The Devil’s Daughter, premiering at the Vancouver Fringe, is one of several autobiographical (sometimes loosely) solo shows at the Fringe, written and performed my women.
Here are four female Fringers not to miss.
BikeFace
I consider myself a Sunday Cyclist too afraid for real adventure.
So, I will be at BikeFace to hear of Natalie Frijia’s two-wheeled adventure of Canadian proportions. She will be spinning strange-but-true tails from a ride across our immense country. There are graveyard groundskeepers, wild west proprietors, and wanderers with secrets only fit for strangers. This one-woman storytelling whirlwind retraces a real-life bike ride from Halifax to Vancouver, uphill and against the wind the whole way.
About Natalie
Playwright and performer Natalie Frijia is a Toronto-based theatre-making, clown-wrangling, trapeze-swinging, adventuring PhD candidate in drama and environmental studies a the University of Toronto. When not in the city, Natalie can be found riding her bike. To date, she has cycled over 20,000km around the world. Most of her plays are inspired by people she has met on the road, including Bike Face.
How to Really, Really? REALLY! Love a Woman
I think this show should be mandatory for anyone I date.
How to Really, Really? REALLY! Love a Woman is a saucy, sexy, educational tale that is part stand-up, part storytelling, partTED Talk, part Vagina Monologue, and all kinds of inclusive.
Come celebrate a return to good ol’ fashion goddess worship, with a modern twist! This sex positive tour-de-force dives deep into the ancient art of going down, and the wisdom of paying lip service to the divine!
With a wicked sense of humor, and frankness that’s refreshing, O’Brien brings the audience on a journey that is both deeply personal and totally universal. What woman hasn’t wondered about her floral balance? What (straight) man hasn’t been confounded by the mysteries of the velvet cave?
About Eleanor
Eleanor O’Brien is the artistic director of Dance Naked Productions, a theater company dedicated to creating sex-positive theater. She has toured and performed her two solo shows GGG: Dominatrix for Dummies and Lust & Marriage to international acclaim, and is the creator of the the Inviting Desire series, ensemble productions that include A Theatrical Aphrodisiac, Lubricate Your Libido, Pleasure, Permission, Possibility…and The Dawn of Sex.
Eleanor holds an MFA from The University of San Diego/Old Globe and is a trained story healer.
Diagnose This! Tales of a Medical Actor
They say laughter is the best medicine and if we can’t laugh at medical students, who can we laugh at?
If anyone should play patient for medical students, it should be a improv comedian and fringe performer. How else would we get the inside scoop of what really goes on behind the scenes. This show is a hilarious and moving view into the world of healthcare. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you cry, it’ll make you cringe, and it’ll make you say, “F*** THE SYSTEM!”
About Donna
Donna works as a Standardized Patient (a.k.a. Medical Actor). In the simplest terms, a standardized patient is a person goes through situations and procedures with medical students as they train to become healthcare professionals. She might be a patient receiving a diagnosis of cancer, the mother of an injured child, or a nervous woman having a pelvic exam. A living, breathing “practice dummy” for new doctors — ones that, mind you, maybe administering the first pelvic exam of their life… and not doing it well.
Unbeknownst to these young doctors, Donna evaluates their bedside manner. She gets high hilarity out of the faux pas, missteps, and feet in mouth of these future physicians, all while pretending to be someone she’s not.
The Devil’s Daughter: a story of an almost murder
“Melody Owen tells a story of difficult times with courage, honesty, humour and redemption. She breaks your heart and gives you hope for the human race.” – TJ Dawe
Taking on the role expected of her, young Melody delves into drugs and alcohol until a startling revelation shakes her world. Just when she thought it couldn’t get worse, it does. What she chooses to do with this new information will either break her completely or put her on a new course. She must decide.
About Melody
Melody grew up in Ontario on a small family beef cattle farm until she was eleven. The farm offered an isolated location for her father to control the family. The farm also offered Melody an escape from the daily cruelties of her father. After moving to the city, her family fell apart as did her world. By the time she was 16 she had discovered the horrific family secret and determined to change her path. If she had known the mountain she had to climb…
Melody now lives in Vancouver, BC with her two lovely daughters. She run Nutritious Truth, a content strategy consultancy for social entrepreneurs. She also heads up YVR Authors, supporting local authors as they write, publish and promote their books. She loves to tell stories and believes that when we own our stories, the good and the ugly, we can transform our lives.
The Moaning Yoni
If your Yoni isn’t already moaning, you might want to get it checked out. At this show.
It’s time to get in touch with your clitoral consciousness with this hilarious and original one-woman show. Critically acclaimed performer Joylyn
Secunda brings to life more than a dozen characters to tell the story of a young college student named Zoë who is just trying to fit in, until one day she applies an elixir, and her Vagina starts to talk. From Tinder to Tantra, The Moaning Yoni explores the intersection of gender, sexuality and spirituality in an unforgettable hour of laughter and physical comedy.
About Joylyn
Joylyn Secunda is a Vancouver based actor, dancer, singer, and puppeteer. She is a BFA Acting graduate from University of British-Columbia and has studied clown at the Manitoulin Conservatory for Creation and Performance. When she isn’t touring Fringe Festivals, Joylyn leads community engaged theatre projects for seniors (Theatre Terrific and Arts & Health), instructs yoga classes, and facilitates sound healing events. She is also a puppeteer with the Cassie & Friends touring puppet show.