tag:raisethehammer.org,2023-09-30:20239302023-09-30T12:00:00-05:00Raise the Hammer Newsfeed - BlogsRaise the Hammer is a non-partisan citizens group dedicated to sustainble downtown revitalization in Hamilton, Ontario.http://raisethehammer.org/blog/31902019-08-16T12:00:00-05:002019-08-16T12:00:00-05:00Leila Live!
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<ul>
<li>Cast: Leila</li>
<li>Playwright: Leila</li>
<li>Director: Leila's Mother</li>
<li>Designer: Leila</li>
<li>Show Type: Comedy</li>
<li>Audience: Parental Guidance</li>
<li>Running Time: 60 minutes</li>
<li>URL: <a href="http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/leila-live/">http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/leila-live/</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Izad Etemadi has been bringing his Persian Princess character named Leila to Hamilton Fringe stages for five years now, and for five years audiences have been falling in love with her.</p>
<p>As someone who first met Leila (and Izad) five years ago, it was fun to watch the people in the audience who had never seen her before discover the joy that comes from watching Leila work an audience. Though I have seen Leila's shows before, it never gets boring. Izad finds ways to keep Leila fresh and interesting, while keeping that which is familiar and endearing. </p>
<p>This performance by Leila is a one woman cabaret with singing, dancing, stand up, monologue, tableaux, and cultural exchange moments where Leila shares interesting aspects of Persian culture. Leila self-identifies as a Persian princess from a working class family. This show has a little bit of food, some voluntary audience participation, a lot of laughs and a whole lot of heart.</p>
<p>Leila is a delight to watch and Izad is a pleasure to know. Unfortunately, this year The Cotton Factory only runs shows from Thursday to Sunday the first week of Fringe. But keep an eye out and your heart open for the next chance you get to see Leila and/or Izad as their love for Hamilton keeps them coming back.</p>
Marianne Daly http://raisethehammer.org/authors/422/marianne_daly2http://raisethehammer.org/blog/31892019-08-06T12:00:00-05:002019-08-06T12:00:00-05:00"Equity Rules"
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<ul>
<li>Cast: Cortnee Pope, Joshua Perry Fleming</li>
<li>Playwright: Jason Sherman</li>
<li>Director: Brian Morton</li>
<li>Stage Manager: Larry Smith</li>
<li>Show Type: Theatre</li>
<li>Audience: Mature</li>
<li>Running Time: 17 minutes</li>
<li>URL: <a href="http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/equity-rules/">http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/equity-rules/</a></li>
</ul>
<p>This is my last review for Fringe 2019. The shows only live on in our collective memories at this point. I'm ending with "Equity Rules" </p>
<p>For those of you who don't know, "Equity Rules" is a very short play by Jason Sherman, one of the country's most lauded playwrights, written during the height of his playwriting career in the mid-1990s. The play deals with nudity in auditions, which Brian Morton claims is based on an incident where he was the casting director. (All of this is available on YouTube, including a complete version of the short play by a different production team.)</p>
<p>Morton's version of the play is done well, and the actors (Cortnee Pope, Joshua Perry Fleming), but the reason to see this play is of course that it is put on by Brian Morton, who is purportedly the inspiration for the play.</p>
<p>Is this play a sincere apology by Brian Morton for actions he took thirty years ago, or a exploitative cash grab...or both. </p>
<p>I had an email interview with Morton, and his responses are below. I've cut nothing, so feel free to read at your leisure.</p>
<p>I hope that this year's Fringe has made you laugh and cry and given you a lot to think about. It certainly has for me. Until next year...but you don't have to wait until 2020 to see powerful Hamilton theatre...</p>
<h3>Interview with Bryan Morton</h3>
<p><strong>Bryan Boodhoo (BB): Why this play now, given that it's been 30 years since the incident and more than two decades since it's been written.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Brian Morton (BM):</strong> The idea to do a production of Jason Sherman's play sprung from a conversation I had last summer with local playwright Erika Reesor at the Fringe beer tent. She told me the story of a particular moment in her life that was painful to her. She was angry that a playwright had heard a story about what happened to her and then had written it up as a stage play. She felt ownership of the story, and that no one else should be able to tell that particular story except her. (I won't describe the details of what she told me, as that is her story to share or not share publicly).</p>
