Ardyth Johnson trained with mime artist Adrian Pecknold at The Manitoba Theatre School in Winnipeg and then received a scholarship with The Manitoba Theatre Centre to further her studies with Mime Unlimited School of Physical Theatre (Jacque Le Coq) in Toronto (graduate). Ardyth studied and graduated at Second City Conservatory, also master clown and buffoon with Philippe Gaulier, plus other masters of mime, corporeal mime, clown, slap stick and comedy. Ardyth she holds a B.A in theatre studies from the University of Winnipeg. Ardyth has toured throughout North America with Mime Unlimited, Theatre Beyond Words and many other companies. When Ardyth is not performing, she is busy teaching physical theatre all over Canada and Internationally.
http://www.ardythjohnson.weebly.com
http://www.ardythjohnsonhighlanddance.weebly.com
Weirder Thou Art
North American humans you think William Shakespeare wrote Mac Beth ha, ha, ha..well we’ll tell you the truth (wink wink) who really wrote the play. Three bouffon women (if you want to call them that) put the weird in the Wyrd sisters. The bouffon search for humanity brings William Shakespeare on a reluctant journey from a living hell to acceptance.
https://fringetoronto.com/festivals/fringe/event/weirder-thou-art
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Transcript
Transcript auto generated.
Phil Rickaby
Welcome to Episode 82 of Stageworthy. I’m your host Phil Rickaby. Stageworthy features conversations in Canadian theatre with artists of all stripes from actor to director to play right and more. If you’d like to drop me a line, I would love to hear from you. You can find Stageworthy on Facebook and Twitter at stageworthypod. And you can find the website at Stageworthy podcast.com. My guest this week is artists Johnson, writer and director of weirder thou art opening this July as part of the 2017 edition of the Toronto Fringe Festival.
The Toronto fringe, the fringe tent, there’s only one spot to go. And that’s a fringe tent. And it feels like a place to promote yourself. Whereas in in Winnipeg, there’s the king’s head, which is where
Ardyth Johnson
yeah, we go to the pub. Yeah.
Phil Rickaby
The patrons go to, they go to the beer tent. And the artists go to go to the king’s head. And in Edmonton, everybody goes to steel wheels, if you haven’t been,
Ardyth Johnson
I did the I mentioned fringe, but it was like 20 you so 21 years ago, maybe. So I’m trying to remember but I you know, so long ago, but we did have like a big party. You know, of course, I was much younger than so we party more. Yeah. But now like in Winnipeg, like I’ve been living in a lot there as well. I’m from Winnipeg, okay. And there is a sense of like, we all hang out together. Isn’t? This seems like the competition, things sort of dissipates. Like there’s like a comedy. I shouldn’t say competition, but in a sense of. We all kind of like we’re all there. And then we’re not against each other. We’re for each other, trying to support each other in a sense.
Phil Rickaby
Yeah, they need to the need to sell the show sort of goes away when you aren’t in the same place as your patrons. Yeah. Because in Winnipeg and Edmonton the beer, the beer tents are for the fringe patrons, not for the artists.
Ardyth Johnson
Well, there’s separate there is a, there’s a beer area for the patron. And then there’s an area right beside it for the performers. Right. So and then what the performers seem to kind of, hey, excuse me hanging out with each other, like we kind of, because we all kind of know, we, you know,
Phil Rickaby
that you like if you start in one spot, but then it gets to the next spot. It’s like I know you I know. Yeah, you know, you’re busy, you know? Yeah. And it becomes sort of a more of a camaraderie. Yeah, I think that I know that. And I’ve had this happen, like, I’ve done it. You’re trying to sell the show on your show on to somebody, they’re like, Well, I can’t go. When can you go? Okay, let’s see what you mean. Yeah, we do. shows good, you should see that you started like talking? Yeah. Because we
Ardyth Johnson
get the free comps. So you kind of try to plan out, find out who you want to see. And then of course, if you become friends with people, then you go, Oh, definitely catch your show or whatever.
