Selma Hortense Burke with her portrait bust of Booker T. Washington, 1930s. Smithsonian Archive of American Art. Photography by Pinchos Horn.
Selma Burke was an African American sculptor who played a major role in the Harlem Renaissance movement of the 1920s and 30s which was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theatre, politics, and scholarship.
Burke used her talent to immortalize such historic figures as author and African-American civil rights leader Booker T. Washington, philanthropist, humanitarian and civil rights activist Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, composer, songwriter, conductor and Jazz musician Duke Ellington, and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. who advanced civil rights for people of colour in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and nonviolent civil disobedience.
Among her more famous works is a bas-relief bronze plaque honouring President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Four Freedoms which he outlined in his State of the Union speech to Congress in 1941 as Freedom of speech; Freedom of worship; Freedom from want; and Freedom from fear. Burke’s portrait of FDR is recognized by many as the inspiration behind the design of Roosevelt’s portrait on the American dime, which was something she never received credit for in her lifetime.
Caroline and Maria have written a rich and thought-provoking play about the life of Selma Burke that also explores the meaning of art, the Civil Rights Movement, racism, and censorship. I asked Maria and Caroline what sort of experience they hope audiences are going to have when they come to see the play.
CAROLINE RUSSELL-KING
Our goal is to entertain. Our play is not a lecture on art or a biography, it’s a flight of fancy. Selma lived nearly a century – these are ninety minutes of fun.
MARIA CROOKS
An entertaining, stimulating and very humorous one. We hope the audience will find the use of actors playing statues and other objects to be innovative and clever. We also hope that they enjoy getting to know this feisty, intelligent, gifted artist who deserves to be recognized and remembered as a one-of-a-kind artist and human being.
JAMES HUTCHISON
What was your process like working on the play together and what do you think are the key elements that make for a successful writing partnership?
CAROLINE
I think complementary strengths are important. I’m obviously not from Jamaica like Claude McKay is in the play and Maria is. Maria brings her knowledge of French as I am sadly unilingual. Maria is also a great editor. When I am creating plays in my head form and from can often look the same on the page.
MARIA
It was indeed a very stimulating, interesting process for both of us. We brainstormed together, wrote scenes individually then compared the writing and chose sections that best conveyed what we wished to express. We argued, we laughed, we fought to convince the other person of the merit of our ideas. For me, the most important elements that made for our successful partnership were the respect and trust that I have for Caroline’s extensive knowledge and experience as a playwright. She has written numerous award-winning plays, she is also a dramaturg, a critic, and a playwriting instructor. In fact, she was my playwriting instructor and has done the dramaturgy on all my plays.
JAMES
There’s a note in the script before the play begins where you say, “Selma Burke lived from 1900 to 1995 which is approximately 49,932,000 minutes – here imagined are 90 of them.” I loved that because it’s a humorous observation that illustrates the challenge of trying to tell a life story in the span of a play. So, how do you do that? How do you go about distilling the essence of a person’s life into an evening of theatre?
Selma Hortense Burke with her relief plaque of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. From the Archives of American Art Federal Art Project, Photographic Division Collection.
MARIA
We wanted to demonstrate some very salient points about Selma: how gifted an artist she was, her determination to succeed as a sculptor despite having been born Black, poor, and female in the southern US. The obstacles she faced, and the triumphs and accolades that she garnered, the people she knew, including a veritable Who’s Who of the Harlem Renaissance, presidents, and artist she studied with in Europe, the remarkable events that she witnessed, participated in and chronicled of the tempestuous era that was the 20th century. We wanted to do so dramatically but also with humour.
CAROLINE
It’s all about peaks and valleys. I always tell my playwriting students you want to see characters on their best days and their worst days not a Wednesday.
JAMES
One aspect of the play that works really well that you mentioned is that you have actors on stage being the art – the sculptures – that Selma creates. It’s an effective and theatrical way to bring the art alive and to tell Selma’s story. Tell me about how you came up with that idea and what it adds to the play.
CAROLINE
Having her work come to life is very important. In plays there are three types of conflict – person vs person, person vs environment, and person vs self. In Shakespeare’s time characters had soliloquies to express internal conflict. Today people who speak out loud to themselves are either on the phone with earbuds or mentally unwell. So, her relationship with her art is a mechanism to show internal conflict. Secondly, we so often see plays on the stage that could be screenplays or done in other media like TV – I wanted the play to be theatrical. What theatre does really well – is theatre.
MARIA
Caroline had the brilliant idea to have actors portray the artwork and other inanimate objects. This idea is not only dramatic, but as the audience will see, hilarious at times.
Christopher Clare, Norma Lewis, and Heather Pattengale in the Theatre Calgary – ATP Production of Selma Burke. Photo: Trudie Lee.
JAMES
As you got to know Selma from doing your research and writing your play what sort of person was she do you think and what do you think her hopes would be in regards to her legacy and the art she created during her lifetime?
MARIA
She wanted, I believe, to be remembered as an African American artist who created important works and who wanted to uplift her people though her art.
CAROLINE
I think she had a strong vision for her work and the confidence to pull it off – her art speaks for itself. The language of her art is deep and rich – I’m totally in love with her.
JAMES
A couple of the topics touched on in the play are artistic freedom and censorship. Artistic freedom is defined by the UN as “the freedom to imagine, create and distribute diverse cultural expressions free of government censorship, political interference or the pressures of non-state actors.” In Canada the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects artistic expression. And yet in many countries artists are not free to express opinions that differ from those in power and these days there’s the new phenomena of the online mob attacking artists and their work if it doesn’t agree with their particular point of view. The idea isn’t to engage in an exchange and to challenge the art. The idea seems to be to stop the artist and their work. What are your own thoughts about artistic freedom and the kinds of censorship we’re seeing in the world today and what does that mean for the world in which we live? Why is art and artistic freedom important?
CAROLINE
The play is topical because firstly the struggle to create art is always an issue in hard economic times. More importantly the play is about not only those who get to create art but who has the right to destroy it. In Victoria BC two plays have been shut down, one before opening and one mid run. This is outrageous. It used to be the right that censored artist work now it is the left.
MARIA
We both find this trend alarming and offensive. It stymes creativity and will have artists second-guessing their ideas and their work. Unfortunately, today everyone with a computer, cell phone or tablet can disseminate their ideas to a wide audience no matter how unpleasant they may be and find receptive audiences who go along just to be provoking. Unfortunately, both of us have noticed that this kind of behaviour is not limited to right-leaning people or groups, the left, it seems, wants in on it too.
Christopher Hunt and Norma Lewis in the Theatre Calgary – ATP Production of Selma Burke. Photo: Trudie Lee.
JAMES
A script is words on a page. It takes actors to bring the story to life. A director to guide it. A set designer and costume designer and sound designer to build the world of the play. Tell me a little bit about the cast and crew that’s been assembled to tell the story of Selma Burke and what they bring to the story.
MARIA
There are four actors Norma Lewis, Christopher Clare, Heather Pattengale and Christopher Hunt. All very talented Calgarians. Between them they play over 55 characters, art pieces, inanimate objects and even a plaster-of-Paris leg. The director is Delicia Turner Sonnenberg who hails from California and the stage manager is Meredith Johnson. Javier Vilalta is the movement and choreography coordinator. There are of course many other brilliant, artistic crew members who are creating magic in the background to allow this play to shine.
CAROLINE
We are so lucky to have Delicia as our director. Besides a phenomenal cast the designers are great especially Hanne Loosen who has sculped our set and Adejoké Taiwo who sculpted our costumes.
Heather Pattengale, Christopher Hunt, and Norma Lewis in the Theatre Calgary – ATP Production of Selma Burke. Photo: Trudie Lee.
JAMES
Every artist needs their champions. Someone who believes in and loves their work. So, I’m curious to know who has supported you in the making of your art?
MARIA
We have been supported by every artist at Theatre Calgary and especially the Artistic Director of Theatre Calgary Stafford Arima who has taken an artistic risk on this new piece of art.
CAROLINE
No artist is an island. In addition to what Maria said, I think it’s important to recognize the support that we get from friends and family. A play is such an abstract concept before all of the thousands of hours it takes to realize it on the stage. In the early stages it’s very fragile. Every play starts with the thought “Maybe I could write about that….” Every human has the impetus to make art whether it’s a painting, a garden, or a rebuilt motorcycle… it’s the leap into follow-through that’s difficult. I am grateful that my friends and family have supported me for decades through all of the downs, more downs and the occasional up!
JAMES
Having a production on the professional stage is certainly one of those ups and definitely something to celebrate. Who should come to see the play? Is it a play for everyone?
CAROLINE
No, art cannot possibly be for everyone, that’s part of what makes it valuable. Art which is created as mass production is not art. Everyone has their own set of unique tastes in art. This play is for adults who are curious and love to be entertained in the theatre, in the dark with other aficionados. It’s for people who like me get a thrill out of live theatre and love visual art as well.
MARIA
This play is for audiences who enjoy innovative, fascinating theatre with a big dollop of humour mixed in with theatricality.
“I believe we move in the direction that lights us up. That captures our attention. That we feel passionate about. But my end destination keeps changing and what makes me happy keeps changing. I thought when I started all of this, I wanted to be an actress. I didn’t know I was going to be aplaywright. And I like playwriting a whole hell of a lot better. It’s really about trusting the path and letting go of the outcome because how can you really foresee where the path will take you? If someone comes along and mentors you they can only tell you what path they took. But that’s not you. That’s not your path. I used to feel like a failed actress but if I had taken different steps along the way, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up loving playwriting so much or being as happy as I am being a playwright.”
Meredith Taylor-Parry Playwright
Playwright Meredith Taylor-Parry whose previous plays Book Club and Book Club II: The Next Chapter were big hits for Lunchbox Theatre has a new play at Lunchbox premiering on May 10th called Shark Bite. The two Book Club plays focused primarily on the challenges and joys of motherhood and marriage while her new play turns its attention to the relationship between a grandfather and his troubled fourteen-year-old granddaughter Ava as the two struggle to find the love and connection they once shared when Ava was a child.
I first met Meredith back in 2011 at Playworks Ink a theatre conference focusing on playwriting run by the Alberta Playwrights Network and Theatre Alberta. At that time Meredith was just beginning her playwriting journey and she was in the early stages of working on her play Survival Skills which won the New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest in 2013 and was produced Off-Off-Broadway in April 2014 by the 13th Street Repertory Company in New York City.
Meredith is a gifted playwright who is as adept at comedy as she is at drama, and her newest play is a touching and heartfelt glimpse into the age-old challenges of family members trying to reach out across the generations. I contacted Meredith back in March to talk with her about Shark Bite, life-changing decisions, sources of creative energy, and playwriting.
JAMES
One of the things we experience both as an audience and as an artist is a divergence of opinion regarding the work we see and the work we create. And by that, I mean the same movie or book or painting can be praised as the most meaningful and deeply moving experience of someone’s life and someone else will not feel a thing. One person can love it. Another person can hate it. Do you have an explanation for that divergence of opinion in ourselves and in others, and what does that tell you about us as humans?
MEREDITH
I think to sum it up in one sentence – people are complicated. Think of how complicated we are in our personalities and our histories and our experience. So of course, one piece of art is going to mean something completely different to someone else, or they’re going to experience it in different ways. That being said, what I’ve always been told about writing was that the more specific you are to your own experience the more you’re going to relate to a wider group of people.
So instead of trying to figure out what your audience wants, go to the heart and truth of your own experience as much as you can, and you will reach more people. That’s how you find your people. Your audience. The people that want to listen to what you have to say and to what story you want to tell. Because if you’re authentic through your writing and tell your story and your truth, then you seem to reach those people out there who are listening for it. They want to hear it because they experienced something similar.
JAMES
Have you ever had a critical moment in your life where someone or something you’ve encountered has resulted in a decision that changed your life’s path?
MEREDITH
Absolutely. I just feel weird about getting into it because I’m going to get pretty personal but what the f*ck! So, I got involved with a guy who was married back on the East Coast and if you flipped open a sociology textbook you could find a paragraph with our pictures above because it was that typical.
“I’m not happy with my marriage. I’m so sad. And now that you’ve come along, I understand what real love is. Maybe I’m finally ready to leave my wife. But no, I made vows. But I’m so unhappy. And you’re so great and amazing. Let’s get an apartment together! No this is moving too fast for me, I need to think. Blah blah blah.”
And I’ve written about this. I’ve written about this a number of times. Trying to work it out. That’s when I first started writing. That’s what I was writing about. It finally came down to this very dramatic scene in a small rural town in Nova Scotia, where I was sitting in a car and all three characters were there. The mistress, the husband, and the wife and they were screaming at each other. And I thought, “Oh my God, this is a Women’s Television Network fucking movie. And I am part of it. I’ve let my life become this drama.” And it was so clear to me that if one person did not withdraw that this crazy dysfunctional silly drama would continue on for who knows how long. That’s a lot of energy and a lot of pain and a lot of suffering. And I didn’t want any part of that anymore and I wanted to step out of the drama.
So, I did. I went home. I talked to my wonderfully smart, kind, and very wise roomie at the time who was my best girlfriend. And she organized a girl’s camping weekend around the gorgeous Cabot Trail in Cape Breton with a few good friends. By the time we had finished that trip, I decided I was going to get in my car and drive across Canada, cause I love a good road trip, and figure my life out. Those women and that weekend changed my life. Never underestimate the power of the female friendship. So, within two weeks, I packed up all my stuff, dropped it off at my parents and started a road trip and ended up out here. That’s how I ended up in Calgary. So – life-changing.
If I hadn’t done that God knows I’d still be back in Nova Scotia. I never would have had a little look-see and gander around Canada and figured out where I wanted to be. I’m sure I never would have ended up in the arts. I never would have had enough guts to go and do my BFA and my MFA. There’s no way I would have ended up as a playwright.
It’s a really interesting movie. But in the book, there’s a line that goes, “Who we want to be doesn’t matter when there’s no way to get there.” And that really brought to mind the idea of guidance and mentorship in life for me. It’s like how do we figure out how to become the artist?
MEREDITH
I think our picture of who we want to be isn’t the destination. I believe that. When someone says I don’t know the path to get there it’s like – take a fucking step in the direction of where you think you want to go and then watch the magic happen. Because in my life, every time I’ve done a big bold move the universe has come in tenfold.
For example, you may ask how does an elementary school teacher manage to take a road trip across Canada with no job prospects and end up out in Calgary? It’s because within a week after I’d made that decision to leave, I had a big unexpected financial windfall.
I believe we move in the direction that lights us up. That captures our attention. That we feel passionate about. But my end destination keeps changing and what makes me happy keeps changing. I thought when I started all of this, I wanted to be an actress. I didn’t know I was going to be a playwright. And I like playwriting a whole hell of a lot better. It’s really about trusting the path and letting go of the outcome because how can you really foresee where the path will take you? If someone comes along and mentors you they can only tell you what path they took. But that’s not you. That’s not your path. I used to feel like a failed actress but if I had taken different steps along the way, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up loving playwriting so much or being as happy as I am being a playwright.
Anna Cummer, Cheryl Hutton, Kira Bradley and Arielle Rombough in a scene from the Lunchbox Theatre production of Book Club II: The Next Chapter Photograph by Benjamin Laird
I remember making a decision when I was turning thirty. I already had two degrees. I had a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Sociology. Should I go take a Bachelor of Fine Arts and spend all that money or should I go to SAIT and take the film and television course, which was notoriously hard to get into at the time, but it seemed more practical, because I thought, “Well, I could still be on camera. I’ll just be working in television. Maybe I’ll be hosting a show or maybe I’ll work in news.” And that seemed the more practical choice. And if you took a poll of all my friends, which I did, because I used to do that in order to try and make decisions, they all said, “Oh, SAIT. Doesn’t that sound more practical? It’s only two years. You’re not going to spend as much money. I can see you doing television or radio. You’ve always been interested in it.”
Maybe SAIT was more practical, but I went with my gut intuitive feeling that I would not be happy. I got accepted into SAIT. I probably got in because I was relaxed in the interview. I wasn’t hanging all my hopes and dreams on it. I got in, but then I phoned them up and I said, “You know what, I’m declining my seat because I’m going to go to the University of Calgary and I’m going to take my Bachelor of Fine Arts and Drama.” And the admissions person said, “Well, good luck to you.” He was nice. He was just kind of astounded because people wanted to get into the program so badly.
But I just had this epiphany moment and when I made that decision, I decided that from then on, I was going to make bold moves like that. I wasn’t going to do what culturally looked right or what my friends were telling me to do. I was going to go with my gut. And I feel like I’ve been rewarded. I feel very grateful for the life that I live now. I work hard to let go of the feeling that I’m a loser unless I’m a famous Canadian playwright or I’m making good money doing this. Which is so ridiculous because it’s such a crapshoot and there are so few people that are going to go into the arts and make money. Maybe it should just be enough that you’re happy with yourself and you’re happy with trying to get your work out into the world. Sometimes you do, and that should be sweet enough perhaps.
“The Biotechs” Meredith, Tanis, Jenny, and Krista – Banff 2019
JAMES
You mentioned friends. Who do you have in your life that can be brutally honest with you and how brutally honest are you with yourself?
MEREDITH
I subscribe to the philosophy of less brutality and more gentleness. So, I have a really good group of girlfriends who are honest with me, but we’re all each other’s biggest fans and we’re all really gentle with each other. And as far as being honest with myself in a workshop situation, for example, where you bring your play in and you lay it out and all the actors read it, I invite honesty. I just keep assuring people that I want to know if there’s something that doesn’t feel right to them. And you will get a lot of different opinions because as we said before, people are complicated. People respond differently to art. One scene that someone might love and adore another person may think is completely unnecessary. One character that I’m in love with someone else might find creepy.
So, I let everybody know at the beginning I want their honest feedback and that has come with experience. I certainly wasn’t like that at the beginning of my career. Not at all. But now I can handle anything. Just give it to me straight. I will write everything down because I feel like I have a really good inner bullshit meter that will tell me one of two things. Either: “You know what, that comment doesn’t serve the play OR shit they’re right. I didn’t see it before but now that they’ve given me that feedback I have to go back and fix that part. Oh my God, that entire scene has to come out and I have to write something else. What am I going to do? How am I going to fix that?”
Occasionally, I just note a comment and wait for two other people to tell me the same thing then I’ll go back and have a look at it. But I still have the dial on the bullshit meter that says, “Thanks for your feedback!” while I’m thinking, “No way would I touch that. I don’t care if you think that character is creepy. You can not like that character and that’s fine, but I’m not going to change anything or take that character out.”
