Kim Blackwell - 4th Line Theatre managing artistic director
Bucket lists, Netflix and magical places are occupying the off-time of Kim Blackwell, the managing artistic director of 4th Line Theatre in Millbrook, Ont. There, she's directing The Bad Luck Bank Robbers (Aug. 2 to 27), Alex Poch-Goldin's lively story about an audacious daylight robbery that went down in Havelock, Ont., in 1961, with all sorts of hijinks, mystery and even a little hockey talk.
What she recently enjoyed: "ZimArt's Rice Lake Gallery, in Bailieboro, Peterborough County, has over 300 Zimbabwean stone sculptures on display around a five-acre site. I loved the long drive down the laneway and then exploring by ourselves and discovering these amazing pieces in the most unexpected places. I sat and imagined the artists picking the stone from the quarry in Zimbabwe and then working on it with rudimentary hand tools. I felt like I'd found a secret, magical place."
What she's watching: "The Netflix original series Marcella was recently recommended to me and I am almost through the first eight episodes. The series, beautifully shot all over London, centres around Marcella Backland (played by Anna Friel). She's a detective dealing with her husband's infidelity while hunting a serial killer. Friel is amazing as the very flawed Marcella, and the supporting cast including Sinéad Cusack, Nina Sosanya and Nicholas Pinnock is wonderful. The series is keeping me on the edge of my seat guessing."
What she's looking forward to: "I will be able to cross an item off my bucket list on Sept. 9, when I finally see Dolly Parton. She's at the Molson Amphitheatre as part of her Pure and Simple tour. I have loved Dolly for more than 30 years and I have even been to Dollywood in Tennessee. She is an extraordinary singer-songwriter, and what a life story. I'm taking my 10-year-old daughter with me, and we're already having so much fun listening to Dolly's music together, in preparation."
Brad Wheeler