Nicholas Eddie is a performer and theatre creator based in Toronto, Ontario. Productions that Nicholas has been a part of have been nominated for a total of 12 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, and have won 5 including Best Production and Best New Play in the Indie Theatre Category. Selected theatre credits include, Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Theatre Rusticle), Clown (Italian Mime Suicide, Bad New Days), Storyteller (The Monkey Queen, Red Snow Collective), Timothy (Freda and Jem’s Best of the Week, Summerworks Festival). Nicholas has worked with Bad Hats Theatre in their new play development program to develop a new musical, Amelia, exploring the life of Amelia Earhart.
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Phil Rickaby
I’m Phil Rickaby and I’ve been a writer and performer for almost 30 years, but I’ve realised that I don’t really know as much as I should about the theatre scene outside of my particular Toronto bubble. Now, I’m on a quest to learn as much as I can about the theatre scene across Canada. So join me as I talk with mainstream theatre creators, you may have heard of an indie artist you really should know, as we find out just what it takes to be Stageworthy.
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Nicholas Eddie is a performer and theatre creator based in Toronto. He joined me to talk about the seventh city Fringe Festival tour of his solo show one night only. He will be bringing that show to Fringe Festivals in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Kingston, London and Halifax. Here’s our conversation
Why don’t you tell me about First off how many cities are you doing this show at?
Nicholas Eddie
So we’re going to seven cities starting in Montreal and then we’re moving our way to LA just I’ll just go through them Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Kingston, London and Halifax. So we get a nice little stop at a few places in Ontario, which is great. And then we branch out a little bit we don’t go too far west unfortunately. But I’m excited to go to Halifax I think to
Phil Rickaby
kind of do a little bit of like a See ya doing a
Nicholas Eddie
Canadian see or shoot the magic horseshoe? Yeah,
Phil Rickaby
the magic horseshoe I personally I love the the Montreal fringe. Nice. It’s a party fringe. It’s it’s a great way to kick off a tour. So by doing your your your fringe, starting your fringe tour there. It’s a great spot to start.
Nicholas Eddie
Awesome. But that sounds great. I mean, I’ve done Montreal fringe once before, but I think the guy that I did it with we just didn’t get a very good venue, unfortunately, and that we didn’t get very good turnout. We were kind of like, separated from everybody else. And it was a new venue. So nobody really knew about it. But yeah, I’m I’m excited.
Phil Rickaby
That can be a really a real tough thing. They’re also just because Montreal is not a flyering city. Yes, um, exactl lineups, he can’t really fire them. Right. If you do want a flyer, you kind of have to ambush people coming out of his show,
Nicholas Eddie
right? Yeah, you’re not even allowed to hand out. flyers in Montreal, you have to do like you have to get creative. Right? So I don’t know what we’re gonna do like yellow people in the street. I guess something. It’s tough.
Phil Rickaby
But to me, there’s very few after hours. Fringe variety shows slash parties like the 13th power. What’s the 13th hour 13 hour Oh, you’ve never so the 13th hour is the is the show that starts I guess it like all start at one to start at midnight. Anyway. After the fringe. It’s sort of like a variety show. Where every night there’s like hosters like music, there’s like snippets from other shows, interviews, that sort of thing. And then it’s followed by a dance party that goes to like, I don’t know, four or five in the morning. So Oh,
Nicholas Eddie
that’s awesome.
Phil Rickaby
I mean, I don’t know if they I know they didn’t do it during the pandemic. I’m all right. Now they’re back back in full. I can see them not doing it. It was one of the the highlights even even for me and old old man. It was kind of fun. Yeah,
Nicholas Eddie
it sounds great. I hope they I they haven’t said anything about it. Maybe they’re keeping it secret or something. I
Phil Rickaby
don’t know. I hope they I hope they bring it back. I hope they do. I hope they do. Because it’s one of the the highlights of that festival. Yeah. So I know we jumped ahead and we didn’t really talk about the show. So let’s like take a step back, because I got excited about the number of cities that you were going to because the seven city tour is a pretty is a pretty significant tour that’s going to take a significant part of the summer. Yeah. So it’s pretty awesome. But let’s let’s talk about one night only tell me about the show.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, so it’s, it’s a dark comedy. It’s a one person show. It kind of explores the potential perils of mental illness and anguish, and follows the journey of a person as he struggles with this big decision that he has to make before morning. So the entire play is set within like, a 12 hour period, as he’s like, staring down this big decision and all of his demons are coming to light. Yeah, so that’s it. Huh?
Phil Rickaby
It’s a solo show.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, solo show. Yeah.
Phil Rickaby
And, and how, what’s the inspiration behind the show? Tell me about about about how you came up with with the concept of one night only.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, I mean, it came from, it came from a lot of things, you know, it, it did start during the pandemic, I don’t really think of it as a pandemic show. Because it’s stuff that I had been struggling with for a long while. And I guess it sort of came from looking around in the theatre scene and feeling like, there wasn’t a lot of talk about mental illness in the theatre. And I felt like I really wanted to bring some of that to light in, in a very honest way. Not a way that is a trope or a plot device, but, you know, sort of paring down all of the other accoutrements on top of it, and just really looking down at the source or, you know, creating a character that is attempting to look down into the source. Yeah, so that’s, that’s sort of where it came from. And it’s, you know, it’s, it’s changed a lot. It’s evolved in its lifetime. And there’s been a lot of great people that have added their own voice to it. But that was really the the nugget that it started with.
