tippiseagram’s blog

Offering up a snooty highbrow take on everything from Peta to menopause, Hamilton Comedian Colette Kendall is deliciously divine as her sexed-up alter ego Tippi Seagram. Nothings sacred for this self-proclaimed casting couch cougar. Drawing laughs about Canada’s seal hunt and the celebs who oppose it, this one’s probably not for the vegan crowd-nor for the shy. Tippi has no qualms about picking on the audience and offering up unsolicited advice on dating, marriage and raising children.

Day 14
Little sluggish today from my night…we started at the revolving restaurant which had a beautiful view of the entire city…around we went twice, a total of 1.5 hours, a couple of glasses of wine and a plate of nachos. Darlene’s son Rob came with us so that I would actually be told the correct locations of things…Winnipeg has an amazing amount of green space for a large city…to their credit they have really tried to maintain the trees that they have here..the sunset was gorgeous but fleeting..it was if, as it neared the horizon the hand of buddha reached up and plucked it from the sky simultaneously leaving a handful of twinkling stars in it’s place Indiana Jones style…we left The Crown as it’s called and headed for the keg..I was on a mission to have meat…I think I mentioned this before, but Darlene is a vegetarian so I have not had as much meat as I normally have.. really my choice but after my encounter with crazy guy in the post office, and repressing the feeling of, I’m going to knock you down and rip your jugular out..I felt that perhaps I should just have a big steak before any other predatory urges arise…in the meantime, Rob’s girlfriend was to have joined us after she finished working and after several phone calls it was arranged that we would slip out of the keg and head to Osborne village for dinner there..I finally did have my steak, but just not thick nor juicy enough for my liking
…morning!..so after my tea (yes,I am a little old lady) I made my way over to Starbucks to try to figure out the whole wireless thing…quite painless, and I managed to get all the files I needed downloaded onto my computer..happy days…tonight was my final show..which is usually my favorite in any city..the pressure is off..there are no more reviewers that you need to impress, you don’t have to worry about generating word of mouth and you have all the money that you are going to get (no refunds suckers!)..so even if you stink up the stage…naa naa I’m outta here…but I didn’t, it was a good show, responsive crowd and I went out with a bang baby..another SOLD OUT performance…now the fun began with the striking of the set in Tippi shoes…dominatrix 4 inch heels.. with knapsack, huge suitcase, table and chair in under 15 min..luckily D had ushered my house so she helped flag down a cab while I sat perched on chair outside spewing how the union would here about this…Diva!..we finished the night with leftovers and wine back at the apartment and for the x numbered night we gabbed til 1 am.

Day 15
Packing, stuffing, crating, wrapping, repacking, shuffling, cajoling, stuff, stuff, stuff..that was my morning as I disassembled chair and stool and then creatively looked for places to put them to avoid shipping costs…the remaining pieces were wrapped in bubble pack and brown wrapper and D and I walked them the 10 or so blocks to the Greyhound station…there i sent them off before me to Saskatoon for a mere $20..hungry from our walk we headed for the closest food joint which happened to be the Pony Coral…little did we know that with breakfast came entertainment..we had front row seats to see and hear a severely intoxicated, multi-tattoed and pierced goth girl babble on about not having any money to pay the $100 bill that she and her boyfriend had just accumulated…he managed to slip out but goth-girl not in such great shape could only make it to the bathroom..the police were called and escorted the lovely miss to the cruiser which was then followed by the second show..the poor waitress in tears as she is informed that this piece of crap’s bill will come out of her salary…nice, very nice! what a great morning for everyone involved..the police who have to deal with this shit everyday, the bar manager and restaurant staff and gothy, who will no doubt be thrown into detox for the day to sober up in a small concrete cell with no amenities save for a hole in the centre of the floor…makes for easy hosing down.

Ok second time doing this blog as it all erased on me #@**!

