It's Because I'm From Ottawa, Isn't It?

Well, the first weekend of the Winnipeg Fringe Festival has come and gone and I must say I have mixed feelings about the darn thing.  There seems to be a bit of a media bias towards some of the Ottawa folks as Amy Lester seems to be in the same boat.  You know, they won the Canal Feud, so why are they still picking on us? As a whole, the festival is wonderful.  Tons of productions (146 to be precise), lots of interesting people to talk to, plenty of socializing... in fact the touring groups have been absolutely wonderful in making me feel welcome.  I feel like the kid sister with her very protective family around her.  Yesterday, someone said the nicest thing to me: "You can't end your tour here.  We want the two of you to carry on the rest of the run with us."  Man, is that ever tempting.  I almost wish I could.

Almost.

You see, all the Winnipeg reviews for the show are now out and they are just terrible.  The Winnipeg Free Press was actually kinder than the others, but she totally spoils the ending.  If you haven't seen the show yet and were planning on it, don't read the review if you don't want to know what happens.  The WFP reviewer also totally got the existential nature of the piece - something the CBC and Sun did not - but I now realize it's because they saw the show on opening night.

(I'm kind of sick of seeing these reviews, so I won't be linking them.  That said, you can easily look them up yourself through CBC Manitoba, the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press.)

Opening night was quite the gong show of technical glitches.  In fact, I wouldn't call them glitches, they were outright problems.  The entire beginning of the piece had to be reworked on the spot and some key elements were cut out.  Of course, there were two reviewers sitting in the audience when this happened.

The reviewers also all seem to have a problem with the show being 30 minutes (or shorter depending on which reviewer you ask).  This puzzles me like you would not believe.  In Ottawa, as I was marathon fringing I was always thrilled for a 30-45 minute piece.  It gave me more of a break in between shows and I had time to digest what I saw.  Besides, wouldn't you rather see a quality 30 minute piece instead of a bloated 90 minute one?  Apparently not.  It seems time equals value for money here.  Natasha, while flyering, had this conversation:

"I don't go to Ragpickers (our venue) because it's too hot."

"Oh well, we have air conditioning now.  Besides, the show is only 30 minutes..."

"30 minutes! No, I don't think I'm going to go to that."

Uh, ok.

As of Friday, we had definitely found our groove with the show.  Our performances are better than they have ever been and I'm quite pleased with the rapport we've established on stage.  Unfortunately, our first review also came out this past weekend which coincided with a 60% drop in our audience.  Saturday, only 3 people had paid to see the show; the other 9 were performers and volunteers.  Sunday's audience was similar in size, though half of them stuck around after to talk to us.  They loved the show.  I was also thrilled to notice how young they were and they still understood it.

I guess this is the kind of show you either get or you don't.  I thought Winnipeg was a more understanding theatre town, but I guess I was wrong.  So far, only two people seem to know who Judith Thompson is.  An American woman from Portland and a sweet teenager in a Zombie Prom T-Shirt.  Weird.

Next step: more flyers!

I Am A Giant Star

Yesterday, I got my very first review in Winnipeg.  While I wasn't exactly expecting 5 stars, I sure as hell was not prepared for what I got from CBC Manitoba. 1 Star.

According to the CBC website, 1 star means that this show is "a clunker. Don’t go. Unless you have a family member in the show. Even then, think twice."

Ouch.

For those of you who are just dying to read the whole review, by all means, go right ahead.

I'd really like to say that when I read this review I chuckled confidently, shook out my long blond mane and sexily strutted off  as I continued to flyer...  Or that I pulled a Colette Kendall, all middle fingers of artistic justice blazing among the detonation of righteous F-Bombs... but no, I wasn't that strong.  Once the initially shock wore off, I just kind of melted.  Natasha was the real professional.  She took off to flyer another line-up as I took a moment in the ladies lavatory of Red River College.  And I cried.  Yes, that's right, the CBC made me cry because that shit f'n hurts.