Phil Rickaby
Nice, nice. It’s, it’s, I mean, a play rarely remains the same as when you first conceived it so true. And, and if it did, like I almost like it didn’t really must not have worked on it, because I mean, but the process usually an idea when you start when you start working on it, it’s it’s unformed, and it’s imperfect, and it’s, it’s like an egg, and you have to like, crack open that egg and add things to it and make an omelette, you know, it’s like, really went for the metaphor there.
Nicholas Eddie
Has great, beautiful a figure. Thank you.
Phil Rickaby
So in terms of like the creating the show, and you you mentioned that it started, as you know, in the pandemic, well, what was the writing process, like? And how was the revision process throughout the throughout the process?
Nicholas Eddie
Ooh, great question. Phil. Have you been doing this while? Yours? Nice? Yeah, the the writing process was i Well, I think quite unique. I’ve I’ve written one other show before, but it never has gone to production. And this show is the first show that I’ve done that has gone to production. And as far as my conversations have gone with other playwrights, it’s, this seems super weird. So basically, the show I had, the way that I’ve been that I did work on it was I would just sit down at the computer every day and try to think of a scene, I would try to come up with something that was the utricle. But also truthful to the story and the themes of you know, mental illness and anguish and really delve down in investigated into it as best that I possibly could, and put whatever came out onto the screen in front of me. And yeah, that’s, that’s how that happened. So every day, there was a new scene that was being written. And I just re went back again and again to the computer and tried to figure it out. And then tried to put it together, months after that. So it was it was a very long process. And there’s there’s a lot that was written that I didn’t use, because it just didn’t fit the plot and the and the flow of the show. But it’s sort of for a while became almost pseudo vaudevillian, as all different pieces were sort of meshed together. But I think we’ve created and this this is a testament to the director a separate robot, superior robot, excuse me, he, he really was able to help find a structure and a flow for the show between all of these disparate ideas and scenes and created something resembling a story is
Phil Rickaby
one of the things that I’m often fascinated by, with people who write because as a writer myself, the writing process is fascinating to me, because everybody comes at it differently even though there are 1000s of books that are written about how to write. Nobody does it the same way. So and even even a write like for me I write different styles of plays and different styles of works in different ways. Right? When I write a solo play, I fill a notebook. Yeah, around the topic nice. And then I type it out. And that’s my first edit. And then I started to like, arrange, arrange it to see. And as I’m doing it, I’m like, Who is this person? And the character sort of comes out of that. When I write a play with a big cast, I started the beginning and I worked through to the end. So it’s like, not even a big cast, like a cast. It’s not just one person. So the writing process is is different. Depending on the project, you mentioned, having written something before, was it a solo player was it like a multi multi actor play?
Nicholas Eddie
That was a two hander and I wrote that very quickly, I, again, I sat down every day and like, tried to write a scene. But because a play like a two hander is very different from a solo show, you’re you’re writing as a story, like, as you’re saying, like, if you’re writing for multiple people, you’re writing a beginning and a middle and an end. So that happened over the course of two weeks, I just sat down in a cafe and I wrote it. And I, you know, I really, I was like, Okay, this works. I, you know, I did this so quickly. And now I can edit it, and maybe it’ll be pretty good. And I opened it, I swear, I’ve opened that document, like maybe three times, and I’ve tried to read it. And every time I’m like this, I cannot even begin to read this. It is so horrendous. And, yeah, so it’s, it’s gonna probably sit on the shelf forever.
Phil Rickaby
That’s a tough one. I mean, that when you’ve got a piece that that that you worked on, or you can’t bear to look at, it’s almost like, do I let that live on a shelf? And just ignore it? And maybe, like, start working through the, the, the premise again? Or is it now poison? In my mind? Yeah, yeah,
Nicholas Eddie
I don’t know, this particular one, I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to do it. I like the idea. It was like a reconnecting between a son and a mother. And, you know, there’s just like, the relationship. I’m just so interested in relationship in theatre between two people. And I liked the idea of like, the, the relationship changing and going through many stages of flux, as they get to know each other after being estranged for many years. So I liked the idea, but it just I couldn’t I couldn’t execute. I was too young, I guess.
Phil Rickaby
I mean, maybe that’s where they will take it. Or maybe it’ll take like 10 years before you can go back to it and like, start to see something in it, which sometimes happens with a piece.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, yeah. True.
Phil Rickaby
Now, as far as your fringe tour, you’re doing the, the see you’re generally the Canadian See, staying in Montreal, working your way west, and then back east again. When you were Is this your first fringe tour?
