (and if you don't know who she is, you should) Leslie Arden. See, Musical theatre has all these rules: perfect rhymes, progressing the action of the story, and the pop/rock/folk songwriting... doesn't. Well, a couple: be specific, and get to that damn chorus!! But I hope to get some new music/songs/and inspiration out of both.
Once the course is over it's back to Calgary for a wedding (congrats Ben and Kelly) and then we start the remount of Pump Boys and Dinettes for Theatre by the Bay in Barrie, with almost the same group of wonderful people as last year. So, busy, and the new year (I think I'll always look at september as the start of a new "school year"-- it's beaten into us for so long) looks like it will have a workshop of a play of mine and some great acting opportunities. I'll let you know.
Oh-- and I'm adding the fabulous miss Sara-Jeanne Hosie to my links page, check her out, as she is indeed fabulous.

This Monday (April 16) I will be in Barrie at the Gryphon Theatre for "The Stars Come Out Concert" a fundraiser for Theatre by the Bay. We'll be performing two numbers from Pumpboys and Dinettes, and I'm happy to announce that I'll be in the cast later this summer at theatre by the Bay. This fundraiser has some INCREDIBLE people in it-- some of the best talent in Canadian theatre, so I reccomend it. Get more info at www.Theatrebythebay.com.
Also, there's going to be a fundraiser for ForOpera at Ryerson, with another batch of great Canadian talent. I think for this one I might do "My God's better than your God" if they let me. The date is set for April 30th.
And lastly, it's not a fundraiser, but I'm looking forward to playing a small part in The Last best Spring Thaw: The Words and Music of Mavor Moore. I never had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Mavor Moore, but all of us in the theatre benefit even now from everything he's done for us. Hope to see you there.

Just got back from Calgary, where I had a great time catching up with old friends, hanging out with my Dad, and seeing some fantastic theatre at ATP. Barely made it out there actually, as the flight was scheduled to leave Toronto right as that crazy blizzard hit, but after a quick stopover in Vancouver (yes that is odd) I made it home. It was good to see everyone, and I hope to be back soon.
Also, we had the workshop of my new play "A Vancouver Apartment" through Talk is Free Theatre. Much thanks to Adam, Caden, and Krysten for their work and bringing the characters to life, and to Arkady for putting it all together. Now I just have to figure out what to do with it...
And if you missed the gig at Free Times in February, I have another one coming up on the 19th at Mitzy's Sister. Details are in the Calendar section, so drop by, have a beer! Hope to see you soon.

Wow, looks like this is the first little note of the new year, and it's all ready February-- that was a quick month...
If last year was the performing actor year (from Missisauga to Saskatoon to Barrie to Port Carling to Collingwood to Morrisburg... 6 gigs almost consecutive-- thankful for the work, but it's nice to live in one place for more than 2 months at a time), this year so far is the year of the writing. I'm involved with some fantastic collaborators writing a new opera based on Forum Theatre through Ryerson University-- a great creative experience, that will be in the fire until June. As well there's a workshop/reading of a two-hander play I've been working on "A Vancouver Apartment" at Talk is Free in Barrie at the end of this month.
And-- getting back to the singer/songwriting-- upcoming gig on the 28th of February at Free Times, where I'll get the chance to try out some new songs on an unsuspecting lot. See the Calendar page for details and come by and be a guinea pig...

Came back into Toronto last night, and a mere 28 hours after the final bow in Morrisburg of "A Chirstmas Carol" I was able to get an extra ticket to SoulPeppers' "A Chirstmas Carol" here in Toronto.
Bizarre. How strange to watch a different take on a show you've just done. Both being adaptations, it was so interesting to see what each production left out, kept in, or gave more focus to (not to mention hearing your lines said with different intent). I loved the SoulPepper, but nothing can compare to the way we partied it up in the Fezziwig scene in Morrisburg.
My Father will be coming to town for Christmas this year, and thanks to a Christmas tree all ready in the house from a festive cousin, I am set! Should be a nice Christmas with family here.
Oh, and being that this is a Singer/Songwriter website and all, I thought it might be good to do a gig-- I'll be playing with "Songwriter's Unite" at Graffiti's on January 5th, a nice way to start off the new year. More on that once other players are confirmed.
To all my friends in town, back in Calgary, or across the country-- have a merry christmas and safe holiday.
tilly

Back in Toronto, ScriptLab is holding the inagural "Canadian Musical Theatre Week" at the Papermill Theatre in Toronto. I wish I could be there, but then again, it's nice to be performing. I believe I was even scheduled in for the last Sunday showcase-- oh well, maybe next year.
Took the day off yesterday to go to Ottowa. Hadn't yet been to our capital, but it is beautiful. I've been told it's too much to hope that the canal will freeze over by the time the contract ends but I will be going again.
We open a Christmas Carol tomorrow, we've already been playing it to preview audiences, and I have again been lucky to find a great cast.