<p>I countered with the story of "Equity Rules" and a quick version of what happened back in July of 1989. So we had that in common that both of us had some part of our lives turned into a play by someone else.</p>
<p>I had a full length project that I wanted to do for the 2019 Fringe but we did not get past the lottery. There was still the opportunity to get a 20 minute slot, so I applied and got in.</p>
<p>I had just finished a short play that pilloried Doug Ford for HamilTEN that was my "plan B" for the slot, but in the end, it took just a few days to get the performing rights to Jason Sherman's play. Also, I feel a certain resonance about anniversaries. For thirty years people have been telling a version of the events of July 1989, often a very inaccurate version of those events. I thought it was time to publicly acknowledge what had happened and make some amends for it.</p>
<p><strong>BB: Is there anyone to corroborate that the play is actually about your actions, given that you do not have a relationship with the playwright?</strong></p>
<p><strong>BM:</strong> As I keep saying, "I believe" that the incident at Theatre Terra Nova in July 1989 is the real life inspiration behind Jason Sherman's play. But as Sherman and I have never had a conversation about it, I can never know for sure.</p>
<p>I asked him, through his agent, to write me a short program note, and this is what was sent to me.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Many years ago a friend of mine told me about a recent audition experience of hers: she had been asked by a director to prove her mettle for a particular role by exposing her breasts. My friend declined the invitation, pointing out that there were union rules around such things, and that asking her to remove her shirt and bra on the spot (and with only her and the director in the room) ran counter to those rules. Rumours soon began to circulate that the director was at it again, only this time with non-union women, to whom the written code of conduct did not apply. I wrote the play, in one outrage-fuelled session. It came out whole cloth, and I haven't changed a word since. Sadly, I haven't needed to. </p>
<ul>
<li>Jason Sherman</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>From what he wrote, I can only assume that his friend was one of the seven women, or three men, who were part of the callbacks for "Unidentified Human Remains", in late July of 1989.</p>
<p>Another reason why I believe that I am the real life inspiration behind the play has to do with my production of Marlene Meyer's play "Etta Jenks", on the stage of the Tarragon MainStage in June of 1993.</p>
<p>Jason Sherman was the playwright in residence at the Tarragon, at the time. I was in and out of the building for three and a half weeks and always thought it likely that someone told the story to him at the time.</p>
<p>Also, "Etta Jenks," a feminist play about pornography, was sexually explicit, and we went to great lengths to cast it correctly, and without a repeat of the mistakes that I had made back in 1989. The one thing that I have never, ever repeated was asking anyone to disrobe as part of an audition for a play.</p>
<p>I now think it grossly unfair to ever ask someone to do that, unless you have actually cast them in the play. I do not like holding auditions in general, and prefer to just reach out to actors that I know and have worked with before or actors that I have seen in a production that I liked. Being a local drama critic means that I get to see quite a few productions every year.</p>
<p>In fact, to this day I still put "No one will ever be asked to disrobe as part of the auction process" on the bottom of every audition questionnaire for plays that I direct. Despite this, actors often come in to audition for me with a great deal of trepidation.</p>
<p>The Globe and Mail published an article in June 1993 about Nudity in the theatre as a trend. Both Sky Gilbert and I were interviewed for the that article. There are a few references in Sherman's play, that seem, to me anyway, to be sourced from that article.</p>
<p>Finally, there is the timing of the play. It debuts as part of the Tarragon Spring Arts Fair in March 1994 as an "office play" performed in Andy McKim's office. That is nine months from when I had been working in the Tarragon Space. I did not see it, although Trevor Copp mentioned that he had attended that production in 1994. That cast ended up being a part of a short film adaptation of the play that Sherman directed for BRAVO a few years later. It is up on youtube if you want to see it. It is much shorter then the stage version, which I think magnifies its impact, when you watch it.</p>
