Aurevoir Montreal, Bonjour Ottawa

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Oh Montreal Fringe, you are one tough nut to crack! I wanted to love this festival, I really did, but, cards on the table, I didn't.

Now, to be fair, I came in late in the game and I was already exhausted by the time I got there. The last weekend of the London Fringe overlapped with the first weekend of Montreal, which meant I missed out on preview events, poster space, first weekend media and early bonding time with fellow performers. All things that help make your Fringe experience as a performer even better. That said, I wasn't worried at first since I had already done the show in Montreal last year for Zoofest with little to no advanced buzz and managed to get 60 to 70 people per night. Also, I'm great at flyering line-ups and promoting my show one-on-one, so I figured catching up would be fairly easy.

Unfortunately, I quickly realized that there were no line-ups anywhere and folks at the beer tent were mostly there to listen to music, not see shows. That didn't mean there weren't people out seeing shows, but I'll be damned if I knew where to find them. It seemed to me that people would buy their tickets and just leave the venue until showtime.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad. Montreal is one gorgeous city and I always love checking it out, especially in the summer time. The Fringe staff was absolutely delightful (Seriously, can someone give Amy Blackmore the prize for most adorable Fringe producer on the circuit? I love her and her Beyoncé strut), my venue tech was great and we lucked out with some pretty incredible billets. I saw some great shows and ate the best poutine. I was also very grateful to have been nominated for a few awards while I was there (Best English Theatre Production and Best Solo Show) and I hear that the Winnipeg Free Press theatre critic was at one of my shows, which could be a very good thing in a few weeks. But I barely managed to break even and, when Fringe is your job, that's not good.

Oh and I finally got to check out this "13th Hour" event I kept hearing so much about on the circuit. 13th Hour is an awesome cabaret event that starts at 1 a.m. every single night during the Fringe. It was hosted by some great people, featured many of my favourite Fringe artists and it was lots of fun. But did you see the part where I said it starts at 1 a.m.? By the time everything was over, it would be close to 3 a.m. and practically impossible to get home before 5 a.m. on any given night. Because bagels.

You guys, I'm getting old. I can't go to bed after 5 a.m. anymore and still be productive the next day. I started getting cranky from the tired and small houses. Montreal Fringe felt like that older cousin who drags you out to the bar every single night during the week and you have trouble saying no to her because you don't get to see her that often throughout the year. Now that we're back in Ottawa, we went to bed at around 1 a.m. and that totally seemed reasonable.

I was forewarned. Montreal is the "Party Fringe". I just can't party that hard anymore. Most of the time, I just want a couple of casual drinks with friends and someone to spoon at the end of the night. Walking into Ottawa's beer tent last night, I felt unbelievably happy to be coming home to my favourite Fringe on the circuit.

Montreal, it's not you, it's me. Ottawa, thanks for welcoming me back with open arms. We're going to spoon like crazy this week.

Nancy's Must-See List at the 2014 Montreal Fringe

I arrived in Montreal on Sunday night and spent the entire day on Monday running around Fringe grounds, checking in, buying props, printing programs, doing an interview before teching the show and jumping right into my opening night performance minutes later. After running on very little sleep for the past week and driving all day Sunday, I used up all the joy and energy I had and pumped it right into the show. After the run, I was completely exhausted and empty, which lead to feelings of bitterness and doubt. Lucky for me, I have incredibly supportive friends.

Then this morning, after a wake-up call from the Ottawa Citizen who is doing an article on the documentary, I received the loveliest of surprises through Twitter: Roller Derby Saved My Soul is nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award for Best One-Person show!

You know, if getting a good night's sleep means I get to wake up to awesome stuff like this every morning, I'm going to start going to bed a 9 from now on.

So, if you are in Montreal and want to see what the fuss is about, get your tickets now for Roller Derby Saved My Soul.

Now that that's done, here are a bunch of other shows you should check out based on my personal preferences and who bought me drinks the night before:

Untitled Sam Mullins Project

I'd be remiss not to include my fellow CCA nominee, Sam Mullins. He is nominated for his one-person show Weaksauce and I have been excited to see his work now for quite some time.

God is a Scottish Drag Queen II

God is my homeboy. I saw part one in London and thought it was the funniest show there, consistently selling out the 150-seat venue we shared. Part deux is sure to be just as big a hit.

Drag Queen Stole My Dress

I hung out with Gillian last year during the Atlantic Fringe and heard much about the creation of this show. I'm excited to finally see it on stage here in Montreal.

Spitting in the Face of the Devil

Saw this with my producing partner in London. The story is gorgeous and his character work is impeccable. A must-see for sure.

my playwright sister

I loved my pregnant brother when I first saw it in Ottawa. I look forward to hearing the other side of the story.

Aiden Flynn Lost His Brother So He Makes Another

From the beautiful people who created Matchstick, this is another show that has sleeper hit written all over it.

jem rolls: One Man Traffic Jam

Because. Duh.

Kitt & Jane: an interactive survival guide to the near post-apocalyptic future

Little Orange Man, which I've seen multiple times, including the original version at the Calgary Fringe under a different name, remains one of my favorite Fringe shows ever. I may not be able to see this one in Montreal, as I hear it is selling out, but you can bet I'm going to catch it at some point across the circuit.

