{"id":33106,"date":"2019-08-30T03:56:06","date_gmt":"2019-08-30T10:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=33106"},"modified":"2019-08-29T16:13:39","modified_gmt":"2019-08-29T23:13:39","slug":"songs-laughs-insights-at-fringe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2019\/08\/30\/songs-laughs-insights-at-fringe\/","title":{"rendered":"Songs, laughs, insights at Fringe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Janoah Bailin in SpinS<\/em>. (photo from Janoah Bailin)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In anticipation of this year\u2019s Vancouver Fringe Festival, which runs Sept. 5-15 at various locations throughout the city, the Jewish Independent <\/em>interviewed some of the Jewish community members participating in the festival \u2013 Janoah Bailin,\u00a0<\/span>Erika Babins,\u00a0Jed Weiss,\u00a0Zach Wolfman,\u00a0Melanie Gall,\u00a0Susan Freedman and Shane Adamczak. They hail from as far away as Australia and their shows are vastly different, but they all have the same goal: to draw you into their world, perhaps allowing you new insights into yours.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

SpinsS, at the Nest:<\/strong> \u201cA wildly dizzying whirl of juggling, giggling, magic and movement, puppetry, PJs, circus and socks, totally tangled together! A unicyclist careens on stage, unpacking a quirky world of clothespin towers, erratic toothbrushes and gargantuan grins. Objects swirl into chaotic creation as Janoah constructs a performing-partner puppet from piles of props!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Clothespins are \u201ca recurring object in the performance,\u201d Janoah Bailin<\/strong> told the JI<\/em>. And so are, from the looks of it, some dangerous manoeuvres. But looks are intentionally deceiving, in order to entertain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve actually never been seriously injured doing my work!\u201d said Bailin. \u201cSome stubbed toes and scraped elbows, sore wrists from catching myself, but nothing major. The worst is taking a pedal to your shin. When you learn unicycle, you learn falling. It just happens, you develop an innate sense of what you can and can\u2019t comfortably do. I know how to fall and it happens all the time and I get up, shake it off, try again.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis show plays with limits and bringing the skills to their limits \u2013 I expand or contract juggling patterns until I physically can\u2019t hold them anymore and there\u2019s a spin I do on the unicycle that spirals in on itself until I fall. So, falling is inherent in the show and I need to know how to do it well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I forget that audiences don\u2019t know this,\u201d he said about his being safe during his act. \u201cSo they are a lot more scared for me than I am, which is part of the magic of circus: faking instability, making something seem more chaotic than it is. The most dangerous stuff is long-term: keeping your body healthy through the strain of performing every day, the bipolar energy of performance \u2013 being totally on for an hour, all your energy focused on that one thing. The solutions to this are getting really good at physical self-care: know how and when to rest and stretch. The hardest work is taking care of my body in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bailin understands the use of the word \u201cescapism\u201d to describe his show, but said his goal is to bring audiences into his world for an hour, and \u201cthat seems like incredible presence, not escaping.\u201d<\/p>\n

Playful is another common description of SpinS<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the aspects of my show that I\u2019m incredibly proud of is that even fellow performers find the show playful,\u201d said Bailin. \u201cA lot of circus can start to look similar in the tricks and how they\u2019re presented and, in certain ways, I aim to break those forms and I think I\u2019m successful.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlay is so important, and I mean play in the sense of creating space, pushing boundaries, trying things out. In my opinion, getting locked in routines is quite dangerous and play is a solution to this. Circus can seem quite playful, but it\u2019s incredibly repetitive, the tricks are so hard they take an incredible amount of practice, so, by learning them, we make ourselves routine. I try to counterbalance this by choreographing at the edge of my ability \u2013 I can\u2019t comfortably do all the things I do on stage, so they remain alive because I need to concentrate and there\u2019s a very real danger that they won\u2019t work and then I need to find a different solution \u2013 and also by choreographing through games, playing games on stage \u2013 how can I unpack a suitcase without getting off the unicycle?\u201d<\/p>\n

