Review: (Toronto) The Oak Room (Fringe)

Tight Dialogue, but...
by Cassie Muise
@cassiemuise

The Oak Room won this year's Toronto Fringe New Play Contest, and one thing is clear; writers coming out of Toronto are increasingly slick. The fast-paced, relentless dialogue is well executed and Gilmore Girl-esque, albeit with significantly more profanity. It moves along at a fast clip which barely lets the audience process, let alone connect to the characters. This allows for some hilarious moments, and great zingers, which ultimately don't make up for the lack of tension and well...plot.

Sunday Feature: Cassie Muise Inside Avenue Q

Sucks to be us, but not when we’re together…
Behind the scenes with a monster and a slut
by Cassie Muise 
(photos via Facebook)

Editor's Note: Due to an unintentionally misleading price point, it should be noted that the average price of the ticket is actually significantly lower than what was listed in this article ($60). While intended to highlight the difficult position of artists in the city, its inaccuracy should be noted so as to not compromise the reader's opinion of the Lower Ossington Theatre.

When CharPo offered me the opportunity to write about life on Avenue Q, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to. I came late to this production, opening this re-mount with the cast on December 13, 2012. The show, however, has been running for over a year (although not throughout), and to this date has had over 120 shows, to full houses. Even with snowmaggedon  (which, let’s be honest, wasn’t that bad), the house was still about half full. It is currently the longest running production in Toronto. 

So what’s it like, living with puppets? The simple answer is, it’s a joy. In Avenue Q, I play Kate Monster – the sweet, hardworking, feisty muppet-esque character – and Lucy the Slut. Her name says it all, really. Rarely in a show do you get to play the good girl and the bad girl. Switching back and forth between the characters, occasionally in the same scene, has been as rewarding as it is challenging. Avenue Q has offered me the opportunity to work with an amazing cast and creative team (all of whom are young, emerging artists), to dabble in puppetry (an incredible medium whose complexity is undervalued), and be in front of wonderful, welcoming audiences (getting recognized around Toronto is nice, even when it’s at hot yoga and my shins are sweating).