Toronto Fringe 2017

What's summer without the Toronto Fringe?

Year after year, the Toronto Fringe Festival is the event I look forward to most each summer. With 160 shows to choose from this year, it's set to be an amazing event From July 5-16, 2017.

This marks a new era for the Fringe with a brand new location for the Fringe tent (at Scadding Court at Bathurst & Dundas) and some new venues (including the Theatre Centre). It will be very strange to not be in the alley at Honest Ed's but the new venue is close to home and I'm sure we'll all transition nicely to the new space.

As always, there is some great pre-coverage popping up (including lists from Derrick Chua and Steve Fisher, whose opinions I trust!) and I'm starting to mark up my own program and make a game plan for my Fringe itinerary. I'm not in any shows this year, but I have been helping to do PR and social media for one. As someone who loves theatre and the Fringe, it's been great to be immersed in the press releases and all the buzz surrounding this year's shows.

About a week away, here's what I'm looking forward to:

Katherine Fogler Photography

Pineapple Club (Factory Theatre Mainspace) - In getting ready to write this post, I pulled up my Fringe posts from the last couple of years, and lo and behold Dance Animal was at the very top of my 2016 list (and I loved it!) I started working with the team doing PR and social media a couple of months ago. In this time, I've gotten to see a behind-the-scenes peek into Dance Animal Director / Choreographer Robin Henderson's process as she's worked with Paul Barnes, Jonathan Shaboo and Pascale Yensen to create this brand new show. It's part comedic dance, part sketch comedy and part social commentary -- which is such a great mix. This team is incredibly talented and I can't wait to see this show come into fruition.

Not Enough (Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace) - Another name that has popped up on my Fringe lists over the years has been Megan Phillips. We connected years ago through a message board, and I'm so glad that she makes the journey to Toronto each year to be a part of the Fringe. I got to see this show last year when she was previewing it here before taking it across Canada, and it's a funny, candid take on change, forgiveness and becoming enough.

Soaring in Liquid Skies (Theatre Pass Muraille Backspace) - I've had the chance to see Franco Nguyen do sketch and standup a few times recently, and he is a fantastic, charismatic performer with a unique point of view of the world.

Maddie's Karaoke Birthday Party (The Monarch Tavern) - Add some of my favourite performers in the city with one of my favourite pastimes and that's a show that's right up my alley.

James & Jamesy in the Dark (Al Green Theatre) - I got to have tea onstage with James & Jamesy a few years ago at Fringe, and nearly peed myself from laughing. I'm pumped to see them back and this new show, set entirely in the dark, sounds like it's going to be something completely unique, hilarious and magical.

Other shows I'm looking forward to: Bendy Sign Tavern - Sex T-Rex is another Fringe favourite of mine and I'm excited to see them jump into a rom-com with puppets in a bar, Weaksauce - Sam Mullins is one of my favourite storytellers and this show was charming when I saw it a few years ago, Contagious - love this premise and another solid creative team, True North Mixtape - I was obsessed with Summerland 2 years ago, so this is absolutely on my list, Jay and Shilo's Sibling Revelry - while it's made for kids, the story sounds adorable and I'm a huge Jeni Walls and Justin Bott fan, and Ten Creative Ways to Dispose of Your Cremains - which I had no idea about until I saw it on every list under the sun and it has caught my attention!

As word of mouth starts to spread my list will be constantly changing and evolving, but I can't wait to dive into 10 days of talent, frolicking from theatre to theatre and seeing all of my theatre friends (and random people I know) in the Fringe tent.

If you'd like to follow along with my adventures, I'll be tweeting away @ashleydtl (I think Fringe is one of the only reasons I keep my Twitter going...) and posting on my Instagram story (also @ashleydtl)

Grab yourself a Fringe program and take the time to see a show (or 4!) from July 5 - 16. All ticket sales go back to the artists involved and be sure to take a moment to tip the Fringe.

What are you looking forward to this Fringe?

Toronto Fringe 2016

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Toronto Fringe Festival is basically the second coming of Christmas for performers.