Day 10
Well today was pay day at the fringe..finally a chance to see some of the revenue from the last 4 shows..and an opportunity to gauge how I’ve been doing attendance wise…well let’s just say that I won’t have to depend on my pretty little mouth to get me to Saskatoon ..sigh I guess I have to start cleaning it up a bit since my mom is starting to read my blog……
ouch, ouch! money in me pocket..must search out overpriced souvenirs for the kids because that’s what good moms do…Did alot of running around today trying to get some of those to do jobs off the list..I had a very late show today…an 11:15er..I had no idea what the crowd would be like…would I have one? would there be older people? men? women? or just the over-enthusiastic guy that was really early and met me in the lobby before the show and yelled out ‘HI TIPPI, .I’VE BEEN DYING TO SEE YOU…MAYBE IT WILL BE JUST YOU AND I’..during the show when I asked if there were any singles, his little hand shot up from the front row at the sound of light..Tippi said..’that’s a little too fast darling…too much desparation there’ and moved on…
Well I had myself pretty worked up before the show thinking of all the horrible possibilites and combinations of crowds…and some came true…yes, Virginia, there is a difference in night audiences…had this been club 54 or HOC I could have locked and loaded on a couple of people (2 young men in particular) but this isn’t…it’s theatre and despite how interactive and improvised Tippi is..and that she does pull people into their queer zone..it is always meant to be done with warmth…it’s simply conversation with advice dispensed whether you want it or not…it’s supposed to be fun people..if you go with it, it’s usually quite painless…unfortunately, a couple of audience members distracted me away from the game and I think I could have given a much better show..50 in the house
Only 2 shows left and 6 more days before I head off for Saskatoon…tomorrow is finally a day off..it’s 2 am and I’m up for an early walk with Darlene

Day 11
Darlene is trying to kill me..we did another long power walk which culminated in a stop for breakfast…had we not arrived when we did I would have pushed her down just to get to a piece of gum on the sidewalk…it was a hard morning to drag my butt out of bed but a good morning for walking…we ended up at the Esplanade..a bridge/restaurant combo that hangs over the Red River I think…the bridge itself was quite controversial when it was first built…not because it looks like a giant phallic symbol with suspension lines coming off it but because of the restaurant that received the contract…I assume that had there ever been a porno version of Gulliver in Lilliput, this is where the engineer/architect would have drawn his inspiration from…by the time I got back to the apt I had only a quick moment to shower and get back down to Old Market Square to see some plays on my day off..took in 4, which brought my total to 8 and are as follows:
Gem Rolls
Sunnyside Up..Tiny Tuna
Dish Pig
40 Needles
Burden of Poof
Lovin Large
Jesus-The Lost Years
Teaching Shakespeare

Made the mistake of flipping my calendar to August today and quickly began to hyperventilate….August is crazy, crazy I tell you

16 Tippi shows
3 Rehearsals
1 Panel spot
5 Stand up spots
3 Media Calls
1 Tv spot
2 flights
and that doesn’t even include what gets set up once you arrive..interviews, radio spots, free show plugs etc etc

If any of you get a moment check out
www.cbc.ca/manitoba
and see some of the nice things that Winnipeggers have had to say about the show…no I didn’t pay them….they were just nice enough to take the time to let me know what they thought..so thanks all, it was very nice to hear that you enjoyed yourselves..it was my pleasure!
I started my new book for the road…Life of Pi by Yann Martel..as recommended by my buddy Craig as one of 5 books to take on a desserted island..I hope I spelt that correctly..I don’t have my web word thingy…I was implying an island covered in cupcakes and eclairs:)

Day 12
Ran out this morning to buy some new pants…I had put my foot through a tiny hole in the knee of my jeans, making it a very big hole but damn sexy! sort of homeless chic…ran all over town trying to find an uptown mag to see if my review was in this one…nope..so I still don’t know if it will end up in a Saskatoon paper or in a later edition here..let’s hope it’s good and is heading west as we speak…checked out shipping for my props, did my banking, went to the Old spaghetti factory for lunch (it was on my to do list)..very disappointing…then came back to sit in the apartment to wait for my new laptop to be delivered…uh huh! youse people heard me..I aint jacking you..my own laptop..but it didn’t arrive! #*@!!…hmmm! why not, it was guaranteed delivery..what could have gone wrong…oh yes, John arranged it!… and didn’t put the buzzer code on the package..when I mentioned to him he wasn’t very good at this sort of thing he replied back…well I have a 1000 things to do here..oh yeah!..score another one for the Tippster…I am now appreciated at home for all the 1ooo’s of jobs I do..it was a good day…had another late show 11:30..I could hardly stay awake for this one…let’s just sum it up with a P.U. and leave it like that…2am hello again bed!