Arielle Rombough, Kira Bradley, Anna Cummer, Kathryn Kerbes, and Cheryl Hutton in the 2016 Lunchbox Theatre Production of Book Club by Meredith Taylor Parry. Photograph by Meredith Taylor-Parry
JAMES
Let’s talk about creative energy. That’s been one of the challenges I’ve noticed over the last decade with my own writing because I’ve always thought of writing as something finite. In other words, something that gets used up in the day. It’s like a jug of wine, right? You drink as you write and by the end of the day the jug is empty, and you’ve used it all up. And if you use it up on other activities like blogging or writing commercials, which I used to do, there’s nothing left at the end of the day for your stories.
But just the last week I started to think about creative energy more like turning on a tap. In other words, it’s always available. It’s just you have to turn the tap on to use it. So, I could be at work and let’s say I’m a commercial writer, I turn it on. I create whatever I need to make a living. I turn it off when I head home. And then that night, I’ve got a two-hour block where I could turn the tap on again and do my own creative writing. How do you think of creative energy? The energy you use to create your art. Is it a finite thing to use up in a day? Is it a flowing thing? I’m just curious.
MEREDITH
There’s got to be something in the tap when you turn it on. You have to figure out how you replenish that supply or keep that supply flowing. And for me, it comes from other people. For example, my energy has completely changed since we started talking even though this morning, I had a bit of anxiety about doing the interview because I wanted to think carefully about my answers. But now that we’ve started talking about playwriting, I don’t give a shit because I get so excited and all the anxiety goes away. This crazy energy builds up in me and it’s fun because I love talking about writing and I love talking about plays and I love talking about making art.
And if you look at any of my plays they went from one level to a much higher level it was always because of an infusion of creativity from other artists offering their talent, ability, different points of view and brilliance to the project. For example, with Shark Bite Maezy Dennie, Robert Klein, Chantelle Han, and Ruby Dawn Eustaquio were a dream team. I keep getting dream teams at Lunchbox. Like the dream team I had for Book Club and Book Club II. It’s impossible to have all of that artistic talent in a room together and not get inspired. And I know that I need that. It’s just that sometimes I forget to seek that out. I’m pretty good at doing workshops if a workshop pops up from the Playwrights Guild of Canada or whatever. I will do a workshop because I know that I’m going to come out of that two-hour workshop and be full of creative energy, which is going to help my writing that day or the next day or in the weeks to come.
Meredith’s Mother Elizabeth Taylor, Meredith, and her sister Emily Taylor Smith on an Opera Tour in Budapest 2019
And I need to expose myself to other forms of art if I want to get creative energy to put into my own art. I need to visit art museums. I need to look at visual art. I need to listen to a lot of music and different kinds of music. I need to read fiction. I need to go to plays because that will replenish my creative energy. My mom and my sister and I would go on these amazing opera tours pre- Covid. There’s a company out of Ontario called ARIA tours and they handpick the wine that you’re going to drink in the two-star Michelin restaurant where you’re going to dine. And thanks to my Mom, I’ve gone to New York and Scandinavia and several different countries in Europe, and I’ve eaten great food and toured world-class art museums during the day and seen so much opera. I’m truly blessed to have been immersed in such amazing art experiences.
And getting outside. Walking or gardening or yard work. Even shovelling snow. You’re outside. You’re getting your vitamin D. You’re getting some fresh air. You’re doing something kind of mindless that you don’t need your brain for so your brain starts wandering and coming up with creative ideas or starts solving a problem in a play that you’re working on or comes up with an idea that you might use for a play.
All this stuff’s been said before though. I’m not making this up and you just have find what works for you. And those are the three things I can think of that work for me every time: being around creative people, experiencing art in other forms and going outside and walking or just moving your body in other ways like yard work.
JAMES
How has COVID made an impact on you over the last couple of years? How has it impacted you personally and professionally?
MEREDITH
It broke my stride as an artist, I think. It did a lot worse for a lot of other people, so I don’t mean to sound whiny, but I had just rented a desk at cSPACE in the sandbox which is a co-working space at the King Edward. And I would go in once a week dressed up for work with my lunch and my computer and sit at this desk with other people who were renting space. And there’s all this art in there already and a lot of nonprofits and a lot of arts companies and organizations. And I’d go and I’d sit down and work and in a few months I finished an adaptation I was working on. And then COVID hit, and I thought, “Well, I’m not going to go into work anymore.” And for a while they shut down completely. So, now I’m like, “Should I do that again?” It was productive at the time but right now for whatever reason, I’m not super motivated. I already feel really busy.
And the pandemic was the perfect storm for my teenagers and they both encountered a lot of mental health struggles that were worsened during the pandemic and came to light during the pandemic. So, we started a whole journey with both of my kids and that’s taken its toll. It’s been really hard on us as a family but we’re getting through it.
Summer 2021 – Greg, Leo, Noah, and Meredith – Dinosaur Provincial Park – Alberta, Canada
But it also gave me time to rest and say, “Okay, we’re in a pandemic right now. I’m going to support my kids with their mental health struggles and get my kids through grade nine or ten or whatever it was because they’re working from home and they’re going to need my support to get through it.” Neither of them was doing very well independently. They really needed support and help to get through the online learning. So, “I’m going to give myself a break as a writer and I’m not going to feel like I need to be writing every day right now.”
JAMES
You mentioned you have a production coming up with Lunchbox Theatre called Shark Bite. This is the third play of yours to grace the Lunchbox stage and here’s the description, Ava a troubled urban teenager goes to her grandfather’s remote cabin for a visit. The two soon learn that the easy days of their relationship are far behind them and when George tries to find some common ground between them through a hike in the woods, a dangerous turn of events leaves Ava in the position of trying to save them both.
First, I’m curious, Ava’s fourteen and I’m just wondering, what were you like when you were fourteen? What did you think about the world? What was your life like? What did you spend your time doing? And reflecting back now, how much of that fourteen-year-old version remains today and how much did you use it to create the character?
MEREDITH
Oh, God, that’s a tough one. That’s a big question. Okay, so the first part of the question was thinking about yourself at fourteen and I see myself as a gawky, gangly teenager. My nickname was String Bean. And I was a card-carrying perfectionist. I was working really hard in school to try and get good marks. I did extracurriculars. I did sports. Even when they made me miserable I still did them. And then I was looking at everybody else and going why can’t I just be normal like her? Or comparing myself to other people because there was always someone who was better on the basketball team than me and there was always someone who was getting higher marks than me and had a boyfriend when I didn’t. So those kinds of things. Feeling like there’s something wrong with me. That I’m out of place. That I don’t fit in with other people.
I did spend time out in the woods with my father because he was a big outdoorsman. So, the stuff about hiking through the woods in the play and the spruce gum and looking at animal tracks would have still been a part of my world a little bit at fourteen. I don’t know how old I was when I gave up snaring rabbits. When I finally went, “Oh my God this is horrible. And traumatic.” Little t. That was definitely still part of my world at that time.
But when I was writing the play, I also tried to look at it from the point of view of teenagers and I wrote an imagined character who wasn’t really one of my teenagers, but I was certainly drawing from some of their experiences. And then Maezy helped me too in that final workshop that we did in 2021 with Stage One. She helped me be more truthful and authentic. There’s pretty much no other place I’d rather be than sitting in a room with a bunch of actors, trying to make a play better, and then getting to see it. I’m grateful for all the people that I get to work with through Lunchbox and I’m grateful that I’m going to get to work with them again because it’s a pretty damn great place to work.
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George and Maezy Dennie as Ava in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George and Maezy Dennie as Ava in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George and Maezy Dennie as Ava in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George and Maezy Dennie as Ava in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
JAMES
One of the themes in the play is an examination of self-harm. And the play really made me think about our culture and the fundamental role punishment plays in our society. The desire to punish ourselves is a message that might find its roots in the very nature of our own culture. In other words, ideas like no pain, no gain and the need to make sacrifices in order to achieve something. So, I’m curious about your own thoughts and what you hope your play opens up in terms of a discussion about self-harm and punishment.
MEREDITH
Self-harm wasn’t originally in the play. I workshopped the play with the St. John Theatre Company just before the pandemic in the fall of 2019. Pamela Halstead was the dramaturge and I also worked with a lot of really talented playwrights in that little circle. We were all finalists in a playwriting competition that was put on by the St. John Theatre Company and in order to enter the competition you had to have ties to New Brunswick or New Brunswick roots. Which I do. I was born there.
And one amazing playwright in attendance in Saint John, John-Michel Cliche said that when he thought about the presence of the lighter in the play he immediately thought about self-harm, and I replied – “Wow.” Sometimes you put things in your play, and you know they’re really important, but you don’t know what the hell they’re in there for. And then someone like Jean-Michel comes along and says, “Well, what about this?” And that opened up the idea of self-harm and I started thinking about it, and then it came into my own life through what my teenagers have been experiencing over the past couple of years. And then it came into the lives of a lot of my parent-friends, who have teens, and you know, pandemic aside, just being a teenager in this age is really, really, really, hard. Right? In this age, of TikTok.
So, I believe there’s a reason why Jean-Michel turned to me and said, “I thought about self-harm when she took that lighter.” Coincidence? I’m not sure. I’m experiencing this with my kids and I know so many people who are experiencing this and this needs to be talked about because this is a big commonality among teenagers right now that’s not being talked about a lot. And there are parents from my generation who are going, “What the hell? I don’t get this. I don’t understand this at all.” So, I think it’s really good if we talk about it a bit and we get some more information out about it and it sparks conversation among audience members.
I also think it really illustrates the generation gap between Ava and George because he’s an even older generation because he’s the granddad and how does a teenager maintain a relationship with a grandparent? How did I maintain a relationship with my grandparents at that point? When you’re fourteen and vulnerable and going through stuff that you don’t want your grandparents to know about because they might not understand it or they might judge you for it, so you don’t really show them who you are. You just have this kind of superficial relationship. They just know that you do well at school and you like horses. You don’t talk to them about what’s really going on. I felt there needed to be issues that illustrate the characters struggling to connect while dealing with topics that the granddad doesn’t understand.
And I don’t know everything there is to know about self-harm but from what I’ve learned about self-harm, and from what people have told me – because I haven’t experienced it myself – is that it is different from punishment. My understanding of it is that you’re inflicting a physical pain to avoid or rescue you from or to stop a profound emotional pain that is being visited upon you, rather than it being a punishment. It’s more like an action to protect you from pain, or to take you out of a painful place that you’re in so that you can avoid experiencing emotional pain.
For more information about self-harm check out the links below:
When you think about life how much do you think about the cycles we experience and the linear progression of time we experience because there are cycles and an individual cycle can be different. So, we have the seasons, and each season has similarities to previous seasons, but each season is also unique, right? This summer was hotter than last summer or whatever. And just as we experience cycles in life on an annual basis, we’re also on a linear track. We’re getting older each day. So, our time here diminishes. And when you look at life, how much do you think about the cycles of life and how much do you think of the linear progression of time?
MEREDITH
I think more about cycles. That’s how I mark time. I really love the change of seasons in our climate. I could never be a snowbird. I have friends who are retiring, and I look on Facebook and they’re like, “We’re snowbirds now and we’re going to go down and live in Florida.” My grandparents did that. And I think, “I couldn’t do that. I’d miss the change of seasons. It’s nice to take a break from winter and go away for a couple of weeks but I like that cycle.”
And every year it seems to light me up even more. I’ll be sitting at my window, and I look outside, and I see birds starting to come around because it’s starting to get a little bit milder and I’ve got bird feeders in the yard and I’m like a little kid, “Oh my God, I saw my first Robin.”
And as I get older that stuff becomes more important and interesting to me. I notice it more. I enjoy it more. I enjoy that spring cleanup and getting out when the earth is starting to soften up a little bit and then you go out and you work in the yard all day and you smell the dirt and the air starts to warm up a bit in the spring. And I love the fall equally with all the smells and sometimes that beautiful weather that keeps going into fall when the skies have never been bluer, and it’s really crisp in the morning. And I love the first snowfall of the year and so I think I focus more on cycles.
And I know there are cycles with parenting because parenting is tough. And it makes parenting a whole lot easier because when you’re in a really tough cycle, or a really tough phase it really helps to look at it and realize, “You know what, this isn’t going to last forever. And right now, it’s really, really tough. But in a few years, they’re going to be a grown-up and we’re going to be sitting down having a coffee together, or going to a movie, or going for lunch and everything is going to be okay.” And it’s really useful to remember that when you’re going through a difficult phase.
JAMES
This too will end.
MEREDITH
“This too shall pass.” My mother used to say that all the time and I honestly believe that. And maybe it sounds trite, but it helps me sometimes to say it to myself. When I’m in my own little mire of bad thoughts or bad times or bad luck. It can help me to say, “This too shall pass.” So, I think in cycles. Definitely cycles.
JAMES
Back in January 2016, we did an interview where you talked about your play Survival Skills which is a fictionalized story about a father committing suicide based on your own experience with your own father completing a suicide after he had received a terminal diagnosis, and in that interview, you said, “You want to write the kind of play where people are going to go home and talk about it, think about it and talk about themselves a little bit. You know, my God, if it got people to think about their own mortality a little bit, how could that be a bad thing? We all run around scared to talk about it, but we’re fascinated by it at the same time. The idea that we’re mortal, just to have that discussion opened up wouldn’t hurt.” So, I thought, let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about mortality and the fact that we’re all at some point in the future going to die. Have your own thoughts on mortality evolved over the course of your life?
MEREDITH
I think they’ve evolved but I can’t really say I spend a ton of time thinking or talking about it either. You know, it’s funny, at that point in time, I was obviously thinking we need to talk about death. It needs to be in a play. But right now, I don’t have a lot of thoughts to share on the topic to tell you the honest truth. I still think what I said was valid and I like what I said.
JAMES
Maybe there are times in your life where you feel the need to discuss your mortality, and maybe there are other times you don’t.
MEREDITH
And maybe you could take out the word mortality and punch something else in there like self-harm or punishment or shame or any of the other things we’ve talked about. I mean isn’t that what one hopes a play does? When I wrote Book Club a lot of thought went into how many moms are experiencing the same things, and shame being one of them, for not being the best mother on the planet. A couple of my plays deal with that theme. But if we don’t talk about it and bring it out into the light, we’ll just go on pretending to the people around us that we’ve got it all under control. Perhaps when we open up and laugh about the things that make us feel ashamed as moms or just human beings and shine a little light on it, perhaps that is a little bit healing.
There’s a Brene Brown quote, and I have it on my mirror in my bathroom. “I think laughter between people is a holy form of connection, of communion. It’s the way you and I look at each other and without words, say, I get exactly what you’re saying.”
So, if you write a funny line in your play about something rather important and your whole audience is laughing about it, there’s a shared humanity in that. Perhaps the audience is thinking “I get it. I get what you’re saying. I’m with you.”
Besides the fact that everyone just laughed at something you wrote down and were fortunate enough to bring to actors and a director and the rest of your creative team and they’ve poured their creativity into it and together you’ve just made a big room of people laugh and walk out together feeling happy and connected.
“And in Shakespeare the stakes are massive, but I think we all have injustices and little revenges that we want to take on a daily basis. That’s why Hamlet is such a frustrating character in so many ways because the ghost of his father comes and says your uncle killed me. You need to take revenge and do your duty as a son. And then he proceeds to find every excuse to not do it because he’s a man of the modern age where complexity and morality have become so much more real and palpable. Like, duty to the state is of a kind of time and I don’t think Hamlet’s a man of the court in that same way. It’s not just all black and white. He lives in a world of grey morality and philosophy.”Craig Hall, Director – Hamlet: A Ghost Story
Ahad Mir as Hamlet in the Vertigo Theatre, Shakespeare Company, Hit+Myth Production of Hamlet: A Ghost Story. Adapted by Anna Cummer. Directed by Craig Hall. Set & Costume Designer Hanne Loosen. Lighting Designer David Fraser. Citrus Photo
This is part one of a two-part series about Hamlet: A Ghost Story. In part one I’ll be talking with Director Craig Hall and playwright Anna Cummer and in part two I’ll be talking with Ahad Raza Mir who has returned to Calgary from his native Pakistan to play the title role.
Back in September, I interviewed Haysam Kadri the Artistic Producer of the Shakespeare Company about their season of Hamlet which included, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead with ATP, Hammered Hamlet at the High Performance Rodeo in January and now Hamlet: A Ghost Story in partnership with Vertigo Theatre. The Shakespeare Company and Vertigo had previously produced a highly successful re-imagining of Macbeth and were looking to repeat that success.
Now Calgary audiences will have a chance to see a thrilling new adaptation of Shakespeare’s most famous play as the tormented prince of Denmark seeks vengeance for the murder of his father at the hands of his Uncle Claudius. The tale is a ghost story, a detective story and a revenge story all packed into one unforgettable night of theatre. This is a Hamlet for the modern age as The Shakespeare Company, Hit+Myth Productions and Vertigo Theatre team up for a ghostly re-imagining of one of the Bard’s greatest works.
I sat down with the director of Hamlet and Artistic Director of Vertigo Theatre Craig Hall and playwright Anna Cummer, who penned the adaptation, to discuss their unique take on Shakespeare’s most famous and most produced play.
JAMES HUTCHISON
You’re calling this new adaptation Hamlet: A Ghost Story.
ANNA CUMMER
We are.
JAMES
So, do you believe in the supernatural and have you had any ghostly encounters yourself?
ANNA & CRAIG
They laugh.
ANNA
Yes, I am a firm believer. The thing is I never see them. I feel them. I have a sense that something is there. I have encountered two ghosts for sure. One was in the South of France and the other one was in Vancouver when our upstairs neighbour died in the middle of the night and I had a flash of him in my mind as we were going to bed and he was laughing and having a really good time. And I said to Craig, “That’s really weird but Jack from upstairs just flashed into my head.” And the very next day his caregiver said, “Just so you guys know, Jack passed away last night.” And it was right around the time he visited us.
And actually, I had another one in Ottawa where a very dear friend of ours had died a couple of days earlier and his wife had called. My mother was with me. I was doing Pride and Prejudice at the NAC. It was a co-pro with Theatre Calgary. So, we found out that Donovan had died, and it was really, really, sad and it wasn’t expected at all and I had misplaced my wedding ring. I went, “Well where’s my wedding ring? This is terrible.” And I didn’t want to tell Craig because I was always losing it and it turned out that my daughter, who was all of two at the time, had picked it up off the counter and had put it on the switch of a lamp and never in a million years would I have found it. But that night Donovan, the man who had died, came to me in my dreams and said, “Your ring is on the lamp switch. You’ll find it there in the morning.” And lo and behold I found it there in the morning.
JAMES
Craig what about yourself? Anything?