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/rgQi-BIImbU">Here is a Youtube link to the video.</a></p>
<p>I first encountered the play when it was remounted as part of the 1999 Summerworks Festival in Toronto. There was a preview about it in NOW Magazine and I was shocked to discover that it seemed to be retelling the story. I saw the play, which was performed at the Tarragon Extra Space. I sat in the third row and basically had a mild heart-attack while watching it.</p>
<p>But all of these years later, if someone was going to write a play about a painful moment in my own life, then I am grateful that the writer was someone as talented as Jason Sherman is. There are many layers to the script, and while it does eventually come down on one side of the issue, it presents more than one point of view on the scenario.</p>
<p>Why should we do Canadian plays from twenty five years ago? Hopefully, because the still have something to say about the present day. I was the artistic director of a theatre, that only did the work of Canadian playwrights. I have read a huge number of scripts by Canadian writers, particularly those who were active in the 1970s and 1980s. Thos[e] plays are rarely staged anymore, which I think is a real loss.</p>
<p><strong>BB: How did you get the rights to this play, given that you are the real life inspiration for the villain character?</strong></p>
<p><strong>BM:</strong> I got the rights to the play the same way that anyone else would get the rights to it. By emailing the author's agent and presenting a production proposal listing the number of performances, the specific dates, the seating capacity of the venue, and the proposed ticket price. That leads to "a quote" for what it would cost, which I accepted, and then you write them a cheque. You sign a contract that details billing and what must go in the program. </p>
<p>I am legally obligated to always include Jason Sherman's name next to the title of the play - i.e. "Equity Rules" by Jason Sherman. There is a $500 penalty if I fail to do that. I also cannot make any changes to the official text of the play. So what I presented, as part of the Fringe, is Sherman's version of what happened, which in the end is a work of fiction.</p>
<p>The decision to "out" myself, as the "asshole" director in the play came much later, when we started promoting the production and I recorded a video for the CBC. I was hesitant about playing the role of "Bill" myself, although I toyed with the idea for a bit. In the end, I think it was a much better idea to give the opportunity to Joshua, who did a lovely performance of it.</p>
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/-iuP_1RJLz4">YouTube link here.</a></p>
<p>That script for the video then became the core of the 90 second commercial at the Fringe launch. I also talked at length with Carissa and David on the Notapom Podcast about this. I have made the decision to be as honest as I can, about all of this, although it is not easy for me, and at times I have gotten quite emotionally overwhelmed while doing it.</p>
<p><strong>BB: How does the fact that you're staging this play make things better for women in the industry?</strong></p>
<p><strong>BM:</strong> I think is a valuable play for women in the industry to see, as it allows you to ask yourself what would you do in that particular situation. Also, as since the Harvey Weinstein scandal last year, there was been a very important conversations going on about male privilege and the control of casting authority in the industry by men. There are relatively fewer female directors, particularly in the film industry. Anytime you deal with projects that involved nudity or sexuality, these conversations about what is and what is not acceptable come up.</p>
<p>ACTRA puts out a "<a href="https://www.actra.ca/resources/nudity-survival-guide/">survival guide to Nudity</a>" for its members. As a film is a permanent record, it is perhaps more vital that people have knowledge of what to expect.</p>
<p><strong>BB: Why should you ultimately be rewarded with ticket sales, if indeed you were the impetus for the play?</strong></p>
<p><strong>BM:</strong> I am the easiest person in the world to get a comp out of, so believe me, this project was not about making money. We were the very first company to share an artist password to the closed Fringe productions group, as I wanted people to see the work.</p>
<p>I suspected that certain members of the theatre community would choose not to attend the production, and I found them to be the exact same people who did not attend "UNDER THE APPLE TREE" last year up at the Zoetic.</p>