Day 13
The clock went off too early this morning but i quickly dragged myself out of bed and headed for Cafe 100.7 to do a morning 8:10 radio spot…they interviewed me as both myself and as Tippi and I had a great time..lots of fun and the funnies. to be had..headed back to the apt to wait for my computer….angels singing..it arrived and was a beautiful bouncing baby dell…I quickly ripped my music onto it and sat smiling…I can’t figure out how to get my files, quark , pdf’s off my cd’s as it doesn’t want to open them..if anyone knows how to do this let me know…do I need to have a wizard do this?..Darlene and I headed for lunch then off to the Fringe…its payday again…today good oog oog!…more money than I anticipated…today very good oog! oog!….went to post office…crazy person in post office yell at me…then hit me with his binder…i say ‘Hello’..how stupid is that..(listen to routine by Dane Cook, we all do it people)..then I call him asshole..people in line sympathize with me..come over and wish me better day…no need..it’s a good day because I’m actually blogging on the day I’m supposed to and it’s not even night time yet..sigh…Darlene and I are going up to the Revolving restaurant to have a drink…it should be entertaining because Darlene hasn’t a clue where anything is once you get spinning…I say we drink heavier and make stuff up.

Day 8…woke up with a sore throat and the start of laryngitis which made the show a little stressful because I was acutely aware that Tippi didn’t have her real ’sexy’ voice nor was I really able to project as well..it just sort of came out squeaky..had pretty much a sold out crowd to contend with as well..wasn’t my best performance but overall I’ve been pretty happy with the end results..mostly I’m just enjoying my time with the audiences and trying not to focus on the possibility of press…I finished my book tonight..yipee! I’m so proud…it’s been a very long time since I’ve had any time to read…I was going to try to make this a writing/performing/vacation but I think I will leave the writing until I get home and replace it with reading on the road…also listened to the cbc today…yes really!…Darlene leaves a radio on all day long..I normally tune it out but today I heard Rob Cordry read a story by Jonathan Goldstein about Lois Lane dating after her and Superman break up….very funny..

Day 9
SOLD-OUT…that’s what the sign said..my throat feels a little better today..had my CBC review come out today..it was a nice review but I’m not a fan of when reviewers try to quote lines from your show…especially when it’s your punchlines!…grrr!…as most stand-ups know…it’s bloody hard to think of the damn things in the first place and you really need the element of surprise to be able to illicit a laugh…it’s scientifically proven that it is very difficult to get a laugh from an individual who has already heard a joke and thus developed those synapses already…oh well nit pick!…it could have been a far sight worse… she could have said that my show was like a steaming piece of poo..so there you go! Saw a clown show tonight called A Burden of Poof…now I am not a big fan of clown because well quite frankly they scare me…yes, even Tippi gets afraid..but I quite enjoyed this one…Poof is adorable, very endearing and funny to boot…plus she didn’t come anywhere near me in the audience so I didn’t have to have a knee-jerk reaction which would have resulted in me snapping her neck like a chicken..few,,sigh of relief

You don’t want to mess with the acid-tongued Tippi Seagram, an aging B-movie glamour puss whose love for skewering everyone in her path is matched only by her love for martinis.
Hamilton Comedian Colette Kendall throws herself into this deliciously catty role, purring out the kind of politically incorrect one-liners you feel slightly guilty laughing at. In some ways this is like the South Park for the older set. Since Tippi sets her sights on many of the same targets: Sally Struthers, Peta Activists and child actors.
It’s all very funny stuff, if not dazzingly original. But she had the audience in stitches for the full hour, even as she cast her withering eye in their direction. (Note: this show demands a lot of audience participation)
For fans of frothy good fun, this is one happy hour you don’t want to miss. ****
Sara Tate

