Bryan Boohoo is a playwright and director from Hamilton. Previously, his plays A Thousand Natural Shocks, Life Through Fire, and Perpetual Sunshine Machine have been seen at the Hamilton Fringe Festival.
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Transcript
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Phil Rickaby
Welcome to Episode 34 on Stageworthy, I’m your host, Phil Rickaby. On Stageworthy I interview people who make theatre actors, directors, playwrights and more, and talk to them about everything from why they chose the theatre, to their work process and anything in between. You can find stage early on Facebook and Twitter and stage relay pod. And you can find the website at stage with a podcast.com. If you like what you hear, I hope you’ll subscribe on iTunes or Google music or whatever podcast app you use and consider leaving a comment or rating. My guest is Bryan Boodhoo, a Hamilton based playwright, his play the perpetual sunshine machine just closed at the Hamilton Fringe Festival.
Here we are in the last few days of the Hamiltons ranch, and your show is perpetual sunshine machine. That’s right. I haven’t had a chance to see that. But how has the rapid that’s been
Bryan Boodhoo
going really well. This is the first time we’ve done it. It’s a completely new work. So it’s it’s evolving before my eyes, which is sort of a good thing, I think.
Phil Rickaby
When he’s in it to evolve and count, how is it? How’s it changing?
Bryan Boodhoo
Well, I think it’s getting, it’s interesting, I think the more we do it, the more the show changes it becomes it becomes a little less comedic, and scattered. And it becomes more about the essence of the show, which is sort of a bad family and loss. And it’s really kind of got this dramatic core to it. So it’s changing in that way, I think. Yeah.
Phil Rickaby
Did. Are you finding that that’s surprising to me no discoveries during the run? Or?
Bryan Boodhoo
Frankly, yes. You know, I know shows change. And I kind of know when I wrote it, and even like I directed it to and really didn’t know what it was. I thought it was a cool show. So, you know, I try to write things that I like. And I think if you know somebody called it unique, I think it’s unique. But it’s interesting how I think as the actors and me upstairs, I think get more comfortable with it and the audience changes. Have the emphasis sort of goes towards away from the comedic bits into the more, I guess, emotional bits.
Phil Rickaby
So in terms of terms like that, all of this is a bit of a surprise. Everybody expected in terms of in terms of how its how its evolving? What was getting Tell me a little bit about the play itself?
Bryan Boodhoo
Sure. So it is it’s kind of a nutty play, right? It’s a bit like everything from time travel to the resurrection of Jesus to gold mining and absentee parents. Right. So it’s got a lot of things going on. But in my mind, you know, what’s it really bad is sort of people’s disconnection from their natural environment. And, you know, in a modern world, and particularly this one character, I mean, if I had to sum it up, which I think is this kind of great, big thing, but it’s, you know, that’s sort of what I was thinking at the time.
Phil Rickaby
And when did you did you write this specifically for Hamilton fringe? Did you write it and then get in the fringe? Did you
Bryan Boodhoo
know I think, yeah, no, I think I wrote it. I actually, it was strange. I kind of started writing it. You know, Rosemary Doyle does this thing every year where she sort of locks people up in her theatre. Yeah, I’ve
Phil Rickaby
done that. Three years. Three years. Three years in a row.
Bryan Boodhoo
Have you? Oh, cheese. We might have been there last year. Yeah, I
Phil Rickaby
was there last year. Yeah. You know. All right.
Bryan Boodhoo
So we’re remeeting. We’re repeating. Oh, hilarious.
Phil Rickaby
I love I love I love it. It’s one of my favourite things in the summer is to do that.
Bryan Boodhoo
Yeah. Are you doing it this year? If she’s gonna do it this year? Yes. Because a year for? Oh, I don’t know. Is she doing next weekend? Is that the kind of thing? Yeah, it’s always that long weekend. So yeah, and I talked to her she said she was Coming down, but I don’t know what she’s actually doing. She’s thinking about it, which is good.
Phil Rickaby
I mean, she doesn’t have to show it. Yeah.
Bryan Boodhoo
So anyway, I’ve kind of started with that. And, you know, it was like 20 minutes. And I thought, well, you know, I’ve got something. So I started writing and I thought I wrote a 60 minutes show didn’t turn out to be 60 minutes. It’s about a 45. By the time you know, you kind of cut and do everything, and I’m fine with that. I think 45 minutes is a good length. 45 minutes for frame
Phil Rickaby
shows is a pretty good line. It gives enough time to develop the story, and it’s enough time to find a resolution in the story. Because you can’t go to 60 minutes. I rarely see a play that’s 90 minutes long that needs to be Yeah. So I was the best official.
