Failure is the only option
Sometimes there’s nothing funnier than unintentional humour. Take, The Room, or other B-movies, for example.
The people involved in the movie are really trying. They just happen to stink. The resulting humour is glorious.
Now, how about watching some of the worst possible writing and acting, on purpose?
That’s what tonight’s “FAILURE!” is all about.
FAILURE! – a kind of fundraiser (in which Edmonton’s best do their worst) is taking place at The Next Act pub (my favourite pub) at 8pm. Thanks to one of the participants, Morgan Smith, for tipping me off to the groan-inducing night of hilarity.
It really is some of Edmonton’s best (Stewart Lemoine, Chris Craddock, Human Loser, Jill Pollack, the Mostly Water Theatre guys) reading selections from terrible plays they’ll never actually produce. Some of the great (awful) play names include “LARRY ALWAYS WINS!” and “Brown Chowder! Sing It Louder!”
There’s a suggested donation of $15, and a silent auction. Money raised helps pay for Mostly Water Theatre’s “15 Minutes” and Human Loser/Allspice Theatre’s “Game Face” at this summer’s Fringe Festival.
Go ahead, they want you to laugh at their pitiful efforts.
Heart in the Heart
Look at all the smiling faces!
This weekend was my first trip to the Heart of the City festival. A trip I endorse you making in future years.
I knew what Heart of the City was, but I just hadn’t ventured to Giovanni Caboto Park (in Little Italy) to take it in.
No, I wasn’t scared of the neighbourhood. Heck, I wandered around Norwood and Sprucewood for about an hour, Saturday. (More on that at a future time.)
So I didn’t exactly know what to expect when I showed up.
What I got was lots and lots and lots of local music. This was the first year the festival was held over two days, so they lined up something in the neighbourhood of 150 bands and artists to play. With 20-minute sets you didn’t have to stick around long to hear plenty of Edmonton’s best music.
How do I know it was Edmonton’s best?
Morgan Smith, over at iNews880, writes a blog about volunteers, non-profits and similar stuff. She even profiled my day job in one of her first “Have time will travel” looks at where people can volunteer in Edmonton. She’s got a great look at the volunteer aspect to Heart of the City.
And she’s got that little bit about the festival that blew my mind. Morgan writes that performers and artists all have to live in the heart of the city:
East of 124 Street
West of Wayne Gretzky Drive
South of Yellowhead Trail
North of the river valley
That makes the Heart of the City festival all about people living and creating in the heart of our city. Even I couldn’t play the stage. Unless I had a band member living in that central area. And if I had any musical talent.
Like any good festival there was lots of room to enjoy the sunny weather. They also had hula hoops all over the place if you wanted to give them a whirl. Plus, food carts and snacks!
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This was earlier, before the "Hula Hoop Kid" got to cleaning up.
Quick side story on the hula hoops:
While meeting up with some friends we were over by the art tents and saw a little guy, between three and five-years-old, collecting the hula hoops. He was dragging those giant hoops one at a time, then dragging the whole mess of them to another location. He had gathered up most of the hoops in site and wandered back our way to get more.
People, spotting the hoops, began to disrupt his pile and play with them.
Well, he gathered up a new hoop, turned around and was floored.
How could those jerks be messing with the hula hoops he had so carefully put away?!
He ran to tell his mom about it. And, thankfully, as he was pointing at those hula hooping people, they finished and carefully put them all back.
Our little buddy then ran over and jumped on the hoops, keeping anyone else from using them.
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Anyway, I was impressed by the Heart of the City, and had a really good time. (The weather sure didn’t hurt.)
Even if you don’t like hanging around some of Edmonton’s central neighbourhoods, make sure you take the time to venture out to next year’s Heart of the City. It may even be enough to get you to check out Edmonton’s heart-neighbourhoods after the festival is done.
Two performers, one finished and one getting ready, as a volunteer thanks and introduces.
