Heebs and Dweebs
Awkward Moment Productions
Writer/Creator: Amy Salloway
Amy Salloway — “smart, funny, fearlessly candid” creator of the Fringe hits “So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz!”, and “Circumference” — lets her roots show in this brand-new collage of true-ish, Jewish stories that jumps through time and place, but never leaves Dorkville far behind.
“***** Endlessly clever and accessible” – Cincinnati CityBeat.
“***** …disarmingly intimate; a comic tour-de-force.” – Ottawa Citizen.
It’s the first show of the Fringe, and I am front row centre. I am surrounded on three and a half sides (the house is so packed, several audience members have spilled onto the floor in front of me) by a sea of loyal, adoring fans. We are all here for the same reason: our collective years of Fringing experience have taught us that Amy Salloway’s shows are a must-see. While I’m aware that the hype intimidates Amy, who recently confessed in a blog entry, “I’m terrified of the expectations people have of me, and of not living up to them,” I remain confident that I am about to witness something beautiful.
And I’m right. As the performance unfolds, I find myself wishing that I could buy her script so that I could read it out loud and feel the words tickle my tongue the way they do hers. Between moments of laughter and held breaths, I begin writing my review in my head: heart-wrenching, heart-warming, vividly insightful, hilariously funny, shockingly honest, masterfully written. But none of these clichés begin to do it justice.
The fact that Heebs and Dweebs is still a “work in progress” is a gift. It means that Ottawa will get the rare opportunity to see this piece shift and grow (although, the notion that this show could get any better is doing a number on my brain cells). Each show will be a unique experience and I only wish I could be there for every last one.
Watching Amy perform is always a treat, usually one I’m only granted once a year, though this year I had the good fortune of doubling the treat by having attended her pre-Fringe performance at the Soloway JCC. While it is technically a work in progress, I don’t think just about anyone cares.
As always, there are plenty of awkward moments, and painful memories that one can relate to, whether they be the jewish bits, the weight bits, or just the awkward, uncomfortable, and unpopular moments. Anyone who can’t find anything in her show relate to has led a horrifyingly blessed life (if that’s you, would you like to trade?)
Review from Patrick Langston at the Ottawa Citizen, Saturday 6/20/09:
To feel like an outsider is nothing remarkable — we’re all misfits in our own ways. What is remarkable is how effortlessly Amy Salloway turns an apparent lifetime of outsiderdom into an hour of very funny, occasionally poignant storytelling/performance that’s at once about her and about all of us.
Heebs and Dweebs bounces from grade school through adolescence and into adulthood as Salloway careens from narratives about cruel classmates and a stepfather who mindlessly twirls his jungle of belly hair while watching television to an anxiety-riddled vignette of dropping her gelato on a city street, a vignette that has somehow shifted to the death of Mama Cass before you realize where the fleet Salloway is going. The show, as Salloway disarmingly states, is a work in progress, so you forgive her the odd weakness. At Studio Leonard-Beaulne until June 23.
If you don’t love Amy Salloway, I have one question:
What is wrong with you?
This woman is a natural born story teller and a gifted performer. By her own admission, Amy has not brought “Heebs and Dweebs” to Ottawa as a finished, polished piece. She has a music stand and a script from which she reads a collection of stories about the painful reality of not fitting in.
I barely noticed the stand. Amy is riveting on stage. She exudes openess in her face, with her body language. She uses language deftly, setting the scene so that I feel as though I’m there. Her delivery is honest such that I can’t help but empathize and sympathize with her everyday battles.
The only negative thing I have to say about Amy is that she lives too far away. Being based in Minneapolis means we in Ottawa only get her a few days each year. That’s not nearly enough Amy for me!
[...] it was off to Heebs and Dweebs. Amy Salloway is a charming story teller and a skilled writer, but this “show” is [...]
It doesn’t matter that this is a work in progress, it’s already superb. I know it will be even more fun with all of the gestures, but the performance is compelling even with the script on-stage.
Best in Fringe? It may well be.