When I was done, that's when I became proactive.  I made a phone call to someone who has been doing this a lot longer than I have.  His first piece of advice: Don't change a thing.  Followed by "this may sound a little fucked but you should actually be happier to get 1 star instead of 3." It makes sense.  If there are 150 shows in town, people will probably be skipping the middle ground reviews.

This conversation also made me wonder about how much importance we place on reviews.  Since I got a poor one, many people swear to me that "no one really cares about the CBC reviews."  However, if I had gotten 5 stars, would they still be saying the same thing?  Who really cares about these stars?  (OK, I do. Kinda. A little.) It is all so subjective.

Natasha and I then started planning our next step.  But first, we watched Rob Gee's Fruitcake, a show the CBC gave 2 stars (a review which I can say was absolute bullshit as the show totally deserves 4 stars - though to be fair he is a psychiatrist talking about psychiatry - something the CBC apprently frowns upon).  It was probably the best thing for me to watch at the moment because it included a wonderful little song with a chorus that goes "It could be worse, it could be worse, it's not time for the herse."

We then set off to own our giant star.  You see, something odd started to happen.  I was telling a fellow performer about the review when someone interrupted me:

"What show is this?"

"No Exit Upstage. The CBC gave us 1 star."

"Good.  I'll probably like it then."

Well isn't that interesting?

While we won't be pushing the fact that we got 1 star at every opportunity, we are delving into a bit of a symbolic homage to the CBC.

I'll be wearing a single earing in the shape of a star until the end of the festival.  I've even included it to my costume for the show which was absolutely super magic frakkin fantastic last night.  If someone asks about my new accessory, I will gladly tell them about it, but until then I will just kick the flyering up a notch and do what I do best: talk passionately about the theatre (and myself).

Nancy's MUST SEE List at the Winnipeg Fringe

Many of you probably remember my MUST SEE List for the Ottawa Fringe Festival. It was, after all, one of my top posts in June. I figured it would be nice to do the same thing for the Winnipeg Fringe. Now, this list won't be as extensive as the Ottawa one for the following reasons: 1) I don't have a VIP pass in Winnipeg which means seeing lots of shows could potentially become an expensive endeavor; 2) If I saw your show at this year's Ottawa Fringe, I probably won't see it again in Winnipeg; 3) I don't know as many companies and their work in Winnipeg - new shows will probably be added to my list, but I might not blog about them all; 4) I'm in a new city and will need to spend a lot of my time promoting my own show.

Speaking of which, if you happen to be in Winnipeg (or know people who will be) between July 16 to 26, 2009, you should definitely come out and see No Exit Upstage. Buy your tickets in advance by clicking the link in order to guarantee a spot!

Why should you see my show? Well, here are some amazing reviews from the Ottawa Fringe to wet your whistle.

Alright, now on to my list, in alphabetical order:

52 Pick Up I saw this show quite a few years ago in Ottawa when it was done by super couple Natalie Joy Quesnel and Stewart Matthews. This time it is performed by the amazing Gemma Wilcox, whose one-woman shows have always been ahit. It is written by Fringe God, TJ Dawe, and the description really says it all - "52 cards. 52 scenes about a relationship. Two actors shuffle, throw, pick up and play all 52 scenes. NO TWO SHOWS THE SAME!" If it's in all caps, you know they are serious. It's a very fun show and I can't wait to see it again... sort of. CRUMBS again for the first time I saw these guys when I was in Toronto for the COMBUSTION festival. They were impressive to watch. A very tight and dynamic improv experience. Plus, like most good improv, it takes place in a bar.

Fall Fair Boat Load was hands down my favorite show at the Ottawa Fringe Festival last year. Jayson McDonald (creator of the Big Comedy Go-To) wasn't in Ottawa this year since it overlapped with the London Fringe Festival, so I'm looking forward to seeing his new offering in Winnipeg.

