Amy Salloway is an Ottawa Fringe favourite. And as she shares in her performer blog she loves Ottawa. Although she has participated in the Ottawa Fringe for the last few years, this is the first time she is premiering a new work here. Although I have been keenly aware of Salloway and her work, because she is such an amazing self-promoter, "Heebs and Dweebs" was my first Amy Salloway experience.
As such, I am unable to compare this to her previous work but what I understand from others is that typically there is more of a 'show' than the work I saw. In "Heebs and Dweebs", Salloway stands in the centre of the stage and delivers a series of stories, referring frequently to the notes she has on a stand in front of her. This is understandable, as again she does mention in her blog as well as on stage that this work is so hot-off-the-press that she hasn't even had a chance to memorize it.
Normally, I am all over the idea of getting to see new work. But there were some things about this show that I wasn't so turned on about. For one thing, there is no cohesiveness to her presentation. In the show I saw, she told two stories from her childhood, and then a story about present day and an experience she had while in Ottawa, and then a piece about being in high school? And to make matters worse, each tale was punctuated with a musical sound cue and a lights down/lights up. I would have enjoyed more of a through line between the pieces. I wanted something to indicate why she chose these particular stories for this particular time. And maybe even some chit chat between pieces, rather than the blackout and obligatory applause, would have made it feel more connected.
Speaking of being in a particular time, one thing that bugged me about this show was Salloway's refusal to acknowledge the existence of her audience. Don't get me wrong, she is a charming performer, but because of that she does evoke responses from her patrons: laughs, but also gasps or groans, and for the most part she would charge along as though she didn't even hear it. In general I prefer not to be talked at; if I am going to listen to someone speak for an hour, I at least want to feel as though the speaker knows I am there, that we are sharing this time and space. Salloway made it very clear that for her, this is a one-way relationship and I admit I am less interested in that.
I probably would have had an easier time with her presentation style if the subject matter was something I felt I could relate to; most of Amy Salloway's stories have to do with being overweight and Jewish. And while struggling with self acceptance is a universal theme, this show teeters on pity rather than empathy.
All of this led me to consider, and even question, her chosen art form. Amy Salloway is clearly a very strong writer. She has a commanding yet lovely stage presence and a great big voice. But I admit I wondered what about this made it good theatre. She plays with both humour and pathos in that autobiographical "I write for attention and therapy" kind of way. And I get the sense that if she took it further one way, it would make for great stand-up comedy, and if she dug a little deeper the other way, it would be fantastic storytelling suitable for a novel or maybe a collection of short stories.
Bottom line: this show contained lots of entertaining moments, but, I wanted her to invite me in - to let me share in her experiences rather than feeling like a witness. And even though I know this is brand new material, I would have appreciated an effort to connect the dots.
Rating: Y
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Heebs and Dweebs runs June 18-23 in Studio Leonard-Beaulne at the University of Ottawa as part of the Ottawa Fringe Festival.
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