Hey everybody, I’m loving the letters of encouragement..today was the first day that I really felt like a tired 5 year old and I just wanted to flail my arms twisty like from side to side, stomp my feet and whine loudly…I just wanna go home….not that I’m not loving performing, and both the audiences and winnipeggers have been so kind and supportive..but apparently I’m a home-body..who would have thought it!…the only other time I’ve ever travelled was as a 20 something, last minute to Cancun…by day 6 of basking in the sun of a tropical paradise I was missing the sounds of my cat barfing up a hairball….ahhh! home sweet home…I phoned the kids today and Johnny Gore to get the latest update…John had sent me an email the first day I left saying that he had already lost my oldest son at the park, but not to worry they would look for him after dinner..that my daughter was in jail, but it was OK because she was innocent and my youngest was just fine and lastly that John had already started drinking…..I’m quite expecting over the next few weeks to receive cryptic phone calls such as…’how much chloroform can you give a 7 year old’..and ‘where do we keep the shovel?’

Day 6
Had my first afternoon show and wasn’t sure what to expect..had a smaller crowd but I would still think somewhere between 30 and 40…alot of older people in the audience..only 1 poor young guy named Olivier…I think I have permanently scarred him for life or at least given him an eye twitch anytime he’s ever approached by a cougar again…he was so cute and played along..after the show several people in the crowd said how much fun they had and they said that Olivier was commenting (once safely out of the theatre) that he thought it was just wonderful…I even broached the topic to the audience about how they were all older…one poor man in the front row I told him he was a heart-attack waiting to happen if I hit on him…geesh, the stuff Tippi can get away with saying! the audiences are so good natured! Part of the crowd was there because I had made today my volunteer appreciation day so some got in for free..I don’t mind doing that because there are about 900 volunteers for this festival and they’re great. I had one lovely retired couple talk to me after the show (a very, very attractive woman, I hope I can age as well)..anyway, they said they had been volunteering for the last 6 years and were pleased to see a show like mine because it reminded them of what the fringe used to be like..with the going into the audience stuff..another terrific surprise was to see one of my favourite female comics from Toronto at my show…Ms. Melanie Hunter from the Boiled Weiners had flown in to see my show and i guess her parents but I prefer to think it’s all about me!..she’s a flight attendant so she had some down time and decided to come…it was a wonderful surprise to see her…if ever you get a chance check out of of her shows, like at the Toronto Sketch comedy festival. I also had some good news from Saskatoon..the CTV wants to interview me for their news at noon segment..I’m one of several people being interviewed but the only fringe performer for the day so i think that’s fantastic pre-show promotion.

Day 7
Had another mid afternoon show today but the crowd was even bigger this time..maybe the review and picture in the paper..who knows…this crowd was very responsive and willing to talk so it always open the gates for more improv..some works.. some doesn’t but I love this part…the show originally started as being about 30 min but through last years festivals just the improv that happens yields new funny things that can be written in, so now it runs about 50-60 depending on the audience input…I felt very tired before this show..I think some of the adrenaline of go go go is starting to wear off but I always get that little burst everytime I hear my wonderful announcer, Craig, (whose voice will come across Canada with me) say ladies and gentlemen, the one, the only, the incomparable Tippi Seagram..in that get ready to rumble kind of voice…so anyway, I come out and BANG…I see the reviewer for Uptown Mag there…I had been introduced to him 2 days before, I embarrassed to say that I can’t remember his name, but he’s a really nice guy (or maybe he isn’t depending on how he reviews me) but so far, I’ll stick with a nice guy….it threw me off my game a little, because you find yourself checking in to see if he was laughing…I finally decided, OK if I’m going to be uncomfortable this show so are you so I decided that he would be my special target for a cougar attack..I think he had a good time!..he approached me in the beer tent after and asked if I was heading for Saskatoon…he’s doing reviews at both festivals and might send this one on ahead…I told him…if it’s a good review send it on…if it’s bad..let’s deal with it here…he didn’t say..so I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

