Girls with Glasses: nerding it up every Wednesday this September

So the Girls with Glasses, my little myopic musical collective (me, Karyn Ellis and Eve Goldberg, this year sans Allison Brown) are back, presenting a weekly show this September every Wednesday at the Tranzac Club. Come check it out …gonna be fun fun fun, wacky and full of good times, music, comedy, spoken word and dancing.

Workin Summer

Hillside Festival and Home County were both wonderful weekends full of fun workshop collaborations with great musicians, and hearing lots of good music…sharing stages with The Brothers Creegan, The Acorn, Rae Spoon, James Gordon, Jenny Whiteley, Oh Suzanna, Catherine McClelland, Melissa McClelland, Coco Love Alcorn, Brian McMillan…and getting to play with my whole band at Hillside, what a treat.

This week, on Augst 7, the SummerWorks Festival opens in Toronto — a festival of independent theatre and music which i have been involved in over the years (it’s where Clean Irene & Dirty Maxine premiered, and won the jury prize — so of course i have sweet associations..). This year, i am taking part in the festival with three different things, all of which i am pretty stoked about:

Number one! The festival is doing a music series this year for the first time, so on August 15th, I am playing (with band) as the opening act for Rock Plaza Central.

Number two! I am directing a show by my friend Morgan Jones Phillips, called The Emergency Monologues. It is all about his experience working as a paramedic in Toronto for the last 5 years — and his stories are AMAZING. you will pee your pants laughing, and be horrified and amused and amazed.

Number three! I am acting in The Pastor Phelps Project: a fundamentalist cabaret. Speaking of horrified, amused and amazed….I play Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Pastor Fred Phelps, and a leader of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas: the hate-mongering, homophobic church who picket AIDS funerals and dead soldiers funerals…who will apparently be in attendance at the opening of the show this Thursday, picketing at our production (!) en route to Alberta where they’ll be picketing at a production of the Laramie Project. See their press release: 20080801_pastor-phelps-project-toronto

Check out the media frenzy that has happened since we discovered the Westboro Baptist’s intention to picket the show:  The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, CityTV, Global TV all covered it…and then they didn’t show (The Toronto Sun reports).

Come check out the live action: the show takes place in the back room of The Cameron House, August 7-17 www.summerworks.ca

Report from the left coast…

I’ve returned from such an amazing tour out west. Without a doubt, the highlight being the trip to the Yukon, and the very special and beautiful Atlin Festival.…back in Ontario now, i’m missing those long long days that never seem to end…walking home at 3 am wondering if it’s finally getting dark, or if it’s actually getting lighter….

Also a treat to be return to Edmonton, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and Whidbey Island WA; plus first visits (but not the last!) to the Sunshine Coast BC and Canmore AB. Incredible physical beauty was a recurrent theme of the landscapes we drove and flew and sailed through…as well as delicious, wonderful and generous hospitality from so many old friends and new friends along the way.

When i have a few minutes, i will be posting some more writing and stories about the trip…for now, I am coming down from the west, followed by a lovely weekend at London’s Home County Festival, and getting ready for the big Hillside weekend.

Lots of nice press along the road, too: if you’re interested, check out the articles in the Georgia Straight and The Edmonton Journal