Monday was the Montreal Fringe-for-All. Interested companies each get two minutes to sell their show in any way they choose.
For those who have never been to the Montreal FFA, let me tell you a little more about it: It take place in a cavernous space, Café Campus, full of fun-loving, raucous folks who most likely have been drinking beverages far more potent than tea. There are literally dozens of shows going up one after another. Unless you’re doing something really flashy or memorable, just doing a two-minute extract from you show can be dreadfully dull indeed.
I knew going up and performing a brief scene from the play or a dramatic reading from Pride and Prejudice was certainly not going to cut it. So, I decided to get creative and had Jane Austen indulge in a little light-hearted zombie mayhem. The goal was to poke a fun at the current trend for Austen/Monster mash-ups (such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) and make it clear there were no zombies in the final show. (Really. There aren’t. Honest! I tried to find a way to put some in, but it just didn’t feel right.)
Was it sensationalistic and shameless? Probably. Was it memorable? Yes! Many thanks to my hardworking director, Bruce Lambie, who took my concept and ran with it. (His music editing and zombie coaching skills are par excellence!) Also thanks to Heather Huff who stood in as Jane Austen (I was unable to attend the event due to a prior engagement). Additional thanks to Jeremy Hechtman (for loaning us his exquisite faux machine gun) and the shambling members of my zombie horde.
Did it work? Well, we did get a mention from Pat Donnelly in The Gazette today (Thanks!): http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Fringe+Unique+talent+style/3100539/story.html
I also noticed she made a brief pre-zombie mention of our title on Saturday (Supplementary thanks!):
http://www.montrealgazette.com/gambling+continues/3085303/story.html
I will upload some pictures and the FFA YouTube video when they become available.
Cheers,
Tali
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