Don’t be put off by the campy promo material promising “comic confessions of a casting couch cougar.”
Hamilton comedian Colette Kendall’s alter-ego is a menopausal Hollywood B-movie star with lots of cash and a trail of ex-husbands, but she’s absolutely charming.
And very funny too.
Tippi Seagram is a smart platinum blond with a dog to match, a killer white smile and a penchant for skewering, well, just about everybody. This is one frothy, funny cocktail hour with a lot of audience interaction, so consider yourself forewarned. ****

What happened to day 4?….did the outdoor stage today..a 2 min presentation of your show for the throngs of people..well their tech didn’t work so we were 45 min delayed in the hot sun..people if i pass out in this fur coat it’s not part of the show..for the love of god call 911..forgot what i was going to say as I had to hop off and then crawl back onto the stage in a very tight dress to be able to get to the audience..which contained lots of children..so I was censoring like crazy….saw a befuddled Nile Seguin arrive into town as Darlene and I rushed to go see a show..Gem Rolls who I have managed to miss every fringe..amazing vocabulary, loved how poetry can be music and the use of spoonerisms…very tricky!

Day 5
Ok, it’s 12:42am end of day 5 and I’m eating the other half of my Greek Chicken Pita I ordered at lunch…today was super busy…keep writing everyone I’m loving the letters and responses…but I’m having a real hard time trying to get the amount of time I need for the computer..plus I’m not using my own….no internet…but anyway, I gotta say that the way I feel right now I definitely know that I have finally boarded the coaster…so buckle in for the next 6 days of straight performances…
Got up early this morn to walk with Darlene to her hairdressers..an hours walk away into the Italian Village..on the way back, keep in mind we are an hour out of the city and who do I bump into but Randy Rutherford coming out of a breakfast place…I’ve met Randy a couple of times..first through the staircase (my brother sang like Roy Orbison) and then London (one shiny frigid knight)..he did remember me..or rather Tippi and it was quite nice to walk and talk and exchange tour info..It was such a beautiful day that D and I continued along the river to the Forks for lunch…I’ve decided before i leave that i will take the water taxi from one end to the other..hey it’s only $3 cheaperia!…The Red River ecosystem is so strange..in the spring it floods leaving this goopy layer of red clay all over the banks..which come summer cracks into a million pieces each a foot deep so that the banks look like a giant puzzle…some enterprising artist has decided to paint the surface of the squares to look like a giant mosaic quilt..around 12:30 I had horrible pangs of panic and had to leave the restaurant to come home and practice my lines but by 1:30 I was so tired from the walk and sun I had to sleep..but couldn’t so I got up and got ready to go..by 5:30 I was trotting down Portage with knapsack and suitcase heading for the venue…6:00 arrived and headed for the seclusion of the bathroom where I got ready 6:15 decided that I should have peed before I put my costume on 6:45 scared an unexpecting woman in the bathroom as Tippi was in full rehearsal 7:00 got into venue and set up new props…looked pretty sharp 7:25 full panic…no one’s coming and I can’t remember what I’m supposed to say 7:30 doors open to sound of big crow.d..ahhh! everyone’s coming and I can’t remember what I’m supposed to say…7:45..Well Hello Darlings…and it’s all coming back…I think about 80 in the crowd..amazing opening night..the crowd laughed when i hoped they would but were a little skitish with the participation…perhaps with word of mouth those people that like that sort of thing will come out..they seemed to enjoy the show, the box office volunteers told me that they heard lots of good comments..fingers crossed
I felt good after the show..it means i get to eat another day…while packing up I realized that I had to do Trevor’s show at 11:00..had almost completely forgotten..figured it was best to grab a celebratory beer before I commenced the countdown to fresh panic..sat with the girls from Tiny Tuna and Alice(Local Celebrity) nice girl and the table soon became the Toronto consulate…I did have a woman come up to me in the tent and tell me how much she enjoyed the show…hopefully she will tell 2 friends and so on….10:30 headed for King’s Pub where the English bartender thought I was da bomb!..small crowd but it was a hoot of a show…Trevor Boris is such a nice young man, so laid back, quick funny and personable…now i sound like a fringe mom…anyway it was a fun night, lots of laughs with the other performers, Amy Salloway, 5 winnipeg comics (mel silverback a half-jewish, half mountain gorilla did stand-up..very funny) and improvision..trevor was so cute..he was worried about Tippi getting home…I told him that with half of the city thinking I was a drag queen and the other half thinking I was a hooker…I was bound to get lucky sooner or later…cabbed it safely home…burp..my pita’s finished

