Ami Gladstone makes great art and has done for a long time. I am equal parts jealous and proud of him. In his latest play (a musical adaptation of a two hundred year old Russian poem) called Onegin he has co-created (with Veda Hille) his biggest success to date.

I don’t resent his success, surprisingly, but I do wish I could make great art like he does. And I wish I could get it seen by so many people. So, we sit down and talk on the mics of what I might do to turn my performance woes around. I miss being on stage. I don’t miss stand-up much or improv at all but I do miss a crowd. Last Tuesday night I went a little hard with the jokes at my Mindful Parenting class because I was faced with a captive audience. It made me think what wifers has to go through all the time. It can be exhausting listening to me.

Ami has worked as a director or playwright for numerous companies including Vancouver Playhouse, Arts Club Theatre, Touchstone Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects. He is a graduate of the University of Victoria and a founder of Theatre Skam. Gladstone’s plays have been produced across Canada, as well as in New York, Philadelphia, France, and Romania. He currently lives in Vancouver.