Bryan Boodhoo
No, I agree with that, particularly in the context of fringe, that you know, you are sowing, seeing so many shows the production value, even if you are well polished, just the nature of the beast, you cannot have that top notch production value. So I think it’s nice to have it rest right into the story. Get it in, get it out. Rely on the acting in the storytelling. So I think I agree with you like the 90 minutes shows, although there are some really good 90 minutes shows
Phil Rickaby
that does happen. I’ve just spotted a rarity in terms of shows that most shows into 90 minutes. Yeah. How long have you been writing? Well,
Bryan Boodhoo
that’s a loaded question. So I guess what I started writing creatively, I guess, in high school, and I’m, that was a long time ago. That was I guess, 90 something. Let’s put it that way. But that was always more like poetry and short stories and things like that. And I think more on the dramatic front, I guess it’s been about five years. So
Phil Rickaby
what is it that got you interested in writing for the stage?
Bryan Boodhoo
Well, there was a wall my life, I stopped writing whatsoever and stopped doing anything I just, you know, kind of job and that kind of thing. And then I think like my friend was Sean, who’s in another show here. He said, Why don’t he started doing it? Why don’t you Why don’t you try acting for the show? Once you come out and audition, I auditioned and I got some minor Shakespeare role, which was awesome, right? Because I think you like you read Shakespeare, people read Shakespeare all the time. And until you are in a role, seeing the world through one of the characters eyes, I don’t think you’ll actually really get it.
Phil Rickaby
I always think that with Shakespeare that if you’re reading it, if you’re just sitting down and reading it not getting it, there has to be seen as if you need to see actors, saying the word works in a way that it doesn’t have a page.
Bryan Boodhoo
Oh, absolutely. And even more than that, I think if you’re in a Shakespeare show, and you have the character, you get to see that world unfold from that perspective, which is just a completely unusual experience. Well, it’s not I mean, I guess all theatres like that. But my introduction into it, sort of as an adult as an actor was to Shakespeare.
Phil Rickaby
And then when did you start go from doing that Shakespeare play to writing for the stage?
Bryan Boodhoo
Probably about a year and a half, two years afterwards, maybe I just, you know, I thought I liked acting, but I think there are certain character traits that you have to have as an actor, or a writer, or what have you. Right? I think it’s just you sort of fall into one or the other. Sometimes both. Some people are really good at both. And they have both character traits. And I mean, there’s a certain type of person who likes to sit down at a desk and imagine things. Yeah. And then there’s a certain type of person who likes to kind of get that head start and take what’s on the written page and then reinvent it. Yeah, which is a totally different skill. And I, I still like acting, I just find I find my energy doesn’t go into it as much. And also, it’s it’s a real I do appreciate all the work that goes into acting and all the work that comes naturally to a lot of people, but is a real pain for me.
Phil Rickaby
Well, you know, the thing is that as far as as far as acting goes, if you don’t, if you don’t enjoy it, then you probably shouldn’t, shouldn’t do it. Yeah, I knew I knew somebody will That was a famous woman two years ago for a date. Always they said they want to be an actor, but they put themselves through of hell. Like they were miserable when they were rehearsing. They’re miserable, and they were performing. And at certain point, I know the teachers were like, so you don’t seem to enjoy this? Why do you want to do it? Did you and you found that you didn’t enjoy it? You found it difficult.
Bryan Boodhoo
I actually tell you the truth, I find lines difficult by I hate memorising lines. So that’s kind of a limiting thing. Actor, you’re not gonna get very far memorise live. And I also found that I kind of like having, I really enjoyed having small roles and bigger shows, because you get to see the show unwind from a certain perspective, right? As opposed to having the big role, where during the show, you’re always lost in it, right? Doesn’t matter what your perspective is. But even during rehearsal, it becomes more about the character and the character building, as opposed to the storytelling. And you’re going through the storytelling. So in that sense, I kind of found I really like the story arc and moving through that story arc in in this off, you know, I don’t know what to call it, but HANDS OFF position, right. Yeah. So that’s kind of where I thought, well, you know, if you want to do that, and this is being there in centre stage, you know, giving the soliloquy, that’s not what you really want to do.
