87% True: The Lies That Bind

Late Night Fringe Fun

Our next show is tonight, Tuesday, Sept 12th at 10:15 p.m. Late for a weeknight? Perhaps. But the great thing about going to a late-night show is that the you have ample time to get a little loaded beforehand. Woooo!

As our review in Toronto's Eye Weekly said, 87% True captures "the embroidered and contradictory nature of both family and personal narrative." Rose was reminded of this quote after Saturday's show, which her brother James and his lovely friends attended. We were talking dogs after the show, as you do, and James and his friend Jess were telling the tragic, yet horribly hilarious story of how their friend was dog-sitting a fussy, fussy dog and the poor dog died.

"And then they put the dog in the freezer!" said James enthusiastically.

"Uh . . . noooo," said Jess.

"Yeah!" said James. "I remember you telling me! About the dog in the freezer."

"Yeah, that's not what happened."

"But . . .I have this image in my mind of this dog - with its legs sticking up, you know, in the freezer," James said, truly bewildered.

"Man, you've made up that part of the story for yourself," laughed Jess.

Just like in our SHOW!! Good times.

Slurpee count = 102 (Rose found the local 7-11)

Fourth "Opening Night" - Good Times

Next show tonight! Saturday, Sept 9! 5:30 p.m.! Waterfront Theatre!

Vancouver is the last stop on our four city tour of Fringe love and so last night's 9 p.m. show was our last "opening night". Sniff. We were deeply spoiled by having a fantastic crowd and we had a great time doing the show. Apparently, there was a couple in the audience who was also having a great time sketching Chris, Rose, Hugo the Bear, etc. while we were in action DURING the show. Hey, sketchers! If you're reading this, our friends thought your drawings were amazing! We'd love to see them!

Speaking of spoiled, Chris decided to surprise Rose on this last opening night with the most awesome gift ever! Jealous? It was a signed poster of Poofy du Vey (a.k.a. Courtney Cunningham), whose fantastic solo clown show Burden of Poof bowled us over in Saskatoon. Rose's opening night "gift" to Chris was the hissy fit she threw briefly after the show - clearly, Rose will have to step it up for closing night. Hookers! Blow! Knitting! Chris deserves it all and more.

Slurpee count = 98

Vancouver Attained! And We Drove the Coquahalla!

The mountains! The ocean! The Starbucks on EVERY CORNER! Yes, that's right - Chris and Rose have arrived in Vancouver, where the air is sweet and Chris can finally walk around naked again. The man has been staying at other people's houses since June 14th, folks. That's a LONG TIME to have pants on. Fly free!

We have our tech rehearsal in a couple of days and we're pretty thrilled to be doin' the show at the Waterfront Theatre, which cross-country travellin' Kristen and cool Fringe artist and blogger Darren Barefoot, creator of Bolloxed, assure us is pretty sweet. Here's a quick refresher on our Vancouver show times:

Georgia Straight Stage 4 - Waterfront Theatre, 1412 Cartwright St., Granville Island, Vancouver
 
Fri. Sept 8, 9:00 pm
Sat. Sept 9, 5:30 pm
Sun. Sept 10, 7:15 pm
Tues. Sept 12, 10:15 pm
Wed. Sept 13, 5:15 pm
Sat. Sept 16, 3:30 pm

As Rose types, Chris is out slamming, poeticizing and promoting the show at the bi-monthly Poetry Slam at Cafe deux Soleils down on Commercial Drive. Slam it, Chris! And, uh . . . let's hope he remembered to put pants on. It's . . . it's a family show.

Slurpee count = 94

Edmonton, Alberta - Where the Streets Are Paved With Gold

"Wait minute," Chris said in alarm, as he inspected the concession tents being set up along the Fringe strip yesterday afternoon, "WHERE ARE THE MINI DONUTS?!?"

"Don't worry," said some random babe in a hat who'd overhead Chris' panicked exclamation, "they'll be right around the corner there. Same place as last year."

Chris breathed a sigh of relief. Thank you, soothing stranger!

