Author Alanna Mitchell transforms science into storytelling in Sea Sick

Former Globe and Mail reporter Alana Mitchell performs Sea Sick, a storytelling show adapted from her non-fiction book of the same name, as part of the 2015 High Performance Rodeo in Calgary. Photo, Calgary Herald

Author Alanna Mitchell transforms science into storytelling in Sea Sick

by Stephen Hunt, Calgary Herald, Jan 7, 2015

How does a non-performer transform her non-fiction show into a genuine performance?

That was the dilemma facing Alanna Mitchell, a former Globe & Mail science reporter, as she laboured through an earlier Toronto run of Sea Sick, her solo show that opens Thursday night as part of the 2015 High Performance Rodeo.

The show, adapted from Mitchell’s critically-acclaimed non-fiction book, Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in Crisis takes the audience on Mitchell’s journey — as a prairie-raised (Regina) landlubber who sets out to explore how humankind has impacted our oceans.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/1xH9jXp

Sea Sick is a powerful and deeply personal solo performance by Alanna Mitchell. The show is adapted from her best-selling book, Sea Sick: The Global Ocean in Crisis, which won the prestigious U.S.-based Grantham Prize for excellence in environmental journalism.

Charismatic, passionate and articulate, the award-winning Mitchell discovers the secrets of the ocean, faces the demons of the deeps and finds hope.

Mitchell has told the inspirational and often humorous story of her journey into the ocean to enraptured TEDx audiences, among others.

More info & ticket purchase here: http://bit.ly/1zVr2r4

BASSPROV (Calgary) - Sept 20

BASSPROV (Calgary) - Sept 20

Friday, Sept. 20, 8:00pm
Bassprov Chicago
Epcor Centre's Engineered Air Theatre (map)

Chicago Improv stars Joe Bill and Mark Sutton bring their internationally renowned Bassprov to Calgary for the very first time.

Donny and Earl are two beer drinking good old boys who live to fish.

Improvising stories based on several audience suggestions the two of them will take the audience on a journey of funny tales, intelligent debate, and often poignant insight into life in modern times.

This show has travelled to almost every major improv festival in North America and is perfect for those who love the outdoors, beer or simply having a good laugh.

More info here: http://bit.ly/SIgqMK

Whimsy delivers with funny performances

Sheldon Davis, left, Graham Percy and David LeReaney play the founding fathers of Outer Baldonia.

Photograph by: Lorraine Hjalte, Calgary Herald

Note: Several weeks ago, we posted about an interesting play being produced by Lunchbox Theatre. If you're interested in attending, you've only got this evening and tomorrow to fit this into your schedule.

Whimsy delivers with funny performances

Novice playwright's smart idea is given its due by cast

By Bob Clark,

Calgary Herald

April 9, 2012

REVIEW

Lunchbox Theatre presents The Whimsy State or the Principality of Outer Baldonia by AJ Demers through April 21. Tickets: 403-265-4292. Rating 3 ½ out of five

Stories where the little guy gets to play the big guys' game are always fun.

And the truer the story, the better the fiction.

The new Lunchbox comedy - The Whimsy State or the Principality of Outer Baldonia by Loose Moose improv alumnus and novice playwright AJ Demers - is no exception. That's thanks to a tight script - based on a little-known footnote in Canadian history - and some amusing performances from the four-person cast.

The intriguing premise of Demers's 65-minute play dates from the establishment in 1948 - complete with charter, flag, and a small contingent of military-minded (sort of) fishermen - of the Principality of Outer Baldonia. The island nation of barely four acres lay about 15 kilometres off the coast of Nova Scotia from Yarmouth.

Reeling in the magic of a little nation

Calgary Herald Playwright AJ Demers, inside of Hanson’s Fishing Outfitters on Thursday March 29 2012 in Calgary, whose new play The Whimsy State of Outer Baldonia tells the story of how three fishing buddies created their own country, off the Nova Scotia coast, around 1948, and opens at the Luncbox April 2.

Photograph by: Dean Bicknell, Calgary Herald

Reeling in the magic of a little nation

By Stephen Hunt

Calgary Herald

April 4, 2012

The Whimsy State takes the form of a bar story

Playwrights find stories the way some people find spare change in the pocket of old pants.

In Calgary playwright AJ Demers’ case, it was a story about three fishing buddies who decided to create a new country out of their favourite fishing hole, a small island off the Nova Scotia coast.

“Years ago, a friend handed me a magazine article on micronations,” says Demers, “and (said), this might be something great to write. “I looked at it,” he adds, “and went, absolutely! And Baldonia (the name of the country in question) absolutely jumped off the page.”

Read more here