It's an amazing opportunity to see lots of shows, visit with friends, hang out in the Fringe tent, frolic in the sunshine and enjoy the arts and general merriment for 10 days. This year is slightly bittersweet as it's the last year that the Fringe tent will be in the Honest Ed's alley (since Honest Ed's is set to close and be turned into condos...)

I've had many good memories in the Fringe tent over the years! It always takes at least 30 minutes to an hour to leave because anytime you try, you wind up running into 10,000 people you know and it's just a fun place to socialize and chat with people who you don't always get to see. I live nearby, so I end up in the tent many nights after seeing shows just to have that fun social time. Even though I'm not performing in a show this year, it's still such a blast and something I really look forward to every summer.

The Fringe officially starts today and I've already got a handful of shows picked out to get this ball rolling! With 160 shows, it can be tough to start making choices about which to prioritize. Since shows can also sell out quickly, it's also great if you can set your schedule, and pick up advance tickets for anything that you're desperate to see.

There's lots of great lists floating around (including ones from Derrick Chua and Steve Fisher at Post City whose opinions I value) But here are some things I'm getting started with this weekend / grabbing my advance tickets for!

Dance Animal - Knowing a friend in the cast and watching Dance Raccoon do a monologue at a recent event has me completely sold. Comedy + dance + animals = absurd hilarity.

#MannequinGirl: the musical - I really enjoyed writer Elize Blue Musselwhite's fringe musical last year and the premise of becoming an internet sensation after being hit with a mannequin in the street speaks to the social media lover in me. Alyssa Minchillo is a heck of a talent and I think it should be really cute!

SexT - The conservative parents of Ontario have been livid over the province's new sex ed curriculum and from my perspective it's all been pretty ridiculous to watch unfold. This show has been developed with a bunch of teens and I love that they're bringing sex, consent, sexting and relationships, front and centre from their perspective.

The Pirate Queen of the Stars - I met Megan (who is in the show as well as producing it) years and years ago on an internet message board (true story) and we finally met last year in Toronto during Fringe. It's been amazing to watch her grow over the years as a human and as an artist, so I'm ultra excited for this show! I've been hearing bits and pieces of some of the songs over the last few weeks which has piqued my interest and I'm really looking forward to seeing it all come together. They've assembled an incredible cast of hilarious powerhouse performers and it's billed a sci-fi musical comedy - COME ON.

Other shows I'm looking forward to: Life After (I was part of a reading of this a few years ago and can't wait to see how far it's come. Britta Johnson is such a talent), Bright Lights (top notch cast + Kat Sandler = Fringe magic), Romeo and Juliet Chainsaw Massacre (so much happening and lots of great folks involved), The Fence (Johnson, Johnston and Wilde are incredible and I adored Summerland last year), Wasteland (Sex T-Rex is always awesome), Blind to Happiness (coming highly recommended!) and Echoes (again another great team with a new musical)

I'm sure there will be other shows that come and go onto my list as word of mouth starts to spread - which is half the fun. I can't wait!

If you'd like to follow along with my adventures, I'll be tweeting up a storm (@ashleydtl) and probably adding some snaps to my story (ashleydtl) likely with shenanigans from the tent!

If you're in Toronto over the next 10 days, I highly suggest you grab a program or download the app and support some amazing theatre! All ticket sales go back to the artists involved and be sure to take a moment to tip the Fringe.

What are you looking forward to this Fringe?

Fringe 2015

I have to say that Fringe is always one of my favourite times of year - it's kind of like Christmas for actors. You stay out late, see old friends and rush from venue to venue taking in as many shows as your schedule will allow - I love it! With nearly 150 shows happening right now, there truly is something for everyone and a week into the Fringe I am feeling oh-so-inspired.

I started off by seeing People Suck for its opening night last Wednesday which was a great way to kick off the festival! The premise is simple - sometimes people suck - and the cast delivered that message through some very funny songs and physical humour. There was a Gilbert & Sullivan-esque number about grammar that I found especially enjoyable and revelled in all the different ways that people can be terrible. My friend Megan (who I connected with YEARS ago through a message board back in the day) co-wrote and starred in the show and it made me so proud to see her shine! They've been getting great reviews and have had a few sold out shows, which is all kinds of awesome!!