Phil Rickaby
You know, you know what’s like, what’s good stuff that that you can recommend for people?
Ardyth Johnson
Yeah, and usually, well, me because I’m a physical theatre performer. I like to see any of the physical stuff. So that’s what attracts my attention. I don’t care so much about the four or five star things. What I want to see is the physical stuff.
Phil Rickaby
So for five star thing that can be so subjective, like I’ve, you know, I know last year there was an artist who was getting like, four, four or five stars everywhere. And then he went to, like Winnipeg, and got two stars. Same show. Yeah. And it was like, What the fuck is going on? You know? Yeah, stuff can happen.
Ardyth Johnson
Yeah, I know. I you know, my good friend of mine, Crystal, she, she’s done the fringe circuit many times. And she’s got she gets four star reviews or five. And then she said artists and I’ve been places I got to Yeah, you know the exact same show.
Phil Rickaby
Crystal her Kelsey. Yeah, yes. I mean, she knows her shit. She’s good. Yeah, yeah. Gives, she delivers a quality product and then you never know. Yep, somebody’s gonna like could that whole star system and reviews are subjective and they’re only one
Ardyth Johnson
and they’re not written by the same person puts it into paper. They’re written they hire people out and around. And like really somebody who doesn’t know anything about physical theatre is reviewing my show.
Phil Rickaby
Well, I used to, when we used to have I in Toronto, they would they were the official fringe sponsor and they would bring people on. We’re not necessarily theatre people. So you might your show might be reviewed by their fashion writer or something like yeah, which is, you know, in a way that’s fine because they’re not a Um, they’re unbiased. Like they don’t have like a preconceived notion of what it should be sort of like an audience member. But then again, if they’re going to see something that’s like physical theatre and they don’t know what that is, yeah, that’s a one
Ardyth Johnson
person made a review that was saying clowny No, Buffon and clowning are opposite.
Phil Rickaby
When we were doing working with a company called Keystone theatre we do. Oh, Keystone
Ardyth Johnson
Genet. Yeah. And I used to be business partners. We did a two woman show together for many years. Yeah, she
Phil Rickaby
directed we were touring the last man on earth, which she directed. Yeah. And we were in Montreal, and the one of the reviewers was like, Well, I hate mine. So I knew wasn’t gonna like this
Ardyth Johnson
gentleman. Because I’ve seen the show, man. Yeah. Genetic. Well, genetic. Yeah, we we did a show together for many years.
Phil Rickaby
Yeah. And so they were like, we don’t lie like mine. And we were like,
Ardyth Johnson
how is this? Not mine? It’s not mine now.
Phil Rickaby
So people will be one of these strange ideas.
Ardyth Johnson
I love that show.
Phil Rickaby
Thank you. We still love that show. Like any chance that we have to do that again. We will happily
Ardyth Johnson
I saw genetics week ago. Go we went to see the show. Same show together. Cool. Ya know what
Phil Rickaby
our long time and the show that you’re? You bring it to the Toronto fringe?
Ardyth Johnson
Yes. I don’t know if we’re when we’re interesting. is called weirder thou art.
Phil Rickaby
Okay. What is that about?
Ardyth Johnson
Basically what happens? It’s a MUFON show. And they, they basically have to go back in time. They’re sort of timeless. They go back in time to fulfil being the witches of Macbeth. So because they wrote this play based on him called Macbeth. And they wrote it. So they basically kidnap William Shakespeare and drag them along. Because society won’t accept their plays. So they have to give their play to William Shakespeare, who will write it. So in the meantime, they discovered the audience, and they basically decided to put their a play on for the audience that just happens to be there. And they still haven’t they still have time because the real William shakes are real. The real Macbeth hasn’t shown up, okay. So they decide to use William Shakespeare as Macbeth so they can put on their play for the audience while they’re waiting. They’re waiting for the real Macbeth to show up. So Well, I see am I’m on limited school physical theatre from 87 to 89. And we studied Buffon. It was more of a different approach. And then I studied with Philip GUI. And his was more of a religious kind of goofball. So it was kind of interesting. So I guess, since, like, 87, I suppose, you know, and it wasn’t until really recently that I’ve been sort of more getting into it again. And I kind of went through a segment of just doing mine and then you know that, but now I’m getting really into clowning to
Phil Rickaby
what was it that what is it that draws you to boufal? Like, what is it about? You really, that you really like?