If I stay still too long and then get up to move I feel like I have little match-stick legs..you know the wooden ones that if you drag them too hard they splinter under your finger…I’m still paying for yesterdays walks…went to the theatre and back 2x (one way in a cab because I was in full Tippi garb..and I’ve learned that is probably not the most appropriate attire to make it safely to where I’m going)..I also did a tourist walk which brought my total to 2hours of brisk walking…made a trip to the legislative buildings to see the golden boy up close…or at least closer..and even though they were closed they were nice enough to let me walk through…what a beautiful building..all marble and stained glass..they had their own tent city like we do…different injustice, same protest.
I’m getting to know the city a little bit better now..Broadway is by far the nicest walk I’ve found so far…downtown Winnipeg has a ton of beautiful historic builings which are only outnumbered by the number of unemployed native Canadians…I wonder if this problem was around when these buildings were being built?
I’m getting up every morning by 8:30 mostly because I’m having trouble sleeping..I keep waking all night and everytime I do I turn over hopeful that it’s morning..but nope…50 min later…crap!
I took the bus today on my mission to find a table and chair to replace the glass and wrought iron Tippi has become accustomed to…begrudingly got onto the bus and immediately noticed how young and attractive the bus driver was..now some might say that I have a thing for bus drivers..but those people would be wrong!..but I did laugh when I saw the bus was #413 and I thought…oooh! a younger version….Only 1 person will get this joke but that’s OK, that one person counts for alot.
Anyway, I went to stinky Pier 1..I say stinky because I’m bitter …apparently I’m not good enough to loan the likes of me a table and chair…but that’s OK …I’m sure the furniture would have fallen apart from all that shoddy 3rd world child workmanship…everyone knows that tiny underfed hands don’t have the strength to really tighten bolts the way that they need to be for our big Canadian asses. So off I went to Zellers where I successfully found an ottoman and chair made from nogahyde…anyone else instantly transported to their parents living room mid 70’s? Now don’t despair not all is lost..Tippi..Zellers…are we on the eve of destruction?..one would think but no….these are not ordinary piece of crap Zellers furniture,..this is Alfred Sung, ordinary piece of crap Zellers furniture…so just like Lady Di, Tippi supports home designers…she’s a regular cultural Mother Theresa and Canada is her little Calcutta..but I feel good, this furn breaks down and it has the same faux feel that Tippi has..I think I might be able to ship this across Canada cheap which means that I won’t have this same problem every stop…Hooray Canadian made products.
Today was the first day that performers I knew started filing in…first ran into Susan Fisher at my venue, she was getting ready for her media coverage..then Kristian Reimer of 40 needles who was trying to catch up to the amount of postering that I’ve done already..and then Gem Rolls….this was a treat because I had met him at the Ottawa Fringe. He was very friendly and cordial and made me feel like less of a dork last year..He actually recognized me sans Tippi garb and came over to say Hi…we talked abit about my little tour,,,it must seem very cute to him as he’s a veteran of the fringe…he told me that he had worked out his schedule and that he is on an 80 week tour..he no longer has a permanent address…I asked him at what point he goes crazy on the road..he replied something to the effect of, I was assuming that he was sane to begin with.
Spent the evening going over the show as I had a wave of panic..it’s been along time since it’s been up on stage….a few performances and I’ll get into the improv zone…
Bought a book today to try reading myself to sleep..The Curious Incident of The Dog in the nighttime.by Mark Haddon…turns out I think it’s meant to be a kids book but so far I’m really enjoying it…what does that say about me I wonder?

