Are We Freaks?

Produced by Comedy Period

Author: Bricken Sparacino

Are We Freaks is a science fiction comedy about what makes people normal. It will be funny and strange and even a little creepy.  The audience will meet four groups of women who all have something in common, at least one of them is "abnormal": a lobster girl, strangely connected twins, psychic co-ed, and a man who used to be a woman. All these people search for the same thing, companionship. But it's funny too, I don't want to get carried away with the deep inner meaning of the piece. I hope you will laugh, have a good scare, and go home talking about the ending.

I think we are bombarded with images of what we should be, how we should act, what we should look like by  commercials, film, and television. Images that no one can live up to. Even the celebrities themselves have face lifts and weird diets to look the way they do.   This play shows that the abnormal is normal, we are all ok just the way we are. The price is high to make your self "Normal". But there is happiness in accepting the strangeness that is you.

Why are we freaks? Good question! I wrote three short plays last year for Groove MaMa Ink's plays in a day festivals. I loved each of  these stories but they were only about 10 minutes each.  I thought long and hard about what I could do with them, could they be combined? They definitely all had a science fiction feel. But I just couldn't think of anything. Then one night I dreamed about these twins who run a side show, woke myself up from the dream and jotted it down. These characters were the missing pieces. I am thrilled they have come together and in the way they did. Also, I have a personal mission to work with women artists and bring them to the forefront. This play has  seven terrific actresses in it, a female lighting designer, stage manager and co-directors. I am so excited to present this play and all these talented ladies at this year's Frigid Festival.

Bricken Sparacino, writer/co-director/actress

Coffee Dad, Chicken Mom, and the Fabulous Buddha Boy

Produced by Mischief and Mayhem Theatre

Coffee Dad, Chicken Mom and the Fabulous Buddha Boi is a show about family and love and finding out that who you thought you were and who your family thinks you are may not be the same person. It is also a show about love and finding peace with yourself, where you've been and who you're becoming.

Coffee Dad, Chicken Mom and the Fabulous Buddha Boi is pertinent for an audience today or any day because there isn't a single person in the entire world who hasn't struggled with gigantic questions of self and hasn't worried or wondered how their family will react. These moments of uncertainty and the desire for support are the things that bind us together as human beings. The desire for love and acceptance and certainty extends through the hearts of every global citizen.

We have chosen to present this show because it is simple, beautiful, well written and well performed. We want to expose this gorgeous, touching play to an audience beyond our tiny sphere of Western Canada and ultimately we want to remind people that they are not alone in their struggle and no matter how dark it seems someone is on your side and someone is there, sitting in a dark kitchen, holding your hand.

Michelle Kennedy, director

End of the Trail

Produced by EXIT Theatre

Author: Sean Owens and Kenny Shults

The show is about best friends, more than anything else, and how important such a relationship can be. It's also about how hard life can be, how ludicrous each of us can be as we struggle through it, and how our warped perceptions of life, and everything in it, often contribute to, or perhaps are responsible for, our collective and respective madness.

Many of us wonder what's next. These times feel so new and uncharted. We are all on the brink of an exciting and perhaps daunting new era. Our desire to know what's on the other side, often paired with our penchant for fear of the unknown, can generate a lot of big questions with no answers. It's how we embrace the questions and the unfamiliar that make us human, frail and small. But it's this understanding that makes us powerful and big — this remembering that we are all a little bit crazy that makes seeing our show worth while.

We chose to present this show to remind ourselves and everyone else that life is a mystery and that the very best we can hope to do is make some meaningful connections and try our very best to enjoy moments of this life.

Kenny Neal Shults, co-author/actor

On Second Thought

Produced by Wog Productions

Author: Paul Hutcheson

On Second Thought is an autobiographical piece of physical hilarity!  Humorous stories woven under the theme of those "How did I get here??" moments in life that everyone can relate to. 

Often, in this technology driven society we forget to look back on our lives and relive the moments in life that helped shape us.  Whether it be a school yard incident, familial relationship or a near death experience, we all have stories.  On Second Thought reminds audiences to take stock of their lives and to remember that we are all extraordinary.

On Second Thought has toured to a few festivals garnering fantastic reviews and even some awards.  It has always been a dream of this small town Canadian boy to perform in New York City.  I am bringing a show I am confident audiences in the "theatre mecca" will enjoy and relate to.

Paul Hutcheson, performer/writer

Y, marilyn unstitched

Author: Irene Glezos & Brad Calcaterra

Y, marilyn unstitched is a solo play that explores the inner landscape of a woman who was given the name Marilyn Monroe.  It's about a longing for self in a world strongly bent on defining and possessing us, a world where others are sure they know us even if we aren't sure we know ourselves.  Weaving truth with imagination '— and with liberal use of free association, alter egos, pill-induced manic episodes, and, especially, an open heart, Y follows MM as she tries to solve her own death.  We like to call the process by which we arrived at this play, and, for that matter, the playing of it:  "making proper use of the crazies."

This show is pertinent because who wouldn't want an intimate hour with Marilyn!  I would!

Y, marilyn unstitched was developed by Irene Glezos and Brad Calcaterra in an ongoing workshop called "Risk" under Brad's direction at the Sally Johnson Studio over the course of one year.  In "Risk," a group of solo performers meet on Mondays to explore their truth in front of each other.  We call it "Live Diary" or "Stand Up Drama."  Out of these improvisations, characters emerge, and stories begin to take shape. We believe that the things we want to hide from or about which we are ashamed are actually the seeds of our creativity.  The performer's improvised material is videotaped each week, then transcribed and shaped into the play.   The attempt is never to impersonate but rather to engage an archetype, and through the character and play, to find ways of telling our own truth. 

Irene Glezos, co-creator/actress