Ardyth Johnson
Um, I always liked the world of the grotesque. I was always the little girl that never dressed as a princess. I always wanted to be the gross one with you know, blacked out teeth. And you know, and but I love like, I do love horror films. I love the Victorian period. You know, I also have a counter show to Google called Whitechapel. Redemption, on WeChat. I just did this five minutes. I love the parody I love I love my sense of humour is I want people to think am I have kind of a caustic sense of humour, or I want people through humour through comedy to think of think just to think about things they do or to mock it’s a way of mocking right to my frustration with day to day people or, you know, that they don’t realise how bad they are. And then through comedy, you can you can point that out in a very subtle way through through parody through you know, through physical mocking and, and I just like the world that they’re in because they’re, they’re kind of free in a sense, because they’re very sexual beings as well, you know, meaning like they’re, they’re just open to me. Anything that, you know, and they don’t care, they don’t care if the audience likes them or not. Whereas the clown cares. Yes, the font or the the total opposite. They acknowledge that the audience is there, but they don’t care. So they just say this is who we are. either accept us or meet us don’t care. You know, I mean, and they did some religious parity, political parties, actual parity. It’s sort of like the modern day cartooning. You know, when you see the cartoons, and they have the like, Trump, you see him all deformed and big nose or his hairs like this. That’s a in a sense, MUFON because they’re making fun out of being making him grotesque, right. Yeah.
Phil Rickaby
As somebody who like I am. I mean, I have a vague knowledge of of Buffon. It’s not one of those things that I’m particularly really familiar with, like I know it, just see it. But I’ve made that mistake of sort of, in my mind rolling it together with clown before comes from, like, what is where does it come out?
Ardyth Johnson
It came over originally, it was kind of formulated it, it comes from the world of the grotesque. They’re supposed to represent the outcasts, the the unwanted, basically the crap that’s thrown out the window, and they come from the swamps, and they’re there to point the finger of scorn to people. But it kind of developed through the group working with the body through the grotesque through Jacques macaque, and it sort of developed it own from there. And but it can go back, you can you could see things from way back, you know, they would have political cartoons, even during the French Revolution of characters that were deformed, and, you know, so if you could see some of those illustrations, mocking and that kind of thing goes a long, long time ago. Yeah, but jacquela, Kok basically developed the current art form of that, you know, and his student Phillip go, yay, I also studied with he took his version of it and kind of made it his own as well. So
Phil Rickaby
what was I mean? Were you always, you were always under the grotesque but in terms of performance, did you start as somebody who you say, You’re like the character with a blackout teeth or whatever? We were always a performer of some kind? Or did you? What what is it that brought you into performing as a calling?
Ardyth Johnson
Oh, I started doing Highland dancing. When I was four. I started competing when I was six. So we’ve always been kind of dancing and performing on stage, I guess you would say. It wasn’t until I was in high school, I guess I was considered one of the bad kids and learning disability and they just shoved me in kind of a bad kid area. And this troupe came to the high school. And I thought it was marvellous that they were able to tell a story just using their bodies. And I fell in love with it. I was and then I ended up going to Manitoba Theatre Centre school at the time. And a guy came Adrian Pecknold and he taught me and he said, I had a natural gift. And that I should pursue it because I didn’t even know you could do physical theatre for a living. And then it got even more when I went to University of Winnipeg, I took my class with red screen at the time. So now Rick scheme teaches there and again, he said this is something I should do and then I actually was going for normal acting and then on the corner, my eyes saw this poster poster that said, my my limited school physical theatre. So I said, I you know, got the brochure, and it was, you know, and then I thought, maybe this is my calling. And when I moved to Toronto and fell in love with it,
Phil Rickaby
when when you were thinking about just going straight into like, straight up acting. Was that something that you’d done in school
Ardyth Johnson
or was that yeah, the university would have paid well, all you really knew back then was just straight acting. You didn’t know. There was a whole other world of theatre. That was just physical and commerce. I was a dancer and I love theatre. And I wasn’t I was concerned because I wasn’t really good at memorising lines because my problems and then all sudden I discovered by chance, a world that was great for me because it was physical, and you didn’t have as many lines to memorise and You know, so it ended up being a perfect world for me. You don’t even know. But now nowadays you, you have more knowledge of that, I think in schools and stuff like that. And when I was going to school you never heard of physical theatre.
