Sometimes it takes some time and experience to realize some of your earliest ideas. Kate Braidwood, co-head of Wonderheads Theatre, first began development of her company’s new show, The Middle of Everywhere, as a thesis project while she was studying at the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre in Northern California.
The BC-born theatre writer and performer, who did her undergrad at the University of Victoria, is now based in Portland, Oregon and will see her company’s third show featured at this year’s Victoria Fringe Festival.
“Ever since we started the company in 2009, this story is something we talked about turning into a longer, in-depth show because it’s a really fun comedy-adventure and we were ready to do something really fun and fast-paced after the previous two shows,” says Braidwood.
The past two productions she speaks of are Grim & Fischer and Loon, two Fringe favourites in years past that feature performers in full masked costumes and little to no dialogue. The Middle of Everywhere follows in a similar vein (“think ‘live-action Pixar,’” say the press materials), but with a decidedly lighter vibe than its predecessors.
“It’s not as dark as the other two,” says Braidwood. “It’s a bit lighter and it’s fun and fast-paced, and it’s good for all ages. Our other two shows we recommended ages 10 and up because they dealt with darker themes, but this one’s for everyone. It’s a good comedy-adventure.”
Heralded for their physical theatre work and the ability to convey the full range of human emotions through elaborate masks and costumes, Wonderheads scored big with their previous two Fringe shows. Mounting these shows is physically challenging, for sure, but an even bigger challenge for Braidwood and her three company partners is writing a script that will fully translate to its audiences.
“As a creator, it’s challenging in that it really forces you as a writer to focus on the essentials of the story,” she says. “And that’s what I like about it, because it really allows you to pare down to the core of the story to get your message across.”
With an ambitious story of two strangers sent on a journey through time and space, the risk with using elaborate masks and costumes is not being able to fully connect with theatre-goers. So far, that’s not been a problem for Wonderheads or Braidwood, who has now played an 11-year-old girl in this show, an old lady in Grim & Fischer, and a 40-something man in Loon. But what’s it really like behind those masks?
“Well, it’s sweaty, for one thing,” she laughs. “But it’s actually really liberating, which is why I love it as a performer. It really allows me to totally let go of myself and give over to the character that I’m playing. I can really embrace the mask, literally, but also the mask of the whole body.”
Braidwood has fond memories of the Victoria Fringe and is excited to be back this summer. The support that Wonderheads got here on their first tour doing Grim & Fischer, which won accolades during its 2011 Fringe run, was a large factor in their success.
“Really, that was the first large-scale tour we had down with our company and we had no idea how it was going to go, or if people would want to see this crazy show that we made,” says Braidwood. “And it ended up going fantastically well for us and showed us that there was interest in our kind of work, and our style, and it essentially launched our company. So I seize any opportunity to come back to Victoria.”
The Middle of Everywhere
@ Victoria Fringe, Metro Studio
8:45 pm August 26, 9:15 pm August 27, 5:30 pm August 29, 8:30 pm August 30, 3:45 pm August 31, $10 per show (plus one-time purchase $6 Fringe button)
wonderheads.com