Nicholas Eddie
Yes. Yeah, I I’ve done fringe shows before, but this is definitely the first fringe tour, largest tour that I’ve done ever. And I’m producing it all. It’s I mean, I do have an associate producer, thank God. But the Phil, I gotta be honest with you. I think I’ve maybe a bit off a little more than I can chew. We leave one week today from Montreal. So it’s coming right down to the wire. And it’s scary, you know,
Phil Rickaby
you you you will make it. You’ll do it. Do it. Because you just have to write Yeah, but you know, after a certain point, especially when you’re like out there doing it, you’re on the tour. You just have to make it happen. Yeah. And so you do know that this the fringe shows that you’ve done before. Have they all been in Toronto?
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, I mean, like I say, I helped out a friend in Montreal A little while back. I think that was, I guess it was last year actually, that feels like so long ago. But yeah, otherwise, I have just done Toronto fringe one other time.
Phil Rickaby
So exciting. It’s so exciting to to, to experience the fringe culture in other cities.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, totally.
Phil Rickaby
It’s, it’s always in every Na, here’s the thing that I think a lot of people who are just fringe goers don’t understand. Each Fringe Festival is is not a marathon. It’s a sprint. So true. So you sprint your way through a Fringe Festival. Yeah. And then you leave. And you go to the next festival. And you have to do it all again. But all the rules have changed. Because you don’t know if this city likes the same stuff as the last city. Yeah, it’s just constant.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, I know. I that’s something that I think about a lot. Actually, this show, I think is probably going to be rather divisive. Not intentionally, so but just because it is a difficult topic to swallow. I think for a lot of people like like I say it’s a dark comedy, so we keep it light and fun. But it does deal with heavy themes. And so I don’t know how London Ontario is going to react to this play, for instance, like, they might come out to see the show and be like, this sucks. Like, why? Why am I being subjugated to this? Whereas I, you know, I’m the theatre scene that I’m most familiar with is Toronto. And I feel like it might be received well here based on the people that I know, but it’s just there’s a lot I don’t know, in terms of the the different dynamics in different Fringe Festivals. Exactly.
Phil Rickaby
You just then this is the thing is you just have to figure it out. You arrive. Yeah, you do it, you figure it out. And that’s, that’s all you can do. Yeah. But it’s exciting to be able to go to a new city, and experience that city and also to meet the performers in that city. And to really sort of soak that in the connections that I’ve made that I made in 2012 when I did a French tour. Like there’s still people that that I very much love, and, and and are very important to me. Nice. What was that? Oh, that was a show that it did with a theatre company called Keystone theatre. And we did plays in the style of silent film. And we toured a show called The Last Man on Earth and we did Montreal and Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton.
Nicholas Eddie
Wow, that sounds awesome. It was a one person show.
Phil Rickaby
No, it was we had like four four actors one piano player.
Nicholas Eddie
Oh, wow. Wow, it
Phil Rickaby
was it was pretty awesome. It’s pretty Yeah.
Nicholas Eddie
That’s I feel glad but it’s only it’s just me and the stage manager that we need to find accommodations for and, you know, transport and everything. Because, yeah, a larger cast just seems like you’re getting exponentially more difficult for every boy.
Phil Rickaby
I mean, it is difficult, those logistics are really hard, especially now. Because after the pandemic Fringe Festivals are begging for billets, right, they can’t guarantee them. And so people are people who you know, in previous years where you might have basically been guaranteed a spot there’s no guarantee so so budgeting to to get an air b&b is part of part of the budgeting for a lot of companies now. Yeah. And but we just did, we had two cars and we just drove so that sort of like solve that. It just it’s it’s a lot easier to make money when you have like a solo show. It’s just you in the in the stage manager, it’s a little bit easier on the finances.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, but a little harder on the brain but easier on the
Phil Rickaby
finances. That is that is the trade off. That is absolutely the trade offs.
Nicholas Eddie
I think that’s the trade off. And most of the facets of life, you’re trading brain for money, almost always.
Phil Rickaby
No, that is that is that is incredibly, incredibly accurate. Now, so I’m just looking at a couple of notes here. One of the things as somebody who my solo show, the commandment is a is a dark comedy. Nice, and it starts funny, and then it gets serious, in in near the end. And the thing that I found about it, because I want to talk about it, because it for me, it was it was a cathartic show written to years ago, to, to come to terms to sort of like deal with with a death of somebody they’ve been really close to me. And so I fictionalised it created a show, but it was still something that was very, very close, I basically very vulnerable on the stage, specially when you get to the serious stuff. And sometimes even though we talk about vulnerability on stage, sometimes it’s it’s hard if it’s more of your own thing, right? Like, if it’s something that you are close to the vulnerability, although you know, you’re getting there, and it’s important to hit it. It’s it can be very, you can really feel naked in that have you is this? Is the topic of this show something that is that is close to you in some way. Or is it? Is it completely fiction.