Phil Rickaby
You mentioned that you stopped writing and doing anything creative. For a while, your day job? Yeah. Was that? Did you make a conscious choice to stop?
Bryan Boodhoo
Um, in a way, yes. In a way? No. I mean, I think there was sort of, well, I have to concentrate my efforts on being an adult. Which is a bad thing to do. Never think you need to be an adult. And certainly, when you start doing anything in the beginning of your career, there is a lot more time and stress and things involved. But I think the conscious decision was I need to stop. I need to concentrate on my career. And I did that for a couple of years. And then somebody said to me, and I started talking about the things I do, which are, you know, at best, boring, it worse mind numbing. And then somebody said to me, you know, you really are not living your life.
Phil Rickaby
I mean, I did something similar. Many years ago, I started, I did an epic project, and then burned out doing that. And spending about a month or two afterwards, going through the motions of being an actor, and then said to myself not doing this anymore. I got a job. And I stopped for maybe three, four years. And then all of a sudden, somebody said, Would you do this play with me? And I said, Yes. I thought, I said yes. To that really quickly, I must really want to do it. And after that, I decided that I wasn’t going to sacrifice the creative aspects for the financial aspect. I couldn’t do both. Yeah. And there was no point in doing
Bryan Boodhoo
the one know, I absolutely agree. Yeah. I mean, if you can’t, it’s a balance, right? It’s sort of a sanity thing, too.
Phil Rickaby
Yeah, it’s absolutely a Saturday thing. Because you know, a lot of day jobs are not necessarily creatively fulfilling. Exactly. You don’t have something that’s going to fulfil you creatively, then you’re probably going to be miserable if you’re pursuing music.
Bryan Boodhoo
You know, and the funny thing is, I was reading an article I can’t remember I think, is New York Times, I don’t know. But they looked at people who had did things on the side creatively. You know, whether or not you ever become this person who can give up their day job is sort of beside the point. But they look at how they function in the workplace. And they seem to actually bring a lot more to the table, right? Because I find fringe and it’s a place where it’s such a safe space, particularly in Hamilton. I’ve had one short show in Toronto, and I know it’s one of these places that is not necessarily as safe as Hamilton because people will kill you to your face. Just know this was that it’s Bronto.
Phil Rickaby
There’s Yeah, I mean, Toronto has the luxury of have the expectation that it shows initiative they’re not? They’re not forgiving or experimentation. Yes. So that, like, it’s fine. If you would absolutely come to our workshop production, to see that workshop production and people come in, they know what they’re seeing. But if it goes up on the stage, and people pay money to see the thing they expect, yeah, they expect policy expects finish, they expect a certain thing. And when they don’t get it, you know,
Bryan Boodhoo
I agree with that. I also think it’s more than that I’m not sure that Toronto is the best place for really, I think part of creating really cutting edge new work is having productions that at times can be boring, right, or just disconnecting and things like that. And I think that I’m not sure that ultimately flies, there’s a lot of stuff that is cutting edge, but it always has that stamp, like it’s one, you know, whatever Pulitzer Prize and drama or, and then it comes over as the Canadian production. But, I mean, that’s part of being a police officer, I
Phil Rickaby
think it’s one of those, those interests of having every city has its own vibe of what it is and what it’s going to be. And I think that I got to feel like a feeling that Hamilton is still deciding what it’s going to be. Yeah, there’s a little more space for experimentation. Yeah, no, I, yeah. Toronto knows, but it’s gonna be you can’t tell a difference. No, there is room for new things. They take time to develop. Now interesting city, especially for their friends Montreal.
Bryan Boodhoo
Yeah, Montreal.
Phil Rickaby
They’re very, it’s a very forgiving audience. If you’re still working stuff out, that audience is very willing to sit there and let you do it. And they will not complain. They just, they’re good. They’re like, Oh, you’re figuring out okay, so they get back, come back next time. It’ll be different, you know, they allow you to room to fail. Somebody out, get in a lot of places.
Bryan Boodhoo
I actually was funny. I was in Montreal this year, not for French. But I did go to French at the same time. And it was a really interesting experience. Because you think that with a bigger city, you would, you know, you wouldn’t have that. But I think it’s also because there’s shows in French and English. Yeah. You know, it’s very, it’s very diverse, it’s very, I was very fun. It’s extremely diverse.
