87% True: The Lies That Bind

"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

Escape - COMPLETE!

It was with tears of joy and gratitude that we stopped on the Trans Canada Highway to take the following photo:

Woohoo! We spent our first (and only) Manitoba night nestled delightfully at Chris's good friend's parents' farm just outside Winnipeg. It was animals galore - between the Great Dane, the two cats, the horses and the alpacas, we were in cute, fuzzy heaven. Also, gigantic piles of dung alert.

Rose, who plays a large animal vet in the show and yet is actually terribly allergic to nature and most animals, decided to try a little method acting with Sequoia here:

Chris made a new friend who likes to chew on things, like his shorts:

 

And Chris also thanked Chairman Meow for allowing us to use his name in our show:

And then the knitter in Rose coveted the hilarious prize alpacas. We didn't take them with us, but only because Chris said they wouldn't fit in El Trucko.

The kickin' farm in Winnipeg was our last stop before hittin' Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the site of our next Fringe! Saskatoon - there's a reason they call it the "Paris of the Prairies". We're about to find out.

Slurpee count = 63

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