Nicholas Eddie
I mean, I think, you know, I’m hearing a lot of what you’re saying. And I’m resonating with a lot of it, like the idea of like fictionalising some, something that is really difficult to you know, create a degree of separation from it. But ya know, it is it’s an incredibly vulnerable piece of work, it’s, it’s the most vulnerable thing that I’ve ever done, for sure. I’m scared I’m scared not only because the subject matter is very scary, but because I feel like it’s and tell me if you if you relate to this to like, it’s it’s so vulnerable to put yourself out there artistically. And be like this is this is what I am, this is this is what I’m interested in doing. And this show is really that, you know, like not only have I written and I’m performing and I’m also doing the sound design and composing which has been super fun, but really challenging. And I feel like you know, I’m kind of kind of, you know, putting my hands out and being like, this is it you know, this is kind of the thing if you don’t like it, I don’t know really what else to offer a year. So I don’t know man like I hope that it’s received well, but That’s kind of a kind of feels like that’s all I can do is really open up as much as possible in terms of the creative aspect and, and show my show my hand a little bit.
Phil Rickaby
You know, it’s a funny thing about, about this kind of this kind of theatre and this kind of show the, when you are the writer and performer, it’s like, it’s terrifying. Like the first time I performed this show, I was performed in the Hamilton fringe. And I had a dream, I was like, I’m just gonna go, it’s gonna be a great day, I’m gonna see a couple of shows, I’ll take some time before my shot, a little bit of dinner. And then I’ll go and do the show. Give them some time in between, so we can digest the food, it’s gonna be a great chill day. And then I woke up on the day and I was like, I’m gonna throw up today. I didn’t, but man, did I feel like it? Because you know, an audience had not seen this show before. Yeah. And because it’s, it’s my words, my performance. It’s all me. I, if it doesn’t go, Well, I can’t be like, well, that performer just really didn’t, you know, yeah, hide behind any
Nicholas Eddie
nothing to hide behind. That’s exactly right. It can
Phil Rickaby
be terrifying. And combine that with the fact that my director was like, so remember you scene partners? Audience, so make sure they make eye contact? Yeah. And I was like, you know, the, the, the actor, you know, that doesn’t break the fourth wall was like, how do you? How do you do I make eye contact with you talking about? But yeah, of course, it makes sense that you have to connect with the audience. And the first time Man that contributed to my feeling I was going to vomit.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, totally. So how did it feel when you actually did perform it?
Phil Rickaby
When I after that first performance? Because I cheated the first time I like I didn’t look at people in the honest between Peterborough Yeah, you know, the way that you fake that. But then after that, after I’d gotten through that, the second show was like an audience that was right with me. And they were they were playing along, like they were there for the eye contact and like, became my scene partners. And it was it was, so it was really great to get to that point. It’s so it because it’s so hard to especially the I’ve never since then I’ve never performed a solo piece. Widely except for like, a small performance before the big show. Right. You know, I’ve done some kind of like workshop in front of an audience, you know, that just to just to have something so that I not so that my first performance is not, you know, at the fringe when there’s going to be like reviewers there and things like that.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, totally. Yeah. And I think we’re gonna do the same thing. Later this week. On Friday, we’re gonna have a small invited audience, which will be good. And so important,
Phil Rickaby
so important. Get to me, like that’s your preview, get that get it out so that you can when you get to Montreal, for that first performance, you don’t have those nerves. You’re not like I’m gonna vomit today. Because that was not probably the best way to start that day.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, I mean, I gotta be honest, I’m gonna be a wreck. I will be a wreck. It’s we our first show is next week, Friday. So wait, I guess I should probably say the date is June 7. to nine. Somewhere in there.
Phil Rickaby
Yeah, to June 9. Yeah.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah. June 9 That Friday. So that’s, uh, yeah. I laugh when I when you’re telling the story of you choleric you’re gonna vomit because I’m like, oh, yeah, that’s gonna be me one week from now I’m going to be an absolute wreck.
Phil Rickaby
Just I mean, all I could say all I could say about that is know that it’s going to happen and adjust and plan your day accordingly. Yeah, true. So true. And part of the journey, right? It is part of the journey. Because once you get past that it’s so much easier. Yeah. It’s just that first day, just that first day.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, totally. I in general, I’m not nervous at all performing. I only really get nervous about 10 minutes before the show starts. But of the first day for a show that I’m acting in, but this show because of the nature of it, and its vulnerability, it’s I’m already nervous.
Phil Rickaby
So I think that there’s something there’s a difference between a show that you’re acting in and a show that you created, so true, you know, and you kind of have to acknowledge that fact that these are two different things. And that as a person who created the show, I’m so much more invested than I would be if I was just acting in it.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, absolutely. I care. I care so much more. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. That’s something that’s something that we really explore in the show itself actually like that. Through like throughout the play, very early on, there’s sort of hints that the world is not exactly as it seems like kind of unreliable narrator type vibes as my care Here’s sort of introduces the show a little bit and starts to talk directly to the audience again, and it’s something that I like that has developed and become a more prominent part of the story is the, the blurred line between the actor and performer. And, you know, it’s something that I’ve been curious about because, you know, we all strive for vulnerability, we all want to be very vulnerable on stage or, you know, for something that we’ve written, oftentimes, it’s a story that is very close to us, especially a first show, I think. And so that’s something that we kind of leaned into this plays this, this idea of this, this person is performing but but it’s, it’s like the edifice of the story. And and the room itself is not is not exactly perfect. There’s, there’s something that’s wrong, something that’s kind of shimmering in the light, as the story develops, and the pieces sort of start to crack and crumble around this character, and more and more of the performer reveals himself, I guess, is one way to put it.
