An upcoming writers' workshop and conference in Lacombe will provide extensive opportunities for writers to continue flourishing in their craft.
Hosted by the Lacombe Performing Arts Centre and facilitated by authors Fran Kimmel, Leslie Greentree, and Blaine Newton, the retreat and conference will be held at the Lacombe Performing Arts Centre on June 2.
"The Lacombe Performing Arts Centre has been providing a safe, supportive place for emerging writers for the past couple of years," explained Kimmel.
"They've been offering workshops, open mic nights, and writing nights where folks drop in, write from a prompt, and then share their work. But this will be the their very first writing retreat, so it's an extension of all of the great work that they have been doing. We think the day is going to be really fun," she said.
"We have two terrific workshops planned. Leslie Greentree is a highly accomplished writer in all sorts of genres. She will be focusing on character development in her workshop, specifically on the bad guys in our stories! So that will be a terrific workshop."
Greentree is the author of four books - Not the Apocalypse I Was Hoping For, A Minor Planet for You, go-go dancing for Elvis, and guys named Bill.
She also co-wrote the play Oral Fixations with Blaine Newton, which was produced in 2014 by Ignition Theatre.
She has also appeared in three professional theatre productions including the one-woman show The Year of Magical Thinking, The Vagina Monologues, and Blue Suede Shoes where she read poetry from go-go dancing for Elvis alongside a dance troupe celebrating all things Elvis.
"We will also be having playwright and short story writer Blaine Newton who will be focusing on comedy, and how we can use it to get our point across, which will also be fabulous," said Kimmel.
A playwright, sketch writer, and improviser, Newton's most recent productions include Bravo, produced by Edmonton’s Shadow Theatre, Five Stages of Death at the 2018 Edmonton International Fringe Festival which was produced by Cursive Writing Productions, the aforementioned Oral Fixations and the musical revue Air Raids and Siren Songs.
"So there will be these two workshops where participants will be able to learn skills and techniques to help take their work to the next level," she said.
"It also won't matter what kind of writing they are interested in - these workshops will be helpful for all types of writing. Blaine and Leslie will bring such good experience to the day."
Kimmel said that the event will also include a panel discussion with herself, Newton, and Greentree along with Vonda Peterson and Jean Oram, who has penned more than 35 books.
"We have all navigated different paths to publication. So we will be talking about what we have learned along the way - the challenges and the rewards of each path. There are so many ways to share your writing with the world - in magazines, journals, online, and through blogs.
"We want to help guide people to those paths; to help those writers who are thinking that they want to share their writing a bit more widely, but maybe don't know how, or maybe just need a confidence boost," she said.
"There will also be a lot of time to ask questions as well, and this is also how we will end our day together," said Kimmel, who has also penned many short stories and plays for both theatre and radio,
She has also published two novels - No Good Asking and The Shore Girl.
Meanwhile, Kimmel said she wants the retreat and conference to be both relaxing and productive.
"We will be combining learning, networking, and inspiration throughout the day. Participants will have the chance to write and to read their work out loud if they choose. Writers also often work in isolation, so this day gives us a chance to come together and share our experiences, to offer feedback, and to inspire each other."
To register for the retreat and conference, contact the Lacombe Performing Arts Centre at 403-588-4386 or visit lacombeperformingartscentre.com.
Although there is no particular deadline to register by, Kimmel encourages those interested in attending to register as soon as they can.