So we're here! Rose is queer! And the beer tent is beside our venue! Could anything be more perfect? We think not. Again, an Edmonton Fringe showtime and location refresher:

Sutton Stage 9, Walterdale Playhouse, 10322 - 83rd Ave

Fri, August 18          4:15 PM
Sun, August 20         7:00 PM
Mon, August 21        4:15 PM
Wed, August 23        2:15 PM
Sat, August 26          7:15 PM
Sun, August 27         2:15 PM

For other show schedules and key Fringe info, check out the fantastic Edmonton Fringe website!

Chris and Rose grew up here in Edmonton and we have long considered the Edmonton Fringe to be the pinnacle of all things Fringe-y. But it occurred to us, as we swept into the city Monday afternoon, that neither of us has actually BEEN at the Edmonton Fringe since 1998, when Rose was performing in one show, had written and directed another show and was also asked to be on the Sterling Theatre Awards jury for the Fringe, which meant she had to see 40 shows in 10 days. It was pretty awesome. But after a Fringe like that, who can blame a gal for taking a break?

Back when we were last here, the Fringe offices were in kind of a old warehouse-type building that smelled like guano. Now they look like this:

Chris took this photo with tears in his eyes. "Our little Fringe has grown up so much," he sighed as I sniffled. Happy 25th, Edmonton Fringe! It's a privilege to be here performing, uh . . . at you. We raise our mini-donuts in your honour! Also, Slurpees.

Slurpee count = 83

Last Weekend in the 'Toon! Two More Shows!

Good morning, Saskatoooooooooon!

We have a show tonight at 8 p.m. and another tomorrow at 2 p.m.! Come experience the family dissemblance at the Broadway Theatre! We'll be there - the bear's head will be there - it would be a crime to miss it!

In other news, we've had three entire days off (from the blogging too, it seems) and we've filled them full to bursting. Our three days off have been spent:

*Seeing some amazing Fringe shows, including all three UK performance poets;

*Blowing bubbles and screwing up English accents while spoofing Fringe hit The Excursionists for the Saskatoon Fringe's annual Spoof Night;

*Meeting a lovely stranger in the elevator who looked at us a little funny before saying "Heeeey - I've been reading your blogs!";

*Flyering everyone with a Fringe button and a pulse (Chris);

*Buying an incredibly trashy historical fiction novel (Rose);

*Speculating over which performer left a giant, nasty turd in the dressing room john on Tuesday afternoon (we're looking at you, Tales from the Calabash);

*Camping out at the Staples in preparation for the upcoming Edmonton Fringe (it's like Cheers over there - they know our names);

*Scarfing Slurpees; and

*Falling in love with Poofy du Vey, a clown whose show, Burden of Poof, was the highlight of the festival, even though it . . .wasn't actually PART of the festival. But it SHOULD be. 'Cause Poofy -she's something else. As Rose said last night after Poofy's show: "You know I've been away from my girlfriend for too long when even clowns are starting to look good to me."

4 Stars! 4th Show Today! At 4 O'Clock!

There's nothing like wakin' up to coffee, fresh muffins and a four star review (and) photo in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Wooooooooooo! Saskatoon, you are spoiling us. We may never leave!

The Star-Phoenix - Tuesday, August 8, 2006

87% TRUE: THE LIES THAT BIND
Quixotic Productions
Venue 1, Broadway Theatre
Today, Saturday, Sunday


As estranged twins Orson and Ursula cope with the death of their grandmother, they uncover the shocking news one of them is adopted. Only the true Brezic will inherit the family farm.

The siblings, along with Hugo, a stuffed bear's head, begin sorting through the facts and fiction of their family history. But who can tell them apart? Who can discern the truth from the lore as stories have been retold through the generations? Will the twins still be speaking when they find out who inherits grandma's land? Orson and Ursula relive several childhood memories and reconstruct the mystery of how their great-grandfather laid claim to the land in the early 1900s.

The script is both warm and witty -- never shying away from the characters' grief, nor becoming too sappy or sentimental -- but keeps all of the customary sibling rivalry and comedy.

Slides projected against a curtain add an air of authenticity to the play.

Created by Chris Gilpin and Rosemary Rowe, who also star in the production, 87% True will appeal to many fans of Prairie history.

At 45 minutes, the only audience complaint might be the light-hearted comedy ends too soon.

HA ha! Well, that's certainly a complaint we can live with. Thanks, Star-Phoenix! Woooooo!