CRAIG HALL
Little inklings here and there. I don’t want to go too far into this, but my father passed away last summer and I was with him when he passed. So, he passed and there was sort of mourning with my mom and sister and then I just needed a bit of space and I walked out into the hallway and as I was walking down the corridor in the hospital, I sort of felt a presence. And I sort of saw something in the periphery and I looked, and he wasn’t there but I knew it was my dad.
JAMES
You sensed him.
CRAIG
I sensed him. I think to me the supernatural is all about some sort of barriers between different sorts of realities and existence. I don’t have any religion in my family or in my history, so I don’t think of it in a religious sense but certainly in some sort of energy sense. I believe that the energy that is in us doesn’t go away. It doesn’t stop. So, it’s released into the world and I feel that sometimes that energy can get captured in a place or it can remain in a place for a reason, but I’ve never really thought too deeply about it. It’s kind of like Anna said, it’s not like you see something. There’s a presence. A coldness in a place that has no reason to be cold.
JAMES
Sounds though, like these have been positive encounters.
CRAIG
Yeah, but they’re still affecting and hair raising.
Meg Farhall, Behrad Mashtagh, Joel Cochrane, Curt McKinstry, and Daniela Vlaskalic in the Vertigo Theatre, Shakespeare Company, Hit+Myth Production of Hamlet: A Ghost Story. Adapted by Anna Cummer. Directed by Craig Hall. Set & Costume Designer Hanne Loosen. Lighting Designer David Fraser. Citrus Photo
JAMES
So, what kind of discussions did you have then in developing the script while you were in the process of adapting it?
ANNA
Well, interestingly enough Hamlet was one of the potential productions that Craig submitted when he was applying for the Artistic Director job at Vertigo.
CRAIG
Eight years ago.
JAMES
So, this has been on your mind for a long time.
CRAIG
Not in a deep way but certainly when I was contemplating that sort of mystery genre…
ANNA
…and pushing the mandate…
CRAIG
…and looking at the genre and going, “If I did this job then what’s in it for me? How limiting is it?” And realizing that there’s a whole lot of work outside of the obvious genre that can be embraced as genre work like the Macbeths and the Hamlets. And I don’t think we’re making Hamlet a ghost story – it is a ghost story. We’re turning up the dial but that’s what it is. It’s a revenge thriller. It’s a ghost story
ANNA
It’s a detective story as he tries to figure out whether the ghost has told him the truth or if he’s being led down the garden path.
CRAIG
And before he can act, he has to convince himself that there’s no chance that his uncle is innocent. So, he does this very intricate detective work and he sets up stings and so when you look at the work through that lens that was exciting for me because it meant the range of work that Vertigo could potentially have access to is far greater than some sort of antiquated drawing room murder mystery. So, in a way that seed was the thing that made me want to take the job at Vertigo and that’s been percolating ever since.
Curt McKinstry as Claudius and Ahad Mir as Hamlet in the Vertigo Theatre, Shakespeare Company, Hit+Myth Production of Hamlet: A Ghost Story. Adapted by Anna Cummer. Directed by Craig Hall. Set & Costume Designer Hanne Loosen. Lighting Designer David Fraser. Citrus Photo
ANNA
And with Hamlet one of the major issues about the play in production is the madness and how does one as an actor or how does one as a director or an adaptor approach the madness? Is it feigned all the time? Are there moments where he cracks? How can you convey to an audience a heightened sense of anxiety? And we went, well what if he’s being haunted? What if he is hearing these voices more preveniently than in the original script? Then we, as a modern audience, can buy into the other characters in the play going, “Oh yes, he’s mad.” Because he’s talking to himself and his behaviour is frenetic and for the other characters those are hallmarks for insanity, but of course our audience will be in on it. They’ll be able to hear those voices as well. They’ll be able to see the ghost when the ghost is not present in the original but might be present in our version.
The Ghost in the Vertigo Theatre, Shakespeare Company, Hit+Myth Production of Hamlet: A Ghost Story. Adapted by Anna Cummer. Directed by Craig Hall. Set & Costume Designer Hanne Loosen. Lighting Designer David Fraser. Citrus Photo
JAMES
So, what are some of the main themes you wanted to explore in the script and then once you have those in the script how do you put those into practice in the production?
Anna Cummer – Playwright
ANNA
I had very concrete ideas heading into this but now that we’re in rehearsal and we now have other voices than the ones in my head who are lending their interpretations and lending their ideas to the whole scenario I think things have changed a little bit. But to me, the real thesis statement of the play is, “To thine own self be true.” And that ultimately everybody has difficulty when they’re not being true to themselves or when they are being forced to be something that they are not. So, I started there because Claudius is pretending to be the best King on earth even though he got his crown by very dubious and treacherous means. Gertrude is also putting on a brave face and doing it for the state and trying to keep her son happy and comfortable and placate the new husband. There’s a lot of stuff happening. Same with Polonia – in our version, Polonius is played by a woman.
CRAIG
So, it’s a mother rather than a father. And that does change it. And we’re really making sure that change of gender trickles down so the way that Polonius talks to his daughter and his son has a completely different feeling than the way Polonia talks to her daughter and son. And it’s automatic. Polonia is a thoughtful mother, not just a bumbling fool. She’s a thoughtful mother who actually cares about her family and cares about her place in the court but generally for the sake of the family.
ANNA
So that way Laureates, Ophelia and Polonia can stand as the healthy example of family and familial interaction in comparison to the incredibly dysfunctional family that we now have in Claudius, Gertrude and Hamlet.
And with regard to Hamlet and, “To thine own self be true,” he’s been asked by his father – who was warlike, and action based – to do something that is completely out of character for him. He’s a thinker. He’s a philosopher. He’s a student. He’s wrestling with who he is as an individual and recognizing that he can not avenge his father the way that his father would want it to be done.
CRAIG
Hamlet is a man of the age. He’s not a man of the court. For all intense and purposes, he allows the coronation of his uncle. He doesn’t state his case. He doesn’t bring a petition to the council. It all kind of happens and he’s in mourning and he’s trying to reconcile things but there’s no sense to me that he’s eagerly anticipating stepping into his father’s shoes. He’s got a different kind of morality. He can’t do the actions because, I think, he’s an existential kind of thinker. He’s got a new way of thinking and a new morality and he just can’t be a man of action the way that’s required.
Ahad Mir as Hamlet in the Vertigo Theatre, Shakespeare Company, Hit+Myth Production of Hamlet: A Ghost Story. Adapted by Anna Cummer. Directed by Craig Hall. Set & Costume Designer Hanne Loosen. Lighting Designer David Fraser. Citrus Photo
JAMES
I’m wondering what you make of how he treats Ophelia and what’s his end game and thought process for doing that because the end result is she kills herself.
ANNA
Craig and I kind of cracked it. Or, I feel like we cracked it. We were asking the same question. There’s this loving relationship and he just instantly turns on her and why is that? Is she a pawn in his ultimate game? Is she something to be used in his attempt to find out whether or not Claudius killed his father or not? And we were going through it – and this is just Craig and I literally on the couch and I went, “What if they’ve gone all the way?” And so, they’ve had this loving relationship that has been consummated and so Ophelia in all her scenes with her mother is trying very very hard not to let her know that. Her brother we think has more of an inkling because of his frank conversation with her as he leaves. “Do, not lose your chastity to this guy.” And she’s, “Oh yeah, don’t worry about it. I got it. No worries. Oh no, I already have. Oh dear.” And mom comes in and then says the same sort of thing, “Keep your distance for my benefit and my honour.” And so, we’re toying with the idea that they’ve had a very – very close relationship and that she is his island of solace. She is the touchstone to which he returns time and time again and in his time of mourning, she has been a rock for him. None of this is in the original so we have to seed it for our audience.
Natasha Strickey as Ophelia and Daniela Vlaskalic as Gertrude in the Vertigo Theatre, Shakespeare Company, Hit+Myth Production of Hamlet: A Ghost Story. Adapted by Anna Cummer. Directed by Craig Hall. Set & Costume Designer Hanne Loosen. Lighting Designer David Fraser. Citrus Photo
CRAIG
Because in the action of the play as it’s written you have no real inkling of their relationship before he starts treating her terribly. But if there was a deeper relationship that existed then that’s why when he comes to her funeral he explodes and rails there. It’s actually based on something.
And if her participation in Claudius and Polonia’s plot is a real betrayal of Hamlet and he realizes that they’re being watched when Ophelia comes back to him and says here’s all your letters and remembrances of yours and in that moment he realizes that she’s turned on him and that she’s become…
ANNA
…a confederate of the others…
CRAIG
…a tool of the Uncle. Then it’s not just arrogance and pettiness and meanness that makes him act the way he does – he’s been betrayed.
Ahad Mir as Hamlet and Natasha Strickey as Ophelia in the Vertigo Theatre, Shakespeare Company, Hit+Myth Production of Hamlet: A Ghost Story. Adapted by Anna Cummer. Directed by Craig Hall. Set & Costume Designer Hanne Loosen. Lighting Designer David Fraser. Citrus Photo
JAMES
Earlier you mentioned that Hamlet is a revenge story. Why do you think we have this fascination with revenge stories?
Craig Hall, Director – Hamlet: A Ghost Story
CRAIG
I think justice is a huge thing. I think going back to the mystery genre or the who done it people watch those things because they want to see somebody get their just desserts or take revenge. And there’s a weird celebration that comes along with you wanting to see the hero win the day and see the bad guy pay.
And in Shakespeare the stakes are massive, but I think we all have injustices and little revenges that we want to take on a daily basis. That’s why Hamlet is such a frustrating character in so many ways because the ghost of his father comes and says your uncle killed me. You need to take revenge and do your duty as a son. And then he proceeds to find every excuse to not do it because he’s a man of the modern age where complexity and morality have become so much more real and palpable. Like, duty to the state is of a kind of time and I don’t think Hamlet’s a man of the court in that same way. It’s not just all black and white. He lives in a world of grey morality and philosophy.
JAMES
Tell me about the cast you’ve assembled for this production.
CRAIG
I think this is probably one of the most eclectic group of actors that I’ve ever worked with. You know we’ve got Calgary stalwarts like Curt McKinstry playing Claudius, Daniella Vlaskalic who works everywhere has returned to play Gertrude. Then we’ve got Karen Hines who’s known more as a writer and a solo performer playing Polonia.
Behrad Mashtagh as Laertes, Natasha Strickey as Ophelia, Karen Hines as Polonia, Curt McKinstry as Claudius, Daniela Vlaskalic as Gertrude, Ahad Mir as Hamlet, Allison Lynch as Horatia in the Vertigo Theatre, Shakespeare Company, Hit+Myth Production of Hamlet: A Ghost Story. Adapted by Anna Cummer. Directed by Craig Hall. Set & Costume Designer Hanne Loosen. Lighting Designer David Fraser. Citrus Photo
ANNA
Who’s never done Shakespeare before in her life but she’s killing it already. And we’ve got a lot of people with great comedic chops in it. So, Meg Farhall is playing one of the servants and Rosencrantz. And then Graham Percy who is just killer at Shakespeare gets to be the gravedigger and the prologue the player.
CRAIG
Joel Cochrane from Hit and Myth is playing our ghost dad and is one of the players.
ANNA
And then Behrad Moshtagh a UofC grad – he and Ahad went to school together – he’s playing Laertes.
CRAIG
And we’ve got Allison Lynch playing Horatia and then, of course, Ahad Mir as Hamlet. We decided very early on that we wanted a younger Hamlet and we also wanted some diversity in the piece.
ANNA
And Ahad was involved in our production of Macbeth and he actually understudied Haysam as Mackers and he has a certain facility with the text and also a really lovely innate ability to make it modern and conversational.
Meg Farhall as Rosencrantz, Ahad Mir as Hamlet and Behrad Mashtagh as Guildenstern in the Vertigo Theatre, Shakespeare Company, Hit+Myth Production of Hamlet: A Ghost Story. Adapted by Anna Cummer. Directed by Craig Hall. Set & Costume Designer Hanne Loosen. Lighting Designer David Fraser. Citrus Photo
CRAIG
Ahad has had such an interesting journey as a young UofC grad coming up in the city and then suddenly he disappears to Pakistan and gets a whole other kind of training as an actor and gets all these new tools he can use because he’s been doing film and television over there. And we did Mackers in that deep thrust in the studio and we felt one of the things that made that really really successful was the intimacy of the performance space. You know you don’t have to suddenly play Shakespeare to hit the back of a proscenium house.
ANNA
A twelve hundred seat theatre.
CRAIG
The relationship with the audience can actually be much more vital and connected. And frankly, Calgary is bleeding its young diverse artists. They’re going to Toronto. They’re going to Vancouver. They’re going to Pakistan for opportunities that they’re not necessarily finding here. These young diverse actors are going to other cities and becoming super successful and we need to figure out some way to keep them here.
ANNA
So, if we can get them to come back it’s always a joy.
Curt McKinstry as Claudius, Ahad Mir as Hamlet, Behrad Mashtagh as Laertes, Allison Lynch as Horatia in the Vertigo Theatre, Shakespeare Company, Hit+Myth Production of Hamlet: A Ghost Story. Adapted by Anna Cummer. Directed by Craig Hall. Set & Costume Designer Hanne Loosen. Lighting Designer David Fraser. Citrus Photo
JAMES
So, why come see the show?
ANNA
It’s lean and mean the way that the Shakespeare company always is so it’s going to come in at about two hours and fifteen minutes including intermission. And we’ve done away with all the political and historical stuff and we’ve distilled it down to a family drama that just happens to have murder and ghosts in it. It’s Downton Abbey with death and ghosts.
CRAIG
And we’re amping up the suspense and I think everybody wants to see something entertaining and dark and I think that’s what we’re really doing.
ANNA
Sex, death and revenge.
JAMES
The big three.
ANNA
It’s biblical. It’s epic.
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Vertigo Theatre presents the Shakespeare Company and Hit and Myth’s Production of Hamlet: A Ghost Story which runs from March 20th to April 13th in the Studio at Vertigo Theatre. Performance times are evenings at 7:00 pm, no performance on Monday, 2:30 pm matinees on March 23, 24, 30 and April 6,7, and 13th. Tickets are $35.00 and are available by calling the Vertigo Theatre box office at 403.221.3708 or online at www.vertigotheatre.com
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CAST: Ahad Mir as Hamlet – Joel Cochrane as Ghost, Player King, Priest – Meg Farhall as Marcella, Rosencrantz, Player Queen – Karen Hines as Polonia – Allison Lynch as Horatia – Curt McKinstry as Claudius – Behrad Moshtagh as Laertes, Guildenstern – Graham Percy as Barnardo, First Player, Grave Digger – Natasha Strickey as Ophelia – Daniela Vlaskalic as Gertrude
CREATIVE TEAM: Craig Hall, Director – Anna Cummer, Playwright – Hanne Loosen, Set & Costume Designer – David Fraser, Lighting Designer – Peter Moller, Sound Design – Karl Sine, Fight Director – Jane MacFarlane, Text & Vocal Coach – Claire Bolton, Stage Manager – Chandler Ontkean, Assistant Stage Manager – Derek Paulich, Production Manager – Rebecca Fauser, Assistant Director
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Vertigo Theatre has entertained audiences for 42 years with high-quality programming, evolving into a truly unique organization. We are Canada’s only fully professional theatre company dedicated to producing plays based in the mystery genre. Vertigo is located at the base of the Calgary Tower in the heart of downtown Calgary and is home to the organization its two performance venues and the BD&P Mystery Theatre Series. Our artistic mandate allows exposure to a broad demographic and our diverse audience includes all walks of life. We build strong partnerships through our various student and professional outreach initiatives that are designed specifically to help meet our community investment objectives. Vertigo Theatre is a member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (P.A.C.T.) and engages artists who are members of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.
The Shakespeare Company is Calgary’s lean and mean classical theatre company, highlighting the best of the Bard in all his comedy, tragedy, and bawdiness. Founded in 1995, by Richard Kenyon and LuAnne Morrow, TSC has brought the Bard alive for Calgarians through both Shakespeare and Shakespeare inspired plays. We are committed to making Shakespeare accessible through innovative performances and inspired directing.
Hit & Myth Productions is a professional independent theatre company based in Calgary, Alberta. Hit & Myth was established in 2006, and since that time has produced over 30 professional shows, engaging numerous local actors, directors and designers. Hit & Myth has produced musicals, comedies and cutting edge dramas, a genre that we lovingly call “commercial alternativism.” From musicals like Urinetown and Evil Dead, to hard-hitting dramas like Martin Mcdonagh’s The Pillowman and David Mamet’s Race, to dark comedies like Neil Labute’s reasons to be pretty; to vibrant adaptations of both Shakespeare (Titus Andronicus and All’s Well That Ends Well) as well as Shakespeare inspired (William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead and Equivocation) works. Hit & Myth seeks to entertain, while always packing a serious theatrical punch. Hit & Myth collaborates with small to mid-sized sized theatre companies and independent artists to co-produce theatre that is provocative, modern, sensational, and above all else, entertaining. Our productions strive to reflect the dynamic and diverse theatrical community of Calgary and Calgary audiences.
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Queen of the Ring by playwright Wendy Froberg is the story of Johnnie Mae Young who spent over seven decades of her life slamming, punching and clawing her way to the top of the women’s professional wrestling world. Despite her pin-up good looks, she was a trash-talking bad girl the crowds loved to hate. From the carnival sideshows of the dirty thirties to the glitz and drama of the WWE, Mae Young rose to fame as the toughest, most dangerous female and one of the top attractions in the rough and tumble, disreputable world of old-school pro wrestling.
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, Wendy, how did you stumble upon the story of Johnnie Mae Young?
WENDY FROBERG
I was reading my Facebook newsfeed in early 2014 and a story came up about her because she had just died at the age of 90. And even though I’m a native Calgarian and I grew up with Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling I’d never heard of Johnnie Mae Young. The photo of this blonde bombshell throwing another woman around a wrestling ring captivated me and I just had to click on the link and once I started, I couldn’t stop. Everything I read led me to the conclusion that this was one of those, truth is stranger than fiction, stories that needed to be told.
JAMES
Well, why did you feel this need to tell her story and write a play?
WENDY
This woman wrestled from the dirty thirties of the depression era right up to the post-millennium WWE. Seven decades. Can you imagine stepping into the wrestling ring and getting tossed around when you’re in your eighties?
Johnnie Mae and other female wrestlers like her had to overcome incredible odds to make their mark in a world dominated by men. A lot of them escaped brutal childhoods where they were neglected or abused, and they were exploited physically, sexually and financially by the male wrestling promoters who they depended on to make a living.