Arrived in Morrisburg on Monday night to start rehearsals for the upcoming production of "A Christmas Carol" at the Upper Canada Playhouse. Growing up in Calgary, I would go to the production of this Christmas classic every year at theatre Calgary, and I'm looking forward to doing my first version here, with a great and intimate adaptation.
Morrisburg is nice, it's the furthest east I've been in Ontario (this continues to be my "year to get to know Ontario" it seems, after hitting Port Carling, Barrie, and Collingwood), and the country's beautiful. Hope to get up to Ottowa and maybe skate a canal...

Every time I come back to Toronto it's like hearing a boxing ring bell in my head... sort of a "here we go again" kind of feeling... after only a couple of years here I've spent enough time coming and going that I'm probably getting up there for the number of rounds.
Had a great trip home, caught up with friends, did the requisite mountain visit, saw some theatre (Mice and Men- Theatre Calgary, and My Narrator at Lunchbox, both great productions) and between hanging out with my Dad and us tearing apart the backyard, managed to get some writing done. And now, back at it again. I have a lot of writing projects on the go, so we'll just have to see what the next bit brings.

Decided to go back to Calgary for a few weeks and visit my Dad, it's Calgary's version of fall: slightly earlier, with only yellows and orange leaves (no reds). I love it. Coming back here always makes me re-evaluate things (especially these days)-- carreer wise, I started this website about a year and a half ago, planning to continue on the path of Singer/Songwriting, almost immediately after which I went for a long stretch of employement in Musical theatre, a hell of a good time. Now, things seem to have turned to writing. This is a good change-- I think Joni Mitchell called it crop rotation, she'd do music and then switch to painting for awhile... keeps things fertile. Hopefully this theory works, or maybe I'll have to wait for the next rotation. Anyways, it's good to be back.

Closing night tonight of Playing our song-- I'm happy to say that I've "done" Collingwood, swam in Georgian Bay, did the blue mountain, saw the Elvii, enjoyed the Espresso Post, all while doing a great show with some wonderful people. Thanks to Steve and Irene for running such a great theatre company in this town. Tomorrow some friends are coming up to go to Wasaga beach, their swinging by and then it's back to Toronto! Looking forward to getting down to work.

We're opening "They're Playing our Song" at the Gayety Theatre here in Collingwood tonight. Having a wonderful time with a great cast, and it's great to work with a Neil Simon book. But a couple of weeks rehearsal goes by so fast! Looking forward to the show being up and getting to see a bit of Collingwood and taking a dip in Georgian Bay.

I saw the King of Rock 'n Roll yesterday; he was in his Cadillac turning onto Hurontario street in downtown Collingwood. It's the annual Elvis Festival here and they expect something like 70,000 people and plenty of Elvi to descend on Collingwood over the next few days. Kind of strange to find yourself in the middle of it while rehearsing a different show-- They're Plauing our Song-- for theatre Collingwood. Just arrived and dove into rehearsals Monday after closing "Pump Boys" in Port Carling on Sunday afternoon-- The Muskoka will be missed, there's some great people there, but here in Collingwood, they do have Elvis...

We've been open for a week now here in Port Carling, and we have a really great show on our hands-- but the weather's been too good-- and people aren't leaving their cottages on the lakes. So, it's your last chance, come out and see a great show, we have matinees this week at 3 on wednesday and Saturday, and at 2 on Sunday, with night shows at 8 Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Hope to see you there.