Lotus

I met playwright Caitlin Murphy in London, where her Ladies Room was a sold out hit. Many people commented on our similar writing styles. Plus she's a super cool chick.

A Bandolier of Dreams

Former UnCalled For members in a brand new show!

Shakespeare Crackpot

After all these years, I still haven't seen a Keir Cutler show. I am beyond due.

The Quitter

Al Lafrance is just great. He's also touring across the country. If I don't see it here, I'll see it later, but I will see it.

Story Whore

Jon Bennett is incredibly funny and charming and known for his shows about cock. I have no idea what this one is about but I can't wait to find out.

Wolves > Boys

I love the MayCan boys so much, I hired one of them to work on my documentary. Their shows are incredibly charming and will make your heart melt in all the right ways.

As always, you should see as many shows as you possibly can. There are gems everywhere at this festival. Feel free to share your own in the comment section below.

One Down, Seven to Go

Wow. Is it really over already? This morning, my producing partner, Natalie Watson and I packed up our VW Passat (courtesy of the fine folks at Hunt Club Volkswagen in Ottawa), said goodbye to our awesome billet, Peter, and headed out on the road to Montreal. See ya later, London! The London Fringe Festival went pretty well for me. I had decent sized houses, incredibly enthusiastic audiences (some people even saw the show twice) that bought plenty of RDSMS merchandise, and actually walked away with money in my pocket. I also love that my final payout was waiting for me by the time I was done my last show. The staff and volunteers were great and unbelievably supportive. I saw festival producer, Kathy Navackas, at everything, including the NO Show, which was the late-night cabaret organized by Jayson McDonald. The cabaret was tons of fun and the staff at the Poacher's Arms were the absolute best! If the Fringe could manage to keep that space as a venue while working out the sound issue, this place would be perfect. My documentary team also had a great time. Maybe too good...

We've collected awesome footage for the documentary. The team followed me to the Fringe Preview, tech rehearsal and first performances. They were at almost every NO Show and filmed plenty of the activities there. We have interviews with Kathy Navackas, Jayson McDonald, Keith Brown, Bill Pats, God, Kurt Fitzpatrick, a retiring Reverend Nudgent, and my billet, Peter Janes. Oh and not enough can be said about my amazing billet. Not only has he been a huge supporter of this tour and documentary, but he also generously took in 3 wandering artists who took over half of his apartment for almost 2 weeks. Thank you, Peter!

If you want to see more about where we were living, check out my director's earlier vlog:

VLOG - Filming away from Wolf Pelt Productions on Vimeo.

Other than that, he's a random list of things I really liked about my time in London, ON:

• Slushy sake drinks with umbrellas from the Poacher's Arms, which we often got for free because the manager is awesome.
• The Early Bird Dinner and their Fat Elvis - that's peanut butter, honey, panko crusted bananas and house cured bacon smooshed between French Toast and drizzled in maple syrup with powder sugar on top.

  

• $1 tacos & beers at Jacks - locals will tell you not to go, because it attracts just the type of clientele you imagine it would. But some on! $1 tacos!
• The weather was great! And we had multiple access to pools and gyms throughout our time here.
• High-fiving Fringe Volunteers!
• The Convent Gardens Market - fresh groceries and cheap eats. Not to mention random 6/49 hammocks & free lemonade.

  

Fringe Crushes:

For Nancy - Mike Delamont of God is a Scottish Drag Queen

For Natalie - Bob Brader of Spitting in the Face of the Devil

For Cory - Jayson McDonald of Magic Unicorn Island

And now, as I write this in the car, we are getting closer and closer to Montreal. The next leg of our adventure begins. I'm slightly concerned. Since I've been in London, Montreal has already started. I've had little to no advertising in the media, no posters are up and, since I have to tech right before my first show, I won't be able to flyer. So, I ponder: Is anyone coming?

Roller Derby Saved My Soul runs from June 16 to June 23, 2014 at the Montreal Fringe Festival.

It's a Brand New Derby

On Saturday, we had the first table read of my revised draft of Roller Derby Saved My Soul. And I think I made my sound designer's head explode.

You see, it's a different show now. And I didn't realize how different until he pointed it out. In my mind, I had moved a scene here, cut out another one there... sure there was some new content, but it wasn't that much, was it? And he, consummate professional that he is, now wants to create some new music to go with this new version of the show.

That's why I was so happy to finally read this new version to a group of people, so I could hear this kind of feedback. I feel really good about it. For a long time, though I loved the old version of Roller Derby Saved My Soul, I always felt it was more like popcorn: light and fluffy but without much sustenance. Now, the new show structure, without losing any of its heart and humour, feels more grounded.

The brilliant Tania Levy has been instrumental in helping me develop the piece. We work incredibly well together. To the point where I think she might be reading my mind. Folks, I can't say this enough, but you should really hire Tania for all your projects. All of them. She will make them magic and I think we could all use a little more magic in our lives.

So all this to say that if you saw Roller Derby Saved My Soul in the past few years, you should come and check it out again this summer because it will be a very different experience. Tickets are selling fast for Ottawa. And they are now on sale for both the London Fringe Festival and the Montreal Fringe Festival.

And if you're curious, the documentary campaign is going very well. Please consider making a contribution to our Indiegogo campaign and make this film about life On the Fringe happen!