Natasha - The Artist

I am a filmmaker… I am an inspirational filmmaker… I am an inspirational filmmaker in the making. Oh, how to begin this post.

I am a filmmaker. I am currently seeking the right people and the money to create an inspirational feature film.

About two years ago, I saw a girl on a city bus. Our car being repaired, I took the bus to work — which rarely happens. I sat quietly, observing people coming in and thinking about the day ahead, about their family, money problems, their ex they wish they hadn’t broken up with… I thought to myself “wow, I should take the bus more often, I see so much”. Then I noticed Abigail. The bus full and no more seats available, the teenage girl was standing near the front. She was inside herself, wondering why life was giving up on her, why she was in her body not being able to be happy. She didn’t look at one person in that bus, from fear of being judged or… from fear of meeting that one person who can tell her who she really is.  How I wished at that moment I knew how to help her find her heart.

I took out a notebook and started writting about her. I wrote about how she finds herself, how she fulfills all her dreams. I wrote about the people she encounters on her path and how they help her discover who she is, how she falls in love with herself and her heart. I wrote about how she discovers happiness and how she is guided to her ultimate future.

Today, two years later, my notes have become a feature film script. I have fallen in love with Abigail and all the characters in her life, as they are all a part of me. They ARE me. The movie is me, not about my life — but who I am at every moment.

I know this film will be made and will be successful. Abigail will inspire people, teenagers especially, to follow their heart and their instincts. Every time I think about Abi and the movie, I am attracting the right people for this film — I feel it in my heart. An example — Jessica wrote a comment on my last post, inviting me to visit her myspace page and listen to her music. I cried when I heard the first note. She is the one. She will create the music for Abigail. I invite you to be mesmerized: http://www.myspace.com/jessicaleiathompson.

If you want to see this film, I invite you to comment on this post. The more people demonstrate interest, the more the right people will be attracted to be a part of it.

Much love,
Natasha
xxoo

I finished writing my first script for a feature film and I realized that I absolutely love writing (I kind of knew that before, but now I’m sure). When my head doesn’t get in the way and I write from the heart, I can write for hours. I just finished my script and I am already thinking about the next one I will be writing. I am also thinking of how to direct the film I just finished writing. So, I think I will simply jot down my new ideas and concentrate on directing first.

I know my film will be produced AND distributed AND be very successful. I feel it in my gut. I have never directed before, but for some reason, I just know I am directing this feature film. I see it clearly in my mind and my heart. I just have to convince a producer that I can do it, and do it well for that matter. I will do that by developing the storyboard!  

Gotta go… I’ve got a storyboard to do!

Revenge of the Hunted, a film by Aaron Floresco of Past Perfect Productions, was chosen by the “Run for your Shorts” film festival in Canada’s National Capital Region to be screened tonight, the last night of the festival.

I play the lead - Karin, a twenty-something woman who tries to move on with her life after getting out of an abusive relationship. Her ex, Ryan, doesn’t want things to end and moves along with her every step of the way. Trying to ignore Ryan while on a date, Karin decides that she must confront her stalker.

I saw the film for the first time as it was screened on Monday of this week, at the ACTRA - Ottawa gala, where someone pointed out that the film reminded them of the style of David Lynch — true! It was difficult for me to judge the film, as I wasn’t really watching the film or listening to the dialogue, but mostly listening to the audience’s reactions. People laughed, gasped, became quiet and started breathing again. This film contains everything.

If you would like to attend the screening, the details can be found on the festival’s Web site: http://www.cineo.ca/.

Breathing Time Productions‘ presentation of Fat Pig by Neil LaBute just closed this past Saturday August 11 in Ottawa. I was Production Coordinator for the show. I had an amazing time. I worked with a fantastic cast and crew. I had been dreaming for years and years about making this kind of art and here I was doing it. It almost felt surreal to me. And how amazing to work on this particular play.

The first time I read Fat Pig I thought I was bored half way through. Urrgh, not another thing about society’s judgment of what’s different. After attending the first week of rehearsals, I found out I was not bored at all; I had been shutting myself down to not be affected by my strong feelings for the subject matter. You see, what was affecting me the most was that the actress playing the overweight lead character, Helen, is a good friend of mine. I had been listening to her for months make comments about how she felt judged by people because of her weight, how she felt like hiding, how when she would pick-up McDonald’s at 1:00am to keep her weight up for the play she would stop eating at a stop light so the person in the next car would not notice… Not being overweight myself, having never experienced being overweight, I always thought she was just being dramatic and her lack of confidence made her see things in a negative way.