Slurpee count = 72

"I Think I Flyered the Premier"

Oh my god. We're here, we're queer (well, just Rose is) and WE LOVE SASKATOON.

The glory began when we arrived at Rose's aunt and uncle's place, which is a) beautiful and b) literally a stone's throw from Broadway, the main Fringe Fest drag here in town. We made it through the lobby/safari:

And, after a good night's rest, we showed up at Venue #1, The Broadway Theatre, for our technical rehearsal. It, ah, was easy to find.

We were a little worried coming to Saskatoon because this is the only Fringe where we didn't manage to scare up a stage manager. So we sent our script ahead, crossed our fingers and lucked right the hell out. Andy, our venue technician, is FANTASTIC. Within the first five minutes of our rehearsal, he actually uttered the phrase "I'm here to make you guys happy" WITHOUT IRONY. Rose nearly cried.

So today is the opening day of the Fringe here in Saskatoon and we spent much of the afternoon pestering local merchants to let us put up posters, handing out some super-cool buttons, kickin' it at the Booster Juice, cornering a writer from the Star-Phoenix and talking about ourselves and then . . . then Chris unknowingly flyered not only the Honourable Lorne Calvert, Premier of Saskatchewan:

But also Donald J. Atchison, the Mayor of Saskatoon:

 

Well done, Chris!

87% True is opening here in just a few hours, so we'd better get ready. 'Cause no matter how big and crazy it gets, Chris's mustache refuses to trim itself. Lazy bastard.

Slurpee count = 65

It's Working!

HA ha! We hoped that putting our URL on the back of the truck would yield some hilarious results and we were right. Here's an e-mail we got from Tom:

HI there I saw your car  at hwy17 and the Espanola turn off wrote down your address off your car and here I am, you are right Ontario is very big.. happy motoring Tom

Thanks, Tom! You made our day. Hwy 17 and Espanola turn off was pretty early in our journey - Day 2, I believe. We were probably reading our astrological charts aloud at the time. Cosmic!

Slurpee count = 63

Escape From Ontario!!

We're off! Like a herd of turtles! Chris went and got us some fine, fine vinyl lettering for the back of El Trucko, so that every vehicle that passes our slow, steady truck on the freeway now has the option to visit our website! From all the honking, I'd say they're pretty excited!

Our first stop: Sudbury, Ontario! Blueberry Capital of the World! Jealous? You should be. I hear there will be pie.

Slurpee count: 56

Push Our Buttons Part II

Our pal Becky Johnson over at the Sweetie Pie Press has made us a passle of new buttons for our cross country journey! You know, the one that starts Thursday. Check out the button proofs:

 

I know - HOT. They're no "Bear drinking a beer", but I think they'll really raise the tone.

Apologies for the sporadic posting - if we'd gotten into the Winnipeg Fringe, we'd've had hilarious tales of monstrous mosquito bites and being mocked for mistakenly using the French pronunciation of "Portage". Instead, we have tales of Rose and her partner Kate packing all their crap up to move across the country and Chris getting the hell out of Dodge. But Chris and his 'stache are returning tonight and the show - the show will go on. All the way to Saskatoon! Jealous?

Slurpee count = 49 (Rose still drinking for two)

Monday Fringe Blogging is the New Black

One of the lovely writers from blogTO was meant to come to see 87% True on Friday, but a crisis (Mercury is in retrograde, people) prevented her from seeing what turned out to be a crap-tastic, slide-projector-less, Chris-and-Rose-like-deer-in-headlights-with-disorders-of-the-central-nervous-system show. So, you know, ha ha . . . that all worked out.

Instead, she posted a great write-up about our blog over on blogTO. Thanks, Katherine!

One of the joys of blogging the Fringe is being able to link to other bloggers who've posted their hilarious (mis)adventures about coming to our show.

The lovely and fabulous Lex had a little trouble making it to opening night but DID manage to catch the show on Friday, or, as we refer to it, The Day The Projector Died And All Our Worst Fears Were Realized. She also managed to surreptitiously snap this photo, because she is gifted.

The fabulous and lovely Heather brought her feller Dave to our opening night and posted a terrific account of their date and our historic IN REAL LIFE meeting. My favourite collection of exclamation points: "The money goes to the artists! It's funny! You'll be cool! They serve beer afterward!"