Phil Rickaby
Yeah. When I was in theatre school in a way it started in like 8990. There were, we knew there were going to be like clown classes, but it was straight, just red nose. Learning that we didn’t we sort of like there’s this thing called purple. And you know, some kids might go Oh, I wonder what that is and research that a bit more. But it was never something we were. We were taught, but we at least got some clown mask. Yeah,
Ardyth Johnson
we never got any of that. Yeah. I mean, I was good at doing. My parents always got me to do the robot, do the robot do that. And it was always easy for me. And it was always easy for me to make things up with my hands. Like doing mine, it was very easy. I didn’t even really, it just came to me like that I didn’t really have to. When I went to my mom limited. The first year it came so easy, because I just seemed to grasp that naturally. But then the second year was much more of a struggle like
Phil Rickaby
was because it was more academic or what was oh,
Ardyth Johnson
it’s just the the getting the concept of Buffon getting the content of clowny. And yeah, I didn’t really get the game and comedian, the live thing. I didn’t even get it in my I could do it physically without a problem. I could do anything physically without a problem. But I didn’t have it in my head. It wasn’t on I was on tour for about a year after we graduated. One day, just something that lightbulb moment, as they say just went off and I went oh my god, I get it now.
Phil Rickaby
Yeah. No, we’ve I mean, that’s sort of something that’s come up with with Keystone is like, because a group of us were there from the beginning, like creating a style, a silent film style, and how do you perform that on stage? And then there comes a point where you have to teach other people. And for us, we’re like, oh, we just do this and then, like, get it so that it’s not mine. And it’s not this you are, you’re saying things just that we can’t hear you and all these things like that. So there’s like concepts that can be difficult to grasp at first. Yeah. You sort of you know what you see it, but what does that translate into?
Ardyth Johnson
Yeah, I mean, you can like any editor, if you just don’t get in your head. I mean, you could go through the motion. You just don’t have it. And then when it does come in, it’s like, oh, man, yes, it was so easy.
Phil Rickaby
When I was at the teacher would be like, one day, you are going to understand all these things that we’re saying. Come on. Why can’t you just say what you mean? Don’t they? Don’t be cryptic. And then one day, like, 20 years later, I was like, oh, yeah, there it is. Now I understand. Well,
Ardyth Johnson
that happened with Philip go. Yeah, it was taking his master cloud when he was here. And mine sucked. I just sucked. I just didn’t get it. I didn’t have a clown. I was so upset. And we had a final presentation. And I was sitting by myself because I didn’t really want to go up. Yeah. And I was almost crying. And he hardly ever goes over to anybody. And he came over to me. And I said to him, I said, he says why are you sad? And I said, I don’t have a clown. It’s just me up there. And he says, That’s it. And that’s exactly why you’re the best clown. And at that moment, I get it. My clown still sucked on stage, because I didn’t have anything. But I knew I had he knew I had in here then and I went oh my god. That’s it. Yeah. You know. So it was just kind of a interesting moment.