Phil Rickaby
It also has the advantage that the French influence is pretty heavy, so you get a lot more physical theatre to get anywhere else, you get a lot more really interesting stuff that maybe doesn’t fly someone else, but it’s lives there. It also managed to be small. In a big city. It’s a little smaller than Toronto, probably a little bit, maybe the same sizes as Hamilton. Because it’s sandwiched between two of the biggest festivals. You’ve got the Francophone Music Festival on one side of the Jazz Festival on the other. And so fringe kind of gets lost. But it’s such a safe place. I know lots of people who like to start their fringe to work in Montreal, just to give themselves
Bryan Boodhoo
that makes sense. And you sort of work things out. Yeah, yeah, that would see that.
Phil Rickaby
How long have you been like during this region? Hamilton yourself? This is your first
Bryan Boodhoo
year? No, this is your number four. This is your number four. So we start I started off with friends, like, you know, it’s good to have friends in theatre, because they encourage you to do things that you might not necessarily think of doing yourself. So I I got really lucky the first play I wrote as an adult, I wrote it I submitted to this company in Edmonton, and they put it on as part of like, a, like a longer night school. And you know, it’s kind of like winning a lottery your first time out, you’re playing every single week. So I put it on, and then I took it to they put it on and I didn’t go out. It’s pretty expensive. Yeah. You know, anyway, I read the reviews and went well. And then I kind of said, well, I never saw it. I might as well put it on myself. And this is the first year four years ago I guess was the first year they did the gallery series. So the fringes are already close people are all the shows were picked, but they had spots for the gallery series. Well, somebody said you should do this. Yeah. Why not? Yeah.
Phil Rickaby
I know you’re like I always find it so important to make sure that you surround yourself with creative people. Like And into
Bryan Boodhoo
intermission music apparently.
Phil Rickaby
So we’re gonna try to work. Yeah. We’re supposed to be like having a musical you’re saying I’m saying that the were we on this letter joy just drained your soul and mind. So relax now. You were talking about
Bryan Boodhoo
the gallery? Yeah, the gallery series?
Phil Rickaby
And oh, yeah. Because it’s good to surround yourself with creative people. Yeah. Because they’ll push you in ways that you like, the things that they’re doing inspired, push you with the things that you do, inspire and push them. It’s always a good idea. You can find it in the creative arts, in pretty much anything you can really just sort of you can’t stand alone. Yeah, surround yourself with the community. And if you don’t kind of get lost in the burnout.
Bryan Boodhoo
And I think that’s the thing of a theatre as opposed to, I guess, when I was younger. And I remember the point where it was funny, you asked me this question before, I remember the point where I said I’m done is I had, you know, just graduated, and I done what I wanted to do, which was published a poem, and a major Canadian literary magazine, which was dashcam at the time, which, unfortunately, is now closed, I mean, after 150 issues is closed. But in one of them, you’ll find a poem by me and I thought this was the pinnacle of my poetic career, I’ve done. What I’ve what I found about theatre, which I really like, is you have to work with other people, you’re unless you do it, like you’re writing, directing, doing your own show, but even then you need a stage manager, you
Phil Rickaby
need other people, you always need other people, even even an audience, you need other people. And if you don’t need any, you don’t get an audience, you don’t get anybody why. Exactly. You don’t even need like just right now. But I always find that the best thing about writing, theatre is the that you leave space for somebody else to make their interpretation. Unless you’re Tennessee Williams, in which case, then you write your entire like, this is how the stage is going to look. And these are all the gestures that this person makes their backstory. But it’s nice to as a playwright, to leave these empty spaces that the director the actors are going to fill.
Bryan Boodhoo
Yeah, I think you know, it’s funny, too, because I like directing my own stuff now. And I think I’ve become a lot less dictatorial about it than I used to be right? Like, because you get taught, sort of make sure everybody’s on book, make sure, you know, you’ve got your blocking and things like that. And I’m sort of well, you know, this is just my idea of what the character should really have what the character should say, too, right? Like, I? I’m not sure I’ve got this totally down.