It's all true.

Slurpee count = 30

Xtra! Xtra! Read All About It!

Because Rose is a gay, she got interviewed by Xtra! Magazine. And today, we saw Serafin's brilliant preview write up for our show! Here's our excerpt. Love it. As we do.

Lesbian thespians & bears, oh my

Let's start with a story of bears - and we don't mean our jean-shorts wearing, leather-harnessed brethren. We're talking real, honest-to-goodness Yogi and Boo-Boo type bears.

It all started with an old black and white photo: A full-grown bear stands on its hind legs, towering over a man who is feeding it with a baby bottle. From this improbable spectacle grew two generations of imaginative family lore, spinning tales of bestials trysts, unlikely offspring and the mystery of two twins who may not be related - all detailed in Rosemary Rowe and Chris Gilpin's play 87% True: The Lies That Bind.

Ursula and Orson have been estranged for many years. Though close as children, the twins' divergent personalities and lifestyles have kept the two apart until their grandmother's death. The funeral is a sad occasion, but the siblings find some comfort in their reunion and seem to set aside their differences in anticipation of Granny's will reading.

Of course, it all goes to hell in a picnic basket. Turns out that Granny's been hiding a secret all these years: one of the twins was actually adopted, but the old bat couldn't remember which when she wrote the will.

To make matters worse, only the biological offspring can inherit the grandmother's estate, which leaves the distraught duo going through old photos, slides and documents to determine who gets all of Granny's goodies.

It's during this ancestral excavation that the differences between brother and sister begin to surface. Where Ursula is methodical and boring, Orson seems to embody the family sense of the unlikely and the fantastical.

The infamous bear-feeding photo sparks a vicious rivalry, with Ursula dismissing the scenario as an unlikely pet, and Orson maintaining that Grandma and the bear engaged in intimate relations, producing a fantastical lineage of ursine-monikered children.

"We actually created the play the same way that family stories seem to develop," says co-writer Rowe, a queer playwright and blogger based in Toronto. "There was a basic set of ideas to start with and then we just extrapolated."

Rowe crafted the story with longtime friend and fellow Edmontoner Gilpin; the two have been close friends since high school.

"Chris's family actually had a farm in Alberta with this pet bear, which is where we got the picture. It was his grandfather feeding the bear."

In fact, Gilpin's furry friend makes an actual (if macabre) appearance in 87% True - the bear's head is now struffed and will be mounted on the wall of the set.

87% True opens July 5 at 8:45 p.m. in the Factory Theatre Studio (125 Bathurst Street).

Slurpee count = 18

The First Poster is Away! The First Poster is Away!

It was a banner day for us here at 87% True.

1. Chris became the legal owner of El Trucko! His first act as owner was to park the hippie truck illegally so that I could pop out and return El Trucko's former plates. Chris is such a bad ass. And El Trucko is clearly destined to be his subtle and stealthy accomplice.

 

2. We met up with my pal Mira, who promised to paper the Halls (and Cubicles) of Justice with our posters and pin the Chests of Justice with our buttons. Muffins and light refreshments were served. Underwear was discussed.

3. We, uh . . . re-wrote the last third of play.

4. Our first actual act of postering was committed when El Trucko's mechanic, James McDermott, offered to put our poster up on the door of his shop at Parliament and Shuter! We were speechless with delight. Nearby tires seemed unaffected.

 

Slurpee count = 7

Push Our Buttons

Finding new and exciting ways to get people to not chuck your show's promotional material is a perennial challenge for any Fringe performer. So before Chris left Vancouver, he made a date with our graphic designer pal Carley and her button press. I think you'll agree the results are delightful. If there's one thing the Fringe has been missing, it's drunken bear buttons with our URL on them. Well, not THIS year! HA ha!

I love them. Partly because I love neat little buttons and partly because they look like candy. Mmmm. Candy.

These buttons are available gratis anywhere Chris and I happen to be; on the streetcar, at the coffee shop, at your office. I'm thinking that perhaps we'll also try and hand some out at this weekend's Pride festivities! Because no one digs drunken bear buttons MORE . . . than drunken bears.