Phil Rickaby
When did you start create you were saying that you created shows with Jeanette more? Yeah. Does that show that you that you
Ardyth Johnson
did the HCA Dilys okay. Yeah, it was a two woman show. We toured through the states. And we did the Ontario renaissance fair. And it was basically to mediaeval wenches or we call herself Hickety. Lee’s like it’s, you know, and Dilys because we were girls, of course, and we got men up on stage and made them do silly things. And, and yeah, so
Phil Rickaby
we did that for a while. Was that one of the first shows that you created?
Ardyth Johnson
Oh, we created it together because I was a street performer, okay. And Janette, I just started taking improv in Jeanette got me more into improv. And then I ended up going to Second City and I ended up graduating conservatory at Second City. So we combined our talents together and came up with this
Phil Rickaby
show. When you say that you’re a street performer. Was that like you’re doing mime on the street? No, I was
Ardyth Johnson
juggling and unicycling. Yeah.
Phil Rickaby
Where did you do that in Toronto. Did you do that?
Ardyth Johnson
Kingston, Ottawa. Waterloo, Toronto busker festival.
Phil Rickaby
Okay, I remember to ask whether but I was doing
Ardyth Johnson
my name and street stuff for a long time since like I’ve been performing at the CNE, for like 16 years. You know, I mean, I’ve done many, many gigs. But actual street shows. Yeah, we did. Took the news like,
Phil Rickaby
so you, you sort of joined forces with Jeanette and created the
Ardyth Johnson
Yeah, yeah, I can’t remember. I’m trying to remember how we met.
Phil Rickaby
But just one of those people that you can like,
Ardyth Johnson
She just moved here, and then we became friends. And then I guess we got talking and, and so we decided to formulate a show together. And we came up with a hiccup delays, and we went all we travelled all over the states. Yeah.
Phil Rickaby
When was the first show that you created on your own for the fringe circuit?
Ardyth Johnson
I did. My first attempt was in 91, I did a show called Margaret’s world. It was based on a piece that we went on tour for about a year and a half. And I did one piece and I just extended the piece to one woman show. So yeah, it was, you know, my first attempt to you know,
Phil Rickaby
what was what was that about? What was that about?
Ardyth Johnson
It was about a young girl who just was socially awkward. And we talked to a mirror sort of a split personality kind of thing. Yeah. And was often your imaginary world.
Phil Rickaby
When you say that that was your first attempt. What did you learn? To talk to the next thing?
Ardyth Johnson
Oh, my God, um, I think I, I learned how to, but maybe now how to connect shows a connect material better, you know, not be so cliche. I think maybe as a bit cliche back then because you, you know, you haven’t developed that yet. You know, so. Not being so linear. Like, I guess I was very linear back then. not to think too much outside the box. But no, yeah.
Phil Rickaby
Did you make any any mistakes of like having too much set or anything like that?
Ardyth Johnson
No, I’ve always been a minimal minimalist, maybe that’s the mime in me. I don’t like a lot of set
Phil Rickaby
out to target with crystal and her first show had like, all of these pieces to it. And the like, that just extends all of your time and makes it difficult to travel. Like that. It’s just especially for fringe. A lot of times if you’re touring, you just got to be like, What do I need? What do I need? Get rid of those things?
Ardyth Johnson
If you don’t you know, I one thing about physical theatre, they always tell you, if it doesn’t serve a purpose, a PowerPoint is purpose. You don’t need it. Yeah. Like why need it? Like if you don’t need it, then don’t have it. And you can mime it or you utilise or use your own body to do it. Yeah. Like my set is basically a stump. The cauldron with a fireplace, and I have a scrim in the back. And that’s all I wanted. Yeah. And because I want the focus to be on the characters and the relationships. Yeah, not on the set. Yeah. So that, but I’ve always been like that. So
Phil Rickaby
we made some, like, early on our first Keystone show was epic, the belle of Winnipeg, which Oh, yeah. And it was like untolerable. It was like we had we do it in one spot. could never take it anywhere else, because there’s just too much stuff. And we did a budget and said, How much will it cost to do this show somewhere? Crumple that up, because we can’t really do that. But it’s a you know, we learned a lot of lessons from that about
Ardyth Johnson
Yeah, like minimising Exactly, yeah.