I was resisting writing about this. I am grieving. Deeply. I have been since the first week of the show and have been ignoring it until now. Seeing people’s reactions to the play, reading this particular review (http://www.cityjournal.ca/article-128371-REVIEWFat-Pig-cuts-close-to-the-bone.html – unfortunately, the article is no longer on the cityjournal Web site), seeing how difficult these roles are for the actors, has affected me. It has opened my eyes to this cruel world. This world is CRUEL, hurtful, mean, … Why is this world cruel? Because this world is SCARED. Scared of dying, scared of abandonment, scared of famine, scared of poverty, scared of being alone, scared of not being loved, scared of failure, …  We listen to people who feel the need to control. Why do some people need to control? Because they are scared… of all the same things. It’s a vicious cycle.

I am grieving. Grieving the fact that I have ‘ignored’ this cruelty since my birth. Ignored my friend thinking she was being dramatic, when in reality people are afraid of her, of what she ’as fat’ represents. I am sorry C.

Why hasn’t this hit me before? I already knew about fear and it’s consequences. So why this? Now? Because this realization has reinforced my purpose.  Working on Fat Pig has helped open a handful of audience members’ eyes about fear and cruelty. It means that I can keep working on projects like this, projects that can contribute to changing the world. It means that if I write from the heart, like LaBute, about these kinds of subjects, I can change the world.

Ottawa, July 21 2007 : Cow. Slob. Pig. How many insults can you hear before you have to stand up and defend the woman you love? From August 1-11 at the Studio Léonard Beaulne, Ottawa’s Breathing Time Productions will approach that very quandary with Neil LaBute’s critically acclaimed Fat Pig, which takes an unflinching stab at our public perception of beauty and makes one wonder if love needs society’s blessing to be complete.

Director Michèle Lonsdale Smith (Artistic Director of the Lyric Stage Project in Vancouver and director of A Winter Tale – winner of Outstanding Canadian Feature at the 2007 ReelWorld Film Festival) takes the lead with an all-star cast of talented locals, consisting of Corry Burke, Jared Côté, Claudia Jurt, and Dani Kind. In contrast with the new cinematic hit, Hairspray, Lonsdale Smith believes that LaBute’s play shows the unfortunate realities of not fitting the status quo. “I am fascinated by our universal and debilitating fear of being alone, of being ousted from the tribe and, because of this, how easily we oust the ‘different’ regularly and without conscience, so as not to experience that terrible fate,” says Lonsdale Smith.

In Fat Pig, Tom (Côté) surprises even himself when he falls for Helen (Jurt), a bright, funny, sexy young woman who happens to be plus-sized - and then some. Forced to explain his new relationship to his shallow (although shockingly funny) friends, he finally comes to terms with his own preconceptions of the importance for conventional good looks. Neil LaBute’s sharply drawn play not only critiques our slavish adherence to Hollywood ideals of beauty but also boldly questions our own ability to change what we dislike about ourselves.

Founded by local actor and entrepreneur Jurt, owner of A.C.T. and Ottawa casting, the company is dedicated to rejuvenating today’s audiences by presenting challenging and thought-provoking works by both new and established artists. And it took quite some dedication for Jurt to play the eponymous character in this particular show.

“When I first decided to do this play, I was already statistically ‘overweight’ and have since gained close to 50 lbs. to really ‘fit the ‘role’!” explains Jurt. Breathing Time Productions presents Fat Pig from August 1-4 and again from August 7-11 at the University of Ottawa’s Studio Léonard Beaulne, 135 Séraphin Marion. All shows begin at 8pm. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors. There will be a special Pass-the-hat night on August 2 and all tickets on August 7 are 2 for 1. Tickets go on sale at noon Friday, July 20, 2007 at Beaded Dreams (426 Bank St.) and Oz Kafe (6-361 Elgin St.)

For more information, please call 613-565-2107 or visit http://www.breathingtimeproductions.com/

Ever wonder why good or bad things seem to happen to people? Did you ever feel like cosmic forces out of your control are just messing around with you?

Well, they are.

To be fair though, if you had to spend all eternity watching humans interact with one another, wouldn’t you want to mess around with them too?

Tickets are $10 General Admission

Arts Court Theatre
2 Daly Avenue
Ottawa, ON

Show Dates:
Saturday, June 16 4:00pm (2 for 1 admission!)
Sunday, June 17 6:30pm
Monday, June 18 7:30pm
Wednesday, June 20 11:00pm
Friday, June 22 9:00pm
Sunday June 24 8:00pm

Written and Directed by my good friend Nancy Kenny
Staring:
Anouk Landry
Matt Martineau
Ryan Browne
Lisa Aitken
Joe Marques