Jake's Gift Ok, I'm cheating a bit because I did recently see this in Ottawa during the Magnetic North Theatre Festival. However, Jake's Gift represents everything I adore about performance: a compelling story created with love and passion, told through very simple and truthful means. Frankly, it was the only show during the MNTF that I absolutely adored and I would see it again. Scratch that. I will see it again and I'm bringing friends. Spiral Dive: Episode Two Spiral Dive: Episode One was a beautiful show I had the privilege of seeing in Ottawa. It even won an award for Outstanding Drama. I look forward to checking out the second installment of the trilogy in Winnipeg. It may be difficult however, since rumour has it they have already sold out all their advance tickets for the production.

So there are my top 5 picks for the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. Feel free to check out the full show list and let me know what you would see.

Come to the Pool

This is going to sound very biased, since it's about a show my company, Evolution Theatre, is putting on, but those who know me know that I just wouldn't be saying anything if I hated it, so here goes: I'm not a theatre critic, but I know what I like and pool (no water) at the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre is a great show!

Seriously, I don't think I've seen anything like it in Ottawa for quite some time. Though the stage set-up is reminiscent of Third Wall's Empire Builders, that's pretty much where the similarities end.

It's a show performed by a Group. The actors work well together to spin a tale of jealousy and ego and artistic integrity.

If you've ever felt jealous of someone who keeps doing better than you and wished you could spit out all that anger and disappointment and resentment at them, you will relate to this show. If you've ever taken a photo and posted it on facebook only to have the subject tell you to take it down immediately, you will relate to this show.

I'm not saying that it was all perfect. Opening night was the cast's first time with an audience and I had pacing and volume issues, however these will correct themselves throughout the run. But it was beautiful, enjoyable, funny and disgusting all at the same time. It made me feel something and that was wonderful.

The Canadian premiere of Mark Ravenhill's pool (no water) runs until May 16 at the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre Studio - 1233 Wellington Street (corner of Holland and Wellington). For more info about the play or to check out showtimes, visit Evolution Theatre's website: www.evolutiontheatre.ca - Order tickets by calling 613 236 5196

Sulu and I

Allow me a little moment here to fully dork out. I have a few secret "shames" (quotation marks because I'm not ashamed of them at all, though others tend to be). These include such things as ABBA, video games, professional wrestling, comic books, and anything Star Trek (and all other SciFi by extension). Well, yesterday, thanks to the National Arts Centre, I got to fully geek-out at their Sci-Fi Spectacular with the NAC Orchestra. In what I consider to be an absolutely brilliant marketing move, the NAC sought out local bloggers and not only gave them free tickets to the show, but also the chance to meet the evening's narrator, George Takei (Mr. Sulu himself!) I think this is a fantastic idea since it gives the NAC an incredible web presence and shows that they are open to new media in order to attract an audience. The show was really good though everyone was wondering when George Takei would show up. Suddenly, the lights went out and there was that ever familiar hum... of course he would BEAM in! I got to chatting with a few others in Blogger Row (the very last row of the NAC balcony seemed to be set aside solely for us - no worries though, we still got an incredible view). I demonstrated my ultimate dorkdom when I pointed out that Mr. Takei wasn't narrating the text from the original Star Trek, but the one for The Next Generation. You see, in the original series, Kirk would say "it's five year mission" and "where no man has gone before" whereas Picard updated the mandate to "it's continuing mission" and made it more PC with "where no one has gone before." Contrary to what you may be thinking, I was respected for my knowledge.

After the show, Blogger Row was ushered into the NAC Salon for a private meet and greet. I have to say that Mr. Takei was a very warm and genuine individual. I could listen to him speak all day. For those who are curious, apparently his character will be coming back to Heroes in the new season. Though we were pressed for time (a fan line was quickly growing outside the Salon), he was kind enough to sign my ticket stub and pose for a photo. Though I don't have the photo yet, here's my stub.

A big thank you to the NAC and @jcovert for organizing all of this. You can still get your very own glimpse of Sulu with one more performance by the orchestra tonight at 8 p.m. It's well worth it!