<p>We were the second highest grossing production in the Hamilton Fringe festival in 2018; only B!TCH ISLAND outsold us, and there are no prizes for second place.</p>
<p>I have some insight, as a result of these experiences, of how poorly actors can get treated. The play is a "cautionary tale", a warning, if you like.</p>
<p>None of the six productions in the Tourism Hamilton space, an all-new venue for the Hamilton Fringe, did very well. MY BREAST SELF, which won best in Venue, and Mark McNeil's HAMILTON FOR BEGINNERS, based upon anecdotal evidence, did the best. But I think all of us played to smaller houses than we would have liked.</p>
<p>I brought in my own sound, lighting and curtains to make the space more theatrical to perform in. I think it helped the other productions in the space.</p>
<p>I put the lack of audience down to a few factors. So I did not think that anyone objected to the content of the play itself.</p>
<p>There were 58 shows in the festival in 2019 - so there was lots of competition for an audience. Also the Fringe raised the prices on the mini-series shows to $9, from last years $8. I am Scottish, by cultural background. So if a regular hour long show is $12, then a 20 minute one should be $4, in my mind.</p>
<p>I know the Fringe organization just wants to help artists make money, but in this case, I think that it may have pushed people away from these smaller shows. I would like to see an $18 one day mini-series pass that gets you into all of the shows in a single performance day.</p>
<p>I have not seen a final box office talley for the show, but I know that it did not meet its production expenses. There was a small loss ($300?) in producing it.</p>
<p>My best guess at this point is that 75 people saw "Equity Rules", an average of about 10 people per show. I will contrast that with just a single performance of "UNDER THE APPLE TREE" last summer that had 185 people in the seats.</p>
<p><strong>BB: Did you consider donating the profits from the show?</strong></p>
<p><strong>BM:</strong> Again there must be a profit in order to donate it to anyone. Had there been any profit, it would have gone to my two actors. I am so grateful to Cortnee and Joshua for taking on this project, I literally could not have done it without them.</p>
Bryan Boodhoo http://raisethehammer.org/authors/506/bryan_boodhoo2http://raisethehammer.org/blog/31882019-08-06T12:00:00-05:002019-08-06T12:00:00-05:00Clit Wit! A Feminist Rude Awakening / Shoddy Feminist
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<img src="/static/images/fringe_2019_clit_wit.jpg" alt="" title=""><br></p>
<ul>
<li>Cast: Colette Kendall</li>
<li>Performer/Playwright: Colette Kendall</li>
<li>Show Type: Comedy</li>
<li>Audience: Parental Guidance</li>
<li>Running Time: 60 minutes</li>
<li>URL: <a href="http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/clit-wit/">http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/clit-wit/</a></li>
</ul>
<p>If you've never seen a show by Colette Kendall, the steady hand behind the Staircase Theatre, among other things, you may be in for quite a shock. There are graphic descriptions of sex, and not just regular sex - it's pretty inventive intercourse, on the raunchy scale close to John Waters, Sky Gilbert or Margaret Cho. </p>
<p>But really, did you expect to bring your children to a show called "Clit Wit!"? </p>
<p>Kendall is a master storyteller, who has developed her comic timing by countless shows on the fringe circuit and beyond. Her experience shows and she's able to keep the pace moving along very well. She uses multimedia very well. It never feels like a power point presentation, but rather the screen is used to enhance the acting, and probably give Kendall a few seconds of rest in-between scenes.</p>
<p>There's more to the show than just being funny. Kendall connects to her childhood and what it was like to grow up as a white female in Ontario. And, yes, she acknowledges both her disadvantage as a female and her privilege compared to other marginalized groups.</p>
<p>I was most impressed by the way Kendall balances a lot of different forces, thoughts about gender, comedy, and personal history, just to name a few. This is not an easy task, and it's well done. With fringe over, you've missed your opportunity to find this show at the festival, but if it's anything like her previous shows, then you should keep an eye out for it when it comes back.</p>
Bryan Boodhoo http://raisethehammer.org/authors/506/bryan_boodhoo2http://raisethehammer.org/blog/31872019-08-06T12:00:00-05:002019-08-06T12:00:00-05:00Back Home
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<img src="/static/images/fringe_2019_back_home.jpg" alt="" title=""><br>
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<ul>
<li>Playwright/Director: Tien Providence</li>