Well lot’s of boo-hooing on my part but I finally left with ‘ding-dong the witch is dead’ being sung by my kids…I arrived into Winnipeg after a 2 1/2 hour flight and headed straight for my billet..boy did I luck out, Darlene is an awesome billet..she’s travelled and taught all over the place, in great shape….(my chubby little legs are tired from the walk we took around the city last night!), a vegetarian, so I’m bound to get healthy in Winnipeg…the apartment is wonderful..great view of the entire city, right downtown..I have my own room with bathroom, laundry facilities and use of her computer..can’t complain…we toured all over the city last night and there are some great spots in Winnipeg..I see the golden boy right out my window..you know the kid on the top of the parliament buildings..not a poster of Ben Mulroney..we walked the red river last night, watched salsa dancing at the Forks..checked out an awesome skateboard park..it’s great to see a city try to provide so many facilities for it’s young…
I checked in with the fringe office this morning and was pleasantly surprised to be greeted by Trish Cooper, she did the show, The Comment Card at the Ottawa fringe, same venue as me…well she’s back living here now and expecting her first baby…nice to see a familiar face and she went out of her way to be helpful to me..had my media call today..they were late and I worried that I had dressed up for nothing….but eventually they all piled along… the cbc, city tv and the jenny..cbc had me sign off for everything..tv, radio, net and web…city tv interviewed me for a separate segment for breakfast tv and jenny snapped photos…hopefully it will draw in the crowds…my venue is good, a/c, holds just over 100..very much like my London shows..I’ve signed up for a few promotional spots…I’m doing Trevor Boris’s Late Night Fringe Show which I’m very excited about…Trevor and Sabrina Jalees (both stand-ups from Toronto) are in my same venue doing a show so should be fun..I’ll be standing out there taking advantage of their popularity…I’m judging an Improv Idol contest as Tippi so that is a guaranteed good time..and I’m performing 2 min on an outdoor stage as part of the free for all….I wonder how many people I can offend in 2 min..will have to think about something suitable for public consumption…tried to poster today but this has got to be the windest city in Canada…what they say about Portage and Main is true..passers by got to see me in fine form struggling with my roll of tape rolling down the road, posters flying, me cursing as I try to find the end of the tape with these lee press on nails…by the way, it’s taken an hour to type this blog, one letter at a time…tomorrow I attempt to take public transit…I say that with a pinched up face…to see if I can find a table and chair for my show…all for now…did I mention that my legs hurt!!!?

Sometimes I tend to focus on the things that scare me most..and generally they scare me because they are out of my control…it’s my nature..I like to know what variables there are..plan methodically how to deal with each and every one..worry about them happening…and then inevitability, they never happen…then I wonder why I put that energy there..and it’s not that I don’t do well with surprises, hey I’m an improviser and in life, I always land on my feet… but I just don’t like them….so instead of focusing on all the things that could go wrong this trip=fear…I thought I’d list some of the things that seem pretty cool and worth checking out so far…these are the reasons I can’t wait….

Winnipeg…I get to meet Trevor Boris and perform with him the first night of the Fringe on his talk show…I can’t wait

Saskatoon..this is one organized fringe!..that means I have very little to worry about…and I have a bigger venue..sweet!

Calgary…I want to meet the 2 Jason’s I’ve been emailing…Jason #1 has cougar stories to tell me and seems so nice….grrrr! life’s so much fun when you dish..Jason #2 cracked me up last email with a wicked sense of humour

Victoria…My kind billetor has offered to show me around Victoria tour guide style…that’s an unexpected treat

Vancouver…I love Vancouver..Granville Island…Stanley Park…and let’s just say I’m not slumming it here with the downtown crib I’ve been allowed to stay in…favour from friend of family..life is good living on the top floor