87% True: The Lies That Bind

Awesome Bear Photos

This was sent in by alert blog reader Sarah H. Thanks, Sarah! I think we've found a new slide for the show:

SO AWESOME. We plan on spending plenty of time visiting the photo's original source.

87% True - 75% Done

Well, we closed out the Edmonton Fringe in style this weekend, with much merriment and mini donuts. We were lucky to not only have two fantastic houses for our last two shows, but we ALSO had many beloved family members from far away places in those audiences and then in the beer tent afterwards. Woooo! Many thanks to Rose's gorgeous aunts, aunt-in-law and cousins and cousins-in-law who came up from Calgary and in from Sherwood Park and to Chris's sisters who actually left the lake this fine weekend to see the show. THAT'S love, people. LOVE!!

Special thanks also to our awesome Edmonton stage manager, Lindsey Walker, who was a delightful ray of sunshine and who gave us little plastic bears ("Randolph" and "Petunia") for our final show (she painted the toenails on Rose's) and to our fantastic house technicians Amy and Ryan, who always let us in early and told us hilarious stories of Fringes past and laughed at our dumb jokes.

We've had a blast at the Edmonton Fringe. The kind of blast that makes us have delusions about "next year's Fringe tour". HA ha!

So next stop -  Vancouver! Pictures of the road trip and Rose's knitting to come!

Slurpee count = 91

VUE Calls Us "Daffy" and "Sprightly"!

Two more chances to catch our "witty, zany and constantly offbeat" play! To help you include 87% True in your last Fringe-ing weekend, here's the info:

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

Sat, August 26          7:15 PM
Sun, August 27         2:15 PM

VUE Weekly came out today and we were pleased to find a lovely gem of a review between its sheets. If you know what we mean. And we think that you do. Thanks, VUE!! And thanks to good friend Cheryl, who sent the review to us via e-mail, thus saving Rose from having to type the thing out. Wooooo!

87% True: The Lies That Bind (Stage 9)

A daffy, sprightly little comedy about the stories that families need to believe in. Orson and Ursula, while going through things in the attic of the family homestead, discover that their grandmother has left “the house and farm ... to whichever one of you is not adopted.” The bear-named former twins try to figure out who’s the false sibling, even as they offer different takes on homespun histories, Ursula’s cheeriness and dry factual accounts jarring with slacker-hoser Orson’s colourful myths. From a stuffed bear head to a cat named Chairman Meow, this play is witty, zany, and constantly offbeat.

What do you do with a review that cute? You laminate it, of course! And then laugh over and over again at Orson being called a "slacker-hoser". Good one, VUE Weekly. Good one.

Slurpee count = 87

Curse of the Second Show - BROKEN! We hope.

Three more chances to catch the "warm and witty", "equal parts lambasting and laughter" fun of 87% True at the Edmonton Fringe! Here are the goods:

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

Wed, August 23        2:15 PM
Sat, August 26          7:15 PM
Sun, August 27         2:15 PM

In other news . . . well, you knew it had to happen. Our blogging has been interrupted by our long, delightful sessions with that most prized of Fringe delicacies - mini-donuts. We eat them before the show - we eat them after the show. We shared some with Rose's awesome blog pal Kristen, who stopped off during her family's insane cross-country vacation and saw our opening show. We bought them for Lindsey Walker, our lovely stage manager.  We introduced them to Rose's girlfriend Kate, who was up for the weekend - Chris guided Kate to the mini-donut machine, so that Kate could watch the tiny donuts' "greasy journey towards our bellies." When we shake out our clothes at night, bits of sugar and cinnamon cascade onto the floor. Last night, Rose found donut sugar in her bra. Good times, people. Good times.

You know what else is good times? 87% True at the Edmonton Fringe! Our opening show was lots of fun - we had a generous and enthusiastic crowd both in numbers and in response. In fact, our first audience in Edmonton was larger than our biggest crowd in Saskatoon, causing both of us do little dances of glee in the mini donut line-up afterwards before hitting Chris's second love - the beer garden. The Grasshopper flags flutter in the wind and Chris - he gets goosebumps. And then drunk.

Now, as most of you long-time readers may recall, our second show in Toronto was marred by the slide projector breaking down as the show started and our second show in Saskatoon was cursed by Rose being horribly, disgustingly sick and by the quietest audience in the West. So we were a little nervous about our second show in Edmonton. We envisioned some kind of horrid combination of the first two "second shows" - the slide projector breaking down because Rose puked on it, you know, something like that. But it seems that the Curse of the Second Show was broken Sunday night. We had over 120 folks in the audience and if the constant guffawing was any indication, they all seemed to be having as good a time as we were. A little volunteer bird told us that we may have had some press in the house Sunday night as well, which is cool, as we feel that the Curse of the Second Show would truly be laid to rest if we got a good review off said second show. We'll keep you posted. Wooo!

We continue to be amazed both at the sheer volume of theatre-lovin' folks at the Fringe here and at our show's seemingly ageless appeal - we've routinely had strollers on one side and walkers on the other. And it's awesome. Thanks to all you fine folks who've made it out to the show - we raise our mini donuts in salute! And if you haven't been, come check it out! It's funny - it's deeply historical - we'll go for mini donuts after.