These women lived in a time when women were supposed to be demure ladies in heels and make-up, and not down-and-dirty, ass-kicking fighters. They broke the rules about how women were supposed to behave sometimes at a great cost to themselves. These women were feminists before we had a name for it. They were trailblazers who proved that despite the theatricality and fakery involved in wrestling it’s a true sport and they were bona fide athletes.
And as someone who writes for the theatre, you can’t find anything more theatrical than professional wrestling! So, audiences coming to the show should be prepared for a lot of physicality, some sweating, and slamming, and maybe even being made to feel a little uncomfortable by the rawness of Mae’s life. But don’t be afraid to get involved in the moment because we all know it’s always a lot more fun when you pretend it’s real!
JAMES
What sort of message do you think Mae’s story has for the people of today?
WENDY
There has always been a history of people in power, often white men, taking advantage of those with less power, often women and people of colour, and so I think Mae’s story is very timely considering the greater awareness and growing power of the #metoo and #timesup movements. Mae and her colleagues fought back against their exploitation and rose to create lives of truthfulness and empowerment. She knew she had skills, talent, ambition, and drive and didn’t let anyone stand in her way which sometimes led to real fights outside of the ring as well as in. But it’s also true that she used her sexuality as a source of power and this brings up another question we grapple with today and that’s if a woman chooses to use her sexuality to get ahead, is she still being exploited because it’s largely men who want what she has? That’s something I’ll let the audience decide for themselves.
JAMES
Any time you tell a story there’s a certain amount of poetic license involved. How did you balance the real story of Mae’s life with the needs of creating a compelling story for the stage?
WENDY
I wanted to honour this woman by telling her story accurately, but you can’t fit everything in because there just isn’t enough time in a stage play. Sometimes you have to condense characters or change the order or timing of events. But I’ll say this: the characters in the show are real people and the events really did happen and the spirit of her story, the amazing contributions she made to the sport of wrestling, is one hundred percent truthful.
JAMES
Tell me about the creative team behind the production. Who is the cast and who is the director and what’s it been like to work with that team?
WENDY
I’ve been so impressed with the professionalism of Attollo Productions. They’re a new company and they’ve worked hard and employed all their creative skills to figure out a way to tell Mae’s story in a compelling, exciting and engaging way. They’ve respected my script and my role as the playwright and they’ve honoured the actors time, skills and process. The production is being directed by Chelsea Friesen who is also a fight choreographer, so she’ll be ensuring the safety of our actors while working with all the performers to make the wrestling moves believable. Brett Waring is producing the play and she’s also the dialect coach and assistant fight director on the production. Chelsea and Brett and several of the other cast members had previously worked on developing Queen of the Ring so I’m grateful we’ve been able to keep many of the original cast and I’m really honoured they’ve chosen my play for their inaugural production.
JAMES
So, who should come and see the show?
WENDY
Everyone—assuming you’re eighteen or over. The producers decided that since the show is raw and deals with sensitive subject matter such as sexual abuse, it would be best to limit the audience to adults. If you love a good, rollicking story, if you’re interested in the history of an unusual, sometimes wild and wacky sport, if you love stories about real-life, flawed people who nevertheless inspire us as we see them overcome obstacles and live their truth—then this play is for you.
JAMES
If Mae were alive today and could come to see the show you’ve created what do you think she’d say – or what do you hope she’d say?
WENDY
Well, I’d be scared shitless if I got it wrong and she didn’t like it, because that woman – literally – wouldn’t pull any punches about letting me know what she thought. I do think—or hope—she’d see that we’ve recognized the depth of her skill and tenacity, the obstacles that she and her fellow female wrestlers had to overcome to survive and thrive in a tough, unfair world, and the fact that she didn’t care about being nice or liked, as so many women do. We didn’t sugar-coat anything or cover up any ugly realities about her less-than-perfect behavior. We captured her strength, resilience, and love of the sport as both an athlete and an entertainer. Mae Young truly did it her way and I think she’d agree that we showed that.
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CAST: Jade Benoit, Hailey Carr, Chris Gibson, Kathryn Kozody, Fred Krysko, Jesselle Lauren, Shaylea Pangle
CREATIVE TEAM: Playwright Wendy Froberg, Director & Fight Director/Choreographer: Chelsea Friesen, Stage Manager: Danelle White, Producer & Dialect Coach & Assistant Fight Choreographer: Brett Waring, Intimacy Director: Anastasia St. Amand, Costume Design: Christie Johnson, Props Manager/Costume Intern: Kaylee Pratt, Dramaturg: Caroline Russell-King Produced by Attollo Productions.
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WENDY FROBERG: Wendy’s solo shows Interruptions and A Woman of a Certain Age® were each awarded “Outstanding Original Script” at the 2011 and 2013 Calgary One-Act Play Festivals, with AWOAC going on to win “Best of Fest” at the Calgary International Fringe Festival. Her plays, Riches and Best Interests, were produced in 2013 and 2014 by Urban Stories Theatre. She wrote the libretto for the 2015 Cowtown Opera Company production Annie Davidson. Wendy is also an actor who has appeared on stage with Theatre BSMT, Morpheus, Urban Curvz, Fire Exit and Scorpio theatres in a wide range of roles. In addition to working in theatre, Wendy is a registered clinical psychologist. She hopes you, like her, are inspired by the story of Mae Young and her fellow tough broads of wrestling!
I’m very excited to announce that my play, Valentine’s Day, is one of twenty-four plays being produced at the 2018 Newmarket National 10 Minute Play Festival. The NNPF is a festival dedicated to Canadian plays and the diverse voices of this country and takes place forty minutes north of Toronto in Newmarket Ontario.
The plays are grouped into four themed Pods with six plays being presented in each Pod. Tickets are just twenty bucks per Pod and each Pod is presented four times during the festival. Valentine’s Day which is part of the “off BALANCE” Pod is about Tom who remembers the day fifty years ago when he met the love of his life, Heather. The production is being directed by Dale Sheldrake and stars Dan Karpenchuk as Old Tom, Tiffany Deobald as Heather, Kyra Van Den Enden as Karen, and Ilya Iyashyk as Young Tom.
Other plays in the “off BALANCE” Pod include Hero by Peter Cavell a sweet romantic comedy where even heroes need a hero and Funeral Sandwiches by Greg White where a grieving Barbara learns the truth about her husband and another woman. This pod is suitable for most audiences and is described as: “In life’s ledger, what we lose and what we gain always affects the balance.”
If your tastes run a little more mature you might want to see the “side KICKS” Pod which deals with mature themes, coarse language and sexuality and includes If the Shoe Fits by Genevieve Adam where a loyal knight, a glass slipper, and a pig farmer provide a new twist on an old tale and The Kiss by Janet Kish where Panda learns about the give and take of love in an innocent clown-like world. This Pod is definitely meant for a mature audience and is described as: “Best Buddies. Sidekicks? Boon companion or boot the companion? Relationships are so complex!”
The third Pod called “social ORDERS” includes a story about two unlikely refugees who encounter unanticipated obstacles when they try to cross the border in a play by Guy Newsham called The Other Side. This Pod is suitable for most ages and its description reads: “Independence. Interdependence. When there’s no comfort in conformity, something’s out of order.”
“Sometimes we get what we’ve longed for. Sometimes, what we get, is long overdue.” That’s the description of Pod number four: “past DUE.” Plays include Daphne of Evora by Samantha Machado which is about Daphne who faces a forced marriage to an English duke after being stolen from her homeland and Cataloguing the Stars by Andrew Lee where Agnes and Alex’s relationship is catalogued in notes that reach across the chasm of space and time. This Pod contains mature themes and is therefore intended for a mature audience.
Interview with Michael Halfin Artistic Director of the Newmarket National 10 Minute Play Festival
“We’ve received submissions from every province in Canada and from Canadians from around the world. We’ve received scripts from China, Tasmania, Australia, Ireland, many states throughout the U.S., and so on, and I think that Canadians are catching on to the idea that this is their festival.”
Michael Halfin, Artistic & Executive Director NNPF
Michael Halfin, Artistic & Executive Director NewMarket National Play Festival
I talked with founder and Artistic Director of the NNPF Michael Halfin and to Dale Sheldrake the director of my play about this year’s festival.
JAMES HUTCHISON
Michael, I understand you had retired and when we think of retirement most of us think of golf courses and trips to Europe and working in the garden, but after eight months of retirement, you decided to create a national festival of ten-minute plays. Where did the idea for the festival come from, and why did you take on the challenge of putting the festival together?
MICHAEL HALFIN
I’ve always been fascinated by the ten-minute play format, and as a drama teacher, I’d found it to be a great format to teach students dramatic structure, acting process, characterization…really the whole package that full length plays offer, without having to deal with pages and pages of text that kids are resistant to reading. Moreover, I’d read these plays and sometimes find myself weeping at the end – and they were only 10 pages long! It wasn’t long before I was getting kids to write their own ten-minute scripts and inviting professional playwrights into my classroom to dramaturge with them. The results were outstanding. I knew this was a format for writers, actors, and audience, and so the opportunity to create a national play festival exclusively for Canadian writers would be so inviting to playwrights because of the format’s tight structure and huge dramatic pay off just seemed logical to me.
As for retirement, I felt after 35 years it was time to leave teaching and apply all I’d learned in a different way. I’ve always been a creator, and I guess, it’s just impossible for me to stop.
JAMES
One of the things I really like about the festival is the fact that people have a chance to see twenty-four original Canadian plays. What has been the response from the playwriting community across the country, and why do you feel it’s important to showcase so many plays?
MICHAEL
I think what’s been most delightful to see in these first two years is where people are submitting scripts from. We’ve received submissions from every province in Canada and from Canadians from around the world. We’ve received scripts from China, Tasmania, Australia, Ireland, many states throughout the U.S., and so on, and I think that Canadians are catching on to the idea that this is their festival. We don’t “theme” the festival. People can write whatever they want, and what we consistently find, is that Canadians are attuned to the Zeitgeist and have a kind of “collective unconsciousness” and tend to write scripts on the same themes in a given year. So, we select twenty-four and they just naturally fall into the six-pack pods we build around themes that are common in those six scripts.
Breanne Dietrich, Jake Wilkinson, in A Little Reservation. Book & Lyrics by Trevor Curran; Music by JaeMoon Lee. Directed by Mandy Roveda. Photo: Jason Wighton – Newmarket National 10 Minute Play Festival
JAMES
The first year was very successful and in its second year, the festival is getting bigger and better having expanded from two days to five. What is your ultimate vision of what the festival can become?
MICHAEL
Ultimately, I’d like to see us expand into divisions of the festival that would be ten-minute, one act, full-length, and even full-length musicals, but for now, the most important thing is establishing that we are a credible, committed organization that respects creative artists and wants to open the door to the diverse voices of our country. And just as importantly, honour that ten-minute format that appeals to every generation–especially the i-generation people who want information fast and to the point. If we want theatre to be viable, we have to get the youngest generations into our houses.
JAMES
How is the community of Newmarket involved in the production and running of the festival?
MICHAEL
At the board level, all of us are volunteers. We don’t take a single cent from gate receipts for ourselves. Last year, we were overwhelmed by volunteers and we couldn’t find enough work for them to do. This year, we’ve identified our areas of need more clearly to make the best use of people’s time during festival week. We’ve also had tremendous buy-in by the restaurateurs and merchants in the downtown core who are giving ticket holders discounts on their meals and purchases. Just incredible validation from small business owners! And I can’t say enough about the Town of Newmarket itself. Without their support, this festival simply couldn’t happen. Lastly, we have a number of people in town who are billeting a number of our artists for the month of July. You can’t ask for better community support than that.
JAMES
Why should someone come to the festival?
MICHAEL
First, I think they should come for the plays! This is theatre for people who’ve never liked theatre. My 22-year-old son hates theatre, but even he likes this format. He said, “Dad, I know if five minutes in I don’t like the play, at least I know a new one is coming five minutes later. I don’t have to sit there being bored for two hours!” For experienced theatre-goers, the themed pods of six plays give them a full diet of what they’ve come for. We also build the festival around the plays. Last year, local visual artists curated an entire exhibition around our four pod themes, and we’ll be doing that again. We have 14 playwrights coming to do readings of some of their other work before the audience engages the performance of their ten-minute play. We have director and actor talkback sessions, historical tours, and have built Buskerfest into our program so people have lots of live performances to see on the streets. It’s fun. It’s great theatre and it tells us who we are as Canadians. All of these activities are free. The only thing you pay for is your theatre ticket. Somebody tell me where you can get more bang for twenty bucks?
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Artistic Director Michael Halfin watches a rehearsal of actors Ilya Ilysshyk and Meghan de Chastelain in For the Love of Austen by Stefanie Curran, directed by Dale Sheldrake. Newmarket National 10 Minute Play Festival
Interview with Dale Sheldrake Newmarket National 10 Minute Play Festival
“Telling and hearing stories keeps us in the emotional and intellectual company of one another. I think deep down, people desire to know they can rely on other people, and stories and theatre can offer that by creating a like-minded culture.”
Dale Sheldrake, Director Valentines’ Day
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One of the exciting things about having your plays produced at festivals is the chance to connect with the artists who are producing your play. I’ve made connections in England, and Australia and now in Newmarket Ontario. A few weeks ago I connected with the director of my play Dale Sheldrake.
JAMES HUTCHISON
Dale, you’re directing four plays in this year’s festival. Which plays are you directing and what attracted you to each particular play?
DALE SHELDRAKE
I’m directing Hero by Peter Cavell, For the Love of Austen by Stefanie Curran, Pausing At The Fringe by David Healey, and Valentine’s Day. Each play has aspects of love involved in its story: the need for love, lost and found love, new love, old love, restricting love, freeing love. These aspects of love shift and evolve in each play and reveal how present and important love is to every person’s day, existence and lifetime.
I was drawn to these plays because they’re well told but also because three of them have messages of hope in them regarding love. That’s a theme I like to share with audiences when possible. Valentine’s Day is different because of its context, but still, the main character, Tom, reflects on how his life was more meaningful than he could have ever hoped for because of his love for his wife Heather. So his hope is in reflecting on the love he had which comforts him in his current lonely life. That’s a nice twist.
JAMES
You’ve had a rich and successful career working in film and television on lots of different shows including The Handmaids Tale and Penny Dreadful. You’re a playwright and published poet, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, a singer and a musician, and apparently make a mean Tex-Mex chili. You’ve worked in a lot of different mediums and have experience in a lot of different areas of production. With all these various skills what in particular do you use as a theatre director to help bring a story to life on the stage?
DALE
Everything, really. I love storytelling and can’t get it out of my system. Having experience in different entertainment mediums and settings has been valuable for staging a performance and helpful with directing. As a starting point, I read the play and visualize it, considering what is connecting with me emotionally, in regards to the characters and what’s happening between them. This opens up aspects of presentation that can be applied to the story. The purpose, of course, is to figure out what will make the audience best able to relate personally to these characters, feel the emotions the story conveys and understand the underlying lesson? I think most stories try to teach a lesson of some kind or offer a perspective on one.
JAMES
As a person deeply involved with the creation and telling of stories why do you think people have this deep desire to hear and tell stories?
DALE
People need and want social interaction, whether it’s in person or not. Stories tell us about each other and give us a lens to look at ourselves and our behaviour. Live storytelling, like theatre, brings groups of people together, entertains us, and lets us share in emotional experiences without being personally involved. It’s safe and it feels good to laugh with others, and shed a tear with these sudden communities and friendships. Telling and hearing stories keeps us in the emotional and intellectual company of one another. I think deep down, people desire to know they can rely on other people, and stories and theatre can offer that by creating a like-minded culture.
JAMES
You had a table read with all the actors a few weeks ago where all twenty-four plays were read. What was that experience like for the people involved in the festival?
DALE
The full company table read was super! There are actors who would never have met each other during the festival because of different schedules so it worked as an introduction. It gave a depth and shape to what a huge commitment and undertaking it is to put this festival together. It gave an overview of all of the terrific writing and talent involved. Everyone loved it!
JAMES
What do you find most inspirational about the NNPF and want people to know about the festival?
DALE
The Newmarket play festival preparations are incredibly professional, and having everything creative in one place: rehearsals, set design, wardrobe, staging, props, it all just buzzes like a beehive on certain days. Most inspiring is the growing presence of the magic of theatre, of numerous people working together to build something visual, thought-provoking, heart-grabbing and grand from the words on the page. Excitement grows a little day by day as we near opening night.
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The Newmarket National 10 Minute Play Festival runs from July 25 to July 29th. Tickets are just twenty bucks per show and there are four shows of six plays based on a common theme available to see. You can get tickets and check out the complete festival schedule at the Newmarket National Play Festival Website.
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Man, I wish I could be there. I’d love to see all the plays and meet the other playwrights and actors and directors and I’d definitely be heading to the Chip+Malt for some fish and chips. The Chip+Malt is just one of the many restaurants and retailers offering discounts during the festival. But that’s what festivals are – they’re about going out with friends, making new friends, seeing some shows, talking about those shows, having something to eat, and exploring the community. And the great thing is the world wide web expands that community and it lets me offer my support to the festival and help spread the word. In fact, anyone with a Twitter, Facebook or Instagram account can help support the arts by just letting people know about the festivals they attend and the theatre they see. I have no doubt this year’s festival will be a huge success and Michael’s plans to grow the festival beyond the ten-minute format to a celebration of all theatre formats is an exciting prospect for Candian playwrights. In the meantime, I want to acknowledge the creative talent working on my show and all the actors, directors, designers, stage managers, and volunteers that make this festival possible. Bravo!
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Cast and Director for Valentine’s Day
Dan Karpenchuk – Old Age and Treachery; The Other Side; Valentine’s Day: After spending a lifetime as a broadcast journalist in Canada and Europe, about fifteen years ago, Dan turned to his other great love, acting. His film credits include: MurdochMysteries, Taken, Forensic Factor, Mayday and Masterminds. His most recent theatre credits include; Oakes in The Prince of Naples at the Kingston Fringe Festival, Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street at Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg, Falstaff in the Merry Wives of Windsor the Humber River Shakespeare, Ivan in Drinking Alone at the Rose Theatre, Brampton, and Andrew Wyke in Sleuth also at the Rose. Dan’s Shakespeare credits include Othello, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, and All’s Well That Ends Well. Dan heads back to Morrisburg this winter for the Upper Canada Playhouse production of The Christmas Express which opens on November 30. Dan is thrilled and grateful to be a part of this year’s Newmarket National 10 Minute Play Festival.
