Last night I went to see the "other" baseball show -- The Hesitation Pitch. It was a wonderful script performed by a terrific cast. Satchel Paige visits Morrin, Alberta and gives a little advice to the playwright's grandmother, pitcher Ellen "Smokey" Murdoch. It would do very well in front of SE Saskatchewan audiences!
We have two performances left in Edmonton -- with two sellouts so far. Over 400 patrons have picked Diamond Girls out of the list of 216 shows. Before we leave Edmonton, I have to mention the camaraderie and support of performers like TJ Dawe, Jem Rolls, Jeff Newman, Alix Cowman, Mind of a Snail, and Rob Gee. We have come to realize they are not our competitors. They are our friends. They come to our shows and we go to theirs. We praise one another on social media because that way we all win. As much as we have enjoyed the Fringes, we are eager to get on to the next phase – performing in Battleford, Toronto, and Saskatoon. Tickets are starting to move for the Toronto performances. Thank you Joanne Millard for suggesting we make the trip! We can hardly wait to meet our Ontario audiences and visit the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Mary's. A Blue Jays' game? I sure hope so! We have received a few inquiries about adding performances to the tour but so far have only been able to accommodate Swift Current. Our dance card is full! And so are our hearts. Thank you, Edmonton.
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In the last few weeks, I've learned a lot about fringing. I only have to watch the seasoned fringers -- the ones who are still handbilling relentlessly even when their show is pretty much sold out -- to know how you get people into my venue. This is a grueling business -- not that I compete at that level of intensity. Still, it's near impossible to walk past a line of people in our age demographic (over 50!) and not pull out my handbills.
Five or four star reviews displayed on posters definitely help your case. But one on one contact is the best way to generate interest in a show. And then there's the process of orchestrating a sell-out. If opportunities present themselves to offer comp tickets to volunteers, you do it. Volunteers are your best bet for word of mouth, which is the second best way to put bums in seats. In Regina, Saskatoon, and Edmonton, we have had at least one sell-out, and our numbers in all four fringes have been respectable. Other perfomers would crave the numbers we have. I know -- I've been there myself! The beautiful thing about Diamond Girls is that people connect to the subject matter immediately. You can see it in their faces. At last, something not so "fringy." Something we can learn from. Something that makes us proud as Canadians -- and as prairie folk. Audience response has been fabulous. Marci was there with tears running down her cheeks after the show on Tuesday -- a late gig that shouldn't have been well attended, but we were well over half full. People love it. As for the reviewers, we got a 4 and a 3.5 here in Edmonton and loads of praise for Malia. The Edmonton Journal says "Becker . . . is arresting to watch, moving nimbly between characters, batting a thousand all the way." Sweet. We opened yesterday at the Telus Phone Museum, just a half block off the main Fringe site. What a sweet little venue! Seats 100 and our tech Nicole is lovely. We had a lively audience of 64. Malia has been working on some new ways to interact with the audience, and they went over very well. Brenda and Brian from Estevan were here, as well as one of Mary's nephews -- Gene's grandson -- and family. Vic, Lynn, Rema, and Lyle were also familiar faces. Hoping for a favourable review here. Keep your fingers crossed for us! There is another female baseball play here -- called The Hesitation Pitch. It's about a woman who played ball in Medicine Hat and was written by her grandson. We will certainly see that one! We only have six shows here in Edmonton, so we have to make hay. Fringers have been friendly and interested in our pitches -- especially when Maggie the Mascot is along! 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! 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. |
Maureen UlrichPlaywright Archives
September 2018
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