Phil Rickaby
It’s one of the things that I found doing my show that commandment is is it, you know, it has a funny premise. You know, and so and it’s, you know, I call it a comedy, I’ll call it a dramatic comedy so that people have an idea that maybe there might be a twist. Yeah. But the number of people who somehow went to a comedy theatre show, didn’t expect that it was going to get serious. Oh, boy, that that happens. And about 80% of the time, everybody is willing to go with it.
Nicholas Eddie
Oh, really? Oh, that’s Oh, man. I did not expect you to go in that direction. I’m so glad that you did. Because Toronto, okay, it’s gonna get a little passionate here. Do the RONDO does not it. In their programme, they they only have drama, comedy, musical, and youth. And then like a couple others, and, you know, unconventional venue. So we had to choose comedy or drama. And it is neither of those things at like, or, more accurately, it’s both in large part. And so we had to choose, like, is it more drama or more comedy, like, it’s both of those things are a lie to put it to put it in the programme as that and so like, I didn’t want to scare people by calling it a drama, because it’s not, but also to call it just a comedy. I was like, people are going to come in and they’re gonna expect, you know, a light, airy comedy. And this, this play has a lot of bite to it, you know, it goes there. And yeah, I was scared. I’m scared that people are going to leave the theatre being like, damn, I thought I bought a ticket for a comedy like, come on.
Phil Rickaby
I mean, it’s hard. It’s hard, right? You know, it’s hard to I made sure that I put dramatic comedy on as much stuff as I could. It was smart. Right? Like, as much as I could. I wanted to make sure that people knew there was drama. And there was comedy. Because you want people to be prepared when they walk in there. Yeah. But also you want people to, if the audience is going with you, as the solo performer, they’ll go where you take them? Yeah. Nice. You know, if you’ve connected with them, yeah, they will go where you take them? Yeah. For the most part, every so often. There’s somebody who’s like, I couldn’t deal. But they’re, they’re fortunately in the minority.
Nicholas Eddie
Nice. Nice. Well, that’s that’s a that’s heartening. Do you have any experience in clown fill? A little
Phil Rickaby
bit a little bit? I did clown. I mean, years ago, when I was in the theatre school, we did some clown stuff for us. And the the shows that we did with Keystone theatre. Three of them premiere premiered at the Toronto festival of clown. Nice. So it was sort of I mean, it’s not it wasn’t red nose clown, but it was technically clown.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, totally. Yeah, I’m just hearing what you’re saying about taking the audience with you. And I think the class clown is something that I draw a lot of inspiration from, I haven’t done a whole lot of it, but it’s something that I think inspires my work in large part. And yeah, the idea of like, really connecting with the audience and really being present to what’s actually going on in the room, rather than creating, like trying to hold on to your idea of what the show should be. That that I think is the real beauty of cloud and what every performer should take from Cloud is take, you have to meet the audience where they’re at, you can’t make them be in any position that they that they don’t want to be in or have any sort of reaction that they’re not going to have, you know, you just have to really meet them where they are and be like, Okay, we’re gonna go here now, okay, you with me? It’s like, some people are gonna shake their head. Some people are gonna notice like, Okay, so let’s try to go in this direction. Right.
Phil Rickaby
It’s a really interesting have a spot to be in. Because, you know, one thing that I realised and it’s been sort of a thing that I’ve carried to since we did the show that we toured the last man on earth because, you know, as a show, that’s a silent film. Nobody on stage is talking. Right. And so the only sound is the is the piano and the piano is helping to tell the story. What we found was that is that audience members had different perceptions of what was happening in the scene. Well, they all enjoyed it, they all got to the same place, but they would have different perceptions. And we started out trying to correct people. All right. No, no, no, no, that’s not what happened. But then after a while, it became like, so fascinating to us. Like, like, we’ll be like, Oh, that part where this happened to be like, Oh, tell me about that. I want to hear about about that. And what you saw there, like, it becomes so so like, interesting to see how people connect the dots. And what I’ve, what I’ve sort of learned from that is all you can control is what you’re doing. You cannot control what the audience sees. Or, or or where they go. If they come with you great if they don’t, wasn’t for them. Yeah. And you just kind of have to accept it. And it can be hard. But like you’re saying, you can’t take somebody they don’t want to go,
Nicholas Eddie
yeah. Yeah, wow, what a gift. That’s something that that has been so joyful for me in in the sharing of this piece. That, you know, up until six, well, I guess, maybe seven months now. Nobody had seen it. And it only existed in my brain. And now I’ve had the scary luxury of sharing it with a few select people, and hearing their thoughts about it. And the way that they read it, you know, their ideas about what what each scene is, is so fascinating and enjoyable. And they’re like, oh, yeah, this part, you know, this part is like this. And I’m like, Oh, I didn’t get that at all. But that’s great. And, you know, I, I love that I love when artists, I’m glad that I can take that attitude, you know, because I think it’s something that I admire and other artists, when they can say, this belongs to you as much as it does to me. As soon as it’s out there. It’s out of your hands, you know, yeah, you’re you’re giving it out to other people and saying like, okay, here, you can hold this now. And I think that’s, that’s such a gift. That’s such a gift of art, because everybody’s going to be holding it differently. Like you say, everyone’s going to react to the show in a completely different way and see things that even you never expected to see like, yeah, I love that.
