All You Need is Love…Sort of: Brad Fraser’s latest comedy proves that absolutely nothing is cut-and-dried

   True Love Lies opens with a look into the Sawatsky household; mom Carolyn (Kate Ryan) is filling the dishwasher, daughter Madison (Nicola Elbro) is on her way to look for a job and dad Kane (Frank Zotter) is returning from a business meeting just as son Royce (Thomas Barnet) is returning from a day at high school. They seem like a nice, normal family in a nice, normal situation.

Fortunately for audiences, that statement could not be farther from the truth.

   Things quickly get weird when Madison tries to apply for a job working at Mary’s, owned and managed by David McMillan (David Keely), a former…friend of Kane’s. A little prodding around the dinner table reveals Kane’s past relationship with David, much to the chagrin of Carolyn and the disbelief, fascination and disgust of Madison and Royce. Without giving too much away, from that point on, truths are revealed, lies are told, relationships fail and yet, a space of understanding is opened up between all the characters.

   The show itself is fast-paced, acerbic and hysterically funny, but also heartbreaking at times. Fraser has written a fantastic script that explores the extremes of human emotion, acceptance, trust and above all, truth.  A show like True Love Lies requires the hand of a skilled director, which the company certainly has in Ron Jenkins. His sense of timing and emphasis make lines pop and sizzle. A look can garner big laughs, and the direst moments leave a knife stuck in your throat.

   Jenkins also has the benefit of an incredibly talented company of actors.  Kate Ryan and Frank Zotter have great chemistry as the awkward parents. Nicola Elbro brings the attitude and a great playfulness to the role of the sexed-up Madison. David Keely is a great contrast to the Sawatsky family in every way; dry, witty and sharp. You cannot take your eyes of Thomas Barnet, the awkward and troubled son, Royce; he ignites onstage.

   The design of the show helped bring the mood together. The stage was a beautifully fluid space, with kitchen, dining room and front porch areas that could have belonged to any one of the characters at anytime. I loved the costumes, especially Madison’s perpetually slutty waitress attire, because it was both topical and totally realistic. Aaron Macri’s sound design was as wacky as the show itself, including music by Amy Winehouse, as well as Chic and Lady Gaga.

   The beauty of Brad Fraser’s work is how he approaches the topic of human sexuality. Rather than explain it as something that fits neatly into separate categories (gay, straight, bi), Fraser acknowledges that human sexuality exists on a spectrum. No individual has an exclusive sexuality. He also writes fantastic characters that make you sad, make you mad and then make you feel all right about yourself. His characters are all looking for love in some form, and the form in which they find it is never what they expect. They reassure the audience that love, like sexuality, is complex and never neatly categorized. 

True Love Lies runs at the Citadel Theatre until May 15. Check out www.citadeltheatre.com or call the Box Office at 780-425-1820 for information, prices and times.

Space and Habit

Photo by Erika Luckert


Whether you live in a city, town, or even a village, the space you occupy can be repressive or enabling--often a mixture of both. The choices we make within these varied spaces are often automatic and habitual, but this was not always the case. Think back to when you first came to Edmonton (or you first began moving throughout the city), every freeway, road, and side street were possible paths to your destination. There was no set trail beyond the dizzying flow of traffic.

Now, things are are different. What was once a barrage of bifurcating paths has become a seamless passage from A to B: the morning commute, Century Park to Clareview, the High Level Bridge--each is a human development that has regulated our interactions. Left turn, drive straight, left turn, drive straight, right turn, park; next stop: clareview; accelerate, slow, accelerate, slow.

These constructions make our lives easier, they facilitate movement--red light, green light--decreasing the risk of chaos entering our lives. However, protection comes at a price: safety necessitates stagnation, speed necessitates decreased friction. If we want to blaze through the city towards our next point of interest, we must surrender out claim to happenstance and interaction--"Don’t touch me, I have places to go."

As Edmontonians (as North Americans for that matter) we’re busy people. Families, work, school, and events all vie for our time, each doing its part to force us into a repetitive harmony with the city. Change can be hard, but it isn’t impossible. Your life only becomes fully regimented when you don’t even consider the possibility of other options: there is more than one path and speed is not always necessary.

I’m tempted to simply employ the phrase ‘take the road less travelled’ but I think it misses the mark. In order to take the road less travelled we must first ‘go off the beaten path’--experiment--or, even better, make your own paths.