Slurpee count = 85 (Slurpee drinking curbed by proximity to mini-donuts)

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

2 Fringes Down - 2 to Go!

Ah, Saskatoon. How we have loved you. Particularly on Saturday night, when your rolling and enthusiastic laughter at our ridiculous antics made for our best show yet. The kind of show where people stop you on the street after. The kind of show that reminds you what the hell you're doing a Fringe tour FOR. The kind of show that you wish you could have ended on - so we'll pretend that we did. Sunday afternoon show? What Sunday afternoon show? HA ha!

This was our first time at the Saskatoon Fringe and we really enjoyed it. Sure, there were some "organizational issues", which were matched by "bitter performers crapping in an unprofessional manner on the Fringe staff at Spoof Night issues", but, uh, we had a good time and we would gladly return. People were friendly, the Slurpees were plentiful and while we didn't make much money, we definitely made enough to pay for gas to Edmonton. After all, if we were in this for the money . . . blah blah blah. Come see our show!!!

Slurpee count = 78

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

It's Wild - It's Woolly - It's Been Awhile

Alright, alright. Enough clambering for more of Chris' mustache. Check out the Week . . . 5? Is it 5 weeks already? Anyway, check out the glory:

I know, I know - don't you just wanna stroke it? Or shave it all off immediately? Or just rent a handlebar mustache porn flick? Chris reports that so far, the 'stache has not garnered much "tail". But it HAS garnered respectful nods from bikers. And when bikers nod respectfully, can "tail" be far behind? History will decide.

Slurpee count = holding at 70

The Curse of the Second Show Strikes Again!

Our opening night in Saskatoon was pretty fantastic. Even though we know only two people in Saskatoon, considerably more than two people showed up and they were a generous and enthusiastic crowd.

We've re-written the show since Toronto and have a couple of new scenes we'd never performed for anyone, so it was great try them out and not be booed offstage. Huzzah! Thanks to all you folks to came out, to our venue tech Andy who ran the show flawlessly, to Rose's aunt who fed us and our egos with popcorn and the biased feedback you need from family and to the folks to stopped us on the street on the way to the Green Room to tell us "Great show!" You all totally made our night.

As some of you long-time 87% True blog readers may recall, Rose and Chris's second show at the Toronto Fringe was marred by their slide projector dying at the very beginning of the show, causing Chris and Rose to:

a) crap their pants with fear;

b) do most of the show like deer in headlights, trying frantically to figure out how to deal with the missing slides as the show progressed; and

c) improvise so successfully around the malfunctioning slide projector that most people didn't actually realize the slide projector was SUPPOSED to be working and just thought the show was kinda . . . lame.

This time, we thought we were in the clear. 2 p.m. show on a Saturday is a great time; Chris had been flyering enthusiastically and while we haven't been reviewed yet here in Saskatoon, we haven't gotten a bad review either. So we were pretty pumped about Show #2.

The night before Show #2, Rose was out quite late babysitting for Michelle and Bob, who are doing the fabulous Deep Fried Curried Perogies here at the Saskatoon Fringe (check it out!).

When she got home, Rose was feeling . . . "a little funny". What followed was the kind of Norwalk Virus nightmare you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy - the kind where you're sitting on the john and holding a bucket and using them simultaneously multiple times. The kind of sick where the bedsheets catch it in the crossfire. The kind of sick where you're so miserable it's kind of funny because HOW CAN THIS EVEN BE HAPPENING? The kind of sick that makes you wonder if you're going to make it through the night, let alone to Show #2. THAT kind of sick.

Rose was shocked to discover the next morning that she was the only one of the 5 people currently here at El Casa de Rose's Aunt and Uncle who was ill in any way. She was also reduced (GAH!) to drinking Gatorade again, which she swore she'd never do after the dysentery incident in June. She got dizzy holding her arms up above her head to put her hair in a pony tail and then she had to lie down. Alot. It wasn't looking good, people. And yet - the show, it must go on!

Rose changed into her costume beforehand, so she wouldn't wear herself out getting changed at the venue. Chris brought a stool for backstage, so Rose could sit her sorry ass down and suck Gatorade until the show started. We made sure there was a garbage bin in the wings for emergency vomiting.
Right up until the lights went down, Rose wasn't sure she could do it. But then the show started . . . and we were doin' it! No barfing in the trunk, no running offstage for a visit to the ladies' shitter - it was actually a pretty tight show, all things considered. And it was because we were both so thrilled that Rose wasn't in a coma that it took us nearly a third of the show to notice that the audience . . . was.

We'd like to think the audience enjoyed the show yesterday, but we couldn't really tell. It was so quiet, we could occasionally hear our own voices echoing through the theatre. When the show is a comedy, that's not so great.

But then we got this lovely comment on the Fringe Forum:

I enjoyed this one very much. It is very convincing with its lighthearted humour. A must see for anyone who wants to leave feeling a little bit more adventurous and less of a stickler that when they arrived.

Hey, right on! Thanks, "the witch"! Clearly, they were laughing on the INSIDE! HUZZAH!

slurpee count = 70 (Chris was very brave, drank Slurpees for two)