I knew that I would spend most of Saturday engaging in Fringe activities, but I didn't anticipate pushing through 11 hours of musical adventures! I spent the early part of my day in the Annex Theatre, being inspired once again by mega talented friends in Adventures of a Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl with Rebecca Perry and Starry Notions with Ryan G. Hinds. Rebecca has been all over the Fringe circuit over the last couple of years and is about to embark on an incredible adventure to Edinburgh for their Fringe. She is so talented and works like crazy - it's just so great to see. Before Fringe I had seen glimpses of performances by Ryan G. Hinds, but never a full show -- gah, I was missing out! He is so charismatic, hilarious and rocks glitter lips like it's nobody's business. His show gave me feelings in my eyes and I was captivated by his performance (and especially loved his homage to Disney villain, Ursula)

I spent my afternoon enjoying time with friends, having snacks and got to see Rounding the Bend and I'm Right Here before the day was done. I loved hearing wonderful female harmonies performed by a very talented cast in Rounding the Bend and was reminded of the impact that social media has on our lives in I'm Right Here. Four shows felt like a pretty solid day and I had the chance to see lots of lovely friends in the Fringe tent that evening. 

On Sunday I saw Summerland and I loved every second. 

With a cast of 100 students, this show reminded me of why I decided to go to musical theatre college. I had tears in my eyes for most of the 90 minutes and probably could have easily watched 90 minutes more. So much raw talent. Awesome musical arrangements. Beautiful dancing. A magical story. So special. I was a bit of a wreck at the end of the show and have sung its praises to anyone who will listen since Sunday afternoon. Part of what I love about the Fringe is that for $10 you can be treated to an epic piece of theatre and entertainment that transports you to another world for a moment in your life. I would go see it again in a heartbeat just to feel all the feelings again. Sum-mer-land. 

I also had the pleasure of seeing Sword Play: A Play of Swords on Sunday night. It was the perfect way to end the weekend with a lot of laughing and memories of my very first Nintendo back in the 80's. 

My Fringe adventures will continue this week! Now that word of mouth is spreading and many reviews have come out, I've narrowed down my picks and booked advance tickets to a few shows. I can't wait to see Morro and Jasp Do Puberty (they're always fab), The Orchid and the Crow (Daniel Tobias is an outstanding performer and it will be great to see him in a very different kind of show) and The Dinner Table which is a site-specific show with only 12 audience members and some of the city's best storytellers + dinner. 

There is still time to get out and see some incredible theatre and party it up in the Fringe tent! Follow along with the #FringeTO hashtag and enjoy some of the amazing talent that is gracing stages all over Toronto this week!! 

The Confidential Music Theatre Project

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to be a part of something magical.

It started 6 weeks ago, when I walked into my voice lesson feeling kinda bummed out. It was mostly due to 'a change in direction by the producers'  resulting in me losing a singing gig that I was really excited about. I was also feeling run down in my ongoing hunt for an agent and disappointed that I hadn't gotten times for a couple of auditions that I was stoked about. These are totally normal occurrences and feelings in this industry, but everything had just piled up and I was feeling a bit disheartened. I told my voice teacher about how I was feeling at the start of our lesson. We had a great session together and she mentioned that there was a project she was working on that may need someone like me. SO nice. The offer + the lesson was a definite pick me up, and just what I needed.

The next day I was contacted by Robert, one of the organizers of The Confidential Music Theatre Project. He told me that they were assembling a cast who would learn well-known (but not done often enough) show on their own and then put it on for an audience, who wouldn't know what show they were seeing until they arrived at the theatre. The cast would gather an hour before the show and then perform. It was the very first time they were going to be doing this and were really excited about the show choice. I was intrigued and excited so of course I said yes!

Then I learned what the show was.

I found out that I had agreed to play the Nurse / Harriet in Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George. Not only was I excited, but now I was mildly terrified. I am confident in my singing and acting abilities, but I had just signed on to learn a show by STEPHEN FUCKING SONDHEIM on my own to be performed with a group of unknown people for the very first time in front of an audience. (For those who aren't musical theatre aficionados, Stephen Sondheim is an amazing composer who has written shows like Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd and Follies and writes incredibly difficult (and brilliant!) music and harmonies). I equated it to having sex for the first time - you have an idea of what you're doing before it happens, you've practiced on your own and then you jump in head first with another person not really knowing how it will really go. Except my first time was going to be with a cast of others AND an audience. How's that for pressure?