Kyra Van Den Enden: Daphne of Evora; Late Romances; Valentine’s Day: Kyra Van Den Enden is a Ryerson University Theatre Performance graduate. She is thrilled that she will be continuing her theatre education at the Ecole Internationale De Theatre Jacques Lecoq this fall. Her Acting credits include: The Rover (Dir. Banuta Rubess, 2018); Jack and the Beanstalk (dir. Andrew Lewis Smith, 2017); Eurydice (dir. Robynne Harder, 2017); The Artful Widow (dir. Adam Paolozza, 2017). She also performed in several original works as a part of the 2018 New Voices Festival including two of her own works, DINGBAT DODO DOWN DISCO! which she co-created and directed with Veronica Hortiguela, and Now Presenting the Really Cool, and Totally Awesome Girl On Fire: ANALEISE. She couldn’t be happier to be performing in the Newmarket National 10 Minute Play Festival for a second year.
Ilyalyashyk – For the Love of Austen; Valentine’s Day: Born in Poltava, Ukraine, Ilya Marvin Ilyashyk, is an actor living in Toronto. He has recently graduated with a BFA-Acting degree from the University of Windsor. Previous credits: Pete- On the Rocks (Small But Mighty Productions), Earnest- The Anger in Earnest and Earnestine (OPIA), Nick- The Plausibility of Teleportation in an Oxygen Deprived Environment (Get-Go), Man- Best Before (Hamilton Frostbites Festival). At the University of Windsor: Bill- The Driver (self-written), Gerry- Dancing at Lughnasa, Fire chief – The Bald Soprano
Tiffany Deobald – Daphne of Evora; The Pipe Test; Valentine’s Day: Tiffany Deobald is an actor from North Battleford, Saskatchewan. She holds an advanced diploma from George Brown College’s Theatre Arts Program (2014). Theatre credits include: Sex&This (Aim for the Tangent), Much Ado About Nothing (Single Thread), The Tempest (Theatre Calgary) and The Mourning After the Night Before (Alumnae Theatre). Film credits include: A Walk in the Park (Aries 6), Outfield (York University), #R.I.P. (Eden Films), INCONTROL (Umbrella Collective Films), Cody Fitz (Umbrella Collective Films). Tiffany is very excited to be working with these new pieces in the Newmarket National 10 Minute Play Festival and she hopes you enjoy the shows!
Dale Sheldrake: Director – For the Love of Austen; Hero; Pausing at the Fringe; Valentine’s Day: An ADR Supervisor in film and television for over 30 years, Dale works closely with incredible writers and actors on productions such as Vikings, The Tudors, The Borgias, Crash, Barney’s Version, Penny Dreadful, and The Handmaid’s Tale. He’s won several awards for his work and loves that theatre direction and ADR are such compatible aspects in entertainment, both building on the importance of performance, dialogue, storytelling and emotion. He is also a playwright, published poet, author, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker (Helldrivers, OLN 2007), singer and musician, and makes a mean Tex-Mex chili. Theatre directing credits: Of Mice and Men; Standing at The Edge of the Universe of Disunity; The Author; Crazy; Day Care; Brother, Brother (InspiraTO Theatre Festival); Tuesdays With Morrie (Theatre Aurora). Dale is thrilled and inspired to be part of the 2018 Newmarket National Play Festival. He thanks Michael Halfin for the wonderful opportunity, the marvellous crew and actors for their amazing energy, professionalism and talent, but most of all, his wife, Petra, for her love, patience and keeping the fire going at the Newmarket National 10 Minute Play Festival
Wendy Froberg, Playwright & Actor: “Is life a search for truth? I think ideally it is. I think people that go off into the light happily – however you want to say it – those are the people that have somehow discovered the more profound fundamental truths about life. I always tease people and say, “No one is lying on their deathbed saying they wished they’d worked at the office more or wished they’d partied more.” You know generally what gives people a sense of peace and meaning – again because we’re talking about aging meaningfully – is that they made those profound human connections. They struggled, but they overcame. They had loss, but they healed from that. They were transformed. And I think the happiest people are the ones who live most truthfully.”
Wendy Froberg is an actor, playwright and psychologist and this month Calgary audiences will have a chance to catch her award-winning play, A Woman of a Certain Age, from May 13th to 19th at Knox United Church. The play won “Best of Fest” at the 2015 Calgary International Fringe Festival and since then has received strong reviews and successful runs at the Edmonton, Lethbridge, Regina and Winnipeg Fringe Festivals.
“… a stellar performance… hits a nerve…what a show!” Louis B. Hobson – Calgary Sun
“…expertly done…astute…warm, funny…you will enjoy the hour” Lisa Campbell – Winnipeg Jenny Revue
The play is an entertaining and insightful story about six women who are trying to cope with the demands of family and career as they struggle with the physical and emotional challenges of growing older in a culture obsessed with youth and beauty. I sat down with Wendy to talk with her about her play and how she got into playwriting.
JAMES HUTCHISON
Tell me a little bit about how you got involved in playwriting?
WENDY FROBERG
I was an actor in high school, and I did a little bit of directing, but my parents weren’t thrilled about me becoming someone in the arts, so I put theatre away for many years and pursued a career in psychology. But as an adult, I got back into acting, and I started auditioning, and I realizing there were limited opportunities for women. And since I had lots of stories I wanted to tell, and I’d always liked writing, I decided to try writing plays
JAMES
Well psychology isn’t totally different than writing and acting, because you’re looking at motivation and characteristics. Where do you see the connections between psychology and playwriting and acting?
WENDY
Well that’s absolutely right, as a psychologist, or as an actor, or as a writer you’re looking at human beings and their motivations. And when we talk about a character’s dramatic arc, for example, the idea that a character changes from the beginning of a play or movie to the end of it that’s certainly similar to what we do in psychotherapy. We want somebody to change from the beginning of the process to the end of the process. I was actually out of psychology for a number of years while I was pursuing playwriting, acting, and directing, but I’ve always felt like I was doing psychology because I was doing it through my art. I was digging into a character or creating a character in my writing.
JAMES
Can you tell me about the genesis of your play, A Woman of a Certain Age?
WENDY
As you know, as a playwright, often whether we intend to or not, parts of ourselves end up being in the play. Whether they’re done literally or whether they’re done from our emotional experience. As I became older and passed out of the ability to play the ingénue roles and got married and had children I began to realize that I was beginning to have a different currency in the world. I wasn’t looked upon the way that I was when I was younger. There are a lot of issues about growing older that have to do with the physical aspects of aging. It’s when you go from being someone who can turn a head when you walk into a room, to being someone that becomes somewhat invisible. And that’s actually a tagline I use when I’m promoting my play and talking about it. The women that I’m portraying are struggling to age with meaning and grace in a culture that’s obsessed with youth and beauty and wants to make them invisible.
JAMES
You’ve done some talkbacks with the play. What sort of conversations have you had with people after they’ve seen the play? When it’s the actor playwright sitting there – what are some of the themes that get discussed?
WENDY
It’s different things for different people. There’s a character in the show who’s a widow as well as an aging mother and she’s suffering from dementia and living in a care home and I get a lot of women who say, “I’m going through exactly that with my mother.” And often, they’re tearful and they say, “That’s exactly how she behaves.” And they’re grateful for the fact that somebody recognizes how difficult it is to watch your parent go through that.
I also have a theme that runs through the show about physical appearance and women often say, “Yeah I’m struggling with the concept of whether or not I should get Botox or should I get a facelift or should I have the courage to let my hair go gray and be natural and embrace the concept of aging because that’s a difficult thing to do, because if you acknowledge that you’re older then people will make assumptions about you and think you’re ready to go out to pasture.” And in the play I’m never judgmental about whether someone wants to do that or not. I think a good play poses questions. You never want your play to be preachy. You never want your play to simply be about your point of view that you’re forcing on your audience.
JAMES
Do you find people take away hope from the play after seeing it?
WENDY
I think they do. I always say that it’s sometimes humorous, that it’s sometimes poignant, but it’s always truthful because that’s what I want to go see. A show that’s truthful and genuine.
JAMES
You mentioned truthful. That’s an interesting idea – because when we see acting that is truthful and sincere it has impact. But what about life itself and theatre’s reflection of life – do you think that life is a search for truth?
WENDY
Is life a search for truth? I think ideally it is. I think people that go off into the light happily – however you want to say it – those are the people that have somehow discovered the more profound fundamental truths about life. I always tease people and say, “No one is lying on their death bed saying they wished they’d worked at the office more or wished they’d partied more.” You know generally what gives people a sense of peace and meaning – again because we’re talking about aging meaningfully – is that they made those profound human connections. They struggled, but they overcame. They had loss, but they healed from that. They were transformed. And I think the happiest people are the ones who live most truthfully.
JAMES
You’ve done the play at a number of fringe festivals. Tell me a little bit about that fringe experience and travelling across Canada. What was that like?
WENDY
Well in 2012 I had been touring as an actor with a fringe show that had gone to Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. When I go to fringe festivals I work the lineups really hard. That’s how we get our shows promoted to a large extent. You work the lineups for other shows. And you hand out flyers and you tell people about your show and you get them to know a little bit about you as a performer and or as a writer. And I kept noticing the demographic. The demographic was me. They were middle-aged women. And there were a lot of the husbands and boyfriends with them but the women were the ones that typically decided which shows to see. And I had this play in my head because I recognized there’s an audience here so I think I’m going to write it. You know it’s like Field of Dreams. If you write it they will come – because we love to see ourselves portrayed truthfully and with a certain amount of dignity on stage.
JAMES
How much has the show changed from when it started?
WENDY
When I first presented the play it was at the Calgary One-Act Play Festival in 2013 where it won best script and I had a different director the first time around. My director wanted to try a lot of different things so we had projections and a lot of technical stuff and it ended up being quite cumbersome and crisis ensued with things not working the way they were supposed to.
JAMES
Projections didn’t go, the lighting cue was missed, the music lost.
WENDY
Yeah, things like that. When I ended up working with my next director Valerie Ann Pearson, who is a gem, I can’t speak highly enough about her…
JAMES
She was my junior high drama teacher.
WENDY
She is the loveliest person ever.
JAMES
And her husband, Pat, was my radio instructor at SAIT.
WENDY
I love Pat. He’s just a doll. I love them both. Anyway, I just approached her, out of the blue, because I didn’t really know her, but I’d seen her on stage – you always know those people on stage more than they know you. And she liked the story and I talked to her about what I felt – which was that the story got lost in all the bells and whistles – and she said absolutely. She said, “I think this needs to be told really really simply because it’s the story. If you have a strong story you don’t need all that other stuff.”
And since I was thinking of doing it for a fringe I was like absolutely, because another thing about the fringe is you get ten minutes to set up your show and five minutes to strike your show, because the next theatre group is coming in to perform. And so you better have a pretty lean mean machine working there, especially for a one-woman show where it’s just me or me and my son. So now when I write things, I always write things with that in mind. Would this work at a fringe festival? Could it be transportable and quick to set up?
And because the play is easy to set up I’ve also gone on to perform it privately. I’ve done it in people’s living rooms – I’ve done it in people’s guest houses – I’ve even done it in hotel ballrooms.
JAMES
Have play. Will travel.
WENDY
Have play. Will travel. That’s my name. I’m thinking next year, because I took this year off of fringing, I’d like to go beyond Winnipeg. This means I don’t think I’m going to drive, which means I’m probably going to have to rejig my show so it doesn’t even have a set – which happens a lot in fringe shows. Or, have something simple I can pick up locally.
JAMES
I like that for the title of something – Beyond Winnipeg.
WENDY
Beyond Winnipeg, I like that.
JAMES
Beyond Winnipeg, the life story of Wendy Froberg.
WENDY
Yeah, yeah I like that. Have Play. Will Travel. I like that one too.
This interview has been edited for length and condensed for clarity. Last updated August 29, 2019.
“It’s been my goal to have a play at Lunchbox Theatre since 1978. I was in grade twelve when the Stage One program first started, and I don’t even know how I ended up going to all the Stage One readings but I did, and I made a mental note to myself that someday I would like to have a play at Lunchbox.” – Dale Lee Kwong
One of the things I love about Lunchbox Theatre is that many of the productions you see on their stage feature local playwrights whose work was developed through the Stage One Festival of New Canadian Work. This season alone features several plays that were developed through the festival including Book Club II: The Next Chapter by Meredith Taylor-Parry,Flight Risk by Meg Braem, and the upcoming and very funny Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets written by Dale Lee Kwong.
Dale not only writes plays but also writes poetry, essays, and creative non-fiction. Her essays have been published in Somebody’s Child: Stories of Adoption, A Family By Any Other Name: Exploring Queer Relationships, and the Malahat Review. Her poetry has appeared in Canadian Literature,Modern Morsels, and The Calgary Project: A City Map in Verse and Visual. Dale often performs at local literary events and sometimes speaks at inclusive churches and organizations like PechaKucha, TALES and The Coming Out Monologues.
I spoke to Dale about her dream of having a play performed at Lunchbox and the journey her play, Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets, took to go from page to stage.
Jamie Matchullis as Jennifer, Chantelle Han as Lilly, Ben Wong as Charlie, and Kelsey Verzotti as Jade in the Lunchbox Theatre production of Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets – Photograph by Benjamin Laird
JAMES HUTCHISON
When did you get into writing?
DALE LEE KWONG
I’ve always been a writer. I have poems framed in cardboard and typed on Manila paper from 1971 that I gave to my family at Christmas. I wrote a community column for about ten years when I lived in Crescent Heights that was told from the point of view of my dog, Magoo. And in my family I’m always the one that gets called upon to do the toast to the bride or the speech. But my real writing career started about fourteen years ago at the end of a relationship. I went to a writing workshop in Edmonton called Women Who Write and took some introductory writing classes. Classes which didn’t actually critique your material so much as just read it back to you and say what struck them.
JAMES
So, it’s a workshop to encourage the writing process?
DALE
Yes, it’s very much for emerging writers. And I realized I had things I wanted to say and so, the first year after my break up I started enrolling in creative writing courses at the University of Calgary. I took three poetry classes with Tom Wayman, and he’s an awesome professor. During that time I won the CBC Poetry Face Off in Calgary, and that got recorded and aired nationwide, and that got voted on by listeners, where it placed third.
JAMES
What a fabulous boost for the ego.
DALE
It was. At the same time Alberta Theatre Projects and the Alberta Playwrights’ Network ran a 24-hour playwriting competition. I entered, and my first play, which was really just a scene, was called – Is Normie Kwong Your Uncle? And it won a special merit award which gave me a free dramaturgical session with Ken Cameron at the Alberta Playwrights’ Network.
I wasn’t even sure what APN was, but after I met with Ken I sent a proposal for an as-of-yet unwritten play to Rona Waddington at Lunchbox Theatre and she commissioned the play in the fall of 2005. I wrote notes and outlines, but I didn’t actually write the play until February 2006 in another 24-hour playwriting competition, which is so well suited to me because I worked in television as a news editor. In television we don’t start cutting the news for the six o’clock show until around three in the afternoon. And then from three to six you hit the ground running, and it’s intense, and that’s the kind of scenario I love. So my writing is always last minute and rushed. I’ve tried to change that, but it’s just part of my process.
JAMES
So, was that the play that became the play being produced at Lunchbox this season?
Dale Lee Kwong, Steve Gin, Brenda Finley, Michelle Wong, Francine Wong, Pat Mac, Nicola Zylstra – at the Glenbow Museum for the Alberta Playwrights’ Network Discovery Prize workshop and reading, November 2006
DALE
Yes, this play has been in development since it was first commissioned in the fall of 2005 and written in February 2006. It’s taken twelve years to get to the stage. And some people think it’s autobiographical, but it’s actually not. There are elements of truth in it, and there are true stories in it.
JAMES
So, what you’ve done is taken personal experience as an inspiration and then created the play out of that. What are some of your thoughts about this twelve-year journey?
DALE
Well, when I started I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I’d never written a play before. But one thing that worked to my benefit as a playwright was my day job as a news editor. A news editor takes the raw material that a reporter shoots with her photog (cameraman) and helps it become a better product. And one of the things that entails is taking interviews that are five to twenty minutes long and pulling out 20-second sound bites. So in a sense – I’ve been working with dialogue for twenty-six years.
I’d also taken a writing workshop at the Banff Centre from Fred Wah about a form of Japanese poetry called Utanikki. In Utanikki you take two pieces of text and chop them up and then you put them back together in some form, and just by taking two completely different subjects – for example, a recipe for making scrambled eggs and a piece about coming out to your family and mashing them together a relationship is created between these two topics that didn’t previously exist. Many of my writings employ this method. Two types of writing blended together. I have poems where there’s haiku blended with free form.
Jamie Matchullis as Jennifer and Kelsey Verzotti as Jade in the Lunchbox Theatre production of Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets By Dale Lee Kwong – Photograph by Benjamin Laird
In the play I had this story about a lesbian and her girlfriend, and eventually they decide to move to Vancouver to get away from her family. But in between those scenes I had another entire play. It was a reality game show like Survivor where the lesbian girlfriend was being forced to come out to her family through a competition. There was a character like Jeff Probst, and there was this ancient Chinese sage character named Connie-fucius who would spout out fortune cookie lines.
Over the years I worked with a lot of different directors and dramaturges who encouraged me to remove the Survivor scenes from the play, but it was honestly my favourite part. I loved it! And I loved the character of Connie-fucius.
Lunchbox Theatre – The Early Days – Bow Valley Square
Rona Waddington never scheduled it for a production, and after she left Lunchbox I resubmitted it to Pamela Halstead when she was artistic director, and she was really interested in it, but by then she had already submitted her own resignation. So she set up a meeting between me and Glenda Stirling who was the incoming artistic director. Glenda had already programmed her first season, but she was interested in it for the following year, but then Glenda left. So I’d submitted the play to three different artistic directors and it had fallen through the cracks each time.
The other thing you need to know is that it’s been my goal to have a play at Lunchbox Theatre since 1978. I was in grade twelve when the Stage One program first started, and I don’t even know how I ended up going to all the Stage One readings but I did, and I made a mental note to myself that someday I would like to have a play at Lunchbox.
JAMES
But isn’t that fascinating – that there’s that connection from thirty years ago – no forty years ago.
DALE
78, 88, 98, 2008 – oh my God, forty years!
JAMES
Four decades.
DALE
That makes me tear up thinking about that. That’s why this play is so special to me. Lunchbox is my favourite theatre company, and I make no bones about saying that. I’ve been donating to them for years, and I’ve been volunteering there, and I think they’re one of the best treasures in Calgary.
Chantelle Han as Lilly and Ben Wong as Charlie in the Lunchbox Theatre production of Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets by Dale Lee Kwong – Photograph by Benjamin Laird
JAMES
So what happened next?