Big Comedy Go-To - Part 2

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was in London (ON) during the Big Comedy Go-To. When I mentioned Chris Gibbs' show, The Power of Ignorance, I forgot to say that I didn't know what I had just watched... if you've seen this production, you know that this is a very funny compliment. Although it's not that funny now that I have to explain it...

Saturday started out with a decent production of Morris Panych's 7 Stories by London's Passionfool Theatre. Many of the festival shows were taking place in front of the 7 Stories set at The ARTS Project. It was nice to finally see how it was being used.

Highlight number one on Saturday was a panel discussion with 7 or 8 of the festival performers, which was moderated by producer Jayson McDonald (who deserves a big pat on the back and maybe a beer for putting this whole thing together). The panel was great because it revealed to me that people whom I consider to be incredibly amazing and talented performers are still scared shitless and think all their work is going to suck. So I guess you never get over that, huh? Damn.

Highlight number two occurred when The Circus came to town. Yes, a real circus with a clown (only Morro, rhymes with sorrow, made it out in one of the bravest and most endearing pieces of theatre I've seen in years) and juggler and the magic of Siegfried and Roy in their comeback special. Seriously, I can't believe someone would want to miss this!

Even Elvis made it out to the festival and he's dead. What's your excuse? Elvis was my highlight number three. And I'm not just saying that because I got a scarf with his sweat on it either.

I followed that up with some more improv (and my previous comment still stands) and a solid night of stand-up comedy from many of the performers. Basically, if I liked your show, I also liked your stand-up routine.

Wow, and the festivities weren't even over yet.

On Sunday, I was exhausted but saw my friend's show, He Ain't Heavy in the afternoon. This was a great new work that had one of the biggest houses at the festival. For those of you who missed it, I believe they are remounting it for the London Fringe Festival in June, which I am annoyed to say overlaps with the Ottawa Fringe Festival.

Then I stuck around for Paul Hutcheson's, Third Time Lucky. Apparently, Paul (or M. Hutcheson if you're nasty), who's shows tend to be quite explicit had promised his parents he wouldn't perform in London again in order to avoid "embarrassing" them with his material. However, he couldn't pass up the chance to participate in the festival so they came up with a compromise: a nice clean show. Paul is a giant manic ball of energy who does not fail to entertain. He reminds me of a dirrty muppet (yes, two Rs). I could watch him read the phone book (note to Paul if you're reading this, maybe I found the concept for your next show - I'm sure it would please your folks). Fortunately, I won't have to though as he is bringing his piece On Second Thought to the Ottawa Fringe.

Ah but it wasn't all good. I saw some absolutely terrible sketch comedy too. Feel blessed you will never have to know the meaning of Cake Farts.

Everything did end on a high note, however, with some really good sketch comedy thanks to Fully Insured (who really should update their website) and The Cody Rivers Show. I had seen Fully before in late December, but this time was even better than before. Perhaps it has something to do with their opening act. I can't even begin to describe Cody Rivers. It was like nothing I had ever seen before, but I know that if I get the chance, I will see it again.

So there you have it folks: my recap of the first annual Big Comedy Go-To. It was impossible to see absolutely everything, but I sure tried. This whole thing was an amazing, quality experience and I look forward to seeing it around for many years to come.

A Pre-Fringe Experience

I'm currently in London (ON) smack dab in the middle of the Big Comedy Go-To, a brand spanking new festival that includes sketch, stand-up, improv, theatre and musical comedy on the menu at three different venues over the weekend. Though I'm primarily here to support a friend, it's an awesome opportunity for me to mix and mingle with plenty of talented artists who often make the rounds of the Fringe Festival Circuit. A full-festival pass is ridiculously cheap ($50) and allows me to see everything... and so far I pretty much have. The festivities began on Thursday night with Jimmy Hogg's Like A Virgin, a new piece which he plans to tour this summer... so new that this was in fact his first public performance. I drove into town about 15 minutes prior to curtain. I didn't think I would make it, but I am definitely glad I did. Jimmy is an incredibly hilarious and charismatic performer. He had a small but very appreciative crowd, as you can see from this review. For those of you in Southern Ontario, I highly recommend you make the trek down to the newly renovated Arts Project on Sunday at 6 p.m. To all my Ottawa friends, have no fear! You will get your chance to see Jimmy at the Ottawa Fringe Festival this June. I know I'm really looking forward to seeing it again once it's had some time to develop.