Phil Rickaby
I mean, Canada, in Canada, we don’t do a whole lot of workshopping in place. In the US. There’s a lot of workshops, yeah, workshop stuff, your workshops on the workshops. In Canada, we just sort of basically get to make your first few drafts that you decide the year that you’re finished. Put your hands on your pants, you’re done. You’re ready to go to production. But then you put in your hands of an actor and the actor might say those words, these words don’t quite work. And if you don’t have that’s why it’s important to have like actors read it early on, just to make sure that that the word work if somebody
Bryan Boodhoo
Oh, absolutely, or worse, is that they’ll think that but never say it. Yes. Yeah. Right. And you see that that’s why I like directing my own stuff, at the at least sort of at the outset, is because I can see somebody struggling with the word and not telling me I’m like, Okay, we need to change. Yeah,
Phil Rickaby
it’s important to be able to find in writing in general, but in theatre especially, it’s not it’s important to not be married to necessarily your text, or your your general idea of what the character is going to be things like that. Because the actor has to be able to feel that, you know, what, especially early on actor has to especially the first act, they’re going to inform that so much that what they do.
Bryan Boodhoo
And it’s funny, even when you see big name shows big name Munich musicals, even. We’re speaking with Lila Miklos last week and it’s funny she had and she did Tamra A this year, and she had a very specific idea of what she wanted to bring the cabaret. And it’s that’s what helps the show evolved and stay vibrant is actors coming to it. And even when the text is set in stone, yeah, more or less. I don’t think they ever really are. Unless you’re no Samuel Beckett and let anybody change anything. But I think once they’re set, you still want to have that actor imbue it with something that they believe in? Yeah, yeah,
Phil Rickaby
they have to, yeah, they have to the actor has to put themselves something of themselves into the brain, the actor comes to the text and then makes it if you’re, if you’re too rigid, on how it’s going to be set at how it’s going to perform, then you should probably just do it yourself. Yeah, you know. So, since we’re like, in the last 40 to 45 days,
yeah, we’ve got what, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Can you talk about? Are there any lessons that you’ve learned? This fringe, either about your play about fun writing about? Theatre in general? Well, I’ll
Bryan Boodhoo
tell you one, I think I guess the lesson that I’m I mean, it’s always a lesson. You know, it’s always out there, start early, because you can never give yourself too much time. That’s very true. To start early. But that’s a lesson I’ve known for a while I just seem to, I don’t know, ignore it. But I also think that the lesson I have this time is, you know, I used to kind of think of the fringe as the end of the process. And I don’t anymore, like I think it’s been, I think it’s been a good fringe for us. But I don’t see this as the end of the process. I see this play and, and you know, some of the actors I’ve worked with Carlos, I’ve worked with Nasseri plays in a row. I see the play as having a life on its own, I see myself going away and doing some more stuff with it. And, you know, I’m definitely sort of working with the people and staying in contact with the team, right? Because it’s like the production companies based on my stuff. So it’s always people are going in and out and whatever. But I think that the biggest lesson is that fringe is sort of just another step. Yeah. And I’m not sure like, and I guess the other thing is, too, I, I’m not sure there’s an n step anywhere. Just
Phil Rickaby
the thing that I’ve always seen is that is it true, regardless of where What city did where it is, is a starting point. And fringe is an opportunity to get your play seen. And then to refine it, take it take it further take it further and eventually. Who knows where to go. There are people who
say, none of Mirvish.
Sorry I can’t get my hair. Yeah, we’ve got the The Drowsy Chaperone, which was a Broadway Yeah, you’ve got a Kim’s convenience, which toured Canada plated sold Pepperidge Farm, a TV
series and theatre person.
And I’ve seen people who are doing shows that are taking them to their tours around around the Earth you’ve got was in Homer’s Macbeth Simpsons with Beth something like that. Yeah. I can’t remember last name. Rick Miller toured that for years doing like Macbeth it Simpsons characters and like, that was that’s like bread and butter.
Bryan Boodhoo
Yeah. I mean, I have paid a lot like you know, full price. Tickets, like a lot of money to see shows it started off as fringe shows.
Phil Rickaby
Absolutely. And I’m like,
I don’t pay $10.