Bailin started juggling when he was 10, so he\u2019s been at this for some 20 years now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m at the point in juggling and unicycling where I\u2019ve mastered the basics and get to develop my own style,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, I\u2019m watching and feeling myself do the skills and how I can integrate my personality into them\u2026. Also, I am continually excited about the challenge of piecing together shows, taking all the bits and fitting them together into something cohesive through all the disciplines I work with: circus, dance, puppetry, storytelling, magic.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Lift, at Firehall Arts Centre:<\/strong> \u201cLift is a contemporary musical set in London\u2019s Covent Garden Tube Station. The elevator ride takes one minute, but the journey inside takes us through eight lifetimes, allowing the characters to see and say things that might not otherwise … come up.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a company, Awkward Stage is always looking to tell stories that haven\u2019t been heard yet and, like many of our productions, Lift<\/em> will have its Canadian premi\u00e8re with us at the Fringe,\u201d choreographer and Awkward Stage Productions artistic associate Erika Babins<\/strong> told the JI<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Erika Babins (photo from Awkward Stage)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think what drew us all into this story was the way that it was told. It intrigued us, the way the play bends reality and imagination. Our setting never changes but changes constantly, the characters are all rich relationships yet are strangers. We are constantly playing with those dichotomies in rehearsal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe script leaves a lot of room for interpretation and we\u2019re so lucky to be working with a cast of brave and intelligent actors who are making discoveries with us as we build this show. Plus, the music is beautiful; it\u2019s been stuck in my head for months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Choreography is integral to the show. It helps delineate the imagined settings to which the elevator riders take us. \u201cThe jostling of a train, warming up at a ballet studio, being at a strip club. It also helps to blend the lines between reality and the imaginings in the Busker\u2019s mind,\u201d said Babins. \u201cThe choreography in this show is quite integrated into the storytelling \u2013 there aren\u2019t any \u2018dance sequences\u2019 per se, the movement weaves itself into the text and music.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jed Weiss<\/strong> plays the Busker, who he describes as \u201cthe quintessential introspective artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Jed Weiss (photo from Awkward Stage)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis leaves him both capable of deep insight as well as myopic self-centredness,\u201d explained Weiss. \u201cHis arc is largely around learning and accepting that he has to be more considerate of the needs and lives of the people around him, leading him to a profound personal growth that his self-centred introspection could not achieve. This connects with the theme of the piece as a whole, highlighting the need to be brave in the face of vulnerable social interaction, to make meaningful connections with those that are important to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The character, he added, \u201cshines light on the shortcomings of the artistic male archetype we so often see in rom-coms and other media. Instead of following the stereotypical path of a tortured artist pining after a muse until she falls for him, it shows that real growth comes instead from practising sympathy towards the needs of others, not a commitment to romantic obsession.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am playing Tall Dark and Handsome (TDH), a psychiatrist, and an American tourist,\u201d said Zach Wolfman<\/strong>. \u201cTDH is the dating avatar for Bright Young Thing (BYT) and represents BYT\u2019s online persona. The American tourist is lost and looking for directions in London, hoping to bump into the Queen and visit Buckingham Palace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Zach Wolfman (photo from Awkward Stage)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Wolfman, the character he plays allows him \u201cto explore the dissonance between the face we show online versus how we act in real life. Getting to embody that daily interaction we all engage in online is fun for me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe play as a whole is very dynamic,\u201d he said, \u201cand I really enjoy the fast pace and shifts we make between different settings. One minute, we\u2019re in a lift; the next, we\u2019re in a club or a chat room. Lift <\/em>definitely highlights the different masks we wear at work, online and in our relationships. How vulnerable are we and how willing are we to open ourselves up to those who are close to us, or simply strangers in a lift?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope the audience leaves the theatre with a little wonder,\u201d said Babins. \u201cI hope they wonder about what happens to the characters after the moments we meet them in, but I also hope they wonder about themselves, and the connections and disconnections they have every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Melanie Gall brings Ingenue: Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland and the Golden Age of Hollywood to Vancouver. (photo from Melanie Gall)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ingenue: Deanna Durbin, Judy Garland and the Golden Age of Hollywood, at Firehall Arts Centre:<\/strong> \u201cJudy is an icon \u2013 loved as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. But, in the 1930s, Deanna Durbin was a far bigger star. A favourite of Roosevelt, Churchill, even Mussolini, her first kiss was front-page news. At 27, she disappeared to a life of obscurity in France. The true tale of the lifelong friendship and rivalry of two great stars of Old Hollywood.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved Deanna\u2019s music and her movies. We have similar voices and look vaguely the same. Also, Deanna is a Canadian movie star who has almost completely been forgotten,\u201d said Melanie Gall<\/strong>. \u201cHer legacy is one well worth saving, and I hope that my show will help preserve her memory for old fans, and will introduce her and her music to a new generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Always fascinated with history and with historic music, Gall has written and performed shows about Vera Lynn, Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, George Gershwin, and First and Second World War knitting songs. In creating a new work, she said, \u201cFirst off, I think about the music. What are the songs I\u2019d like to sing, and which songs will stay interesting and relevant to me after over a year of touring?<\/p>\n

\u201cI then look at marketability and if a topic I\u2019m considering will have commercial appeal. I then ensure that it has not been done before, or that it has not been done in a similar way to how I plan to present the topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also try to find a topic I feel passionate about and that I\u2019d like to share through a theatrical piece.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally, I try to judge if I\u2019m the best person to present the topic. Do I sing in the correct style? Can I do the topic justice?\u201d<\/p>\n