I slowly started to put the pieces of the puzzle together and had fun keeping the secret of the show's identity. I realized I knew some people in the cast and poured over my script and score as much as I could. In the days leading up to the show, I could hardly believe what we were about to do. Tickets were selling well and it became apparent that this crazy, secret, theatrical experiment was going to be a real thing!

The day of the show arrived and I needed to trust that I knew everything as well as I was going to know everything. My role wasn't huge, but I still had some solo bits and was certainly challenged learning harmonies on my own. The cast met 90 minutes before the show, quickly went through the Act Two finale and that was it! I posted a video that joked that I was distracting myself from puking, when really the whole thing just felt surreal. The Berkeley Street Theatre was pretty much sold out and we learned that the audience wasn't actually going to be told what the show was - we were just going to start after an introduction from Robert. With scripts in hand, we took our seats on stage and James Woods (our George) began.

One of my very favourite moments of the whole night happened as soon as James uttered his first few words, and it was then that I realized the magic of this project. He started, and I watched a gal in the audience visibly LIGHT UP and gasp. I later learned that it was her very favourite show and she was over the moon thrilled to be seeing it onstage.

The cast was incredible. It was beautiful to watch James and Blair Irwin as George and Dot/Marie. There were awesome demonstrations of spontaneity that you often see at first reads for shows, but everyone did an amazing job at building relationships and familiarity without really having met one another previously. As the Nurse in act one, I had a blast playing with Qasim Khan in our few moments together (and hilariously asking backstage, "what's your name again?!") I can identify one noticeable moment where the whole thing went off the rails (somewhere around part 396 of 'Putting it Together). The whole thing went by in a blur, with our audience generously giving us a standing ovation after both act one and act two. When it was all over, we were all exhausted, exhilarated and generally in awe that we had done it.

After a very late night (considering we previewed, opened, closed & cast partied all in one night), I woke up the next day feeling very inspired. The fact that I was a part of something entirely unique and incredibly special was not lost on me and I was so grateful to have had the chance to be onstage with a such a generous, brave and talented group of performers. I was thankful for the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and do something mildly terrifying and mostly thrilling in front of an audience.

And while Sondheim's melodies are complex and his lyrics can be wordy, I can't stop humming the songs and revisiting moments in the show. The music and lyrics resonate pretty deeply and the entire experience has been a reminder that I'm on the right path with so many possibilities to follow.

"White. A blank page of canvas. His favorite. So many possibilities..."

- George, Sunday in the Park with George

The Power of Being Happy

Two weeks ago I got together with some of my classmates from theatre school. We realized that it's been more than 10 years since we started theatre school, fresh faced and many of us directly from high school with hopes and dreams of being "triple threats". Theatre school was an intense journey of self discovery, growth, perseverance, bravery, resilience and of course acting, singing and dancing. Our original class of 52 dwindled down to 31 by the time we graduated in 2005.

In the 9 years since graduation my classmates have taken many different paths. Some have continued performing, finding their niche onstage or in film and television. Others acted for awhile immediately following school, but then decided to go back to school or found other things they were passionate about. People who once spent 12 hours a day living-breathing-sleeping musical theatre found new loves in yoga, political science, nursing and teaching.

The catalyst for our mini reunion was the news of the death of one of our former classmates, making our night together bittersweet. But together we celebrated her life, reconnected and reflected on all that has happened since our graduation many moons ago. Even with the time that has passed, everyone looked nearly the same and it was wonderful to hear about all that was happening in their lives whether it be stories of their relationships and families, exciting news of their debut EP, tales of working towards being a professional wrestler, travel stories and general life catch up.

I walked away from our night out feeling positive and recharged in spite of the initial sad reason for our gathering It was so nice to see these people I had once known so closely doing well on their various paths and I was struck by one common denominator: happiness.