Phil Rickaby
Is that what was the second but what did you do next after After Margaret?
Ardyth Johnson
I just tried to remember I went on tour with theatre beyond words for two years. We travel north America. It’s a mask children’s show, based in Niagara on the Lake. Originally mine. What else then after that? I’m just joining member after because basically, I was on the road for five, six years after I graduated. And then just after that, basically performing mime and busking and stuff. Yeah, I had a comedian troupe too. Okay. I can mediate that day too. We were called QRP dinero, which is called seize seize the money. So we did that for a while too. So we did a lot of Ren fairs there too. So basically, I tour toured with them actually for quite some time as well doing that. And, yeah,
Phil Rickaby
being from Winnipeg was your first stringiness their exposure was Winnipeg Free. Yeah. And what you’ve, you’ve in addition to touring around with it with some shows you’ve done, how many of you’ve done other fringes you’ve done? Or have you?
Ardyth Johnson
Oh, done well, would it be Edmonton? I did Ottawa. I done Toronto. This will be my third time during Toronto. I could I got away from the fringes for a while. Yeah, yeah.
Phil Rickaby
Is there something that took you away from the fringe, or
Ardyth Johnson
I think, I just felt, um, I guess I got turned off by the critiques and stuff like that, and, and also was financially or maybe financially as well. Or I was always doing other stuff in the summer. And now it seems like now that I’m getting older, I’m writing more and directing more. Yeah. Which is kind of nice, in a way because my body is not as agile. So I’ve been lucky in the way that life has steered me to. I’ve been doing a lot of string acting now, too. I’ve been doing a lot of acting out in Winnipeg as well. And teaching I’ve been always teaching, searching forever.
Phil Rickaby
Is there something that you learned about the because you know, I mean, if you only know one Fringe Festival, you don’t really know what fringes you know, that festival, but you don’t know, fringe in general? Is there something that you’ve learned about fringe as you’ve done various ones.
Ardyth Johnson
Um, I kind of liked the fact that it’s all the people who are like minded are together. And you’re out there and you meet other great people, you know, doing, doing what they want to do. And I mean, it’s a chance for us to show our work. Yeah. You know, I mean, I hope fringe never goes away from that. Yeah, it’s a chance for us to people who don’t have grants or a chance to be able to do our work.
Phil Rickaby
I’ve loved I’ve loved that, too. I love the idea that it’s like that anybody can Yeah, get the anybody can enter the lottery and credit their show has just as much chance Yeah,
Ardyth Johnson
I like to Yeah, and that they’re not you don’t feel like people are being picked over other people
Phil Rickaby
feel like it’s some it’s somebody’s idea of what theatre should be or anything like that. It’s just, this is what got in. And there’s sort of a certain chaos to it. I’ve always sort of felt like, you know, we sort of talked earlier you mentioned like, the idea of like competing with everybody else. And I always sort of gone into fringe myself with the idea that it’s that there isn’t a competition. Cuz we all have a different product and some people.
Ardyth Johnson
Yeah, it’s like apples and oranges. And maybe I shouldn’t like competing so much like, Well,
Phil Rickaby
I think it’s more like when we’re like, faced with people. It’s like we’re all selling. Yeah, our thing. Yeah. Yeah, we all want to have this sold out show. But I can’t make somebody not going to
Ardyth Johnson
know. I mean, everybody’s personal taste is different. Like, yeah, and I say to my friends, if they want to go see that. I’ll be like, Nah, I don’t really want to see that. It’s not my cup of tea, but I will see this, but there’ll be like, no, yeah. And I like it because I also get to see other people’s work. Like other physical performers doing their thing from different places. Yeah. And I like that. Oh, receive a wonder heads. Yes, they’re very much like theatre beyond words.
Phil Rickaby
As soon as you started talking about theatre beyond words, I said that sounds a lot like the Wonder heads.