Fringe can be risky. You don’t know. Especially you know, I love the adventurous first weekend people. I love people to take a chance on stuff because all you have is what the artist tells you at that point, or what a review over what the fear writer for a newspaper says these are the things I think are gonna be good. But you don’t know. You don’t know i love the people who wrote that first weekend because they’re, they’re the ones who were like, I’ll take a chance on
Bryan Boodhoo
it. Ya know, it’s very true. I mean, you know, for the amount of time and money that you’re taking a chance I think it’s worth it right. You’ll see you bypass you get sick shows and you just go and whatever sticks,
Phil Rickaby
even if you don’t pass even if you pay $10 and the show turns out to be not what you expected or not as good as you expect. It’s only $10. And it’s only an hour. Yeah, you know, it’s not it’s not the end of the world. And, and, you know, I always see if I see a bad show, I try to see what do I learn? You know, it’s important to like, try to take something away. So if you’re a theatre person, if you’re not a theatre person and just the audience member, maybe what you’re learning to see, we don’t like that kind of,
Bryan Boodhoo
yeah. Well, it’s funny, I saw a, I can’t remember the show, but it’s a really famous European playwright. And, you know, I was talking to somebody afterwards, somebody I went with, I said, you know, I really didn’t like this, I wouldn’t change this, this, this and this, and I thought the story would have been a lot better. And she goes to meet once you, once you just email the player, I’m like, no, no, I don’t think it’ll go over that well. And then I thought to myself, but maybe I’ll just write my own show.
Phil Rickaby
You know, have you ever done a talk back after one of your shows, sit down with the audience and get the audience to talk to you about the show?
Bryan Boodhoo
I have? Yeah,
Phil Rickaby
I’ve done a number of those. There’s one the way that I prefer to do it. And the way that it’s most often down to the two different things. Whether it for to do it is that I decide in advance what I want to find out for my audience. And those are the questions I asked them. Yeah, the kind of I don’t like is just turning to the audience and say, feedback. What do you think? Because the feedback that you’ve so often get is how I would have written. Yeah, you know, which isn’t necessarily helpful. Because they’re not writing. No,
Bryan Boodhoo
and people could write their own shows. In fact, that’s good inspiration to write your own show,
Phil Rickaby
Lillian is absolutely. It’s just that it’s not as somebody who’s like getting trying to get feedback for this show, how you would have written is not necessarily the right thing, what you did is take that feedback and turn it into something of your own, which is, which is I think what the artist does, yeah. You know,
Bryan Boodhoo
the other thing I think about talkbacks, too, is, you know, and they can’t be helped, I think they some of them tend towards being really for the audience, right. And it’s really about exposing the process and things like that, which is fine. And I think that helps. But I think it’s better if the talkback at least starts off with what’s the audience’s reaction and and like you say, Yeah, what do you want out of this? Did this work?
Phil Rickaby
Because well, I mean, your read, there are two kinds of talk. Like, there’s a talkback that like follows, say, a workshop or mistake, or something like that, which is usually to get feedback for the show. And then there’s the talkback that comes after a performance. Yeah, which is for the audience. So they are two different things. And of course, the ones that are for the audience, if you don’t direct them at all, then you get whatever
you want, like whatever the
audience chooses to do, right? I saw. Yeah, I saw correction of the Rocky Horror Show. It had a talkback after it. It was kind of a disastrous, TalkBack. The show was brilliant. One of the one of the best frankfurters that I’ve ever seen outside of Tim Curry, and then with Adam razor, playing that role, which is a very difficult role to make your own. And he did an amazing job. But the a lot of the talkback focused on like his minutia that that has really very little to do with the play itself. Yeah, you know, you never know what you’re gonna get with that.
Bryan Boodhoo
Well, I actually found one of the best sort of audience facing talk backs. I saw 12 Angry Mad Men. I think it was Ken stage. I can’t remember. It’s in Toronto. And they brought in people from the legal community. And that I thought was brilliant. That’s interesting, because you were able to come into the process, and the audience was able to see that everything beyond just the story. Yeah, all that context. That was really cool.
Phil Rickaby
That’s a really interesting way to do it to make it not about the actors, because you know what, that audience might have questions about the law of these actors, just like I’m reading lines. Yeah, I don’t know. I’ve done some research, but not a lawyer. But to bring in like experts on the topic to have that part of the talk back is really is really a
Bryan Boodhoo
great idea. And I think, you know, I think it was like Greenspan to like they got some big, big names. Actually, you know, what was a Mirvish show? Okay, yeah, that makes sense. That’s gonna, it’s gonna bring in, and that’s gonna bring in Greenspan, but I think he loved it. I mean, he loved being up there seeing the show and being able to talk to a real audience about, you know, very basically what he does. Yeah.
Phil Rickaby
I mean, that’s really that’s a really interesting way to do it to do that. And that does sound like it’s something with Mirvish could do is to bring in the lawyers and stuff.
