Ross Creek 1

Two hours out of the city a string of little towns leading off the highway. Windsor gives way to Port Williams which leads to Canning, with a pit stop at deGraaf's for snacks. Aaron (recently moved from Ottawa) has not seen much of Nova Scotia 'til this moonlit, blue-white snowswept introduction. Up the mountain - as mountainous as one gets in the Valley - we turn right, which is wrong, way but happily encounter a lookoff and enjoy the unexpected hazy vista of twinkling house lights stretched out below, the glitterati of our night.

Garry, at the Centre hours before, stands in the driveway as we roll up. Did he have a Jedi-like sense we would be arriving? He shows us around the centre. The doors to the rehearsal hall open. Precious. The the gift of space. Open space to move, create, discover. Empty but for the potential we bring.

And the kitchen too. Bags of groceries shuttled in from the back of monster-van* - bags full of potential meals, conversations to be had, work to be shared. A cornucopia of plenty. Richness for a Poor Theatre.

The Academy investigates nooks and crannies, art in situ, tries the musical instruments. We meet MacKenzie and Natalie, two artists also working in residence. On Saturday, they will take a day off and we will have the run of the whole place. On Sunday, I will walk in a work-induced stupor from the rehearsal hall to kitchen. I will see MacKenzie again and he is like a stranger: an alien in a bubble world of enesemble intensity.

But Friday night is still with us, excitement carrying us through our foray into unknown bedrooms, negotiating space sharing, selecting spots, conversations and laughter together and then, finally perchance to sleep, to toss or turn, to dream of the next day.

*thank you Thrifty Car Rental for giving us a break on monster-van, and to our donors for ultimately making it possible for us to pay for it!