The Early Bloomer
Man, I’m such a sucker for kids’ stories. Whether it’s the result of a Peter Pan complex or just some unresolved issue from my childhood, I literally go weak in the knees for a good “Why am I different?” tale of woe.
Which is what interested me when my friend Veronica, who sometimes writes for the Edmonton Examiner, told me she was working on a story about “The Early Bloomer,” a children’s play (produced by Concrete Theatre) currently touring elementary schools and about to do a run of shows at the Milner Library. The play is about a flower named Maisie Daisy who suddenly hits a growth spurt before all her friends, and struggles with the new changes in her life. SOLD!
Anyway, turns out (small world, y’all) the play was written by local improvisationalist, actress and all around cool lady Jana O’Connor, who also happens to be a friend of mine. The play is accompanied by a teacher’s guide, which features the following quote from Jana:
“I was much taller than most of my classmates all through elementary and junior high school. I developed curves way ahead of the curve and had to wear clothes from the ladies department. In fact, I was often mistaken for a teacher. In a time of life when all you want to do is be like everyone else, I most definitely was not. Fitting in, in all senses of the phrase, eluded me.”
WHA?! This is surprising, given that when you meet Jana in person, she’s this amazingly gorgeous statuesque blonde that looks like she strolled in from a 1940s movie. But I digress. I guess we really all have to live through an awkward phase (mine started with a mullet in 1986 and continues to this day).
I chatted Jana up on Facebook, all about what it’s like to jump from the world of improv to the world of children’s theatre.
SALLY: What inspired you to write a children’s play? (more…)
Marty Chan Gave Me Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(FYI: I’m not going to give you guys a synopsis of the play, only because when I originally saw it, I was lucky enough to have missed out on all the publicity and saw it completely cold – which made it that much more powerful. If you do want more info, check here.)
Picture it, kids; Edmonton, 1999. It was the beginning of the era of reality entertainment. Survivor was still a just a rumoured show-to-come, provoking the ire of critics; The Blair Witch Project was doing boffo box office; and I was a naïve teenager, in love with Quentin Tarantino, Chow Yun Fat, and pretty much anything drenched in blood and gore. Therefore, I reasoned, I certainly had to see Marty Chan’s much talked about new Fringe show, “The Bone House.”
No word of a lie, I left that theatre a changed woman. No more Quentin Tarantino, no more Chow Yun Fat, no more ANYTHING but romantic comedies, Adam Sandler movies and movies featuring cartoon monkeys.
Never again have I been able to tolerate horror films, shoot ‘em ups, or anything with any level of violence. For the last ten years, I have given every person who asks “Why don’t you like violent movies?” my condensed review of the terrifying reality-theatre-horror of Edmonton playwright Marty Chan’s “The Bone House,” along with a description of how the sheer terror it evoked haunts me to this day.
So obviously, you totally have to see it. For reals. It’s amazing.
When I talk to Marty Chan on the phone, he says he’s in a questionable hotel room in Rocky Mountain House. He’s currently out of town doing some school presentations about the children’s books he authours. He’s a very funny, sincere guy, and it’s hard to believe that this is the same guy responsible for a piece of theatre that basically gave me post-traumatic stress disorder.
I ask Marty about the story’s origins. (more…)
