Well, the Hamilton Fringe Festival has come and gone and I now find myself with that dull, empty, "what now" feeling that often plagues me after a show. The festival was great on so many levels: amazingly accommodating staff and volunteers, good venues in close proximity to each other, free shows for performers & volunteers and all shows get reviewed to boot. In total, I saw about a dozen shows and not a single one of them would I not recommend, which is no small feat. It's a young festival and it's not perfect, but it gets a soft spot in my heart, right alongside the Calgary Fringe Festival. I walked away with some great reviews, feedback from real live Roller Derby players and some great audience comments like:

"Loved this. It was good for the soul." - William Fairholm

"This is an outstanding play in every respect. Nancy Kenny’s performance never flags, and endows each character with distinctive and instantly recognizable traits. Her physicality, especially when getting changed into her roller derby outfit, is remarkable. This is a show that deserves to sell out each performance." - Julian Nicholson

And I got some pretty sweet gifts, including this hand-drawn gem:

The only real downside was that I didn't make any money, but I didn't lose any either, additional family members and roommates got to see the performance, the narrative structure of my show is better than what it was in Ottawa, I'm stronger than I was on skates, more at ease with the characters, and I've got a pretty cool war story to share from now on too. So, yeah, lots more pluses than minuses.

Now, I head back to Ottawa for a bit for some work, theatre and hopefully new ways to fill the void as I take a little break from the show. But have no fear, Roller Derby Saved My Soul WILL ~~ride~~ roll again. Maybe even sooner than you think...