Bryan Boodhoo
Yeah. It’s funny because I think I think Mirvish over the years have a lot last couple years anyone who has done things that really impressed me like to think in their hair. Arcadia, when that got brought into Toronto, like a lot of things that I think are helpful for building an audience. In Toronto, that’s not just in the main, just in the mainstream theatre.
Phil Rickaby
We’re gonna be merged with having the Panasonic Theatre in Toronto because that’s the Panasonic is a theatre. You can’t put the usual stuff that is present. They’re usually nervous doing a Broadway shows and those don’t work in the on that small stage, you have to bring in smaller stuff. So then you end up with some awesome stuff like potted Potter and stuff like that. That’s come out of like, the Edinburgh Fringe. Yeah, it’s like ends up like doing a tour ending up on that stage, which is amazing. Yeah, they’re, I mean, Marcus has been doing getting a little bit more adventurous over the last few years, in some, some great stuff they’ve been doing for a while there, they were only really doing their own. They were just bringing it to Earth just shows. But yeah, they’re producing a little more. Which is nice. Yeah. It’s great to see because it’s always great when I get to see, go to that theatre and see a lot of Canadian faces on the stage, which we’re seeing there so much, but I understand why that happened.
Bryan Boodhoo
Yeah, and I think with what I think with, with other theatres, and there’s so many theatres in Toronto, a lot of good work. And I mean, you know, I think Toronto is a great theatre town. You know, and we’re actually pretty lucky to be 45 minutes away. Yeah,
Phil Rickaby
exactly. Yeah.
Bryan Boodhoo
But it, there’s so much talent, like coming out of like, you know, factory tearing on even the really small places that just, you know, what do you do with it. And then of course, Mirvish gives you the ability to sort of
Phil Rickaby
use it really excites me in the Toronto scene. I haven’t seen a lot of it here yet, but I’m hoping that it sort of spreads over if Absolutely, we do sort of have something like that in some of the gallery spaces. It’s the storefront style theatre. Yeah, the red sand castle, like the storefront in Toronto, where independent theatre is thriving, because the theatre space is affordable in a way that even the Terragen factory pass arrive are not in terms of theatre rental. And so it gives you the opportunity to really do stuff that so the MDC can really flourish in a way that is more difficult with theatre spaces so expensive.
Bryan Boodhoo
It’s kind of interesting. I think the stairs, like, you know, I have this time chat with somebody, I think the staircase is, is sort of in that area, it’s much bigger than your average storefront. Right. It’s probably two or three times as big. But it’s, it’s not. People put up shows there all the time. So it’s, it’s interesting, but I do find the storefront phenomenon Toronto, great. Yeah. Because you get access to so many shows that are not going to have the, you know, you have to have a big budget to get into factory or territory and you just have to
Phil Rickaby
No, you could sacrifice a lot of other things to get in there. I mean, you can fundraise and just worry about about paying for that space. Yeah, but I know people who just put it on their credit cards, but it is an expensive way to do it. But those storefront theatres are, are really great incubators for a lot of really great talent. And I’m so glad to see people in Toronto, the cat sandals and saw show do you know sex T Rex? Is company true?
No.
And they’ve done a lot of stuff with storefront and things like that. And and all the stuff that happened to the red sandcastle? Yeah, including the 1000 Monkeys playwriting Festival, which is my favourite things. And just like all that stuff, we just sort of like fosters this independent theatre in a way that it’s sort of like fringe outside of the fringe.
Yeah, no, I agree with that. A little bit of
mainline Theatre in Montreal, which is the theatre that helped basically host the Montreal fringe. And they basically try to keep a fringe five going all year, which is really
Bryan Boodhoo
awesome. And it’s nice because they have that audience there. Right. So when fringe comes around, there’s people that are willing to see shows like that, right? They’re not coming in expecting big budget, New York musical.
Phil Rickaby
One of the things it’s kind of that kind of vibe, because it’s my first time with the handles. The fringes that I’m most familiar with, you know, Toronto, obviously, and I’ve done some other ones in Canada. It is. So in Toronto, if the show’s gonna be popular, there’s online. And this is the first time that you could buy 100% of your take a second, and you get about 1% of the tickets. Before the show, yeah, which last year was a huge problem, because it wasn’t well advertised that people would show up to buy tickets before they even saw that. But one thing that you have missed it is that people line up for shows. People don’t tend to line up for shows for Hamilton. They tend to like roll in, like 10 minutes before the doors open. Yeah, and sort of get their tickets and then just sort of roll it. So it’s hard to it’s hard to fly or alive. But I’ve noticed that there doesn’t seem to be the is not the concern that it shows.