DALE
After Glenda left, in comes Mark Bellamy. I knew Mark vaguely from Vertigo Theatre – and you’d think I’d show him my script right away, but I was gun shy having experienced several disappointments. So, I got to know Mark better, and he got to know me better, and I finally said to Mark, “You know, I’ve got this script that was workshopped here, and it kind of fell through the cracks.” He asked me what it was about and after I told him he said, “Send it to me.” So then I had this opportunity to send it to him, and do you think I sent it to him? No, because by that time it had been workshopped so much I didn’t know where I was at, and I thought I should get him a clean version. So, it took me a year to revise it and send it to him and he got back to me within a month, and gave me a workshop.
At the workshop Mark gave me the choice of a couple of directors and I chose Trevor Reuger from APN whom I had prior dealings with. He had helped me with another script I had started. I told Trevor my creative process and how I’m late with everything and not to worry because I was a news editor, and I’m used to tight deadlines, but before we started the workshop, Trevor suggested, that for the sake of time, we leave the Survivor bits out for now and he said, “If you can show me how they advance the storyline then we’ll start putting them back in.” I was sort of reluctant to do that.
JAMES
Sounds like a clever strategy from your dramaturge.
DALE
Yeah, so the first day we missed two Survivor scenes, and they were funny, and I was like – how can I justify getting them in?
JAMES
So, for the whole workshop you were trying to push them back in?
DALE
Well by Thursday I knew Survivor wasn’t coming back. The play had changed. Everything was fluid. I was doing rewrites every day. But there was this fight scene between Jade and her mother which I’d always struggled with because I didn’t have that fight with my mother in real life when I came out.
Ben Wong as Charlie, Jamie Matchullis as Jennifer, Kelsey Verzotti as Jade and Chantelle Han as Lilly in the Lunchbox Theatre production of Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets – Photograph by Benjamin Laird
DALE
When I first came out it was in ’93, and I wrote the play twelve years later. I came out before Ellen Degeneres came out, and that was big news. She came out on the cover of TIME magazine. I came out to my family – all in one day – at my mom’s house. I told my cousins first, and at dinner I told everybody’s parents. The ones who had the most trouble with it were the cousins in the 50 to 70 year range, but everyone over 70 was fine with it. In my experience of coming out – senior citizens don’t care that much – you know – life’s too short – do what you want. I had one relative who was ecstatic to finally have a lesbian in the family – that was surprising too.
So, anyway, I had written the play forward to the fight scene and written the play backwards from the fight, but I couldn’t actually write the fight scene. There was just a blank page.
And we got to Friday, before the public reading, and we were reading the script, like we did every morning, and the actor basically went from the last line before the blank page to the first line after the blank page and I went, “No wait. There’s a fight scene there.” And they all went, “What?” And I said, “Well that’s what the blank space is.” And Trevor said, “Where are the words?”
And I said, “I was hoping we could workshop this and get something out.” And Trevor said, “Dale, there’s an audience coming in an hour and a half to see your play. You have to have some words there.” And I said, “Well yeah, but I’ve struggled all the way forward and all the way back – I just need some help.”
Finally Chantelle Han who was playing the mother said, “I think I would ask them to leave, but I need to say something first.” Then the actor playing Jennifer or Jade said, “Well maybe such and such could happen.” And that gave me a little bit. And I think we all worked it out together. I was scratching out lines and adding lines and telling them things. I have no idea what that page looked like on their scripts, and when they actually read it at the reading it wasn’t typed. It was just hand written notes. That script literally got written an hour before it was read.
JAMES
But the audience didn’t know that, and I saw that reading, and it was a lot of fun. There were a lot of laughs. People loved the play, and I remember mentioning to you how much clarity had come into the play from when I had read it probably a year and a half to two years before that if not more. So now that the play is being produced are you excited about going into the rehearsal process?
DALE
Even though I’m not as much of a green horn as I was twelve years ago I’m still a newbie. This is my first big production. So, there’s a bit of a learning curve, but I’m really lucky because one of my mentors in the theatre community is Sharon Pollock whom I’ve known since 2006, and over the last few years we’ve become really good friends because we walk our dogs together.
Jamie Matchullis, Kelsey Verzotti, Ben Wong, and Chantelle Han rehearse a scene from Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets
Sharon is wonderful. Last year she had her own new play Blow Wind High Water at Theatre Calgary and she had a revision happening on another play at Stratford and I was going through stuff on my end and so I could ask her questions like, “Should I go to the rehearsals?” And Sharon was the first to say, “It’s your right to go to the rehearsal. Not all playwrights do. In fact, most directors would probably discourage it, but you’re emerging – you’re a rookie – you should go to them all.” She said, “Just take a book, and be there if they need you, and listen once in a while, and see what things they struggle with, and you’ll learn.”
You know I always say to emerging artists, particularly artists in their 20s, I say, “You have age on your side. You can plead complete ignorance. You can say, I don’t know. I’ve never been to a dress rehearsal? Can I come to your dress rehearsal? I’ve never been to a first read. Can I come to your first read?”
Ben Wong as Charlie, Jamie Matchullis as Jennifer, Kelsey Verzotti as Jade, and Chantelle Han as Lilly in the Lunchbox Theatre production of Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets – Photograph by Benjamin Laird
DALE
The other thing you can do if you’re an emerging writer or artist is volunteer. I have been ushering at Calgary theatres for more than ten years. Almost every theatre company in the city uses ushers, and if you usher you get to see the play for free, and you meet the people behind the scenes. So there are all these people that I’ve met along the way, and I’ve been supporting them for ten years, and I finally have something they can come to.
JAMES
Dale Lee Kwong at the Lunchbox Theatre 2017/18 Season Announcement with former Lunchbox Artistic Producer Mark Bellamy Photograph by Carol F. Poon
And genuine friends are happy for you.
DALE
Yes, I get that. I feel the love. At the official season announcement last February I just burst into tears. My best friend got a picture of it, and it’s one of my favourite pictures. Like you say it was a forty year journey. I didn’t even do the math. I’m bad at math. I’m not a good Asian.
JAMES
You can say that joke, I can’t.
DALE
You can credit it to me.
***
Dale also wanted to take this opportunity to thank the many people who have contributed to the development of her play over the years. Here is a list of the actors, directors, and dramaturges who have offered their time, talent and support in the creation of Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets.
Lunchbox Theatre – Stage One workshop, May 2006
TV Host/Charlie Wong – Steve Gin
Lillian Wong/Connie-fucius – Jacey Ma
Jade Wong – Elyn Quan
Jennifer Smith – Karen Johnson Diamond
Dramaturg/Director – Ken Cameron
Alberta Playwrights’ Network – Writing in the Works excerpt, Oct 2006
TV Host – Grant Lunnenburg
Lillian Wong/Connie-fucius – Sharon Pollock
Jade Wong – Laura Parken
Jennifer Smith – Francine Wong
Director – Sharon Pollock
Alberta Playwrights’ Network – Discovery Prize workshop and reading, Nov 2006
TV Host/Charlie Wong – Steve Gin
Lillian Wong/Connie-fucius – Michelle Wong
Jade Wong – Francine Wong
Jennifer Smith – Nicole Zylstra
TV Host/Stage Manager – Patrick MacEachern
Dramaturg/Director – Brenda Finley
filling Station Magazine – flywheel reading for Chinese New Year, Feb 2008
Charlie Wong– Ben Tsui
Lillian Wong– Jasmin Poon
Jade Wong – Francine Wong
Jennifer Smith – Elan Pratt
Connie-fucius – Jade Cooper
TV Host – Emiko Muraki
Director – Dale Lee Kwong
Lunchbox Theatre – Stage One workshop, June 2016
Charlie Wong – Mike Tan
Lillian Wong – Chantelle Han
Jade Wong – Ali DeRegt
Jennifer Smith – Julie Orton
Dramaturg/Director – Trevor Rueger
Dale Lee Kwong writes poetry, plays, and creative non-fiction. Third-generation Chinese-Canadian, her work explores Chinese-Canadian history, diversity & inclusion, adoption, and LGBTQ issues. Dale is passionate about the importance of Chinatowns across North America, and the fight to save them from gentrification. Dale plans to keep writing about the past and present, in hopes of shaping the future!
Lunchbox Theatre is one of the most successful noon-hour theatre companies in the world and produces one-act plays that provide patrons with an engaging and entertaining theatre experience. Lunchbox produces seven plays per season, as well as the Stage One Festival of New Canadian Work where many of the plays produced by the company are developed. Lunchbox is one of Calgary’s longest-running professional theatre companies and is located in downtown Calgary at the base of the Calgary Tower.
Tung Bui is a Calgary photographer and videographer that is passionate about visual storytelling. He loves the challenge of trying to shoot outside the lines of the viewfinder. So if you’re looking to capture your memories in a unique way…let his imagination work for your vision.
This interview has been edited for length and condensed for clarity.
Playwright Maria Crooks – Photograph by James Hutchison
“Frankly as human beings we all have a tendency to be more wary and distrustful of anyone who is not like ourselves. Also there has recently been a lot of discussion about who has the right to tell other cultures’ stories and my play touches on that topic. As our society becomes more diverse it is important to talk about this and to understand how to respectfully approach the telling of stories about other cultures. I don’t think it is wrong to write stories or make movies about others but one should always think about how to do so in a respectful and mindful manner.” – Playwright Maria Crooks
Maria Crooks is an emerging Calgary playwright who began writing plays after retiring from a corporate job in the oil industry in 2011. She describes her most recent play, The Mary Mink Story, as a play about untrammeled ambition, ruthlessness and deceit and one man’s relentless efforts for the truth to be told.
JAMES HUTCHISON
Maria, what attracted you to playwriting as opposed to novels, short stories, poems or other forms of writing?
MARIA CROOKS
I’ve always had a passion for writing and in the past I’ve taken a number of writing courses including poetry and short story writing. I decided to try playwriting because it was a new kind of writing for me and because I don’t like doing research and I mistakenly thought that writing plays wouldn’t require doing much research. Despite discovering that I was wrong about the amount of work it takes to write a play, I was hooked when at the end of the first course, the instructor brought in two professional actors to read scenes from the plays we had written in class. It was so thrilling to have the characters I had created, in my head, come to life before me that I’ve been writing plays ever since.
JAMES
You know I find it inspiring that you’ve come to playwriting later in life and I think that’s a great thing. I think people should go after their dreams no matter what their age. What motivated you to go after this dream?
MARIA
I love the theatre and I love acting and in fact after retiring I started taking acting courses and I’ve acted in a couple of plays since then. I also love words and writing and so the acting led to the writing of plays and somehow the writing has taken centre stage as it were, at least for the time being.
JAMES
A few years ago, I went to When Words Collide, an annual writers and readers conference here in Calgary, and heard American fantasy and science fiction author Brandon Sanderson talk about writers being either gardeners or architects. Gardeners are writers who plant seeds and see what grows. In other words, they just sit down and start writing. Architects are writers that like to make a blueprint before they start writing. Which are you?
MARIA
I believe I’m naturally a gardener. Even at university when I had to write papers I had difficulty following structure and pattern. I find following a blueprint a bit confining. However, over the years, I’ve discovered the usefulness of having a blueprint. It’s particularly important when writing a play where you have to know everything about the background of the characters you’re writing about before you start writing because it grounds them and informs their choices and will make your play and the characters more realistic and believable.
JAMES
Okay I have to ask, one of your earlier plays is a play called Age of Love – and it’s about a romantic relationship between a younger man and a much older woman – where did that story come from?
MARIA
I was listening to the program As It Happens on CBC radio about two years ago when they were rebroadcasting episodes from their archives. I heard an interview with a young man who in 1976 was 21 years old, and had fallen in love with his 76 year-old step-grandmother who had recently been widowed and he was determined to marry her despite his parents’ protests. At the time I was looking to write a play examining sexuality and I thought the story of love between two people with such a huge age difference would be intriguing to explore and write about.
JAMES
As you were writing that play what did you discover about your own thoughts and society’s thoughts concerning love, sex and age.
MARIA
I wrote the play as a comedy: I thought it was very funny and odd for a young man to fall in love with wrinkles and false teeth, but as I wrote it, I fell in love with my characters and I realized that romantic love comes in different forms and the usual pattern of boy meets girl who is young and beautiful is only just one of many ways for people to fall in love.
Ryan Gray as Ash and Diana-Marie Stolz as Olivia in the Urban Stories 2015 Production of The Age of Love
JAMES
It was produced so I’m curious what the audience’s reaction to the play was.
MARIA
I was very pleased with the reaction of the public, in fact it got good reviews* and elicited a lot of laughs. To this day, I will be at a dinner party or be at some other social function and friends or other people who have seen the play will approach me and want to talk about it. This happens way more often than with any other play I’ve written. Many wonder if perhaps I had been in a relationship with a younger man and that is the reason I wrote the play.
I also did research on gerontophilia, which is a little-known sexual preference for the elderly, and I printed an article to post at the theatre for the audience to read so they would know that this sort of love is possible and that I didn’t just write it out of wishful thinking.
JAMES
You mentioned that people thought the story for Age of Love came from personal experience but even though the specifics of that story aren’t about your life how much of your own life experience do you find you put into your writing?
MARIA
I think it’s inevitable that my own experiences will seep into my writing consciously or unconsciously.
When I was a child we moved from Cuba to Jamaica and after the move my parents couldn’t find an item, it’s been so long now I can’t remember what it was, but they immediately assumed it had been stolen by the woman who had been helping with the packing. This woman had been a family friend and my parents never responded to her letters because of the assumption that she had stolen from them. Many years later they found the missing item but by then it was too late, the friendship had been broken.
That story became the basis of my first play, The Servant, which is a story about a servant who is accused of having stolen a valuable ring which was subsequently found. I wanted to examine the nature of trust and how quickly it can be eroded when we jump to conclusions. In that same play I included a scene from a revival church meeting I witnessed as a child with a woman getting into the spirit and whirling around while speaking in tongues.
So yes, my experiences do enter my plays from time to time.
JAMES
Your current play is The Mary Mink Story. What is that play about?
MARIA
The Mary Mink Story is about a black woman who lived in Toronto in the mid-19th century. Her father, James Mink, was a prosperous businessman who owned a hotel and livery stables and had several lucrative government contracts delivering mail and so forth. According to several historical accounts, which I found online and in books, James Mink placed an ad in the Toronto papers offering $10,000 for a white man to marry his daughter. A white man married her and promptly took her across the border to the US where she was sold into slavery. The story was so intriguing that I felt compelled to write a play about it, however my research led me to a researcher from York University in Toronto who has done extensive work on James Mink and his family and she provided me with information which disproved the story.
JAMES
After doing your research and finding out the real story – how did that impact your play?
MARIA
I found myself in a dilemma. I felt the story was so dramatic that I wanted to tell it, but at the same time I didn’t wish to perpetuate the myth which is based on racism and bigotry and I didn’t want to be a part of that. I, therefore, decided to tell the myth while at the same time debunking it. This has been my most difficult play to write and my hope is that I have succeeded in exposing the myth while at the same time telling an interesting Canadian story.
JAMES
Why do you think this story needs to be told?
MARIA
I felt this was a story about a black family that needed to be told and I had a responsibility to set the record straight. A TV movie about the Minks was made in the 1990s and it too recounted the myth as if it were true. Wikipedia has an account of James Mink and that account does not say that it is a myth either so anyone coming across the movie or reading the Wikipedia account will come away believing it to be true.
JAMES
Why do you want to set the record straight? To tell the truth about what really happened?
MARIA
I feel a responsibility to James Mink and to his daughter to set the record straight because both were real people who were respectable and hard-working intelligent folk who do not deserve this continued insult to their memory. James despite his humble beginnings rose to become a prominent citizen of his community both he and Mary were proud of their African heritage and it is inconceivable that he would have made the offer he was purported to have made in order to get his daughter married.
JAMES
You’ve been able to work with Urban Stories a local theatre company here in Calgary on the development and production of your plays. What’s that been like?
MARIA
As an emerging playwright, collaborating with Urban Stories Theatre has been really advantageous. I met the founder and Artistic Director, Helen Young at an actors studio a few years ago and she encouraged me to expand a short play I had written into a full-length play which she then produced and presented as a main stage play. Urban Stories has a mandate to promote and support local playwrights and to that end they put on playwriting workshops, help budding writers through the dramaturgical and workshop process and will produce works which they feel fulfill their mandate of examining social justice issues.
Urban Stories has produced two of my full-length and two of my short one-act plays and we’re planning to produce the The Mary Mink Story at some point in the future. I originally had no intentions of offering this play to Urban Stories or anyone else for that matter because I had reached an impasse with the play and didn’t know how to move forward with it. I knew I wanted to expose the myth but I didn’t know how to do it, so I had put it away. Then I happened to mention to Helen that I had this play that I had more or less discarded and she asked to read it. She did and next thing I knew she said she wanted to produce it. So now I’m working with Urban Stories as well as dramaturge Caroline Russell-King, so that the play can be produced.
JAMES
Speaking of Urban Stories’ mandate to examine social justice issues what are you hoping audiences will get out of your telling of The Mary Mink Story?
MARIA
First of all, I hope they will find it entertaining and enjoyable but I also want people to see how easily lies can be created and perpetuated. This myth was born out of jealousy and dislike of the “other” and it persists even today.
JAMES
I assume you’re referring to the “other” as in immigrants or people of different race or nationality.
MARIA
Yes, I’m referring to immigrants and minorities but frankly as human beings we all have a tendency to be more wary and distrustful of anyone who is not like ourselves. Also there has recently been a lot of discussion about who has the right to tell other cultures’ stories and my play touches on that topic. As our society becomes more diverse it is important to talk about this and to understand how to respectfully approach the telling of stories about other cultures. I don’t think it is wrong to write stories or make movies about others but one should always think about how to do so in a respectful and mindful manner.
JAMES
Anything else you’d like to add about the play or writing or art or who you think is going to win the Grey Cup this year?
MARIA
I think theatre is important and it’s very pleasing how much good theatre there is to see in Calgary. We live so close to the US and their plays and playwrights tend to dominate so I think it’s very, very important to foster our own Canadian playwrights and their work. As for who will win the Grey Cup, I’m afraid I know nothing about football so, I won’t even hazard a guess.
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Maria Crooks is a Calgary playwright whose plays are often inspired by real events which she uses as a starting point for her fictional work. You can contact Maria by at catalinaver13@gmail.com if you’d like more information or if you’d like to obtain copies of her plays.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
The Servant is a play set in early 1960s Jamaica and Canada. It’s about a poor servant woman and her desperate efforts to achieve a better life for herself and her children despite the many forces arranged against her.
The Age of Love is a wacky comedy about an inheritance, a free-spirited step-grandma, a libidinous young man, his jealous mama, a weirdly eccentric German doctor and a ruthlessly ambitious talk show host. Non-stop hilarity ensues when these unlikely characters come together on a tabloid TV show.