Everyone's lives were bustling with things that they were excited about and the positive feelings among us were palpable. If you had asked all of us as brand new musical theatre school graduates where we thought we'd be nine years later, I don't think that any of us would have put us exactly where we are today, but that's perfectly okay. In living our lives since 2005 we've experienced a lot on individual paths bringing us to where we stand in 2014, doing things that make us happy. And that's pretty awesome.

There really is something to be said for the power of happiness and finding it in (perhaps unexpected) places.

Top Moments of 2013

Wow 2013, you've been quite a year! I can hardly believe that another 365 days have passed as I lived the year of serendipity. And serendipitous it has been, in so many ways. Here are some of my favourite things that happened this year. 

I started off the year with a super fun trip to Ottawa to visit my bestie, Mel. I'm so thankful that Mel and I both work hard to keep our relationship strong and it was such a blast to visit her in snowy Ottawa. I can't wait to go back - hopefully sometime this year! 

This year included being on the cover of The Grid, being auctioned off for charity, being on the cover of a magazine highlight women in the arts and co-hosting a cooking show in my home. Really neat and a whole lot of serendipity to make it all happen. 

I discovered the Lovebot and have since become an unofficial ambassador of sorts to this incredible project. 

It's so lovely to see them all over the city and great to get into conversations with people that start with "So what's the deal with these Lovebots?!" I've since gotten to meet Matthew Del Degan who created the Lovebot and am thrilled for what's in store in the land of love for 2014!

In other love news, my sweet friend Lindsay got married in June and her wedding was absolutely one of my favourite moments of the year (if not my life!) It was so special to be a part of their day and all of the festivities leading up to it. I'm thankful that our friendship strengthened as a result. I will also never look at fuchsia the same way. 

I got to interview two of my favourite bands from my childhood - New Kids of the Block and Hanson!! Also got to see both of them in concert. 8 year old me and 13 year old me would have died (or at least started screaming their faces off) if only they knew what was to come 15+ years in the future. I also saw a slew of other great concerts including the Joni Mitchell tribute at Massey Hall, James Blake, Natalie Weiss, Jason Robert Brown and Rich Aucoin x2. 

I sold out my first solo cabaret, raised $1000 for CAMH and was asked to revamp the show for 2014 to be performed at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. 

Putting the first Life is Sweet show and blog series together was an incredible experience and I'm so proud that I get to do it again this year as a result. 

I also had an amazing time with my second solo cabaret I Know it's Today where I talked about boys, dating, relationships and everything that has happened since that time I was engaged. 

Speaking of boys, 2013 brought some ups and downs in my love life (hence the cabaret) but was so lucky to connect with my incredible boyfriend, Corbin, towards the end of the summer. I've fallen so head over heels in love with that man and am so excited to be heading into 2014 with him next to me!

In addition to performing in a bunch of shows, I saw 32 shows, which will become 33 after I see Les Miserables this afternoon. From plays at Fringe to cabarets by friends to huge musicals, I've seen a bit of everything and continue to love supporting the theatre community in Toronto and being inspired by shows in New York. I can't wait to see what's in store for 2014!

Oh yah, I went to New York. It was pretty magical. I still need to blog about all the wonderful things that happened. It's coming, I promise! 

Today I'm celebrating the end of 2013 and new beginnings for 2014 with a lovely friend date this morning and a sweet Corbin date to see Les Mis this afternoon. I think I'll have a quiet evening, but I'm looking forward to what's in store for this new year. 

Happy New Year - see you in 2014!

Five Things I've Been Doing Instead of Blogging

Ohai friends. Happy Friday the 13th! It’s been awhile. I've been busy. It’s the holiday season, so who isn't, really? Here are my reasons (I think they’re pretty good…)

1. I've been rehearsing for The Wedding Singer

I was thrilled to be cast as Julia in Hart House’s upcoming production of The Wedding Singer (January 10-25th) and I've been running around the theatre having a blast. I love the movie and the musical is even more fun. My Robbie is adorable and the whole cast is mega talented. This will continue to keep me extra busy until we open, but I couldn't be happier to be doing this show.