Phil Rickaby
I because there are two ways to deal with it. Right? There’s two ways to deal with people. Not those who see different things in it than you do. Yeah. One is to tell them they’re wrong. And to explain to them, you know, what, what the right interpretation is? Yeah. Which entirely destroys into gates. They’re the experience that they felt and is one of the alien way to go alienating way to go about it. And the other is just to indulge them and ask them about about about why they thought that and things like that. Because, you know, like you said, once you’ve done it, once you’ve put it out there, it’s there’s they’re the ones that have the memory of it so true. After you’ve performed it, like 20 times, you’ll have almost no memory of, of individual performances.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, but a will. Yeah, so true. Here’s something that I love about theatre. I, I yeah, I don’t know. I’m actually really curious. I want I want to actually ask you this question first What What draws you to theatre fail? Like what what is? What is the thing that has kept? That this art form has kept your attention for longer than any other?
Phil Rickaby
I will tell you, I will tell you it’s it’s to me it is the immediacy it is the feathers. There’s a couple of things. First off an audience in a theatre is they also suspend their disbelief in a way that an audience watching a show on television or a movie will not. If I’m on stage, and I say and now I’m underwater, we’ll put blue lights on or something, but everybody will be like, yeah, we’re underwater, you know, that sort of thing. People will go along with it. The other thing is the immediacy, because we are all in the room. Everything that is happening is happening here. And now. It’s all like it happened when it was filmed. And now we’re watching the echo of it. It’s happening here. And the thing that has struck me and this has stuck with me for like 30 years since I did this show, I was doing a production of The Scottish Play. And I was one of the murderers that goes the, you know, the lead murderer that kills McDonoughs family and Lady Macduff had a baby and she’s carrying the baby and so she knows where they’re to kill her and I take the baby and act like it the baby’s going to be fine. Give the baby a little pat on the head, a little caress, and then a twist and this little piece of balsa wood that’s in the swaddling clothes just does a tiny little pop. Oh, and the entire audience. Oh my god gasps in horror. Wow, in a way that like, if you did that on screen, there’s a separation and nobody would react that way. So true. And so the things that we do in the theatre a slap people will gasp and they do that only in the theatre. They don’t do that in a movie. They only do that when it’s live because it’s happening right there. And that’s what keeps me making theatre because it is immediate. It’s happening right now. And after we’ve done this tonight, it’s gone.
Nicholas Eddie
Yes, yeah, totally. Yeah, I Yeah, even hear you tell that story. I’m like, riveted, as you’re telling me. It’s, it’s a fake baby. And she’s handing it to me. And I’m swaddling this big baby. And then I crack. There’s a little snap. It’s like, oh, even me, even me now. I’m like, Oh, no. You know, it’s so funny. Yeah. Yeah. So
Phil Rickaby
it’s so visceral to them. Totally. Right.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah. Absolutely. And you’re so right, is that we we can connect, I think, I don’t know, maybe, maybe that’s true. We can connect with people in the room. So much easier than any other way. Being able to see the person right there in front of you is such a such a tangible feeling of connection.
Phil Rickaby
What you feel them breathing. Yeah, right, exactly. And so the audience feels to perform a breathing, the performer feels the audience breathing. And when you have a moment where everybody is breathing at the same time? Yeah, that’s when it becomes electric.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So I don’t know how I started this tangent. But anyway, I was thinking that I was just thinking to myself about like, what I really like about the theatre, and the reason that it has kept me coming back, is it it, I love the ephemeral nature of it, I love that it happens. And like you say, You owe this, we were talking about people holding on to it, and it existing in their memories rather than yours. I love that you do it, and then it disappears. And that it can only be consumed in the moment that it’s made. There’s something so beautiful about that, like, being forced to let it go, and not being able to hold on to it for one moment longer than it is. Yeah. And I think only in live performances that truly. And yet, it’s true of every type of art. But we can trick ourselves into believing that we can come back to the same moment of you know, seeing a painting or listening to a song until we completely drain it of all emotion. There’s there’s this sense that we have control over the consumption of it. But it but live performance and theatre, it just it begs you to say this is the one moment that you have with it, enjoy it, and now it’s going to be gone. Because that’s how life works with everything.
Phil Rickaby
It’s always fascinating, because you can record a show, you can like an archival recordings of a show, you know, you could do that, keep it, you know, but then that recording is just a recording of one night, and it might not have been your best night. Yeah, you know, it’s the night that you that you recorded and it has to be as good as you can get it. But you know, another night things will be different. And so even though there’s a recording of a show, yeah, this another night would be something entirely different.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, totally.
Phil Rickaby
Nicholas, one of the things that I really like to talk to about people and the idea of what keeps you going in theatre, I want to come back to this for you. But one of the things that I love to talk about on this show is the origin story. What is it that made you want to do theatre?
