AT AUGUST FRINGE FESTIVAL
Lunacy, laughter and tough subjects
Clowns, puppets, a pet detective and Clarence Darrow will all visit the 2018 Calgary Fringe Festival courtesy of four of the Calgary companies who won a coveted slot for local shows.
Two summers ago, Jacqueline Russell and Jed Tomlinson wowed Calgary Fringe audiences with their edgy clown show The Sama Kutra. The duo is back this year with a new version of that show called Hushabye: A Doomsday Comedy.
“Jed and I love the fringe circuit because it allows us to travel and we always polish, hone and rework our shows when we’re on the road,” says Russell, who is currently performing Hushabye at the Winnipeg Fringe. They’ll be in Calgary from Aug. 3-10 at the Alexandra Centre and will then move onto the Edmonton Fringe.
She says their newly formed show is “about wanting it all and of wanting the perfect life and how a baby fits into that.
“On top of the job and the bills you’ve got a baby and every new thing that new person requires. The baby suddenly becomes the cherry on top of the collapsing sundae.”
Russell says using clowns in their work helps her and Tomlinson talk about serious subjects because “clowns are in their own heightened world. The cartoonish exaggeration of clowns invites the audience to laugh.
“Because we interact with our audiences, every show is different. In one show in Edmonton two years ago, someone brought a four-day-old baby. When it cried, Jed and I couldn’t ignore it so we went over to inspect our young audience member and when the mother had to go out to change a diaper we incorporated that into the show as well.
“That experience certainly added to the relatability and relevance of our show, though I’m not sure I’d like to repeat that.”
A PUPPET GUIDE INTO THE EXPERIENCE OF DEMENTIA
Calgary puppeteer, writer and actor Michelle Warkentin says it’s puppets, not clowning, that help her explore difficult subjects such as dementia, which is the case with her 2017 fringe show Family Tear and her new puppet show Mii Other Woman, which runs in the Artpoint Gallery Aug. 3-11.
She calls it a one-woman puppet musical although she plays more than the central character and her puppet friend.
“My main character is a woman who is grappling with dementia and she cries out for help. The person who answers is a grandmother in the form of a puppet who is actually the woman’s memories and dreams. These two characters have a little adventure together, but not always alone because they interact with the audience,” says Warkentin, who has first-hand experience with the subject matter.
“My mother-in-law grappled with dementia and, because of my age, I’ve seen friends whose parents or partners have had to cope with dementia. I know it is a frightening prospect for many people, but through my shows I want to put a positive spin on the condition.
“I want to show that memories don’t disappear. They’re just locked away and locks have keys.”
Warkentin is particularly proud of the new puppet she created for Mii Other Woman.
“The puppet uses my arm and hand. It makes it easier and more personal to handle and in the preview shows I’ve done I saw how quickly the puppet allowed audience members to relax.”
THIS PARTICULAR CONDO IS NOT A SANCTUARY FOR PETS
Melissa Dorsey and Trevor Matheson don’t have clown noses or puppets to take their audiences on a zany adventure in All’s Fur in Love and Noir. They have a magic fedora. Matheson plays a mild-mannered store employee who comes across a fedora once worn by actor Dana Andrews in a string of 1950s film noir thrillers.
“When Trevor puts the fedora on, he instantly enters that noir world. He discovers there has been a rash of pet murders in his apartment complex so he sets out to discover who is killing prize pets,” says Dorsey, who plays five suspects plus seven other occupants of the building.
The Calgary husband and wife duo write dozens of plays for events at Heritage Park and they have learned the key to success is to exploit their strengths.
“Trevor is really great at handling monologues. He can make them come to life. He’s developed this skill through his work with The Shakespeare Company.
“I’m much better at creating voices for wild and eccentric characters, which is why I play all the suspects. One of my five characters is the murderer. The audience members have to try to discover which one it is before Trevor does. We drop lots of clues.
Dorsey says part of the fun of All’s Fur in Love and Noir is that “whenever Trevor takes the fedora off, he instantly returns to being the simple clerk.”
The noir comedy runs in the Artpoint Gallery at various times Aug. 3-11.
THE MOST FAMOUS LAWYER YOU’VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF
When local actor, director and producer Caleb Gordon read David W. Rintels’ 1975, one-man show Clarence Darrow, he knew he wanted to do it.
He also knew he didn’t want to wait 40 years.
“It’s the role of a lifetime for an actor of a certain age, but I’m not that age yet. I had been talking to Brian Jensen, one of my favourite actors, about working
together on a project and I knew he’d be ideal for the role. I just had to convince him to do it,” says Gordon, who directed and produced Clarence Darrow for this year’s Calgary Fringe.
When Gordon began talking to people about his upcoming show, he was surprised to learn how little people knew about Clarence Darrow — arguably one of the greatest legal minds of the 20th century.
“As many as 75 per cent of the people I talked to didn’t even know who Darrow was and the 25 per cent who did knew only that he was the defence lawyer at the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1924 where he defended a young science teacher for teaching the Theory of Evolution,” says Gordon.
“They were aghast when I told them how he had defended a black family who, upon moving into a white neighbourhood, literally had to defend their home and themselves against a white mob. Historically it is called the Sweet Trials.”
No sooner had Darrow completed the Sweet Trials when he was hired to defend Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, a pair of wealthy university students who had kidnapped and murdered a 14-year-old boy just to see if they could commit the perfect murder.
Darrow’s summation speech at that trial lasted 12 hours and is still considered one of the most powerful indictments of capital punishment.
“Though our play touches on the Leopold and Loeb trial, it only lasts 65 minutes so the audience will only get a snippet of that famous speech.”
Gordon admits a solo show can be riveting for both performer and audience, but it can also go awry.
“If you are not caught up in the ride the performer is taking you on, the only thing you want to do is get off. But if you are along for the ride, it will be electric. Brian has a voice you want to listen to. He’s a born storyteller so it’s going to be an easy ride to take,” promises Gordon.
Clarence Darrow runs in the Lantern Church’s basement Fellowship Hall in Inglewood Aug. 3-11 at various times.
For times of all four Calgary shows, as well as descriptions, locations and times of the other 28 shows, check out calgaryfringe.ca.