A real stand-out performance for me came shortly after with Nile Seguin's Fear of a Brown Planet at the Black Shire Pub. This guy was amazing (and he's from Ottawa). His show is a bit of a long form stand-up routine, which can often be hit or miss. However, Nile delivers a smart and witty performance that made the hour just fly by. Every joke was solid and when he was done, I still wanted more. If you ever hear that this guy is doing a show in your area, drop whatever you are doing and go see it. You will not regret it. He is also doing a show on Sunday at 6 p.m.

That said, not everything is amazing. I saw some improv which was just alright. Improv is such a tricky art form. It is really difficult to do well and I have the utmost respect for those who attempt it. I found the main problem with what I saw was that people often didn't know when to just end the scene and so they'd just keep going once the joke had peaked or they'd just go for the tried and true guy on guy action, because gay-ness is funny. Then again, if I see it done again tonight, who knows, it will be completely different and may be the best thing I see all weekend... That's the beauty of improv and theatre festivals in general: you never know what you're going to get.

So that was Thursday. On Friday, I caught The Power of Ignorance by Chris Gibbs and TJ Dawe. The show was great but I was completely distracted in the venue by people coming in and out, chairs being moved around in the room above us, and staff coming by our table to take food and drink orders (um, no I'm not hungry I'm watching a play!). The turn out for this show was also incredibly low (in fact, I heard the show that came before, Who's Afraid of Tippi Seagram? had to be canceled due to nobody showing up) which was unfortunate. Really low numbers, meaning four, for Rob Salerno's Fucking Stephen Harper too. I don't know if this had something to do with the hockey playoffs or perhaps a general lack of awareness of the Big Comedy Go-To (unless you're on Facebook, it's hard to find an online schedule). Things picked up for the London favorite, The Boneyard Man though.

I've got to head out and see more shows today, but I will leave you with the schedule in case you're in the area. Come and support your local artists. They're doing some really good stuff! I'll post more later on if I manage to find another internet connection.

SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2009

ARTS PROJECT 2PM Passionfool: 7 Stories 90m $18 4PM Panel Discussion FREE 6PM The Circus Show (Siegfried & Roy - The Comeback/Morro's Sorrow/Steve Seguin) 75m $15 8PM Passionfool: 7 Stories 90m $18

LONDON MUSIC CLUB 6PM Rob Salerno: Fucking Harper 35m $8 6PM Chris Gibbs: Power Ignorance 75m $10 7PM Theatre Nemesis: Which is Better? 45m $8 7.30PM Who’s Afraid of Tippi Seagram? 60m $10 8.30PM Prop Knucks/Project G-Force/ Approximately 3 Peters 90m $15 8.30PM Matt Martin: King Alive/Sexual Tyrannosaurus/You Are Awesome 90m $10

BLACK SHIRE 7.30PM STAND-UP: Your Tax Dollars at Play 90m $10 10PM STAND-UP: The Big One 120m $15

SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2009

ARTS PROJECT

2PM Josh Cottrell and Aaron Youell: He Ain’t Heavy 60m $10 4PM Paul Hutcheson: Third Time Lucky 60m $10 6PM Jimmy Hogg: Like A Virgin 60m $10 8PM Alex Eddington: Tired Cliches 60m $10

LONDON MUSIC CLUB 6PM Four Lb. Beauty Pucks/Good Game 60m $10 7.30PM Cody Rivers/Fully Insured 90m $15

BLACK SHIRE 6PM Nile Seguin: Fear of a Brown Planet 60m $10 7.30PM STAND-UP: Open Mic 60m PWYC 10.30PM CLOSING NIGHT PARTY!