Ardyth Johnson
They came to see my I did a comedian show at the fringe. Winnipeg fringe three years ago, and they came to see it and I really liked it. And but yeah, so when I saw their show is very much like, yeah, it’ll be onward. Yeah. Yeah, sorry. Oh, no, no, I mean, like, anybody can do ball mask. And it’s like, anything you do you take what you like, and make it your own. I mean, it wasn’t like theatre by your own words, but sort of, in a way. Yeah. Yeah. But it’s all
Phil Rickaby
like, you find your own way of performing those sorts of things, whether it’s comedians or to forehead mask or whatever. So this show that you’re working on, that you did last year? Is it just you just need to Toronto, you’re taking it to other phrases?
Ardyth Johnson
No, just Toronto. It’s just more of a financial thing. Because you have, I can’t really afford more than expensive Yeah, if you want to.
Phil Rickaby
You can if you can swing it’s like
Ardyth Johnson
and then you have four performers. Yeah. And then you know, if it’s just a one person show It’s a lot easier it is when you have a cast of four. Yeah, it’s and then to ask them to travel all summer and where to stay. And I mean, how many people you’re gonna get that be able to do that?
Phil Rickaby
That’s always a really tough one. I’m always impressed by people who can do that every year. People like Peter and Chris, who can every year yeah, hit the road together and do
Ardyth Johnson
well to person. Yes, still doable? I mean, yeah, the cast that I had in Winnipeg are obviously are not in this one, because I can’t ask them to come to Toronto. I can’t afford to buy them. So I had to basically recast the UN this time. I really last year, I had just men in mind. But this year, I just really wanted to pick who I felt was the best for the role. We’re just doing a podcast. Donovan was in the fringe Winnipeg last year with his one person show. Um, yeah, so basically had to recast the whole entire. And yeah, and I gotta, I really stuck with what I felt was right for the role.
Phil Rickaby
Did you find that in sort of like looking like casting new people? Were there any anything that that changed drastically as new people came in?
Ardyth Johnson
Um, we will. Well, it was interesting. We started rehearsals and the I now that I’ve done it, we don’t have to really physically improvise too much. But then they naturally as a different group, did different things. I mean, we had the same, and then they came up with such brilliant stuff. So I was like, totally one thing I like about physical theatre, you’re, it’s not set in stone. Yeah, we can improvise around and then in just their own little humour with their own. It was interesting to see the different dynamics that way. Yeah. You know,
Phil Rickaby
is it just is it? I guess, I mean, the same things happen, but just in a different way.
Ardyth Johnson
Yeah. I did it in a different way. And their sense of humour is a little bit different. The way they approach it’s different. Um, yeah, I mean, and it’s, they’re getting along really well, which is super. I was gonna go with this.
Phil Rickaby
I mean, you have to like form a cohesive unit for a period of time, and it is important that
Ardyth Johnson
people get it is it’s important, especially in physical theatre. If you don’t get along it just Yeah. You’re not there to support each other. I
Phil Rickaby
think it shows you does. Yeah, it doesn’t get along. Because you don’t have words to hide behind. Yes, it shows. Yeah, people can sort of sense the tension that might be happening between people. Mm hmm.
Ardyth Johnson
And this inland Buffon, the work with boufal, you’re working as a Greek course. I mean, usually, when you study, you study Greek course, before you take. Because they’re very clumped together. They’re always there for each other, the fall are like, you know, like, raccoons in the sense, they’re always close, close, close, they had to be really close to each other. They don’t like to leave each other apart. And so if you don’t have a cast that doesn’t get along, and then it’s yeah, it’s gonna be very hard.