I've been in Muskoka (Port Carling) about 2 weeks now, and things have been quite nice. The rehearsals are going well, but it's the lakes that are amazing! Just the other night the cast of "Pump Boys" was invited out for a night at a cottage at one of these many lakes, and a whole summer's worth of BBQ and swimming was had. I've made it a goal to swim as often as possible while I'm here, to the point of sometimes diving into Lake Muskoka after rehearsal.
Not that all this talk of lakes is should overshadow the cast. Pump Boys is coming along incredibly well and ahead of schedule, probably because we have some incredibly talented musicians and actors on board. It's one of those shows that is meant to be fun, and it really is-- stop by and see it, check the calendar for the website.

It's strange, but the two weeks I've had here in Toronto have been far busier than when I was working in Barrie. A lot has been done: wrote two songs for a prospective show, got a lot of "business" stuff done, started the prep work for Pump Boys-- it's so nice to be playing guitar again!- and saw as much theatre as I could. By the way, if you have a chance, go see SARSical, the musical playing at the Factory-- it's been a long time since I've laughed that hard in a show.
Wednesday I'm off to Port Carling to start rehearsals for Pump Boys and Dinettes, should be great to take in some nature, as well as have some family come out for it.

First off, we opened Emily in Barrie Saturday night, to much success. It's great, I get to sing the title song in the opening... and then die. But it is a truly beautiful song (and hey, I come back for a visit later anyways).
One other opening happened last night in Toronto at Hart House: the annual DQ Casey House Fundraiser, this year called, "Lucky Lady". In the fall, I was commisioned by the shows director Graham Maxwell to write a fitting tribute for Casey House and why the DQ troup performs the show. The result has been "A light in the Window" which received it's innagural performance last night. Sadly, I couldn't be there. Emily shows conflict on every single day of the DQ shows... I start to complain, and then I remember that I'm a working actor, still it would have been nice to be there. DQ runs this week May 23rd- 27th, (with a matinee of Saturday) at Hart House Theatre.

Here I am in "the hive", the student residences for Georgian College here in Barrie that Talk is Free rents for it's actors. Somehow, I've had the good fortune to stay with five women of the cast in the dorms... I've enjoyed waking up to the two lovely dancers doing pilates in living room the other morning, and the late night conversations fascinating... an education.
Come see the show! From what I understand we're almost sold out.

I've been packing today, somehow I seem to have accumulated more stuff than I came with, I'll never understand that. I've really enjoyed my time in this river valley city, especially having come here while winter was in full force and having it turn into Spring on the prairies. Much thanks to Tibor, David, our Stage Manager Laura, along with a great cast, crew, and Deborah and her crack band. They are doing great theatre here in Saskatoon. I look forward to coming back some time to see the new Persephone theatre downtown! Should be a thing of beauty. And on Monday, back to Toronto...

We've been getting a great response from the Persephone audience, so the show has been extended until April 23rd-- so if you don't have tickets yet, (and the commute to Saskatoon isn't too rough) get them now as they're going quickly. We had the opening Saturday night, and now, even with the extension, there's only two weeks left... time is flying... I'll soon be back in Toronto for the first day of "Emily" rehearsals on the 24th.
In other news, my Father's here and we've been spending my day off exploring the city. He also brought his large newfoundland dog-- thanks again to my landlord Bev for not being scared off by the 125 pounds of drooling dog... but still cute somehow. Cheers.

I'm in the "Broadway Roastery" here in Saskatoon, my new favourite Coffee shop- not only for their coffee, but for the internet access which has proved hard to come by here. Rehearsals for "I Love you, You're Perfect, Now Change!" are going well, and I'm amazed by the extra week of rehearsal we have as compared to a usual short amount of time, it's a rare luxury these days in theatre.
It's an exciting time for Persephone, as they will be building a new Theatre on the Waterfront, and have just been awarded some Centennial grant money to help the project along.
We open the show on April 8th, and things are coming together brilliantly. So if you're in the neighbourhood come down for a great show. cheers.

"Makes no difference where I go, you're the best home town I know..." Does anyone remember this song used for channels 2 & 7 from back in the day? Every time the plane lands in calgary it runs through my head, kind of Pavlovian.
The cold read fundraiser was a blast, and thanks to Mellisa, Jane, and Mellisa for having me. Performing for Theatre audiences is such a treat-- they listen to every word.
Looks like this summer is going to be my "get to know Ontario" summer. Starting in April, I'll be at three great theatres in three different towns. I'll put their websites in the links section. Hope to see you there.