Year of the… Grease?
“We were going to push the boundaries of what a house concert on a private property could accomplish,” says Pick.
Peter Jickling
Whitehorse poet’s defiant reading marathon
It was the first time Peter Jickling had read a book aloud cover to cover. He reflected that he got a different sense of the book as a whole than you would putting it down and picking it up, as we usually do.
Not new, but still brave
What’s it like to share the heart and soul of something you’ve written? Peter Jickling, the new host of Brave New Words, said, “It’s right in the title of the event. It’s brave.” Jickling’s goal is to take what can be intimidating—the “pouring out of your soul” and “to create a venue where people where …
The Magic of Mushrooms
Jean Francois is a chef. I met him at a B.C. heli-ski lodge on Highway 5 — The Yellowhead — in the early 2000s. He cooked pastries and cakes and cookies and yelled at the breakfast servers at six in the morning. I was a person cleaning rooms, chopping wood, listlessly dusting big stone walls, …
Rolling out that raggedy old chair
There’s a reason people like me should never play the stock market. Some time ago, when I heard that a new arts and entertainment magazine was in the works, the cynic in me said it wouldn’t last six months. These things never do. I could not have been more wrong if I’d bet my backside …
Hanging Up the Red Pen
I joined the What’s Up Yukon editorial team in late September 2012 and the first edition with my name on the masthead was issue #300, dated October 4, 2012. What followed were 33 months of continual employment, bringing me up to this issue, #436. This unbroken string of paycheques from the same outfit breaks my …
Start at the Beginning
Have you ever had big dreams of creating a piece of theatre but weren’t sure how to start? Have you ever had a great idea for a play but had no idea how to get it on the stage? Are you looking for the chance to try out a script you have written in front …
Angles and Arm-splints
In autumn 2009 I slipped on a frosty stair and broke my left humerus. Before the accident my left arm had an angle of 20°, meaning that when it was fully extended it reached 160° instead of the normal 180. When the dust finally settled after my injury — including one botched healing attempt — …
On Richard Linklater
In the wake of Boyhood’s lackluster haul at the recently held Academy Awards — it won only one Oscar, despite six nominations — I’ve been thinking about the film’s writer/director Richard Linklater. Boyhood was a momentous task in which Linklater gathered the same group of actors together for a few days each year, for a …
Enzo and his Masterpiece
Enzo Ferrari emerged from World War II with a bold plan to design and build automobiles under his own name. At first, he favoured the construction of racecars and had little interest building street-legal sports cars, but economic realities necessitated he pitch his products to a somewhat wider demographic. So he compromised; he built cars …
Authenticity on Fire
The Overland Trail was a transportation corridor between Whitehorse and Dawson City constructed by the White Pass and Yukon Route at the turn-of-the-century. Spanning 530 kilometres, it took five days to navigate by horsedrawn sleigh or carriage — if the weather co-operated, that is. If not, the journey could double, or even triple in length. …
The Many Faces of Claire Ness
I’m in the ‘98 drinking water (sober January) and waiting for Claire Ness to arrive. “London Calling” by The Clash is playing, which, for some reason, doesn’t feel out of place here. Once Claire arrives, the first topic we land on is her upcoming adventure with her Frenchman: they are looking for the sweet chassis …
The Story About Very Little
Here’s my dilemma: it’s 9:30 on Thursday night and I need to “put the paper to bed” by the end of the night. Everything else in complete, except my Jabbering. It’s been a long week for me (as I’m sure it has been for many) and I’m not feeling very inspired. On top of that, Ben …
Bolton’s Babblings: The Marvelous Month of May
“How about a Maypole dance?” My Skype connection to Whitehorse was adequate at best, so Peter Jickling’s response seemed reasonable. “What?” “You know, cute kids in their fresh white shirts and smocked dresses, garlands of daisies in the girls’ hair as they dance around the Maypole. Who can resist a cute-kid pic, right?” “What?” Damn, …
Syphilis Spreads like Wildfire: Peter Jickling’s Play Syphilis: A Love Story wins comedy award
It’s difficult to resist making puns about the title of the award-winning play Syphilis: A Love Story by Whitehorse playwright, and What’s Up Yukon assistant editor, Peter Jickling. Jokes like, “I caught syphilis at the Guild Hall last week,” or, “I caught syphilis with your mom.” Or how about, “I wanted to catch syphilis, but …
The many faces of a Yukoner
The first Yukoner I ever met was Rodger Thorlakson. It was 19 years ago and I was two days “Inside”. Sure, I met other people in that time, but between the hotel room and work it wasn’t a lot. Those I formed relationships with were just like me: recently transplanted. Rodger, however, had that hat …
It’s a ‘building year’ for Nakai
This year, Nakai Theatre will not be producing any plays. David Skelton, Nakai’s artistic director, says the company will be concentrating, instead, on developing local scripts. This means that instead of spending money on a venue and staffing to produce a play, it will use some of that money to bring up DD Kugler, a …
A Play in 24 Hours
If you ask Whitehorse resident Justine Davidson if the $50 fee to participate in Nakai Theatre’s 24 Hour Playwriting Competition is worth it, you’ll most likely get a resounding yes. Not only was she provided a hotel room at the Westmark, snacks galore and yoga sessions, but her play, Subway, ended up being selected as …
Seriously Hilarious
Margaret Thatcher. Genocide. Venereal disease. Personal betrayal. These are not the standard fare of romantic comedy. But in the deft hands of Whitehorse playwright Peter Jickling, they become wickedly funny. With Syphilis: A Love Story, Jickling has hit the exact tone for the rom-com genre. As a love story, it comes perilously close to being …
Wit and Film Noir
When Betty Beemer needs a health pamphlet written, she turns to Vaughn Fischer, a freelancer whose career is going nowhere. But Vaughn quickly becomes obsessed with turning a simple tract on syphilis into a masterpiece. That’s the basic premise of Peter Jickling’s quirky play, Syphilis: A Love Story, which Ramshackle Theatre will present for a …
Artrepreneur: Each word sings
What’s in a word? In the hands of Peter Jickling and his friends, each word has its own voice. You can listen to those voices at the Word Project: A Treatise on Resonant Philosophy at the Old Fire Hall May 14-20. “Only” is spelled with small letters, and faint swishy marks around it. It gave …
Syphilis Goes South
It sounds nasty. A small group of northerners is scheming to infect a major southern city with Syphilis next month. But there’s no need to alert public health officials. Ramshackle Theatre is merely hoping to spread an infectious dose of laughter to audiences at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival, by means of Whitehorse playwright Peter …