Articles by Alyce
Drag, Advocacy, and Witchcraft with Kingston’s BeeWitched
- Interview
Become bewitched, bothered, and bewildered in the best way! Bee Dupuis, also known as BeeWitched, wears many hats including drag performer, event organizer, advocate, and chair of Kingston Pride. Recently I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with BeeWitched about performing drag, advocacy work, witchcraft, and the Halloween season. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Dupuis’ drag persona, BeeWitched, is “the embodiment of all the beautiful, but […]
‘Why It’s i̶m̶Possible’ Offers Possibilities for Precarious Times
- Review
- Sweet 'n Fab Collective
“Can I give up being a good daughter to become a better mom?” Written by Sophia Fabiilli and directed by Evalyn Parry, Why It’s imPossible is a one-person show starring Zoë Sweet as Beth, a single mom struggling to raise her kid while working on her career. However, while Sweet is phenomenal in her role, “one-person show” is a bit of an understatement—taking four years to put together, the show […]
Writing (and Living) Through Improv with Wilding
- All-Inclusive Comedy
- Artist
- Interview
- Writersfest
Bring a “yes, and…” approach to your writing, with help from Wilding! In their workshop at this year’s Kingston WritersFest, Writing With Wilding – Through an Improv Lens, they offer an improvisational-based approach to energize your writing practice. Originally from Vancouver, Wilding arrived in Kingston six years ago, having spent the last 25 years (at least) working within a variety of improv, performing, and teaching roles, exploring different ways that […]
Mayhem Comes to Mumberley in Melodramatic Romp, ‘The Mumberley Inheritance’
- Domino Theatre
- Review
Mayhem, by the name of Mr. Marmaduke, comes to call at Mumberley Manor and chaos ensues. The Mumberley Inheritance, written by Warren C. Graves, staged at Domino Theatre with director Sara Beck and assistant director Christian Milanovic, is a fun romp that lampoons the conventions of melodrama. Patriarch Sir Roger Mumberley (Phil Perrin) has, unbeknownst to his children Jack (Ben Hudson) and Daphne (Emily Kelly), frittered away much of the […]
‘Hysterical Historical Improv’ Lives Up to its Name
- Kick & Push Festival
- Review
- TK Fringe
Hysterical Historical Improv delivers on its promise of making history hysterical. From local group Improv Kingston, local history comes to life in a way you haven’t seen before. Dan Walmsley directs, writes, and performs, with the help of additional performers Jon Britton and Henry Korba-Babcock (as well as occasional promised special guests, although none appeared in the performance I attended). The premise of this “historical improv” is that Walmsley has […]
O Come, All Ye Thirsty: ‘Christian Slut’ Puts The XXX in Xtian
- Kick & Push Festival
- Review
- TK Fringe
A stage set with only a wooden cross draped in lingerie, Christian Slut puts the sexual content right back into a Christian upbringing. The show is a one-person “confessional” (not the Catholic kind), written and performed by Erik Karklins, about their experiences as a self-identified slut while also being a devout Christian. They tease (literally) out the nuances between these two seemingly conflicted identities, critiquing restrictive religious doctrine. Despite its […]
‘A Sketchy Kind of Show’ Brings Video to the Stage and Puts the “Sketch” in Sketch Comedy
- Kick & Push Festival
- Review
- TK Fringe
Taking the “sketch” in sketch comedy perhaps a little too literally, A Sketchy Kind of Show is a performance by Collected Novellas, who are self-described as focusing on “subversion, quirkiness and social commentary.” Unfortunately, I found the show itself a little lukewarm on all three counts. The performance held potential with its interesting start—it begins with a framing device of God flipping through Netflix on the seventh day of rest […]
Little Red Riding Hood Bares her Teeth in ‘The Cape as Red as Blood’
- Kick & Push Festival
- Review
- TK Fringe
Listen to the wind whisper the story of The Cape as Red as Blood—a loose retelling of the Little Red Riding Hood folktale as a folk musical. Written by Kathleen Greening, this is a contemporary version of the story with a powerfully feminine vibe—soft and caring, but not weak by any means, and not to be underestimated. The five storytellers—Nightingale (Syd Chinnick), Crow (Meg Gibson), Phoenix (Hailey Hatfield), Bluebird (Elsa […]
The Circus is Scarier than Clowns: ‘Circus Gothic’ Takes Apart the Big Top
- Kick & Push Festival
- Review
- TK Fringe
With 23 characters, including two animals, Circus Gothic is a unique one-woman show. Jan Kudelka plays all the roles in a truly incredible performance, as might be expected given that she’s had fifty years (yes, fifty) of performing this particular show in order to perfect it. This fact alone makes it worth seeing and informs a really powerful performance. The story is a memoir of Kudelka’s experience joining the circus […]
Lions Don’t Lean In: ‘Crazy Bitch/Boss Bitch’ on Working Women
- Kick & Push Festival
- Review
- TK Fringe
A self-identified bitch and a boss—Crazy Bitch/Boss Bitch is a one-woman show written by and starring Thea Fitz-James, and centering around a millennial woman’s experience of being a corporate worker. She has 18 people directly reporting to her and is on the executive track but lately, she’s been wondering if she might be a bit crazy. The show follows her struggles with work and the prospect of a promotion, while […]
Watch Where You Look: Orpheus Learns About Narcissism in ‘Lillian’s Thief’
- Not So Amateur Amateurs
- Review
Please note this review mentions sexual abuse. Despite getting tuned up with a modern setting, Lillian’s Thief: A Modern Orpheus can’t help but look back to classic, old-fashioned tropes. The play was written by and stars both Sara Beck as Morana and Christian Milanovic as Corvin, with direction by Abby Wolfe and produced in association with Not So Amateur Amateurs. Beck and Milanovic have a clear connection and rapport that […]
Grifting Takes to the Stars: ‘Death of a Starman’ Explores Toxic Masculinity and the Power of Storytelling
- Interview
- TK Fringe
Mercury is in retrograde at Kingston Fringe this August as the stars collide in Death of a Starman, starring real life astrologer Zaid Bustami. I had the pleasure of chatting with co-writer and director of the show, Kay Komizara, about toxic masculinity, storytelling, and of course, the stars. Komizara has been a creator for the last 11 years, having worked in Victoria, Montreal, and is now touring Ontario for Death […]