Spoiled Child Saves the Polar Bears
Toronto writer/performer brings her one-woman show about celebrity, charity and cute animals to the LSPU Hall
Spoiled Child is Toronto-born and L.A.-raised, and her only hit single, “Pay Attention (To Me),” came at the age of nine. As an adult, she has had careers as a spoken word artist, yoga instructor, motivational speaker and reality TV star, spent a year in a Buddhist monastery, and another year in rehab. Now back in Toronto — as a C-list celebrity at the most — Spoiled Child is looking for a way to revive her career.
In playwright/actor Katherine Sanders’ one-woman show, Spoiled Child (Sanders herself) finds just the thing: a campaign to “save the polar bears.”
“I wanted to do a show about why celebrities jump on popular causes without knowing anything about them,” Sanders says in a phone interview from Toronto, her flight to St. John’s delayed until early this week due to weather. “Spoiled Child doesn’t care about climate change; she only cares about cute polar bears.”
Sanders performed “Spoiled Child Saves the Polar Bears,” which satirizes pop culture, social media and armchair activists, at the Winnipeg and Vancouver fringe festivals two years ago, and was encouraged by friend and fellow actor Neil Butler of St. John’s to bring the show here, where it’s bound to strike a chord.
Sanders says she’s long had an interest in Newfoundland, having read the plays of CODCO in high school and taken in performances here many times.
Her cause chosen with help from her Twitter followers, Spoiled Child takes a trip from Toronto to Manitoba to Nunavut, meeting Margaret Atwood — who becomes a sort of fairy godmother character to her — and Nancy, a scientist.
“Nancy is representative of scientists in Canada whose research and work is being repressed by government, and their voices are not always heard,” Sanders explains.
Sanders’ set is minimal and, with the exception of a keyboard (Spoiled Child writes a rock anthem about the polar bears, naturally), is created by lighting; things like the Northern Lights and the inside of Nancy’s lab are represented thanks to lighting technician Gavin Macdonald.
The show is a comedy that takes viewers into a bizarre and surreal world with a twist ending, and doesn’t come down hard on either side of the issue of celebrities raising awareness for various causes.
“I’m sure they’re trying to do the right thing,” Sanders says. “They see things wrong in the world and they want to fix it, but they don’t always educate themselves on all the issues before jumping on board. That’s a message, I think, for everyone.”
A native of Calgary, Sanders has a background in dance and theatre, and has performed at various theatre and fringe festivals across the country. She has been creating and performing her own work for about 15 years.
“Spoiled Child Saves the Polar Bears” runs at the LSPU Hall Thursday to Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 ($20 for seniors, students and artists), and there’s a half-price matinée Saturday afternoon at 2. Tickets can be purchased at the LSPU Hall box office, by calling 753-4531 and online at www.rca.nf.ca.
See a trailer for “Spoiled Child Saves the Polar Bears” at www.spoiledchild.ca .
“Spoiled Child doesn’t care about climate change; she only cares about cute polar bears.”
Playwright/actor Katherine Sanders