Phil Rickaby
Yeah. Yeah. Have you thought about? How you’re going to? I mean, because strange promotion is always a thing. Like, how, what are you going to do? Are you going to do anything in it? Like in costume at any point? Are you like, how do you? How do you promote this shows the people who are coming get a sense of what it is,
Ardyth Johnson
oh, we’ll talk to the guys and girls. Maybe walking around in the MUFON costumes and giving out flyers. Obviously pay attention to the media, when the fringe says something about a media event? You know, definitely going out to that and doing stuff like this, like the podcast, and obviously filling into media releases and stuff like that. And it’s going around and giving out flyers as much as possible. Yeah. Yeah.
Phil Rickaby
I always find that having done like an admin like Edmonton and Winnipeg, that it’s a little I find it a little bit more of a challenge to promote a show in Toronto. Just because in Winnipeg and Edmonton there’s an area Yeah, yeah. It’s like if you’re in this area, somebody’s going to give you
Ardyth Johnson
a flyer you end up like 6 million flyer. It’s expected right? Yeah. They just kind of go like this with their hand actually. Yeah,
Phil Rickaby
you know, and that’s that’s one of those things and then it isn’t like, like a designated like, yeah, they’re all over Yeah, place. The you sort of like have to figure out you can’t like walk up to somebody on the street and give them a flat thing like, yeah. You gotta like, hit the venue. So there’s always it’s interesting, the different strategy because the strategy that works in Winnipeg or Edmonton can can work.
Ardyth Johnson
I think, here, you gotta go to the trendy places, you know, where do you think people who would go see the arts and stuff like that? That’s where you’re gonna find, you know, like, the different areas of town. I would probably, you know, like, you know, just any kind of more artsy area or even the beaches, you know, where do you think people are gonna go see the fringe, you know, those type of people?
Phil Rickaby
It’s interesting, because when you’re in in Toronto, there are people who know about fringe. And there are people who don’t know about free. Yeah, like, you’re not only have to tell them about your show, but sort of like, explain to some people what
Ardyth Johnson
the fringe is all about. Yeah. I mean, there’s so many festivals that go on in Toronto, too. They’re like, which one is this? Yeah. Where’s Winnipeg? I mean, that’s the festival and then you have Folk Festival. Yeah. And those are the two big festivals of the year. Yeah.
Phil Rickaby
Yeah, just Haven it’s same in Edmonton. It was, yeah, in both of those places. You can say, well, I’m in the fringe, but we’ll give me your flyer. Yeah. I hadn’t even talked about giving them a flat restaurant they say yeah, what are you in town for? I’m here for the fringe. Give me a flyer says the waitress and
Ardyth Johnson
Exactly. There’s Toronto is so big. Yeah. And they’re like which festival? Yeah, because you got that Film Festival? You got? Yes. Well, after festival
Phil Rickaby
so many is similar in Montreal, I found and because, like in between, like the French music festival and the Jazz Fest. So it’s like
Ardyth Johnson
30 some years.
Phil Rickaby
Something in the middle? Do Is there a spot where people can learn about about the shows? You have a website? Twitter?
Ardyth Johnson
Yeah, my website? W W. W. Artists johnson.weebly.com. Cool. Yeah.
Phil Rickaby
And is there anything that you want people to know about about this show? What is the essential piece that somebody should know when they’re coming to see this? You know,
Ardyth Johnson
it revolves around Macbeth. But you know what, you don’t need to know Macbeth to, to understand it. And it’s, it’s, it’s just an hour of fast paced, slap sticks, Commedia SC find, it’s just fine. I mean, they’re there to find the humanity. But it’s not the most up. Like it’s not so in depth. I want to just an hour of kind of Monty Python is fun. And I just want people to laugh. Really, it’s just an hour of comedy
Phil Rickaby
that people have to worry about audience participation. No,
Ardyth Johnson
but the audit, they might look at you pointing at you, but you don’t have to
Phil Rickaby
kind of make you sing along or
Ardyth Johnson
no, no. Oh, well, they might make you sing. Okay. But you don’t have to sing if you don’t want to. And I wouldn’t go if you’re easily offended if you just want to laugh for almost an hour then.
Phil Rickaby
Yeah, that seems like a good deal to me for $10 Yeah. This is great. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.