A strong story hangs from the clear, simple spine of a consistent, though deepening goal. The protagonist refines his goal and his understanding of his goal changes, but he does not shift his focus from one distinct goal to another. To say this another way: the Act 3...

Titanic, which I saw at Malkin Bowl the other night, is an oddly non-flashy musical. There's virtually no dancing and there are no big show tunes. Still, it's a very satisfying work and director Max Reimer gives it an extraordinarily handsome production. On one level,...

SFU's Praxis Centre for Screenwriters is a terrific resource. They have just announced a workshop that might be of interest to some of you. Here's the info: West Coast Screenwriting principals, Keith Digby (Young Alexander, Time Exposures) and Brian Paisley (Lies Like...

I got back from Mexico City on Friday. Despite dire warnings from nearly every Canadian I talked to, I am still alive and I had a fantastic trip. The people are warm, the museums are unbelievable and EcoBici, the city bike system, is liberation itself. My pal Luis and...

I saw Peter Birnie at Xanadu last night. It's the last show that Peter will review; like a lot of other writers at the Sun and Province, he has accepted an early retirement package. Pete tells me that the Sun will fill the position with somebody who's already on...

  The most common problem that I run into is passive protagonists. It's also one of the easiest and most rewarding problems to fix. I have read drafts that were full of beautiful descriptive prose and almost no action. These manuscripts seduce at first, but very...

I recommend two evenings this week. Macbeth, at Bard on the Beach, is bloody good. Colleen Wheeler makes a terrifying Lady Macbeth and Bob Frazer draws a clear and compelling arc as Mr. Mackers. Director Miles Potter makes great big choices and most of them—notably...

I seem to be the only person who dislikes The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. In my view, excellent actors, including Judi Dench do much better work than the script deserves. I mean really. A died-in-the-wool racist played by Maggie Smith suddenly sees the light and gets...

I went to see Hive: the New Bees 2 at Chapel Arts, the converted funeral home at Dunlevy and Cordova last night, and I highly recommend it. The original Hive started at Chapel Arts a number of years ago and featured alternative companies that already were or have...