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, great question. Yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s one of those things. There’s many ways that I can’t answer that question. But what it really started with was doing some after school programme that my mom had signed me up for, my mom had wanted to be an actor in her youth, and she let it go so that she could have kids. She really wanted to have a stable career right off the bat. And so she, she let that sort of dream go so that she could have me her firstborn son. And so she signed me up for some after school programmes and, you know, sort of experimented around with it. And then I think, I think it was maybe 13 When we had our first performance, and it went really well and I did a good job. And even with that, there is an archival video of that performance, and I can still go back and watch it and be Like, yeah, you know, I was 13. But I did an okay job. And I think that was really the catalyst that led to me being in theatre now. Being 13 years old, and being good at something is unreal, like that, that is the most addictive feeling for any youth, you know, to feel like, adults are looking at you being like, how did you do that? That, like, what a joy What an absolute gift it is to, to look at, to look at other people and being like, wow, I’m, I’m actually doing a good job of probably for the first time ever, because I’m just learning, you know, I’m, I’m learning and like, trying to mine, what other people are doing and doing my best to fit into this weird world that I’m unfamiliar with. And then all of a sudden, I’m better than other people at something else like that. That was just, it’s just too, too exciting. It’s too exciting of a thing to pass up. And so I sort of kept going with that. And I wanted to be an actor. And kept going with that through high school. And then I was like, I was like, Okay, I’m not going to go to college, I’m going to I’m going to just focus on trying to be an actor. And my dad was like, No, you have to you have to go to college or university. I’m like, Okay, fine. And so I went to George Brown College. And at George Brown, you know, that was an incredibly difficult time as theatre school sometimes is. But I fell in love with theatre, like, I just started going to the theatre more, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I couldn’t, I couldn’t get enough of it. I was like this, this is the art form. And even now, it’s, it’s the thing. It’s the only art that is satisfying to me as the consumer, like I have a very addictive personality. I, I will listen to a song into the ground until it’s gone. I will, you know, accidentally scroll, Doom scroll for more hours than I’m proud of. But theatre is so satisfying. Even a show that I don’t like when I when I go out to the theatre, and I’m in a room with other people watching a show. It’s like, it’s like an exhale, after the show’s over. I’m like, wow, okay. It’s just satisfying in a way that nothing else is really.
Phil Rickaby
So a lot of people do theatre when they’re kids. Right? And a lot of people do. You know, they’re teenagers, they do something in, in public school, in high school, whatever it is, but not everybody. Because most people that I went to high school that we did theatre with, they didn’t go into theatre. At what point? Did you realise that this was going to be the thing in high school? When you were like, it’s time to start talking about careers? And when and where you’re like, No, the only thing I’m going to do I want to do is theatre?
Nicholas Eddie
Well, I mean, I don’t I don’t know. Like, it’s, it’s a funny thing, like, it’s kind of just one of those things that I’ve just kept doing, because I can and because I like it, it’s even now. And maybe this is a generational thing, because I think a lot of people my age, don’t don’t like, I feel like I look around at everybody, and everybody sort of holds their career, whatever it may be in an open palm, like, you can’t, you can’t really commit too hard to anything, or else you become too rigid, because of the state of the world right now. And everything being in constant flux, and all of these, you know, new types of companies coming into the picture, tech crypto, and then you know, everything disappears. Like the turnaround of anything is so fast. Now, the idea of holding on to a career for any extended period of time, is seems like a pipe dream. Anyway, I’m getting political. But that’s basically been my experience with theatre is like, I wake up every day and I’m like, do I want to keep doing this? And I decide that I do. And that’s pretty much been the way that it is, you know, I’ve never been like, this is the only thing I want to do. It’s just, it’s just the thing that I’ve wanted to do for any six month period of time. When I look six months in the future. I’m like, okay, am I am I going to take this contract for this show? That’s a little ways down the road, or do I want to maybe start thinking about doing something else and time and time again, I’ve picked this and I feel really glad for it. But, you know, it’s it’s not a marriage, I guess, to use a poor metaphor of something that is eternal.
Phil Rickaby
But it I mean, it never it never is. And that’s the thing is, you know, you look at you look at if you were to to go to George Brown, and look back at the class of 93 I think, Huh, As you would see a young me, and you would see a lot of other people, most of whom are no longer pursuing theatre. And that’s not a failure on their part. It’s, you know, you realise at a certain point that you just don’t have the passion for it anymore. And so you do something else. Yeah. And, and leaving the theatre is, is is not a mark of failure? No, because you should only do it as long as you’re enjoying it, as long as it’s fun. And as long as it gives you something that’s worth that’s worth having. As soon as those things stop, you should stop. And, you know, it, just, we should celebrate the fact that you did it at all.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, totally. And I think that’s, that’s kind of what makes it so awesome is that it nobody who is in the theatre doesn’t love the theatre, like if they if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be here, because it’s like, there’s nothing you know, you could go in a completely different direction and be more stable and make more money, you know, and have less stress on your mind. But everybody chooses to be in the theatre for whatever reason, and I love the fact that you ask everybody what the thing is, because I think that’s a super interesting question. But everybody’s here because they want to be because it is something that they are passionate about. And so and when they stop being passionate, they can go, and I think everybody is like that. And so when you meet somebody that’s part of the theatre, you’re like, here’s something that we both love, like, you know, when you meet someone is, like, a best friend’s new girlfriend or something. And yeah, we both we both love this person. So we have a common a great common ground to start with. That’s how I feel about the theatre. It’s like, we both love this one crazy, wacky thing. So let’s, you know, let’s pull them up with each other, you know, that kind of thing?
