We now have two performances under our belt at the Potash Corp Fringe Festival. With only a half hour allowed between shows for a set change, the pace is frantic. Our audiences are already larger than last year's for Snowbirds, and I am keeping my fingers crossed for at least one sell-out.
We had several gentlemen last night who knew Mary Baker -- one from the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame. Pastor Heather was also there,waving a flag of support. So appreciated. I attended three of the five shows in our venue, the Cosmopolitan Senior Centre: The Shape of a Girl, Caws and Effect, and Wildwood Flower -- all excellent and all worth seeing. The Wildwood Flower gals gave us a great shout out after their show -- the first I can recall from any previous fringe. We will certainly return the favour! We're on again for the next two straight nights. So great to be performing here in Saskatchewan!
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On Wednesday, we visited the Museum of Human Rights, which is located near the Forks and Shaw Stadium. I gather this was a controversial topic in the city, but I can assure you, it is well worth the $18.00 admission. There are eight floors in all. We weren't able to visit all of them because of a private event, but the displays we did see were thought provoking. And the building itself is a work of art. Alabaster lined ramps connect each floor. There is a large meditation garden on one level with basalt plugs. A security guard stopped us at the exit and made sure we fully appreciated what we had seen. If you are ever in Winnipeg, this is a must see. Make sure you allow yourself at least three hours for the visit.
Diamond Girls is starting to pick up some momentum. We have two shows left. On Thursday night, local sports writer Kent Morgan and his friend Al Sharpe attended. Kent has my Jessie Mac series, and he brought them along for me to sign. There were some softball players who had just won a provincial title, and they remained behind after the show for a photo opp with Malia. Amy Cundall, one of Robin's high school hockey teammates, came with her boyfriend. Again, rave reviews about the show. CBC Manitoba listed Diamond Girls as one of the top five one-woman shows at the festival -- a great honour. We hope this translates into lively audiences on Saturday and Sunday! We have now performed four shows in Winnipeg. Audience size is not what we had hoped for, but we are doing better than many, many shows -- likely the best of any show in our venue, according to our volunteers. The shows with pedigrees from previous Fringes are the most likely to succeed, and we have seen a number of these: God is a Scottish Drag Queen IV, Rob Gee's Icarus, TJ Dawe's Burn Job, Papa Squat, Fruit Flies Like a Banana, Sound and Fury's Sherlock Holmes, Eleanor's Story, Promise and Promiscuity, 'Till Death, Two for Tea. We understand our challenges, and we have done our best.
Winnipeggers are wonderful. They welcome a pitch (so to speak), even if they have already decided on the shows they are seeing. No way can they see them all. And not one person has said, "Why would I want to see a show about Saskatchewan ball players?" Our content has generated many conversations about the league, the role played by the Manitoba ladies, and of course -- Mary, Arleene, and Daisy. People have heard of the show, have heard wonderful things about it, and constantly tell us how amazing Malia is as a performer. Food here is inexpensive, compared to Saskatchewan. Our favourite eating spot is Stella's, a local chain. Their all-day breakfasts are to die-for -- and shamefully cheap. If you are planning to go to Winnipeg for the Banjo Bowl or a Jets' game, Stella's is a must. We also enjoyed the bannock at the Peace Cafe and Bistro, a beautiful little restaurant on Ellice, right across from the WECC. Three shows to go (one Thursday night, then Saturday and Sunday afternoon) and we are out of here. It will be good to be home! So we've performed Diamond Girls here in Winnipeg three times now. It is a battle to acquire an audience, but we are hopeful that a recent review from CBC Manitoba will help. Sheila and family were at the show last night. It was undoubtedly our most enthusiastic audience yet.
Two nights ago we had just finished watching some buskers at the Cube, when an older couple approached Malia. The woman asked, "Are you Diamond Girl?" She proceeded to tell us how much they had enjoyed our show, saying, "You don't normally see shows of this quality at the Fringe." She really made our night! Furthermore they were back for our show last night, bringing along some friends. Yesterday morning I received an email from a playwright who dramaturged the script -- informing me that we had received FIVE STARS from the CBC Manitoba reviewer. Outstanding! The full review is posted on our Press page. Last night I discovered the THREE STAR review from the Winnipeg Free Press, posted after our first show on the 13th. "Too many characters" it lamented. Oh well, you can't please everyone. Yesterday we visited the Manitoba Sports HOFM to see the display on All-Americans Evelyn Wawryshyn Moroz, Audrey Haine Daniel, and Olive Bend Little. Although Eleanor Callow has not yet been inducted, we were delighted to have our picture taken with her photograph (3rd floor). Thanks Rick Brownlee for the Dime Tour!
It was a down day for us (no show), so we were able to take in a few: The Drowning Girls, In the Trenches, Tea for Two, and Till Death Do Us Part: The Six Wives of Henry VIII. We had planned to take in a fifth, but got waylaid in the King's Head Pub. We also learned that Manitoba Theatre Company Artistic Director Steven Schipper attended our opening and was very impressed with Malia's performance. We are so hoping that this show will open doors for both her and Shelby. Thank you Jim Gibbs for encouraging him to come see us! I received the news last night that the lovely Elsie Wingrove Earl passed away on Wednesday. I had the opportunity to interview Elsie in April at Creighton Lodge, where she served me tea and homemade lemon tarts. What a difference a few months makes. We will be dedicating today's performance at 2:45 pm to Elsie. 87. We managed somehow to pull in 87 for our first performance. Amazing! We did some handbilling beforehand when we attended The Big Stupid Improv Show (very funny!). Shelby has turned into a master promoter, enthusiastically telling Fringe patrons about Diamond Girls. We've also seen a big difference in the response from Winnipeggers as well. They expect and welcome pitches (pardon the pun).
