Girl Brain’s Heath is working hard to embrace the positive in isolation
EDMONTON By chance, local actress Ellie Heath — part of the acclaimed sketch comedy trio Girl Brain — was hosting a cast member of The Garneau Block in her home during their Edmonton stay. Recently, she sat at home looking at her own spare calendar and cancellations due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I have plenty of time now,” she joked.
Heath recently returned from a “great time” playing Toronto’s Sketchfest to hear that several events she was part of, with and without the trio, had been cancelled. Her side job managing social media for several local businesses has also slowed down with the pandemic.
“I’ve been writing a lot and connecting a lot with friends,” she said.
Girl Brain is also going to be part of The Citadel’s new video shorts series Stuck In The House, once the troupe figures out how to piece together a sketch from three separate residences.
“I don’t know how we’re going to rig it yet, but we will try our best to re-create the sketch.”
All three are busy writing new material that will be on hold for the time, hoping to perform it at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival, scheduled to take place Aug. 13-23.
“As of this time, we are still mindfully and optimistically planning for the 39th Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival to go forward as scheduled,” Fringe Theatre recently posted on its website.
“However, the realities of the pandemic are changing daily, and we are adapting. We are taking this time to carefully consider all of our options, including examining how we might scale back, reimagine, or if necessary cancel the festival to best support artists, volunteers, patrons, and staff in this new reality.”
Girl Brain celebrates its second birthday this month. Heath’s first paid acting gig was 14 years ago, while her compatriots Alyson Dicey and Caley Suliak are also experienced professionals going back over a decade now.
The trio has made a splash at festivals in Toronto, Winnipeg, Philadelphia and Florida, and been featured on CBC Radio and on film.
“The crazy thing about this whole situation is that everybody’s opinions are different and change by the hour,” said Heath. “At some point you’ve got to tune out all the noise and try and be positive. I am determined to look at this through rose-coloured glasses.”
In addition to the Citadel’s Stuck In The House series, Fringe veteran Chase Padgett is pushing Digital Fringe, a collection of performances available for purchase through Vimeo, during the COVID -19 pandemic.
Despite the video options at hand Heath notes there’s nothing like a live audience for comedy.
“More people sharing their creativity online is one silver lining in all this but certain elements of what Girl Brain does don’t feel as authentic on video,” Heath said. “Without the immediacy of the audience you can’t feel their energy and hear their laughter. They are such an important part of what we do.”