Partners in Rhyme
Varscona Hotel Rutherford Room (8208 106 street) August 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24
More information: facebook.com/LegitimateTheatreCompany
An interview with Cleo Halls.
Partners in Rhyme at Edmonton Fringe. Drawn by Kristina Hunszinger
Describe your show in five words.
Quirky, lighthearted, whimsical, heartwarming and fun!
Okay, now that we’re intrigued… what’s the longer description?
Partners in Rhyme follows Charlie and Brigit, two awkward girls who meet in HR as they are fired from their telemarketer jobs and develop a friendship based on their shared love of rhyming. Unemployed and down on their luck, they attempt to turn their witty talents into a lucrative song writing career. As their bond strengthens and their rhymes multiply, they become increasingly well acquainted with themselves, each other and the dark idiosyncrasies of the rhyming industry.
Why choose the initial meeting of your two characters to be when they are fired from a telemarketing company?
One of the writers of the show, Kristina, works at an office job and often fantasizes about quitting and making theatre her full time career. We figured that this is a pretty common narrative, especially among creative people who may find 9-5 office work to be tedious or confining. We felt that showing our characters leaving a stable lifestyle for a more creative and unpredictable one would be a strong starting point for their friendship because they are going through a huge life change together.
You say your characters are “determined to change the world one rhyme at a time”. What does this mean to you personally? What does this mean to your characters?
Brigit and Charlie are both incredibly passionate about rhyming and choose to make it the main focus of their lives. They are throwing caution to the wind and following their hearts with the intention of inspiring others to find something that they are passionate about and pursue it too. Kristina and I feel similarly about the shows we write together-we don’t want to tell anyone to quit their day jobs or anything that extreme, but we hope that people will be see how much we genuinely love creating together and be inspired to find something that brings them that joy as well.
Anything else you want audiences to know about the show?
Just that we have been working on this project for a long time and we are incredibly excited to share it with others! Also, it features our real life secret hand shake.
The 33rd Edmonton International Fringe is August 14 – 24. Get your tickets at tickets.fringetheatre.ca.