We had a few tense moments before the beginning when Shelby was forced to restart the computer. The slideshow and sound track don't like each much -- sort of like the Blue Sox and the Peaches. Anyway, I'll bring along my laptop on Friday afternoon so we can run the slideshow off a separate unit. Malia raced through the show to keep us on schedule. What a trooper! My FB friend Doug brought his family to the show and hung about afterwards for a photo. Evelyn (purple jacket) even danced with Malia in the show. We are going to love this Fringe!! Did I mention that our lovely little home is on Boyd Avenue, North Winnipeg? Yes, I said North. Did I know that would elicit raised eyebrows and a warning -- "You girls be careful" -- from a kindly convenience store clerk? Nope. For those of you who are concerned, we are being careful and we have had no negative experiences. We certainly don't intend to have any either. The high res. jackets (for which we get many, many compliments) will not be seen in our neighborhood at 2:00 am -- or after dark for that matter.
Yesterday we did our tech at the Asper Centre in the am (thanks Stephanie and Jamie!) and hung posters at several of the venues, chauffeured by the kindly and knowledgeable Jim Gibbs, Winnipeg Fringe expert and veteran volunteer. We marshalled our strength at the King's Head Pub, chief watering hole for Fringe performers. We will definitely have to go back there for the fish and chips, which look pretty remarkable. Today we did two radio interviews, one with Ace Burpee at Virgin, and a second with CBC Manitoba, which will air at 3:10 pm on Friday. The drums are beating here in Winnipeg, and we hope that means there will be bums in the seats tonight when we open at the Asper on the University of Winnipeg campus. Beautiful little venue by the way. Air conditioned. I am predicting that Malia will not even break into a sweat. We rolled out the little blue uniform today, and it is looking fine. Fired off a Tweet with it to the Jays with #OCanada (we are campaigning for a berth at the August 27th afternoon game with Malia singing both anthems) before hearing about the fracas at last night's All Star game. Goodness. What are our chances now that the Jays will hand off such an opportunity to perfect strangers from far off Saskatchewan? Anyway, that is neither here nor there. Much to do right here in Winnipeg. I'll let you know how it all goes tonight. Whew! Full day yesterday of packing and running errands to get ready for our trip to Winnipeg. We are settled in our new Air BnB home on Boyd Avenue, a short haul from our venue -- the Asper Centre on the University of Winnipeg campus.
We finished #2 at the Regina International Fringe Festival -- not bad for a little production company from Lampman, SK. With two radio interviews already in the works and the assistance of Winnipeg Fringe guru Jim Gibbs, we are hopeful that we can put some bums in seats at the Asper. The blue uniform is nearly ready to go, thanks to our costume designer Victoria Utman. Shelby will add a few buttons and snaps, and we'll hopefully roll it out at the Golden Eyes game tonight. Tech rehearsal begins in just a few hours. Wish us luck! One performance left at the Regina Fringe. As Mary (at least DG's Mary) would say, "Shucks." What a terrific experience this has been. Two sell-outs, so many positive reviews, and the overwhelming support of the Baker clan, or as I call them "Mary's Mafia." Nine of them attended the Saturday afternoon performance, all there more than an hour beforehand to ensure a front row seat. I cannot properly put into words how much it has meant to me to have them in the stands when Malia goes up to bat -- three times already. Mary's greatgrandaughter Zoe stands in the center of the photograph, a catcher herself with a scholarship to a university in Kentucky. Chick celebrated an important birthday this week, and the family flew in to surprise her. It was delightful to be a part of this big secret. Also attending Saturday's performance were Sheila, my cousin Keith, and the Lausch clan. Nice to see you all!
Hats off to the Regina Fringe volunteers, organizers, and fellow performers. It has been a pleasure from beginning to end. Today we pack our gear and get our act together for the trek to Winnipeg, our eastern road swing, We re-open at the Asper Centre on the University of Winnipeg campus on Wednesday at 8: 15 pm. If you're in the Peg, please join us! Special day yesterday. It began inauspiciously enough. I put up a few posters at sporting good stores throughout the city. In the afternoon I attend Melanie Gall's Piaf and Brel: The Impossible Concert (beautiful, educational, and moving) and Breakneck Hamlet (exhausting!) before heading over to St. Mary's to get ready for our 7:30 pm performance. Barry from Firecube was there to film it, as we are creating a high quality production for the Hall of Fame. And then it happened.
"They're really lined up out there," one of the volunteers told me. It quickly became apparent that we were going to run out of chairs. Tyler set out every one he could find, determined to accommodate as many patrons as possible. My husband Randy, daughter Robin, and friend Dan opted to stand at the back. I perched in a pew along the side wall with another lady -- and we were off! Afterwards, I found out Tyler had crammed in 132 bodies - 118 of which were paying customers. I don't know who was more excited -- me or the volunteers or Regina Fringe board chair Layne Arthur. "Congratulations," he told me, "Attendance is up all over the Fringe and I have to get more tickets printed." "A wonderful problem," I told him. Two ladies attending were friends of Mary's and remarked about some tidbits from the play. "The part about the Hugas range was ironic," one of them said, "because Mary was such a great cook. And also, I didn't know that was how Chick got her nickname." Although this will be the seventh time I have seen the play, for the first time I heard "South Bend, Michigan" in one of the announcer's sound bites. South Bend is in Indiana, the home of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. In fact, many of those football fans were quickly converted to Blue Sox fans in the 1940's. I checked the script -- and the reference isn't in there. Hmm. We'll definitely have to fix that! |
Maureen UlrichPlaywright Archives
September 2018
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