The Mary Mink Story is a play about untrammelled ambition, ruthlessness and deceit and one man’s relentless efforts for the truth to be told.
SHORT PLAYS
Dreamboat is a 15 minute play about a plain young woman’s dreams of finding true love
La Mère, La Mer is a short play about a young mother’s descent into insanity and the unfathomable act she commits after the birth of her child.
Urban Stories Theatre is focused on supporting local playwrights writing about social justice issues by nurturing their ideas from first draft to finished production. The company is made up of a core group of local artists who oversee all productions and workshops. Budding actors, directors, stage managers and designers are encouraged to share their ideas by becoming part of the team on a show by show basis.
Vision: To give local artists a voice in creating theatre that tells real stories about real life.
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Playwright Meredith Taylor-Parry – Photograph James Hutchison
“I enjoy writing humour and I like the challenge. At the same time, if the story doesn’t have heart, if nothing serious is going on underneath the humour….what’s the point really? I want my plays to address some aspect of the human struggle that hopefully people can relate to. That’s what I want to see when I go to a play so naturally I aspire to that in my writing.” Meredith Taylor Parry interview Book Club II
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Meredith Taylor-Parry is a Calgary-based actor and playwright whose fun and insightful comedy Book Club was a runaway hit for Lunchbox Theatre back in 2016. At that time I did a two-part interview with Meredith. In Part One we talked about Meredith’s play Survival Skills which won the New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest in 2013 and was produced Off Off Broadway by the 13 Street Repertory Company. In Part Two we talked about Meredith’s play Book Club which was a funny and insightful look at motherhood and the joys and disappointments of life. Now in this third interview, Meredith and I talk about her very funny and moving sequel to Book Club – Book Club II: The Next Chapter, which premieres at Lunchbox Theatre and runs from September 18th to October 7th.
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JAMES HUTCHISON
The first Book Club was a big hit for Lunchbox Theatre and ended up having an extended and sold-out run. Audiences loved it! Why do you think the play resonated so well with audiences? And did you notice any difference in how men and women reacted to the play?
MEREDITH TAYLOR-PARRY
I knew I had a dream team as far as our director, actors, production and design team, but I never once imagined it would do so well! I can’t even tell you how much fun it was sitting in the audience listening to the laughs and waiting for the responses to my favourite moments. That was so exciting for me and unexpected.
I really think the reason the play resonated so well with people was because of the chemistry we had together as a group of artists. Everyone contributed so much to that script in the Stage One workshop process. There wasn’t one person in that room who didn’t add value to the script because everyone was brave enough to share themselves with me. I think that process and the generosity of the artists I was working with allowed me to find authenticity in the script along with the humour.
And, I think, the audiences liked it because they could relate to human beings, regardless of gender. One of the best comments I got was from a man who said, “good comedy is good comedy.”
Anna Cummer, Cheryl Hutton, Kira Bradley, Arielle Rombough and Kathryn Kerbes in the 2016 Lunchbox Theatre Production of Book Club
JAMES
How soon after Book Club did you start thinking about a sequel?
MEREDITH
I was watching performances of Book Club sell out and I was thinking, better strike while the iron is hot Meredith! I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to approach Mark Bellamy, Lunchbox Theatre’s Artistic Producer, when things were going well, and I had already been working on an idea for a sequel based on a weekend I had spent in Banff with my girlfriends.
I have the BEST group of girlfriends. We’re all moms and we have a lot of laughs together, and I’m constantly writing down ideas when I’m with them. They don’t mind either, they’re very supportive of my writing.
So, I took my idea and managed to scrape together 20 pages of Book Club II and a rough outline and I submitted it to Mark pretty much as soon as Book Club closed.
He was thrilled and considered it for the 2016 Stage One workshop but, due to scheduling issues, we couldn’t get the same team together to work on it. So, he scheduled me in for the 2017 Stage One series AND programmed it for the beginning of this season. He let me know at the beginning of this year and it was very exciting and of course a bit terrifying because I didn’t have a full script yet.
JAMES
What is Book Club II about?
MEREDITH
I wanted to further explore the nature of really good female friendships and examine how that works within one’s marriage.
There’s a special kind of intimacy I share with my girlfriend’s and I’ve questioned how that affects my relationship with my husband. Does he feel left out because I rely on them so much? What about my girlfriend’s spouses? How do they feel?
The first play was all about good girlfriends supporting each other through the messy business that is motherhood. I wanted Book Club II to explore the toll parenthood takes on a marriage and examine where the character’s husbands fit into the complicated lives of these women.
Anna Cummer, Cheryl Hutton, Kira Bradley and Arielle Rombough in a scene from the Lunchbox Theatre production of Book Club II: The Next Chapter – Playwright Meredith Taylor Parry Book Club II
JAMES
Even a good marriage has rough patches and, I think, unfortunately, our society places a lot of unrealistic expectations on our relationships. For example, there’s the idea that our romantic partners should know what we want and feel and think without us actually having to tell them. That’s a romantic notion that doesn’t reflect the reality of marriage or relationships. To make any relationship work, romantic or otherwise, you have to communicate. You have to tell your partner – when you’re hurting – what you need – what’s going on in your life – otherwise they won’t know. So, I guess what I’m asking is whether or not you think that some of the problems people face in their marriages are because the reality of marriage doesn’t live up to the romantic fantasy of marriage? And maybe – now that I think of it – men and women have different expectations of what marriage is?
MEREDITH
Yes, and yes! We are raised on a certain brand of romance. Cinderella has been around for a long, long time! I think we are both unrealistic in our expectations and I think men and women have different expectations for their romantic relationships. I also agree that communication is key. Humans are terrible mind readers yet we easily make assumptions about our partner’s thoughts and behaviours and communicate our needs in cryptic ways.
In the workshop, we did discuss the typical “husband on the couch while wife slams dishes into the dishwasher” scenario. Why doesn’t she just ask for help? Why doesn’t he pitch in without being asked? We also talked about the different expectations for men and women when it comes to emotional vulnerability in communication. I think we’re improving but there’s still a culture of emotional toughness when it comes to boys.
JAMES
Where did the actual story for Book Club II come from?
MEREDITH
It started with the original idea of the characters getting away for the weekend and talking about their marital woes. I talked with lots of girlfriends and a few male friends about their marriages and I also did a lot of reading. There’s a lot of material out there about marriage and relationships! I went back as far as Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus, remember that one?
One of my favourites was “How Not to Hate Your Husband After You Have Kids” by Jancee Dunn. So, the story of Book Club II contains bits and pieces of all the research I did and of course it evolved greatly in the Stage One workshop this past June. Curt Mckinstry was extremely helpful with developing the husband character. Once again, I was blessed with a generous artist who was willing to share himself. And, of course, I got the rest of my dream team back as well.
Cast of Book Club II – Anna Cummer, Cheryl Hutton, Kira Bradley, Arielle Rombough and Curt Mckinstry Playwright – Meredith Taylor Parry Book Club II
JAMES
Did you feel any pressure writing the sequel? Were you able to focus on the writing without worrying about it being as big a success?
MEREDITH
The pressure made me sick to my stomach to tell you the truth. What if number two sucks? But the great thing about a deadline is, you have no choice. I wasn’t going to walk into the workshop empty handed. It was a very intense week, the script was rough and I spent a lot of late nights writing so that I could address the issues that had come up during the day. That kind of intense writing leaves no room for your inner critic to get in the way. I did breathe a sigh of relief at the reading however when the audience seemed to like it. I also completely trust Shari Wattling, my dramaturg/director. She keeps me truthful and she keeps me focused and tells me when I’m drifting off course.
JAMES
I think one of the things that worked so well in the first play was the mix of humour and drama all brought to life by a wonderful cast and a terrific production. And I’d say based on the reading for Book Club II, which I saw back in June, I think you’ve managed to capture that same mix of humour and drama. So, I’m curious when you’re writing is the mix between humour and drama something you do intentionally or is it more of an intuitive process?
MEREDITH
I guess when I’m working I’m always looking for ways to work in funny or quirky bits. I enjoy writing humour and I like the challenge. At the same time, if the story doesn’t have heart, if nothing serious is going on underneath the humour….what’s the point really? I want my plays to address some aspect of the human struggle that hopefully people can relate to. That’s what I want to see when I go to a play so naturally I aspire to that in my writing.
Arielle Rombough, Cheryl Hutton, Kira Bradley, Curt Mckinstry and Anna Cummer in a scene from the Lunchbox Theatre production of Book Club II: The Next Chapter – Meredith Taylor Parry Book Club II
JAMES
It’s been a couple of years since you wrote the original Book Club. In what ways do you think you’ve evolved as a playwright?
MEREDITH
I’m learning more about structure and I’m learning more about the practice of writing. I was an on again off again kind of writer, creating in fits and starts and then buckling down when I had a deadline. But now, I write every day. A play is kind of like a lover, you need to give it attention so that it will give something back. If I give a play attention every day it seeps into my unconscious mind and feeds me new ideas constantly, even when I am not sitting at the computer. And hopefully on opening night, your lover doesn’t screw you over. Ha ha!
JAMES
If you loved Book Club you’re definitely going to love the sequel, but the great thing is you don’t need to have seen the first play in order to enjoy the second play. Both plays stand as full stories on their own. What do you want audiences to take away after they see the new story.
MEREDITH
My hope is that the audience will see a story they can relate to and enjoy a great night of theatre. I hope they will leave with a desire to see more theatre! There are so many spectacular offerings this season in Calgary!
JAMES
Are the girl’s stories going to continue? Is there a full-length play in the works? A book maybe? A possible television series?
MEREDITH
Good lord, you’re getting way ahead of me. Let’s see how this one goes first, shall we?
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Book Club II: The Next Chapter runs from September 18th until October 7th at Lunchbox Theatre. Performance times are Monday to Saturday at 12:00 noon plus a 6:00 pm show on Thursdays and Fridays. Tickets are $26.00 for adults and $21.00 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased on-line at Lunchbox Theatre or by calling the box office at 403-265-4292 x 0.
Book Club II: The Next Chapter by Meredith Taylor-Parry Book Club is back. Get ready for another page turner. September 18 – October 7, 2017
During a weekend getaway where the girls talk about creating a Mommy Commune and Lisa runs into an old boyfriend, the girls of Book Club have to examine what marriage and sisterhood truly means to them.
CAST
Kira Bradley – Kathy Anna Cummer – Ellen Cheryl Hutton – Lisa Arielle Rombough – Jenny Curt Mckinstry – Barry / Bartender / Colin
CREATIVE TEAM
Meredith Taylor-Parry – Playwright Book Club II Shari Wattling – Director Chris Stockton – RBC Emerging Director Terry Gunvordahl – Scenic & Lighting Design Rebecca Toon – Costume Design Allison Lynch – Sound Design Ailsa Birnie – Stage Manager Ava Bishop – Production Assistant
Flight Risk by Meg Braem One man’s heroic journey to find peace. October 23 – November 11, 2017
World War II veteran Hank Dunfield is about to celebrate his 100th birthday, but painful memories of his time as a tail gunner during the war don’t make him feel much like celebrating. Only his new nurse Sarah is finally able to get to the heart of Hank’s pain and sorrow and help Hank find peace with the past.
The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted by Joe Mantello The is one elf that won’t make the nice list. November 27 – December 23, 2017
An out-of-work actor in New York city takes a job as an elf in Macy’s Santaland Village and reveals all the crazy and hilarious behind-the-scenes shenanigans of the holiday season. A Christmas comedy for the little bit of humbug in all of us.
Inner Elder created and performed by Michelle Thrush One woman show for all people. Co-Presented with the High Performance Rodeo January 15 – 27, 2018
Using real memories about her Grandmother’s impact on her life, award winning Calgary actress, Michelle Thrush takes audiences on a journey of discovery. A journey where we see the transformation from child to elder and learn that for everyone laughter is the best medicine.
Ai Yah! Sweet & Sour Secrets by Dale Lee Kwong Dinner is served. So are juicy family secrets. February 19 – March 10, 2018
When her father invites a surprise guest to celebrate Chinese New Years more than one family secret comes out of the closet and Chinese-Canadian Jade Wong is caught between being true to herself and living up to her family’s cultural expectations. A funny heart-warming story for anyone who has ever faced an awkward family dinner.
Miss Caledonia by Melody Johnson This story will be over in an hour. Her Hollywood dreams may be too. April 2 – 21, 2018
Peggy Ann Douglas dreams of becoming a Hollywood movie star and leaving behind all the stall cleaning, hay-baling drudgery of her 1950’s life on Rural Route 2. Step one is to sing, twirl and pivot her way to being crowned Miss Caledonia in the local pageant!
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Playwright Meredith Taylor-Parry
Meredith Taylor-Parry is a playwright based in Calgary, Alberta. Her plays include So Long, a TYA play which toured Calgary and area schools in 2012 with Sandbox Children’s Theatre, Survival Skills (Winner New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest 2013) which was produced Off Off Broadway in 2014 by the 13 Street Repertory Company NYC and Devices which was produced as part of the 27th annual New Ideas Festival presented by Alumnae Theatre in Toronto. Her one act comedy, Book Club, received its world premiere at Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary in 2016, performing for a majority of sold-out audiences and held over due to the play’s popularity. She is looking forward to returning to Lunchbox with the sequel this September: Book Club II: The Next Chapter. Meredith is a co-founder of Bigs and Littles Theatre Society and a stay-at-home mom to 11 and 12-year-old girls. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Playwriting at the University of Calgary.
Bartley and Margaret Bard and Betty Gibb founded Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary in 1975. Lunchbox delivers a fun and unique experience to its audience – upbeat performances in an intimate and comfortable atmosphere. Patrons are encouraged to eat their lunch while they enjoy the show. Lunchbox Theatre focuses on the development and production of original one-act plays; many of which are written by local Calgarians.
Quota gets a London production and wins the Audience Choice Award as part of the British Theatre Challenge.
“All societies are based on codes of behaviour and when someone deviates from that code there has to be a way to handle the situation otherwise chaos would reign supreme, and we don’t want that now do we. We want everything nice and tidy. All the socks in the sock drawer and all the undies in the undie drawer.”
That’s a line from my play QUOTA. It’s what Dave Dixon gets told by Kathie, the Civic Census taker, after he gets flagged for corrective action.
QUOTA premiered at The British Theatre Challenge Act II in London England at the LOST Theatre. The production featured Anthony Acosta as Mr. Dixon, Stacey Norris as Kathie, and Alex Dowdin as Officer Carmichael. Photograph by Rah Petherbridge Art & Photography
QUOTA premiered at The British Theatre Challenge Act II in London England at the LOST Theatre. The production featured Anthony Acosta as Mr. Dixon, Stacey Norris as Kathie, and Alex Dowdin as Officer Carmichael. Photograph by Rah Petherbridge Art & Photography
QUOTA premiered at The British Theatre Challenge Act II in London England at the LOST Theatre. The production featured Anthony Acosta as Mr. Dixon, Stacey Norris as Kathie, and Alex Dowdin as Officer Carmichael. Photograph by Rah Petherbridge Art & Photography
QUOTA premiered at The British Theatre Challenge Act II in London England at the LOST Theatre. The production featured Anthony Acosta as Mr. Dixon, Stacey Norris as Kathie, and Alex Dowdin as Officer Carmichael. Photograph by Rah Petherbridge Art & Photography
QUOTA premiered at The British Theatre Challenge Act II in London England at the LOST Theatre. The production featured Anthony Acosta as Mr. Dixon, Stacey Norris as Kathie, and Alex Dowdin as Officer Carmichael. Photograph by Rah Petherbridge Art & Photography
QUOTA premiered at The British Theatre Challenge Act II in London England at the LOST Theatre. The production featured Anthony Acosta as Mr. Dixon, Stacey Norris as Kathie, and Alex Dowdin as Officer Carmichael. Photograph by Rah Petherbridge Art & Photography
I wrote QUOTA while I was doing a little research for another play about the internment camps that the Canadian government ran during World War One and World War Two.* It’s always bothered me that we were fighting dictatorships that put people in camps while we were doing the same thing. Of course our camps weren’t concentration camps but once you have a different set of laws and rules applied to one group in your society – how do you keep it from going to the extreme?
Maybe you keep it from going to the extreme by making sure the rule of law applies to everyone equally regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.
Of course that’s only if you believe that everyone is equal. Not everyone believes this. And if you’ve seen Avenue Q you know that we’re all a little bit racist. We’re all human and we make assumptions and have distorted beliefs about people and sometimes we’re not even aware of our own prejudice. But that’s a lot different than laws being enforced by a government that are intended to limit the rights and freedoms of a particular group simply because of of that group’s differences.
But governments are not composed of robots. Governments and Prime Ministers and Presidents and Kings and Dictators are all people. And so I have to wonder what kind of people are they? Are they good leaders? I think not if they allow such laws to be passed and enforced.
But what makes a good leader? I think good leaders don’t seek power for themselves but instead seek to empower others. Bad leaders are afraid of diversity. They’re afraid of others having power. They see the cup as half full and they want what’s in the cup all for themselves. And while I know there are lots of different definitions of leadership I think great leaders enlarge the world they don’t limit it. They share.
You know one of the purposes of theatre and story is to provoke discussion. Discussion about politics, morality, relationships, love, religion, and power. And comedy allows us to shine a light on attitudes and behaviours in a way that drama doesn’t. That’s why I wrote QUOTA. I wanted to take a look at how individuals go from being a member of society to becoming an identified minority and having their rights violated.
So, I’m excited to announce that QUOTA gets a London production and is being produced by Sky Blue Theatre as part of The British Theatre Challenge – Act II. The British Theatre Challenge is an annual international playwriting contest run by the Sky Blue Theatre Company and this year, in addition to the ten winning plays produced in December 2016, an additional six plays will be produced on Friday April 7, 2017 at the Lost Theatre in London, England. If you happen to be in London check it out.
QUOTA is the story of Dave Dixon who – while looking for a job on-line – is interrupted by the Metro City Census Taker. This is unlike any census Dixon has ever taken and when he’s asked whether or not he was spanked as a child he refuses to answer. That causes the Census taker to call for police back up and Dixon finds himself being targeted for corrective action because of his unemployment and the fact that he’s left handed. When a 2 kilo bag of white sugar is found on the premises and Dixon is facing jail time for trafficking he has to make a moral choice between naming names and protecting himself.
QUOTA gets a London Production
Guilty by Pete Barrett: Guilty takes Alice Golding one step through the looking glass into a bizarre courtroom scene, peopled by men, where she is tried for her many failures: her failure to get on with her own mother, her neglect of her children, her failure to find a job and contribute to the family budget, her failure to maintain her looks and figure and the consumption of an entire cheesecake in one go, thereby robbing her family of a Sunday treat and leaving them bereft. Of course, there can only be one sentence: life.