Living the Dream

Am I truly awake?  Did last week really happen?  I've got the receipts and ticket stubs to prove it, so I guess it did. I took a big leap and went down to Toronto for the week.  As previously mentioned, I had done some advanced prep work and went down feeling confident and apprehensive all at the same time.

Things were off to a good start when I arrived.  I had an Ottawa friend who was auditioning for the Stratford Conservatory and we met for lunch.  We followed that up my a trip to TheatreBooks and the World Biggest Bookstore.

Here's a little bit of info about me.  I don't just love books, I adore them.  The treasure trove of information found in each and every one, waiting to be unlocked and discovered;  the personalities hidden within the words;  the stories waiting to take me away to places unknown...  It's all incredibly sexy and addictive.  I'll go throw genre phases - these days it's books on marketing, new media, and spirituality (or marketing your spirituality through new media) - though there is always room on my book shelf for plays, plays and books about plays. There's just something about the written page between my fingers that just makes me so very happy.  And I'm good to my books (I never bend corners or write in them), so I rarely get any paper cuts.  I'm starting to run out of room though.  Guess I'll just have to get more bookshelves.

I got to see a few shows while I was in town too.  First up, there was a wonderful adaptation of Miss Julie by Canstage.  This play really made me realize that for an audience to understand the themes in the original piece, it does have to be updated.  In this case, we're in 1964 Mississippi aka Freedom Summer two days after Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act.  I can't even find the words to tell you how much sense this adaptation makes (granted there are a few groaner moments, but these were Strindberg's fault - I mean come on, a bird in a cage?  Gee, I wonder what that refers to?).  There's also incredibly strong chemistry between the main actors and the esthetics for the show are just wonderful.  I really appreciated the Marilyn/Jackie O dichotomy you see in Julie (unfortunately, she'll never be a Jackie), but that might just be because I've been watching too much Mad Men lately.  Anything from that time period just tickles me pink these days.

Next, I saw a musical without knowing that's what I was going to see.  A friend invited me to see A New Brain by Acting Up Stage with him and it was a refreshing surprise.  Thanks to my dabbling in stage management with the fine folks at Zucchini Grotto, it turns out I already knew a few of the songs in the show.  It also made me realize that I prefer the smallish, independent musicals to the big budget ones.  Though I'm in no way an expert, I'll take Evil Dead: The Musical over We Will Rock You or The Phantom of the Opera.  That said, and I'm sorry to say this to all the purists out there, I really did like Mamma Mia!.  Shut up!  ABBA gets a free pass from me.

Anyway, its a good thing I like the little new musicals, since I then went out to Sheridan College to see a friend in, yup, another musical.  It's called Big Time Operator and it's a new show set to the music of the Big Bad Voodoo Daddies.  I'm a huge swing fan, so this was a bit of a treat.  Though this was as cheesy as musicals get ("bad" guy finds out he has a son, meets a "good" girl, falls in love in like 5 minutes and decides to change his whole life around if he can just stay out of jail, happy endings all around - It's like Grease meets... something else and swing music - Sorry, I really don't know my musicals), it was a lot of fun.  I was actually really impressed with the choreography, though the prop "drinks" could have been anything else than what they had.  I didn't realize so many speakeasies served daquiris.

To top that off, I had a great meeting with a Toronto agent that I need to follow up with and a fantastic reference from some former teachers, which led to an audition prior to my departure.

I also somehow managed to work out everyday for five days, which is some kind of record for me, and the long train rides gave me plenty of time to write and, of course, read.

And now I'm back in Ottawa, finishing up some grant applications and organizing a fundraising event before jetting off again.  This time, I'll be off to Kitchener to see a staged reading of a show I wrote and after that, well, I'm not sure.  Will I be popping by Toronto to meet with that agency again or to shoot an industrial video?  Or will I be heading back to Ottawa to study clown with the craziest bunch of Fools I know?  Only time will tell, but until then I'm just enjoying the sweet, scary embrace of the unknown.