life with more cowbell

One of the shows I missed during this year’s Toronto Fringe and Best of Fringe was Christine Aziz’s ELLAmentary – A One Person Musical About Filling Out & Fitting In. I finally saw the show last night at Red Sandcastle Theatre. Aziz wrote the script and music, and performs in this touchingly real – and hilariously funny – take on female adolescence.

Aziz is a powerhouse performer – and an excellent voice mimic – as she tells this tale of Ella Salmon, whose unfortunate name and quirky personality make her a prime target for schoolyard mean girls and bullies, who call her “Salmonella.” Ella is a bright and positive force to be reckoned with, though, assisted by her toy cat Chirpy and her poster of Tallulah Bankhead (and Aziz does a mean Bankhead impersonation through the course of their chats).

Stand-out moments for me: Ella’s speedy recitation of the Hail Mary and the trip to the department store lingerie section for her first bra (a AAA) – gave me flashbacks to my grandma reciting the rosary and my trip to Sears for my first bra.

Assisting Aziz through this onstage journey is her intrepid SM/light & sound tech/props wrangler, etc., Hayley Simpson. Before the show, Hayley and I danced to the awesome 90s pre-show music that Aziz programmed while Rosemary chatted with passers-by, tempting them to come see the show.

The other cool thing about seeing the show last night is that Red Sandcastle Theatre is a relatively new space – and run by my pal Rosemary Doyle (who’s appeared in a few Fringe hits herself). With an excellent location in Riverdale (922 Queen St. E., just east of Logan – and right beside Ed’s Real Scoop), in addition to its own programming, Red Sandcastle offers space for rehearsal and show/film shoot rentals, and Rosemary ran theatre camps for kids this past summer, with more to come during March break. Check it out sometime: www.redsandcastletheatre.com – it’s also on Facebook.

You have one more chance to see ELLAmentary at Red Sandcastle Theatre – and that’s tonight (Sat, Sept 10) at 8 p.m. Coming up at the theatre: The Underpants and Suddenly Mommy!