2. I've been working on The Life is Sweet Project

I’m lucky to have two shows opening in the next two months and similar to this past February, there are a number of elements to coordinate for this project. I've been writing the show, discussing the show, rehearsing music and looking for contributors to the blog projects (wanna write for me? Send me an email!) It’s a lot of work, but incredibly rewarding and tickets are selling away. It’s exciting and terrifying.

3. I was frolicking in New York City

It’s rather apparent that NYC is pretty much my favourite place on the planet and I was so happy to spend five days there in November. There is a blog post coming next week about my magical adventures of food, theatre and being in love.

4. I've been doing neat things like shooting tv shows and posing for magazine covers

Apparently my life is glamorous sometimes, who knew? In October I shot an episode of Home Cookin’ for Rogers TV where I made some delicious sweet potato quinoa chili, kale salad and apple crumble parfaits with the lovely Emanuela Pires. You can see a clip from the episode here. I also had the pleasure of doing an interview for rouse magazine about The Life is Sweet Project and ended up on their cover. They did an amazing job with the article and I was so honoured to be their first cover girl!

5. Eating / Sleeping / Living

I've always said that life comes first, blogging comes second. I’m really hoping to write more in 2014 and determine a way to make that happen. I think once the chaos of two shows + work + commuting calms down, it should leave me some of this ‘free time’ people speak of. Last week life included an amazing steampunk goth wedding and next week will include more rehearsal, HoHoTO, singing at Ryan Hinds’ Holiday Comedy Cabaret Coffee Talk, finishing my Christmas shopping and making festive treats. And sleeping. I'm not exactly sure when, but it will happen.

How are you surviving the holiday season? What's been keeping you busy of late?

Another November 11th

Today is November 11th. This means it is another birthday that my mom is not here to celebrate; another birthday that I am left to reflect on her life and how much I miss her. 

As I've worked on getting my new show together, I've been thinking a lot about my mom. I did an interview about the show a couple of weeks ago and the interviewer asked me what my mom was like. I hate the fact that as time goes on, I find it more and more difficult to answer this question. In the years that she's been gone, I've worked hard to hold on for dear life to the memories I do have of her, but realize that they're assembled more like an abstract painting than a photograph; Some things about her are blurry and others are fading entirely. I try desperately to hold on to the sound of her voice or her laugh, but worry that as time goes on they will disappear completely. 

I often think about what she would be like now if she were still around. Would she still wear high-waisted jeans and have epic hair? What kind of music would she like? I think my mom would have liked some of the incredible female artists that I listen to including Feist, Adele, Amy Winehouse, and Florence and the Machine which is how Cosmic Love found its way into the set list. I think the epic hair may have stuck around too. 

I recently found myself thinking that my mom would have really liked my boyfriend (which was later solidified when my aunts met him and expressed how much they liked him). It was a pretty emotional moment that completely caught me by surprise. I don't know that I've ever really thought that about a person previously and it's hard to come to terms with the fact that my mom will never get to meet so many of the people who are important to me in my life now. 

I'm thankful to be doing the new version of my show in three months as it's an opportunity for so many others to learn about my mom and her story. When I set out to do the show last February, I didn't realize what a profound experience it would be for me or the effect it would have on others. In her time here, my mom touched a lot of people, but the show and the blog is an opportunity for her life to have an impact on even more people. It's also a chance for me to keep the memories that I do have top of mind and close to my heart. That's incredibly important to me. 

Today is November 11th. While my mom may not be here to celebrate her day, I'm here to reflect on her life and celebrate the time that we did have together. She was such a special woman. Happy birthday. 

---

I'm currently working to put together another month of blog posts for February to run in conjunction with my show, The Life is Sweet Project with Angelwalk Theatre. If you'd be interested in sharing your story of mental health or loss, please check out last February's posts and then send me an email through the contact me link. This year was a moving experience for me, and I'm looking forward to having even more people be a part of it for February 2014. 

My favourite July Accessory

My Tip the Fringe button!!

I've been having a lot of fun over the last week seeing shows and visiting with friends at the Fringe Club. I'm looking forward to seeing a bunch more shows this weekend (I think 7??) and seeing some of the more popular shows at Best of Fringe over the next couple weeks. 