<li>Producer: Malinda Francis</li>
<li>Cast: Jennah Foster Catlack and Dayjan Lesmond</li>
<li>Show Type: Theatre</li>
<li>Audience: All Ages</li>
<li>Running Time: 58 min</li>
<li>URL: <a href="http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/back-home/">http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/back-home/</a></li>
</ul>
<p>I saw this show on the last day of the Fringe, and there were a handful of people in the audience. The show was well done and deserved a better audience, but there were a lot of reasons it didn't get it.</p>
<p>The play itself is about an alcoholic father who has lost custody of his child and we watch his life slowly unwind. This isn't exactly light summer fare. </p>
<p>The play is well written and competently directed by Tien Providence, and the acting is well done by both Dayjan Lesmond playing Forbes the father and Jennah Foster Catlack playing the daughter, Keenya, and the Judge. However, Lesmond's concentration on his accent seemed at points to get in the way of his acting. Also, given that Lesmond and Catlack are close in age, it was harder to believe that they were father and daughter, especially given that Catlack was playing a fourteen-year old girl.</p>
<p>What sets this play apart is that it's a Caribbean story. And it's the first time I've ever seen a Caribbean play at the Fringe, which is particularly important to me being of Caribbean descent. This is the most important thing to know about this play, so why am I writing about it in the fourth paragraph of my review? </p>
<p>Why am I burying the lead? Quite simple, because this theatre company did just that. The only clue that this play is from the Caribbean or deals with Caribbean issues is the picture of dominos as their Fringe image and perhaps the names of the characters in the description (and that's a big assumption one would have to make). The description of the play states the following: "She watched as He misquotes Shakespeare in a staggering, stuttering ode to love and remembers his drunken behaviour in family court." Although this did happen, this isn't really the reason why you would see this show.</p>
<p>The play itself has been around since 1997, although I had to dig for that fact on <a href="https://thingsfallingapartevents.wordpress.com/">the company's website</a>. I'm not sure what the theatre company's connection is to Hamilton (their website states that they "are looking to populate the stages of Toronto Theatres"), but it could undoubtably be strengthened. I certainly am not the only person in Hamilton of Caribbean descent craving to see that content on stage.</p>
<p>In the end, the play seemed rushed to production, with one of the leads not even appearing on the Fringe's website, and no unifying brand for the show. </p>
<p>If there's one lesson that Fringe teaches us it's that producing a piece of theatre isn't just about getting actors to learn their lines and act, getting the script down and getting all the lighting clues - although those things are fundamental - it's also about finding your audience, sometimes one body at a time. </p>
<p>If that seems like too much to ask, consider the alternative, which is having worked quite a bit on the technical aspects of the show, only to have a handful of people in the audience for closing. No doubt the actors and other theatre creators were a little dismayed. I've been there; I've felt it.</p>
<p>There's always next year...but there's always a next year. I hope that Things Fall Apart theatre manages to connect to its audience so that at some point next year becomes this year.</p>
Bryan Boodhoo http://raisethehammer.org/authors/506/bryan_boodhoo2http://raisethehammer.org/blog/31862019-08-06T12:00:00-05:002019-08-06T12:00:00-05:00THE EASTER BUNNY
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<img src="/static/images/fringe_2019_easter_bunny.jpg" alt="" title=""><br>
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<ul>
<li>Show Type: Theatre</li>
<li>Audience: Mature</li>
<li>Running Time: 60 minutes</li>
<li>URL: <a href="http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/easter-bunny/">http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/easter-bunny/</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Admittedly, I expected to hate this play. Now Magazine gave this show <a href="https://nowtoronto.com/stage/theatre/fringe-review-the-easter-bunny/">one N out of five</a> when it was at the Toronto Fringe last year, and Tommy Jeff McAteer's previous play "Headless/The Play" was called a "mess" by My Entertainment World and <a href="https://www.myentertainmentworld.ca/2015/07/toronto-fringe-15-part-x/">given an "F"</a>.</p>