For Ingenue<\/em>, said Gall, \u201cI was performing another show of mine, Opera Mouse<\/em>, Off-Broadway in New York. After performing each day, I went to the New York Performing Arts Library and dug through historic clippings, notes and scrapbooks. I spent days combing through crumbling articles and building a comprehensive biography of Deanna Durbin. Researching Deanna\u2019s mannerisms and speech involved tracking down and watching all of her movies, most of which are actually very hard to find.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearching the music involved listening to and playing through dozens of songs to choose the tunes for the show. Then, with the help of pianist and recording engineer Bennett Paster, I arranged and recorded the backtracks, maintaining historic integrity, while creating original arrangements. Much of the script is taken directly from interviews and articles about her life, and several sentences are accurate historic quotes. So, it\u2019s a lot of work, but it\u2019s work I love doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Preserving history is a passion. \u201cSo much wonderful music and stories are in danger of being lost or forgotten, and I have devoted my life to preserving them. Although Deanna Durbin wasn\u2019t Jewish, the producer and director who made her a star, Joe Pasternak and Henry Koster, were Jewish \u2013 they arrived in Hollywood after years of working in the Berlin Universal studio, fleeing in 1933 when Hitler came to power. Also, the composers of most of Deanna Durbin\u2019s songs were Jewish. So, there is a strong connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Old-ish, at the Havana Theatre:<\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s about aging and death only WAY funnier! Susan\u2019s fifth one-woman comedy travels the hilarious, rocky road from denial to grudging acceptance of getting older.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I\u2019ve been \u2018collecting data\u2019 for this show for a long time,\u201d said Susan Freedman<\/strong>, 77. \u201cFor about the last five years, whenever I hear news about my contemporaries, it is mostly not happy! The realization finally dawned that people do get really sick at my age and, yup, they die at my age too. I always write about issues and events that are important in my life and I always hope that my stories will resonate with audiences who may be experiencing similar events and feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Old-ish<\/em> is Susan Freedman\u2019s fifth one-woman comedy. (photo by Alan Silverman)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The show is structured around events in Freedman\u2019s life that lead into one another thematically and more or less chronologically.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have had so much fun working with my son (Alan Silverman) on this show,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is the first time he has directed me, though he is an experienced film director. He is smart, he\u2019s a great writer and he has a terrific sense of humour. Do I sound like I\u2019m his mother?<\/p>\n

\u201cI have worked with my husband (Bill Galloway) on all five of my shows. He is stage manager \u2013 calling the lights and music \u2013 on this show and he has been stage manager or slide projectionist on the others. He\u2019s a huge help and support for me and, as I travel across the country with my shows, I get to have him as a roommate on the road! We have a great time traveling together.\u201d<\/p>\n

This Fringe marks Freedman\u2019s 20th year of writing, producing and performing solo Fringe shows. When she did her first show, in 1999, she said, \u201cmy mother was still alive and I was sure she would live forever, so I certainly didn\u2019t think of myself as old. I am frankly shocked that I\u2019m the age I am. Like most of my friends, I have no idea how the years could have raced by so fast! There are lots of changes as we age, but there are still so many things we can do and enjoy and so much that makes life worthwhile. I am enjoying the good luck of being healthy, although I\u2019m aware that can change on a dime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Admitting that she was nervous \u201cabout doing a show on aging and death,\u201d she said, \u201cbut we are all aging and, if we\u2019re lucky, we will get old. Critics are saying the show is uplifting. So, even though getting old can certainly present us with plenty of problems, it\u2019s always good to laugh \u2013 right?\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

Zack Adams: Love Songs for Future Girl, at Revue Stage:<\/strong> \u201c\u2026 love, loss, heartbreak, growing bad ginger beards and everything in between. Think of it as a cross between a rock concert and group therapy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Shane Adamczak shares his heartbreak in Zack Adams. (photo from Shane Adamczak)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shane Adamczak<\/strong> actually has two shows in this year\u2019s Fringe. \u201cZack Adams<\/em> got through because I won the lottery and The Ballad of Frank Allen<\/em> is a one-off performance that the Fringe asked us to do as part of their Pick Plus season, where they bring back popular shows from previous years,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

The Ballad of Frank Allen<\/em>, which is on one night only, at Performance Works, is \u201cabout a janitor named Frank who is accidentally shrunk in a science lab and ends up living in another man\u2019s beard,\u201d said Adamczak. \u201cYes, that is really<\/em> what it\u2019s about. It\u2019s an exploration of masculinity in these modern times and what it means to be a \u2018good man.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Adamczak uses music to tell his stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find it is such an accessible medium for people,\u201d he said of that choice. \u201cYou\u2019re so hard-pressed to find someone who doesn\u2019t love some music at least. It\u2019s also a way for me to live a rock star wannabe fantasy out on stage but using music as a theatrical device to tell stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both of these shows, he said, \u201care labours of love and very close to my heart for different reasons. If you love music, good storytelling and to laugh your ass off, please do come along.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the full Fringe lineup and tickets, visit vancouverfringe.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Janoah Bailin in SpinS. (photo from Janoah Bailin) In anticipation of this year\u2019s Vancouver Fringe Festival, which runs Sept. 5-15 at various locations throughout the city, the Jewish Independent interviewed some of the Jewish community members participating in the festival \u2013 Janoah Bailin,\u00a0Erika Babins,\u00a0Jed Weiss,\u00a0Zach Wolfman,\u00a0Melanie Gall,\u00a0Susan Freedman and Shane Adamczak. They hail from as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[4420,1242,9237,7565,9238,9236,4474,4421],"class_list":["post-33106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-erika-babins","tag-fringe-festival","tag-janoah-bailin","tag-jed-weiss","tag-melanie-gall","tag-shane-adamczak","tag-susan-freedman","tag-zach-wolfman"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}