It's supposed to be a beautiful weekend, so head out to the Annex and see some shows! The complete listing is available on the Fringe site and there are lots of reviews and opinions floating around the internet. So far I've loved Bremen Rock City and Honest Aesop's Fables and I'm really looking forward to The Musical of Musicals (The Musical), Polly Polly, You Won't Be Here (Tomorrow) and 2 for Tea. Lots of shows have sold out of advance tickets, so be sure to arrive early to avoid disappointment! (Tickets go on sale at the venue an hour before the show).

Have you been Fringe-ing? What have you loved?

Sister Time in Stratford

Thanks to everyone who sent me sweet tweets, comments and messages after last week's post. I'm feeling a lot better about the whole thing, it was just a really scary day! 

After feeling not so great for a couple days, it was really nice to be able to look forward to another fun trip to Stratford with Jessie for You're a Good Man Charlie Brown! It was so awesome to be included as part of the Stratford Tweeter's Club once again and have access to ridiculously great (and free for me!) seats for the show. 

We stopped in at Down the Street for dinner once again. 

And shared a really yummy curry and salad combo on the patio. It's a great little spot and the patio is adorable! In true sister fashion, we had a little photo shoot... 

We had a bit of time to kill before the show so we decided to take a little wander around downtown Stratford and saw some ominous clouds in the distance... 

 

and then in what felt like seconds we got caught in TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR. 

So we took more photos. Obviously. 

Jessie managed to score a second umbrella at the PharmaPlus so we showed up back to the theatre feeling happy and dry. 

The show was good! Some really standout performances from Ken James Stewart as Charlie Brown, Stephen Patterson as Snoopy and Kevin Yee who stole my heart as Linus. The ensemble sounded great together, the set was super cute (with fun video elements), there was some great character development of the beloved Peanuts and the show made me smile a lot. There were lots of kids in the audience, which made everything a little unpredictable at times, but definitely enhanced the whole experience. It was another super night in Stratford and I hope to get back to see some more before the season is done! I've heard some great things about Hirsch and I definitely wouldn't mind seeing some Shakespeare. 

As always, an amazing evening with Jessie, made even more fun with some great theatre, a road trip and some delicious snacks from Bulk Barn for the drive home. The whole night made me smile a lot, which is exactly what I needed after a bit of a rough week! 

Whatcha up to for the long weekend? Have you seen any outstanding theatre this summer?

Nine reasons to see RARE at Toronto Fringe

Nicholas
Suzanne
Krystal
Sarah
Nada
James
Dylan
Andreas
and
Michael

These nine artists comprise the ensemble of RARE and along with Director Judith Thompson, have put together a beautiful show about their life experiences, loves, frustrations, thoughts, feelings, hopes and dreams. The ensemble glows with glorious honesty and conviction as they give the audience a chance to see life from their perspective. Ms. Thompson has incorporated text from Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson and William Blake among their monologues and scenes and Victoria Carr provides sweet music to accompany the actors as they move through the piece. 

And yes, all nine actors happen to have Down Syndrome.

Nada speaks four languages. Suzanne loves to dance. Dylan wants to go to theatre school. Each of the nine actors are charming, genuine and compelling onstage and come together to support one another as a cohesive ensemble. Many of their stories ring familiar for the audience - dealing with roommates, looking for love, losing a parent, family dysfunction, working multiple jobs - and they do a wonderful job of keeping the audience right there with them. Krystal's plea to expectant mothers who find out that they are carrying a baby with Down Syndrome will definitely stay with me for a long time. (There are 500 babies born in Canada with Down Syndrome each year, but the abortion rates for babies identified with DS in prenatal testing are said to be at least 90%)

I'm so thankful that I got to see this show and have been raving about it to anyone who will listen. The sold out crowds at Fringe definitely seem to agree that it's a show worth seeing. It will move you from start to finish, thanks to nine compelling artists who are truly rare.

Remaining shows - Tarragon Mainspace

Tuesday July 10, 2012 @ 8:45pm
Friday July 13, 2012 @ 7:00pm
Saturday July 14, 2012 @ 2:15pm