<p>I wasn't just worried about the quality of the play, but also its content. The play is billed as allowing the audience to "share in the inner thoughts of serial sexual predator". Additionally, McAteer did not attach his name to the show at Hamilton Fringe. Nor is anyone else attached to the show, other than the nameless Marbles Theatre. I braced myself for what I thought would be a misogynistic rant. </p>
<p>I planned to write about the question of whether this show was so "bad" that it shouldn't be at the Fringe. (And the answer is yes, McAteer deserves to be there, like any other theatre artists who puts their sweat and money on the line to make theatre). However, that's not what this review is about.</p>
<p>Why? Because the misogynistic rant I was expecting didn't come. In fact, from the beginning McAteer acknowledges the nature of his show and its ability to re-victimize people, and he goes out of his way not to exploit the victims. Additionally, through the show and the program, McAteer addresses a number of academic resources about sexual assault.</p>
<p>McAteer has something to say, but here's the problem: the show is so convoluted it's hard to determine exactly what that is. Added to that, there are times when McAteer seems to be on a journey and the audience is not following him. </p>
<p>Case in point, McAteer brings three knifes on stage with different neon coloured handles. He takes turns yielding each of them and waving them at the audience in a very excited way. I was much too concerned with my personal safety from a potentially flying knife to pay attention to what McAteer was saying. By the end of the show, it was never explained why there were three knifes on stage, as opposed to the more obvious choice of just one. </p>
<p>There are many more examples of this, but needless to say, McAteer would benefit from the help of a quality dramaturg and director, if he continues to create theatre. With the number of academic references in his program, I was left to wonder if McAteer was looking for an intellectual conversation about the topic of sexual predators rather than putting on a theatre show. Theatre, at its heart, is supposed to make you feel and McAteer appears to be well aware of the injustice of making his audience feel like it's the victim of a sexual predator.</p>
<p>Fringe isn't always about ticket sales and awards. It's supposed to be a sandbox to allow theatre creators to grow, and to this end, the measure of success may be what an artists has learned over the course of the Fringe. Although THE EASTER BUNNY is confusing, and has a large number of technical flaws, there's a lot to think about and learn from this piece from everyone involved. </p>
Bryan Boodhoo http://raisethehammer.org/authors/506/bryan_boodhoo2http://raisethehammer.org/blog/31852019-08-06T12:00:00-05:002019-08-06T12:00:00-05:00My Breast Self
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<img src="/static/images/fringe_2019_my_breast_self.jpg" alt="" title=""><br>
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<ul>
<li>Cast: Emanuela Hall</li>
<li>Sophie: Emanuela Hall</li>
<li>Playwright/Director: Emanuela Hall</li>
<li>Show Type: Theatre</li>
<li>Audience: Parental Guidance</li>
<li>Running Time: 15 minutes</li>
<li>URL: <a href="http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/my-breast-self/">http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/my-breast-self/</a></li>
</ul>
<p>I saw a version of My Breast Self earlier this year at the HamilTEN festival. It was powerful then, but it did seem to get a little lost in that festival, sharing the stage with a number of shows that had very different tones.</p>
<p>Since then Emanuela Hall, as triple threat actor/writer/director, has expanded the play a little and pulled her own audience. When I saw the show, the house was packed, and she did go on to win best of venue at the Fringe, meaning she sold more tickets to a gallery show than anyone else.</p>
<p>The story itself is a self-examination of breast feeding. It honest and raw, and struck a chord with many around me, who were mostly made up of people who looked like they had already been through the breast-feeding stage of parenting. Indeed, this seemed to be the target audience. Indeed, there is a demand for these stories to be told, and there are only a few shows that keep this audience in mind at the Fringe. </p>
<p>Hall's acting is very good. She has great stage presence, and the story telling always seemed authentic. We'll see what's next for Hall. She's certainly one to watch.</p>
Bryan Boodhoo http://raisethehammer.org/authors/506/bryan_boodhoo2http://raisethehammer.org/blog/31842019-08-06T12:00:00-05:002019-08-06T12:00:00-05:00Hamilton for Beginners
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<img src="/static/images/fringe_2019_hamilton_for_beginners.jpg" alt="" title=""><br></p>
