Another Evening of Award Romance
Old Strathcona Perfoming Arts Centre (8426 Gateway Blvd) August 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24
More information: facebook.com/saintmaggie
An interview with Maria Colonescu.
Greg Cebuliak and Marcia Rigney. Photo credit Tristin Deveau.
Describe your show in five words.
Funny. Relatable. Endearing. Upbeat. Unexpected.
Okay, now that we’re intrigued… what’s the longer description?
Another Evening of Awkward Romance explores romantic relationships in several diverse incarnations. Among others, we witness two co-workers bonding over their mutual love of grammatical accuracy, two choir singers whose passionate rivalry turns into passionate, undeniable attraction, and a stalker with a sore throat paying the object of her affection an unwanted visit. This comedy explores love and relationships and shows us just how important humour is when it comes to navigating complex, warm and, quite often, awkward interactions with our fellow humans.
Wendy Herlich has written three shows in her “awkward romance” series – why choose this one?
Her third show in this series, Awkward Romance: The Third Evening, is premiering at the NYC Fringe this year, so that one wasn’t an option (although I am quite excited to have a peek at it when she decides to publish). After reading Another Evening of Awkward Romance I knew that it was the one. I loved the characters and all their quirks, I loved the absurdity of the situations that arose. I know this will sound cheesy, but it spoke to me. And this was after a month-long search for a play. I drove my producer mad by finding ‘THE ONE’ thirce a day. But in the end, the true one stood out.
How did you cast for the two roles in this show? What were you looking for specifically?
The main qualities I was looking for when casting for this show were versatility, a good sense of comedic timing and a certain…awkwardness. I had worked with Marcia a few months prior and we had a wonderful ride together. I knew that she had a wide emotional range, that she was willing to try pretty much anything, and that she had an off-beat sense of humour (a necessary trait for anyone who wants to work with Saint Maggie Productions). I auditioned male actors opposite her and she and Greg just seemed to have the right chemistry. He is very funny, very expressive vocally and physically. Working with someone new is always scary but I have been fortunate enough to be rewarded by the people I picked to be my playmates.
Anything else you want audiences to know about the show?
The Fringe Festival gives artists the opportunity to introduce new work, to experiment with pushing boundaries and to bring audiences into their world. Over the course of ten days there is a lot of heavy drama to be found. Another Evening of Awkward Romance lets audiences give themselves a break and give themselves permission to laugh and be light-hearted. We want people to come laugh with us.
Bonus question: Any names you want to drop who have been involved in your show (Edmonton arts people or otherwise)?
Obviously the most important name that needs to be repeated is Wendy Herlich, the writer without whom none of this would be happening. Also, I’ve been very lucky to have Darrell Portz help me out with sound – he’s had all of my last minute requests to deal with and has been very patient in doing so. Big thank you to him!
The 33rd Edmonton International Fringe is August 14 – 24. Get your tickets at tickets.fringetheatre.ca