About Michael by Peter Anthony Fields: A first-year high school English teacher meets with the school’s administrators for what he believes is his mid-term job evaluation. However, as the meeting progresses, he soon discovers that the evaluation is actually an interrogation…
Threatened Panda Fights Back by Rex McGregor : As the World Wildlife Fund’s poster boy for endangered animals, Ling enjoys a comfortable life full of adulation and all the bamboo he can eat. But when a rival species challenges him for the role, he risks losing everything.
Mother’s Ruin by Michelle McCormick: As new parents, life for Esther and Tom has become a continuous cycle of miscommunication and long waits for invitations that never arrive. Then one simple question threatens to change everything. ‘Where’s the baby?’
The Waiting Room by Steve Shapiro: This is the place where you wait between lives. Barbara and Helmut arrive separately and must be assessed to see if they have fulfilled their pre-incarnation pledges, and while The Girl and Dinesh negotiate a better life next time. One of them is destined to make a mark in history.
Sky Blue Theatre strives to produce diverse and relevant works as well as being a hub of creativity and professional development for emerging artists. Lost Theatre is dedicated to promoting and developing young and emerging talent through regular productions, festivals, training, workshops and showcases in addition to year-round education and outreach activities.
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* Internment in Canada – World War I & World War II
At the beginning of World War I, the Government of Canada enacted the War Measures Act which gave it the power to suspend and limit civil liberties as well as the right to incarcerate “enemy aliens”. Enemy Aliens were citizens of states at war with Canada and who were living in Canada during the war. The camps were operated from 1914 to 1920. Twenty-four camps housed 8,579 men which included 5,000 Ukrainians and 2009 Germans. The camps provided forced labour which was used to build infrastructure as well as some of Canada’s best-known landmarks such as Banff National Park.
During the Second World War 40 camps held an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 prisoners. This included Germans and Italians and after Pearl Harbor approximately 20,000 Japanese Canadians were taken from their homes on Canada’s West Coast without any charge or due process and placed in remote areas of eastern British Columbia. The Canadian Government stripped them of their property and pressured them to accept mass deportation after the war ended. Most of the Japanese Canadians that were placed in camps were Canadian Citizens.
Playwright Meredith Taylor-Parry – Photograph by James Hutchison
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“The pattern is clear, women are drinking more. And not just in my circles. I think it’s a phenomenon in stay at home moms. It’s a way to get through the witching hour. It’s a way to relieve the anxiety and the pressure of information overload that moms now have because we’re trying to make the right choices. But there are so many choices laid out for us, with so many different arguments for which one is the right one, that we’re walking around with this mind boggling anxiety all the time that we’re making the wrong ones.” Playwright Meredith Taylor-Parry
Anna Cummer, Kira Bradley, Cheryl Hutton, Kathryn Kerbes, and Arielle Rombough in The Lunchbox Theatre Production of Book Club. Photo Benjamin Laird.
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There’s a new play premiering at Lunchbox Theatre next week by Calgary Playwright Meredith Taylor-Parry called Book Club. It’s a funny and insightful look at being human, motherhood, and coping with life’s disappointments and joys.
And it’s funny – did I mention that?
Very funny. And beautifully written. I highly recommend it. So, take your daughter and your mother and your grandmother. Get your son and your father and your grandfather. Gather up the whole family, members of the Book Club, the Wine Club and the Social Club and make sure you head to Lunchbox Theatre and catch this gem of a play.
Last week, I published the first part of my interview with Meredith where we talked about her play Survival Skills. This week, in part two, we talk about her play Book Club.
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Kira Bradley, Anna Cummer, Kathryn Kerbes and Cheryl Hutton in The Lunchbox Theatre Production of Book Club. Photo Benjamin Laird.
JAMES HUTCHISON
You came to the acting late, and now you’ve come to the writing later. And even though you haven’t been writing a long time you’ve had good feedback and some success including a production Off Off Broadway for your play Survival Skills. And now you have a new production coming up, here in Calgary, at Lunchbox Theatre for your play Book Club. How much do you feel maturity has played a role in you becoming a writer?
MEREDITH TAYLOR-PARRY
For me maturity was very important. I don’t think I would have had the confidence or the stories to become a writer if I’d tried this when I was nineteen.
For someone else, who’s got that confidence and talent right from the womb, they can sit down in their twenties and tell these great stories. But I wouldn’t have had the confidence to be able to tell them on paper and be brave enough to share them and get the feedback. I feel like I needed to gather confidence over the years, and then just gather a wealth of stories because life happens to you, and to other people, and you can write them down and turn them into drama.
And I struggle with that, from time to time, as a writer – when someone tells you something personal and you go, “Jesus, that’s a good line.” But if you’re a writer that’s what you do. I don’t make this stuff up. It’s hand delivered right to you – and you sit there and you take things in and you remember details.
Arielle Rombough, Kira Bradley, Cheryl Hutton, and Anna Cummer in The Lunchbox Theatre Production of Book Club. Photo Benjamin Laird.
JAMES
What is Book Club about?
MEREDITH
It’s about a bunch of mommies who are meeting for Book Club and I wanted to examine different kinds of mommies that I’ve met or mommy types. You know there’s the type of mommy, like me, that would give her kid a hot dog, and then there’s the type of mommy that would see that as child abuse. But we’re all mommies, right.
And then there’s that competitive nature we seem to have as human beings. That seems to happen with mommies. If you show up with bought cookies, from Safeway on bake sale day, you feel less than the person who shows up with homemade cookies that she must have spent all night slaving over.
And I also wanted to explore a darker idea. The phenomenon of wine being a civilized version of Valium in our generation. You know people get together for play dates and they have wine. They meet for book club and they have wine. The pattern is clear, women are drinking more. And not just in my circles.
I think it’s a phenomenon in stay at home moms. It’s a way to get through the witching hour. It’s a way to relieve the anxiety and the pressure of information overload that moms now have because we’re trying to make the right choices. But there are so many choices laid out for us, with so many different arguments for which one is the right one, that we’re walking around with this mind boggling anxiety all the time that we’re making the wrong ones.
Kathryn Kerbes, Cheryl Hutton, and Anna Cummer in The Lunchbox Theatre Production of Book Club. Photo Benjamin Laird.
JAMES
Tell me about workshopping the play at Lunchbox.
MEREDITH
Once I did the workshop process it became pretty clear right away – any wine drinking that happened had to be pretty tame because we wanted it to be a comedy and we didn’t want to explore the idea of addiction in stay at home mother’s at this time.
JAMES
You touch on it very lightly.
MEREDITH
Very lightly.
JAMES
There’s a resolution at the end of maybe we should stop drinking wine and actually read some books. So it is dealt with. But it’s a very funny play. And I think it’s all about trying to figure out life – it’s about hopes and dreams and figuring out how you can do the role you’ve been put into and whether or not that role fits you. And even though it’s about motherhood I think it’s about anybody because male or female we can relate to that because that’s a universal thing. How many dads are dads going – “Did I want to be a dad? I did want to be a dad. But now that I’m a dad –
MEREDITH
– boy does this ever suck –
JAMES
– this isn’t exactly where I want to be –
MEREDITH
– I wouldn’t trade them for anything but wow this sure sucks in some ways.”
JAMES
I love that you explore that because that’s not an unusual feeling. To think what life could be without the children but we’re made to feel guilty about that.
MEREDITH
Or to want other things, right? Because being a parent is supposed to be our most important role. Yeah, I want to be a great mom but I also want to be a great writer too. But, no, no, no, I have to want to be a great mom more – right? That’s more important.
Thanks for all the positive feedback by the way. I was shocked that everybody found it so funny and liked it so much because it was such a pleasure to write and it was easy to put down on paper. It just fell out of me.
When I did the workshop I’d get up early in the morning and I’d write a new scene and I’d go in and I’d be sick to my stomach when they sat down to read it because I’d just wrote it that day. And then when I got good feedback I just remember being continuously shocked – “Really? You really like it? Does that work?” And then when Mark Bellamy from Lunchbox read it and said, “I really like your play.” Once again I’m still kind of astonished that the feedback has been so good.
Kira Bradley, and Arielle Rombough in The Lunchbox Theatre Production of Book Club. Photo Benjamin Laird.
JAMES
Are you astonished in one sense because it was such an easy journey to reach a professional stage?
MEREDITH
Yes, absolutely – to reach a point where it’s going to be produced by a professional theatre. Yeah. That’s astonishing to me. So what does that tell you? I guess you should write what you know.
JAMES
How much do you credit the workshop? Because it was a wonderful ensemble – right – it just seemed to really work well.
MEREDITH
Yes, I had a bunch of superstars – fantastic actors – almost all of them young moms and then I had Shari Wattling and she’s a great director and a great dramaturge.
I also wanted to write a play with just female roles because the year before I put a play in and Glenda Stirling was at Lunchbox then and she said, “Wow four women up on stage – I love it! It didn’t make the cut this year but I really loved your play and I’d love to see all women up on stage.” And I said, “Yeah. I want to write good roles for women because I’m a woman and I’m an actor and I know how hard it is to find good roles.” So that was important.
But that process with Shari and the other actors was just gold because they gave me lots of things to think about. Lots of ideas. We discussed and talked about it at the table, and then I went home and thought about things they had said. When someone as talented as Myla Southward or Cheryl Hutton says, “I don’t know about that part – that’s a real harsh line or that falls flat with me…” and that’s the last thing you hear as you head out the door you think about that until bedtime. I trusted their opinions. These are talented artists. I was lucky to get that group.
That’s the dumb luck part. The dumb ass luck part that Vern Theissen talked about when he was talking about a career as a playwright in his workshop that we went to.
JAMES
So, so far, you’ve had a lot of dumb ass luck.
MEREDITH
I’ve had a lot of dumb ass luck man. I don’t know what’s going on? But I also think I got a lot of bad writing out of my system early on which feels good. When I look back on the classes I took with Clem Martini when I was taking my BFA at the U of C fifteen years ago I purged a lot of crappy writing off the top…kind of like the head on a beer, you know. I look back on some of that stuff and it just makes me laugh at how bad and self-involved it is – and how it’s not dramatic and I don’t care about structure. Or when I was trying to be funny – oh man, that’s painful. So, I feel like I purged a bit of that. And then to come back at it years later I was in a different place.
Cheryl Hutton and Kira Bradley in The Lunchbox Theatre Production of Book Club. Photo Benjamin Laird.
JAMES
You told me Clem encouraged you to write so he must have recognized something.
MEREDITH
Yeah, I guess. I don’t know. I mean I never did exceptionally well in his classes or anything but he’s a good teacher and a lot of the stuff he told me stayed with me. He told us about writing dialogue, about structure, and about the hero’s journey – and that stayed with me over the years and I’d think about it, you know, when I’d read a book, or watch a movie, and maybe that was because I was supposed to become a writer in the end.
JAMES
Are you able to picture what you want the future to be for you as a writer?
MEREDITH
I want to be writing of course. I would like to spend more time collaborating with other artists like we did that week when we did the workshop at Lunchbox. That’s when I’m at my best. Not when I’m on my own but when there’s a group of people around and we’re on the same creative page. You know not just writing in my own little office but being able to collaborate with other artists in order to make something you’ve created even better.
Anna Cummer, Cheryl Hutton, Kira Bradley, Arielle Rombough, and Kathryn Kerbes in The Lunchbox Theatre Production of Book Club. Photo Benjamin Laird.
***
Book Club by Meredith Taylor-Parry
Directed by Shari Wattling
What happens at book club, stays at book club.
Jenny is the perfect wife and mother. At least that’s what her book club thinks until one day she disappears and they have to turn detective and follow her trail! This mad cap, adventure-filled romp, shines a light on the pressures of motherhood and the value of true friendship.
World Premiere at Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary from February 8th to 27th, 2016 with the following cast and crew.
Cast
Lisa – Cheryl Hutton
Ellen – Anna Cummer
Mary – Kathryn Kerbes
Kathy – Kira Bradley
Jenny – Arielle Rombough
Creative Team
Playwright – Meredith Taylor-Parry
Director – Shari Wattling
RBC Emerging Director – Jenna Rogers
Stage Manager – Ailsa Birnie
Apprentice Stage Manager – Melanie Crawford
Scenic & Lighting Design – Anton de Groot
Costume Design – Dietra Kalyn
Sound Design – Allison Lynch
***
Playwright Meredith Taylor-Parry
Meredith Taylor-Parry is a playwright based in Calgary, Alberta. Her play Survival Skills won the New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest in 2013 and was produced Off Off Broadway by the 13th Street Repertory Company, NYC in April 2014. Her play Devices received a production in Week One of the New Ideas Festival at Alumnae Theatre in Toronto in March of 2015. Her most recent work, Book Club, was developed as part of the Suncor Energy Stage One Festival of New Canadian Work at Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary in 2014 and will receive a world premiere at Lunchbox in February 2016. Meredith is Co-Artistic Director of Bigs and Littles Theatre Society and also enjoys writing and performing for young audiences.
You can contact Meredith at LinkedIn by clicking the link above or by email at: mtaylorparry@gmail.com
***
Book Club was part of the Suncor Energy Stage One Festival of New Canadian Work at Lunchbox Theatre in June of 2014 where it received a workshop and reading.
Cast
Lisa – Brieanna Blizzard
Ellen – Myla Southward
Mary – Kathi Kerbes
Kathy – Cheryl Hutton
Jenny – Arielle Rombough
Creative Team
Playwright – Meredith Taylor-Parry
Director/Dramaturge – Shari Wattling
Assistant Dramaturg – Jacqueline Russel
Setting
The action takes place over a few hours in Lisa’s home, at a male strip club, outside a tattoo parlour, in a rough part of town, and outside an airport.
Synopsis
When Jenny is a no-show on Book Club night the mommies start to worry. When she sends them a text to tell them she has booked a flight to Italy, they really get frantic. The group heads out on the town to track down their friend and hopefully talk some sense into her. This is a play about motherhood, from the stress of competitive parenting to the beauty of a good girlfriend who will help you get through it.
Bartley and Margaret Bard and Betty Gibb founded Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary in 1975. Lunchbox delivers a fun and unique experience to its audience – upbeat performances in an intimate and comfortable atmosphere. Patrons are encouraged to eat their lunch while they enjoy the show. Lunchbox Theatre focuses on the development and production of original one-act plays; many of which are written by local Calgarians.
So, last year around the holidays I decided to watch the movie August: Osage County. Maybe I’d had enough of It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street and was in need of something a little darker. After all, you need to balance the sweet with the sour – don’t you?
August: Osage County is a gathering of the clan to say farewell to the family patriarch, poet, and drunk Beverly Weston. It’s a gathering of the clan that brings up old wounds and explosive confrontations. You know – your typical holiday family gathering.
Anyway, not everyone liked the movie – it has a 64% positive rating from the critics and a 65% positive rating from the public at Rotten Tomatoes. I’m one of those 65%. I liked it. Loved it in fact. I read the play and I watched the movie and I think Tracy Letts did a fantastic job of adapting his play for the big screen. Although I saw it at home on the small screen. Which isn’t that small anymore. Do you remember when a 26-inch television was considered big? Do you remember how happy we were to get a remote control…which meant we didn’t have to get off the couch to change the channel? But you know what, now that I think about it, maybe the invention of the remote control coincides with the obesity problem I’ve heard so much about over the last decade. Maybe getting up and changing the channel was a good thing. Yes, clearly we must outlaw remote controls for televisions. There’s a logic to that. A dumb logic, but a logic never-the-less.
Anyway, I loved August: Osage County and what a cast. A cast that includes Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Margo Martindale, Ewan McGregor, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Sam Shepard. It was a terrific ensemble. And I think they’d be my dream cast for a big-screen version of Gilligan’s Island. Can you imagine Meryl Streep as Mrs. Howel? Benedict Cumberbatch as Gilligan?
So, a few weeks after I saw the movie I went out with some other playwriting friends who didn’t share my opinion. They didn’t like the movie. They felt something was lost on the big screen. They felt the stage play was more powerful because the action takes place in one location. I didn’t agree. I’ve never been to Nebraska but it was an environment I knew. I understood it. It reminded me of my own boyhood when we’d visit my Uncle and Aunt in Salmon Arm during the hot Okanagan summers. But I think the main reason I connected with the film on an emotional level was because of how the characters were all coping with lives that were unhappy. How many people stay together as a couple when a relationship is dead or work at a job they hate or search for meaningful relationships and can’t find them or simply have to deal with the daily pain of being out of sync with life?
And that’s what all the characters in August: Osage County are doing – they’re coping. Some of the characters are taking action to change things – some of those actions are drastic – and in the end – well if you haven’t seen it I don’t want to give away the end – but I liked the ending. And I found it satisfying – I found there was an emotional journey for each of the characters and for me that’s one of the things that makes the play and the movie work so well. And in particular, I liked Julia Roberts’ performance because it was through her character that I most identified with the story.
So, like all films that touch us on some personal level, they do so because we can identify with them and they reflect some aspect of our own worldview and or experience. Which surprised me – because I didn’t think August: Osage County was about how I felt about the world. But it is. Because it made me reflect on my life and the choices I’ve made.
I just have one wish though…and that’s for the Lifetime channel to commission an August: Osage County Christmas Special – who the hell needs the Waltons – I’d rather spend Christmas with the Weston family – can’t wait to see them fight over the wishbone.
Directed by John Wells Screenplay by Traci Letts Original Play by Traci Letts
Meryl Streep – Violet Weston Julia Roberts – Barbara Weston Chris Cooper – Charlie Aiken Ewan McGregor – Bill Fordham Margo Martindate – Mattie Fae Aiken Sam Shepard – Beverly Weston Dermot Mulroney – Steve Huberbrecht Julianne Nicholson – Ivy Weston Abigail Breslin – Jean Fordham Benedict Cumberbatch – Little Charles Aiken Misty Upton – Johnna Monevata
Music by Gustavo Santaolalla Cinematography by Adriano Goldman Edited by Stephen Mirrione
“Family dysfunction has seldom been as flamboyant—or notable for its performances and flow of language—as it is in this screen version of the Tracy Letts play, directed by John Wells from a screenplay by the playwright. The cast alone is worth the price of admission: Meryl Streep as the cancer-riddled, drug-addled matriarch, Violet Weston; Sam Shepard as her alcoholic husband; Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette Lewis as the couple’s daughters; and Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor, Margo Martindale, Benedict Cumberbatch and Abigail Breslin as members of their extended family. The language, rich in invective, flows from kindred spirits who are rich in aggressiveness, both the active and passive flavors.”
Joe Morgenstern – The Wall Street Journal December 28, 2013