<ul>
<li>Cast: Mark McNeil</li>
<li>Show Type: Comedy</li>
<li>Audience: All Ages</li>
<li>Running Time: 20 minutes</li>
<li>URL: <a href="http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/hamilton-for-beginners/">http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/hamilton-for-beginners/</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Mark McNeil came to Hamilton from Toronto in the 1990's pre-dating the current wave of Toronto emigrants. He originally moved to Hamilton for work, namely to be a report for The Hamilton Spectator. Needless to say, he's seen a lot. He also has the benefit of being both an insider and outsider to the City.</p>
<p>Through storytelling and songs with his ukulele, McNeil entertains the audience with nostalgia about Hamilton, and reminds us what a truly bizarre and beautiful place this is, be "the biggest small town on the planet".</p>
<p>Kudos must be given to McNeil for not only rendering a completely entertaining performance, but for also giving us a show that perfectly matched the format of the gallery series. At twenty minutes, this was the right about of nostalgia. Any more, I'm not sure I would have had such a sympathetic view of the ukulele. And less, and I question whether it's worth my time and money to come to this show. </p>
<p>Hamilton for Beginners is more a whimsical presentation about Hamilton, but it is very much enjoyable and worth watching. It is always nice to see our City reflected in our culture. </p>
Bryan Boodhoo http://raisethehammer.org/authors/506/bryan_boodhoo2http://raisethehammer.org/blog/31832019-08-06T12:00:00-05:002019-08-06T12:00:00-05:00Clit Wit! A Feminist Rude Awakening/Shoddy Feminist
<p class="photo">
<img src="/static/images/fringe_2019_clit_wit.jpg" alt="" title=""><br></p>
<ul>
<li>Cast: Colette Kendall</li>
<li>Performer/Playwright: Colette Kendall</li>
<li>Show Type: Comedy</li>
<li>Audience: Parental Guidance</li>
<li>Running Time: 60 minutes</li>
<li>URL: <a href="http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/clit-wit/">http://hamiltonfringe.ca/shows/clit-wit/</a></li>
</ul>
<p>I can't remember a time when I was not influenced by feminism. Shirley Chisholm, Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan (my Mum read The Feminine Mystique) were household names when I was graduating high school. These woman with others formed the National Women's Political Caucus in 1971 and their influence is still felt today. </p>
<p>Those of us who grew up in the "burn the bra" movement became inspired again with the recent Me too and other women's gatherings. It's like we are earnestly recovering what got us all fired up in the first place. Clit Wit embraces the ideals with a sense of realism which were not a free pass for all and failed often women of colour and the LGBTQ2S communities. </p>
<p>The main stage provides the opportunity to use the large screen and for the most part Colette uses it to an advantage. The audience moves into her active imagination on ripples of calm blue like the lapping of water on the shores. Visuals are often tricky and like using a prop or an accent, consistency becomes key. </p>
<p>Kendal delivers her memories with rapier wit, from the perils of pubescence to maternal madness. Squeezed between her mother and daughter, she claims her space in what we refer to as the sandwich generation. There is an internal dialogue here that draws on her own understanding of feminism and where it intersects with both her mother and daughter. </p>
<p>As a fledgling, her daughter is about to embark on her own life and the wisdom imparted is just as important to the Mom as it is to the grown child. The audience gets this and many of us can identify with the growing pains of fighting for our own autonomy. </p>
<p>Letting it all hang out, Colette reveals every grey hair earned and she is damn worth it, contrary to what the beauty industry has to say. Colette stands out as not only a great comedian and writer but a guiding force among women in the community. New emerging writers benefit from her mentoring and encouragement. </p>
<p>The Staircase was a showcase to "must see" acts in this years' Fringe, for which in no small part Colette is responsible. This venue was always a buzz of gathering, conversation and cold beer on a hot day. </p>
<p>Clit Wit demonstrates a woman coming to terms with a new chapter in her life, much like previous Fringe performance <a href="/blog/2886/fringe_2015_review:_the_cockwhisperer_a_love_story">The Cockwhisperer</a>, which makes one ponder what Colette has in store for her audience in the future. I want to be there. </p>
Alison Nicholson http://raisethehammer.org/authors/533/alison_nicholson2