Trampoline
King Edward School (8530 – 101 street), August 14 – 16, 18 – 21
More information: weepingspoon.com
Shane Adamczak and Amanda Woohams in Trampoline. Photo credit: Mitchell Richards.
An interview with Shane Adamczak.
Describe your show in 5 words.
Twisted take on romantic comedy
Okay, now that we’re intrigued, what’s the longer description?
The story revolves around Matt, who is in therapy for his over-active imagination. As part of his on going treatment he is given a series of challenges to help him “fit in”. Along the way he meets his new neighbour Kelly, who is beautiful, full of life, music and has a trampoline. A boy meets girl story that’s less than ordinary; Trampoline is a romantic comedy about trying to find your place in the world and having someone to share it with.
How did you come up with Matt’s condition of intermingling fiction and reality?
The show is based on an online blog called “Matt’s Dream Journal” which I wrote under the alas of “Matt” for about a year before writing the show. It’s started as writing exercise, but over time all these themes and interesting characters started to emerge in the blog and I decided to develop it into a play. The condition is based on a real condition that exists that effects sleep patterns and the ability to function when awake.
Where does the title of the show, Trampoline, come from?
Kelly’s trampoline is the place where the two main character first meets and it develops into a significant location throughout the play. Plus I had always thought it would be an interesting device to have a trampoline on stage!
One of the big themes of Trampoline seems to be about how the line between fantasy and reality can be blurred and your press release mentions a ‘surreal dreamscape’ – how does this make its way into the production elements of your show?
We’ve used puppetry, physical theatre, original music and soundscapes and some ridiculous 90’s dance moves to recreate some of the bizarre dreams and the fictional world of Matt’s vivid imagination. All the actors in the show come from pretty diverse performance backgrounds, so I’ve tried to utilize that as much as possible in the play.
Anything else you’d like audiences to know about Trampoline?
If you’ve never been to a theatre show before, don’t be afraid. It’s like going to a movie, but in real 3D! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and be perplexed by our 90’s dance moves and you’ll leave the theatre feeling amazing about the world and no doubt keen to check out more amazing Fringe shows! Edmonton has such an incredible festival and you have a chance to see a crazy amount of shows from all over the world in a short amount of time.
Bonus question: any names you’d like to drop of people who have been involved in your show? Other great fringe shows you’d recommend to readers?
I’m working with two stellar performers, Whitney Richards from Australia and in Edmonton we have Richard Maritzer from Sound & Fury joining the cast which is very exciting! We’ve almost wrapped up in Winnipeg and there’s some really excellent shows heading to Edmonton, a few off the top of my head are How Often Do I Dream, Peter n’ Chris, Eleanor’s Story, Martin Dockery and Jon Bennett. Go see stuff you’ve never heard off too, it’s always fun taking a chance!
The 34th Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is August 13 – 23. Get your tickets at tickets.fringetheatre.ca starting August 4.