Phil Rickaby
Well, you know, I mean, Ain’t nobody getting rich. So you have to love it. Exactly.
Nicholas Eddie
Exactly.
Phil Rickaby
So, get Tell me again, all of the cities that you’re doing the fringe in?
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, sure thing. Okay. So it’s Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Kingston, London and Halifax.
Phil Rickaby
So it’s a it’s a good, it’s a it’s a, it’s a good spread of different fringe cultures sown. You’re in for you’re in for a treat. Yeah. As far as getting ready. Yeah. To do this tour. Yeah. Is there something aside from the performance aspect that scares you the most?
Nicholas Eddie
Oh, that’s a good question. Can I think about that for one second?
Phil Rickaby
Yeah, absolutely. While you’re thinking, let me let me give you like a yes. Like, when I was doing a show in a different city. Regardless of whether or not it was the I was doing a solo show and travelling with that, or taking the show with with four other actors in one piano player to another city. The thing that scared me was that in many cases, I did not know what was waiting for me when I arrived. Like it for the most part. I did not know the place I was going to before I got there. Yeah. I didn’t know how where I was, where was my billet? Where was the place? I was staying in comparison with the theatre. I didn’t know like, how that fringe operated. Everything was a mystery to me. And that was kind of the thing that scared me the most was like, you know, especially when I was travelling, basically by myself as a solo performer. Like, it’s terrifying to, to go to a city and be like, alright, we’re fit. I’m figuring this out, like the day before my show. Yeah, for me, that’s what’s that’s what terrified me.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah, I think I think in that same vein, I’m, I’m a very What’s the opposite of nomadic? Stoner? already? Yeah. I like I liked I like setting down roots, you know, and I think that has drawn a lot of nomadic type people in my life. But that, I think, for me is probably the thing that scares me the most is going to a new city and being kind of uprooted and then having to be vulnerable on stage in front of so many people without having like a base to go back to that I feel comfortable and that’s home. You know, I think I think that that part is probably going to be pretty tough.
Phil Rickaby
It’s, you know, it’s funny how quickly you figure it out. Okay, but it’s funny how quickly you figure out how to find a spot for yourself. Sometime, maybe it’s like, a, like a corner behind the theatre that you just sort of like take A breath that before a show or like there’s, there’s always there’s a thing that you very quickly figure out what is going to be your thing here. So it’s terrifying not to know what it’s going to be when you arrive. But yeah, you figure it out.
Nicholas Eddie
Yeah. Okay. Yeah, that’s yeah, this is this has been a very encouraging conversation. Yeah, you’re welcome.
Phil Rickaby
So what is what is the thing that most excites you then about about this tour?
Nicholas Eddie
Um, I think the thing that excites me the most is, it’s the show that I wanted to make, it has become something that I really care about, and that I drempt. About a long while ago. And I feel I feel proud of it. I feel like it is, it is, like I say, representative of the type of work that I want to do. And it’s representative of me both as a person as an artist. And I feel glad to be able to show that off. And if that goes, like, it’s kind of one of those things, where if if you can really feel like there’s nothing that you could have done differently, it’s hard to have any regrets about anything. Like if, if you don’t have any regrets, you can, you can do it without, without any reservation. And that’s what I feel, I feel really glad that it’s something that I like, and something that I think is, you know, representative of me as an artist. And yeah, I’m excited. I’m excited to show it off to people and see what they think. And if it resonates with people, that’s I think that’s awesome. I hope, my hope is that people will see it, and that that it’ll speak some truth to them. Because it it’s a funny show. And it’s it’s delayed, and I think will be really enjoyable. But it also has a lot of hard to swallow truths that I think exists in me and from the people that I’ve shared it with exist and other people too. So I hope that people can, you know, relate to the story that I’m trying to tell you.
Phil Rickaby
Well, Nicholas, thank you so much for joining me, I really appreciate it.
This has been an episode of Stageworthy Stageworthy is produced, hosted and edited by Phil Rick. That’s me. If you enjoyed this podcast and you listen on Apple podcasts or Spotify, you can leave a five star rating. And if you’re listening on Apple podcasts, you can also leave a review those reviews and ratings help new people find the show. If you want to keep up with what’s going on with Stageworthy and my other projects, you can subscribe to my newsletter by going to philrickaby.com/subscribe. And remember, if you want to leave a tip, you’ll find a link to the virtual tip jar in the show notes or on the website. You can find Stageworthy on Twitter and Instagram at stageworthypod. And you can find the website with the complete archive of all episodes at stageworthy.ca. If you want to find me, you can find me on Twitter and Instagram at PhilRickaby. And as I mentioned, my website is philrickaby.com See you next week for another episode of Stageworthy