On The Road

Hi all,

What do the words Red Deer, Canmore, Lethbridge, Ponoka, Bentley, Calgary, Innisfail, Edmonton and Buck Lake have in common?

Answer: All places that I have been working over the last few months!

Since graduating from the Theatre and Entertainment Production program at Red Deer College, I have been pretty busy and I have:

1. Worked as a member of the event staff team at a number of stampedes and rodeos.

2. Been part of the stage crew setting up and taking down for bands such as Hedley, Lady Antebellum and John Fogerty.

3. Worked as a follow spot operator at Westerner Days 2015. Bands that played at this event included  Wide Mouth Mason, Big Sugar, Head Pins, Platinum Blonde, High Valley, The Road Hammers, The Boom Chucka Boys, Lindsay Ell, Kira Isabella and Kutless.

Check out these pictures from my travels.

If you like these photos then be sure to check out my flickr page;  https://www.flickr.com/cameraroll

Blog soon

Michael

Michael Johnson photography 

Michael Johnson photography 

Michael Johnson photography 

Michael Johnson photography

Come check out my Flickr page !

Hi guys,

It's been awhile since I last posted and I would like to invite you to check out some photos that I took on a recent trip to Canmore Alberta and the surrounding area by following the link: https://flic.kr/s/aHskh7FF3k

Blog soon

Michael

Bikes to a One Act Drama Festival

Hi guys,

Well this week has just flown by. On Thursday and Friday I took part in a 24 hour bikeathon to raise money for charity. In my team we had eight people so I ended up biking for nearly 4 hours as each member of the team cycled in the first and last hour of the event. I managed to bike 60 miles during my time on the bike so I was proud of what I achieved. To find out more about this amazing event please follow this link Hunting Hills High School Bikeathon

In addition, there is less than one week to go till my play Smile which I have directed performs at the One Act Festival at Lindsey Thurber Comprehensive  High School. This is a exciting week making sure that I have everything ready ! As while has ensuring that my show is ready I am also supporting lots of the other shows which our school is taking to the One Act Festival. My roles range from playing a radio announcer to stage managing busy busy !! In total I am involved with seven shows. Let's hope I remember where I need to be. Find out how I am getting on when I post my next blog !

If you are in the area and would be interested in coming along then please follow this link for further information. One Act Drama Festival

Check back soon 

Michael 

Canadian adventure !

Hi guys,

It's been a while since I last blogged. This week is a busy week with lots of exciting things going on. One event which I am taking part in is a 24 hour bikeathon to raise money for charity. Should be good fun and I do hope I am still standing after doing my 3 hour stint on the bike. Thankfully, we get to do it in one hour slots before switching over to a team member or I don't think I would have survived !

As I mentioned in previous blogs I am currently directing my own show for a One Act Festival which is now just a week and a half a way ! I am really enjoying all the different tasks that comes with the role. These tasks range from drawing up a technical script to finding appropriate shoes for the cast to wear that fit in with the Victorian time period in which the show Smile by David Campton is set. My School has entered eight plays in the festival so the fun doesn't stop there. In addition, to developing my Directing skills I am also playing a radio announcer in the show Smell of Burning as well as stage managing several other shows. Busy Busy Busy !

I will let you know all about my adventures in the One Act Festival and the fun of doing multiple shows in one evening in future blogs.


Michael

Weather Changes !

Hi Guys,

I have just started getting used to the warmer temperatures until today. Where it has just started snowing again. It's kind of fun to walk home with shoes that have no grip NOT! I ended up slipping and sliding like a ice skater home. Thankfully, I got home in one piece and went to shovel the snow of the driveway which reminded me how long ago it was since I last last did this task.

High School is mint ! I am really enjoying my subjects especially Social Studies. Social Studies is a mixture of Geography, History and PSHE. In Social Studies I am mainly learning about the Canadian and American election systems. 

I have signed myself up to take part in the graduation fashion show. Me and my mates have chosen the category 80's. Should be fun !!!

blog soon

Michael 

 The snow on my way home from School

 The ice which has been shovelled off the road

Telus Science Museum

Hi, 
Here is a exciting update on what I have been up to in my Canadian adventure. One of the most interesting things that I have done was when I visited the Telus Science Museum in Calgary. Here, they had on a exhibition which was all about how they created monsters in movies. There was lot's of information and one of the things that I found interesting was that when they were shooting the Gorillas in the movie Jungle run the actors playing the Gorillas had to keep the Gorilla heads on for up to 12 hours a day whilst shooting the movie. Another fact which amazed me was that the producer felt that the hairs on the gorilla looked scruffy so they had to change it. To do this 4 wigmakers who had spent a week and a half punching each individual hair in to 16 sets of hands previously, had to take them all out and punch them all back in the opposite direction !!!! I would recommend going to the museum as there is plenty of interesting facts and hand on things to do. If you have time there is a 360 degrees I max theatre that has different show's on. Very impressive and well worth going. We went to Tornado Alley and felt like we were actually inside the tornado it's that exciting !!!








This is a picture which is shows the different layers that the actors had to wear when playing the Gorillas in Jungle Run.







Thanks for reading

Michael

First day at High School

Hi guys,

This was the day in which I started High School in a new country. Ring Ring 6:30  it's the sound of the alarm clock and it's time to get up. Let me tell you it was hard work the first day getting up as I had settled in to a routine of taking my time in the mornings as I hadn't been at school in over a month. I did my usual routine showering, breakfast and doing the washing up. Then it was time to leave for school. I arrived at 8:30 am and went to reception to see what I was supposed to do. Fortunately, I wasn't the only new person starting and we were given a tour so we knew where we were going. I then bought the books I needed before walking in to my first lesson Drama. As it was a new class and we didn't know everybody we had to introduce our self I went 'Hi my name is Michael from the UK' OMG the response was unbelievable and they were like 'that's so cool' 'can you teach me a British accent' and ironically 'what's the weather like?' which I replied 'It rains a lot !!'. The rest of the day went well from been invited to Tim Horton's at lunch to meeting new Staff and Teacher's alike. I really enjoyed my first day as everyone was really friendly and helpful. A big change for me was that there lessons are nearly 90 minutes long compared to at my old school when they were 55 minutes long.

Blog soon

Michael