Fear and the City

When I think about my daily interactions within Edmonton I rarely think of myself as pushing my own personal or the city’s limits. One could say I am moving about the city in a comfortable but stagnant cocoon. In this cocoon I slowly morph through new experiences and challenges but rarely venture outside of my comfort zone. Sure I love to try new foods, meet new people and hear new ideas but often I find sharing my own experiences or becoming inherently involved in new ventures daunting.

I often wonder how much of my day is guided by fear?

Fear of failure?

Fear of awkwardness?

Fear of the unknown?

Edmonton is such a community-based city.  Not so much geographically as Edmonton’s neighbourhoods can be distant and disjoined. The arts, gay, academic, athletic etc. communities on the other hand are seemingly tight knit. These communities all exist as a collective meeting place for people with specific interests and ideas. However, penetrating these communities and finding acceptance can seem difficult.

In this sense, fear is stifling my ability to experience what Edmonton has to offer. I go to shows, pubs and art openings but I have yet to feel an intrinsic connection within Edmonton’s various communities. Perhaps I am already immersed and just unaware or perhaps I am subtly holding myself back from truly becoming involved.

A friend of mine, Percy Marshall, recently tested out his theory on fear and I found it incredibly inspirational. Percy wanted to see if fear would completely disappear after he had conquered it. After deciding that his biggest fear was floating down the North Saskatchewan River on a floating section of ice, he did just that.

In conquering his fear, he was able to progress and propel himself past the restrictions of fear and self-doubt. His video documentary begins with the statement “Thoughts determine what you want, actions determine what you get.” I couldn’t agree more.

Perhaps I just need to face my fear and become more involved. I need to morph out of this stagnant state by putting my writing, art and self out there...wherever that may be. 

I guess this is a first step.

Hello Edmonton.

Please watch Percy Marshall's short documentary.

It is in 4 parts:

Percy Marshall Documentary Part 1

Percy Marshall Documentary Part 2

Percy Marshall Documentary Part 3

Percy Marshall Documentary Part 4

Flow

North Saskatchewan River in January

I posted a while back about some insights I gained from Edmonton’s poet laureate, Roland Pemberton, and looking back through my notebook, I see that I have some sketches towards another post inspired by his workshop. Given that this week is the Edmonton Poetry Festival, I thought it fitting to turn back to those now, and wander from Roland’s words to my own.

At the workshop I attended, Roland talked about his rap name, saying “my name is Cadence Weapon, and I name myself after flow.”

By flow, he meant the flow of words as they tumble over eachother forming whirlpools, eddies and currents.

Flow is a river, tumbling over itself, and twisting, until it finds the sea.

If his cadence is words, what, I wonder, could be the cadence of this city?

River City, we call it sometimes. Is the river our cadence, the thing that makes this city for all to see?

Can we make this city flow with the cadence of our words? Use poetry and prose to break the winter’s freeze, create an ice flow in the snow, and keep it tumbling over itself even as the North Saskatchewan stands still?

Could it be the people who create a city’s cadence? The people, as they pass eachother in the streets, swerve at intersections, and slow in neighbourhood eddies before they are drawn back to the current?

All rivers flow to the sea, it is said. But where does that leave a city? Where will we go?

We're Building Something Here

Construction, Downtown Edmonton

Much like our own construction here, online. It's that time of year in the city.

I realized that I have yet to formally welcome my new coauthors on Journal Edmonton, so I'd like to take this opportunity to do so. I am very excited to be working with such a talented team, and I hope you, as readers, are excited too, because, for one thing, it means you'll get to hear from (or read from) other Edmontonians besides me. Because it's finals season, and we're all students, we aren't launching this new multi-authored version of Journal Edmonton all in one fell swoop, but we're all working hard to deliver as quickly as our studies allow. Over the next weeks, you can expect to start seeing posts from (here's the actual introductions, after a long buildup) Jamin Huntley, Bevin Dooley, Ryan Stephens, Becky Smith-Mandin, Rita Chen, Shaun Nystrom, Cathryn Beck, Robert Barbeau, and myself, Erika Luckert.

You may notice that our links beneath the header are increasing in number - again, part of our gradual site redevelopment. Check out our new Submissions option, and our newly rewritten About page.

Coming soon, an Authors page so you can get to know Journal Edmonton's writers a bit better as they start writing for you.

As we work through this restructuring, any feedback is greatly appreciated. Please, contact us.