Bryan Boodhoo
No, I think this I think this year has been a little strange. Because there have been shows in the past where there’s definitely sell outs. I don’t know why that is. I actually think the reason why it is this year is because the quality of shows have been just really high across the board. So it’s not like there’s a tonne of standout shows, because there’s not a lot of there’s not a lot of shows that I wouldn’t want to see. So that’s kind of I don’t know if that’s helped or whatever, but there doesn’t have that kind of it hasn’t had that sell out this year.
Phil Rickaby
Because I mean, in Toronto, there’s always going there shows itself and you just can’t get tickets.
Bryan Boodhoo
Well, I think that’s really great for other shows in the same venue that’s
Phil Rickaby
perfect for other shows, and same venues for nearby makers, like there’s like, like factory terragon and ask Ryan where there’s like, spaces, that works really well for that other space to be able to help so show us all there
Bryan Boodhoo
around the corner. You know, you already paid your $5 for your button. Don’t go home now
Phil Rickaby
the Toronto France doesn’t doesn’t do that. But Excellent. As far as I know, are there’s only a few Calgary, Hamilton and
Unknown Speaker
London. No interesting. Other ones either do
Phil Rickaby
something with the bucket speech. Yeah, get people to and you get a button you can pay $5 That’s the Toronto model. Edmonton sells the programme.
Bryan Boodhoo
Yeah, the programme that people buy? Well, I would
Phil Rickaby
need that. Yeah, yeah. So they, I mean, they, the programme people, I think $12 or something like that for the programme. And so, you know, that’s a city that can do it.
Bryan Boodhoo
Yeah, everybody can do it. Well, when you’re the first in the country,
Phil Rickaby
well, exactly. Like, the biggest in the country too. So you can do a lot of things. But yeah, it’s I mean, the, I think I love when I get somebody who’s like, come just to see your show, because you’re in the proximity that Hamilton has to Toronto allows people to come from Toronto and do a show, which means that they’ve coached a bunch of their friends to come up and see their show. And I love being able to try to convince those people to come and see our show.
Bryan Boodhoo
Yeah, it’s interesting.
Phil Rickaby
But sometimes you get, Hey, can I talk about my show? No.
Bryan Boodhoo
Yes, you get that. They’ve said they’ve just sat through two hours of traffic potentially. They’ve come in, they’ve seen their show. They’ve done whatever they feel they have to do. And now they’re going
Phil Rickaby
to two hours of traffic. Don’t be in a rush to get back on a highway come and see another show.
Bryan Boodhoo
I wouldn’t be like that. But yeah, I think it’s funny too. When I, you know, when I went to Montreal fringe this year, as an audience member, my tolerance for watching shows was much lower than it is for fringe here. Because I can see, I you know, I could see four shows a day, four or five shows a day here and there. I think after about two, I’m like, No, I am not gonna grab a beer. What do you think that was? And she said, I’m not exactly sure. I mean, part of it is that, you know, in Hamilton fringe, you’re more connected to everybody, you know, the artists, you want to see their shows, and you will sacrifice sleep to see their show. In Montreal. i Well, actually, Colette was there so I knew her. But other than that, you don’t really know the artists and you’re just there to enjoy.
Phil Rickaby
Yeah, I mean, if you’re if you were there specifically for the bridge, and like hanging from the standpoint of the third kickdown where he probably find more than you want the more to see, but it’s hard when you just have the programme. Yeah, right. And when you’re in a place that you know, you’re Looking for names that are familiar to that person that you’re going to like to experiment because you don’t know. What is this?
Bryan Boodhoo
Yeah, for sure.
Phil Rickaby
So Brian, are you are you on social media?
Bryan Boodhoo
I am on social media.
Phil Rickaby
Yeah. What’s your Twitter handle?
Bryan Boodhoo
I’m not on Twitter. I’m on Facebook.
Phil Rickaby
Can website?
Bryan Boodhoo
No, we have our Facebook page? Okay, we’re facebook.com/be right back productions to ease to distinguish us from everybody else, of course. Yeah. And I think that’s about it.
Phil Rickaby
Awesome. Well, thanks. Thanks
so much for talking.
Bryan Boodhoo
Thank you, Phil.