Megan Phillips. Photos by Corey Palmer.
Vancouver-based writer/performer Megan Phillips was in town at Bad Dog Theatre last night for a one-night-only performance of her autobiographical piece Periscope—the up and down journey of finding equilibrium in her life when personal day-to-day miracles stopped coming—directed by Jeff Leard, with dramaturgy by TJ Dawe and music by Leif Ingebrigtsen.
Having done some hard soul-searching and putting in the work to correct the previous ongoing bad behaviour that was creating unnecessary drama and negative outcomes in her life, Phillips’ life was coming up roses, with a productive, successful career, as well as good professional and personal relationships. And suddenly, these life miracles stopped.
Struggling to get her groove back and keep on the path of being a productive, happy, responsible adult, she embarks on a plan to network and make friends while she bartends at a big comedy industry event. She’s confident in her plan, but anxiety keeps rearing its ugly head, so she self-medicates with MDMA to take the edge off her anxiety. And while her subsequent high behaviour turns her attendance at this event into a careening train wreck, the rock bottom it puts her in offers enlightenment and understanding.
Candid, vulnerable, poignant and sharply funny, Phillips takes us step by step through her journey and subsequent epiphany. Highlighting how it’s impossible to be “happy” all the time—including moments of the Zen of mental health—it’s a reminder that we all need to recognize, accept and move through the “negative” feelings that come up for us. We need to move past the pain to get to the joy, in the ongoing cycle that is life. After all, we can’t have joy without pain—and sometimes, we need a periscope view above all the shit in our lives to get some distance on it and laugh at it all.
This was a one-off performance of Periscope, but keep an eye out for Phillips if you happen to be in Vancouver—and look out for her return to Toronto.
life with more cowbell 