No Exit Upstage
Scratchcard Productions
Writer/Creator: Nancy Kenny
What’s worse than a job interview? Being stuck in the same room as the competition.
Two roommates. One audition.
Hell hath no catfight like an actress scorned.
A new comedy written and performed by Nancy Kenny (Best in Venue/Outstanding Performance Winner, Tuesdays & Sundays, and the sold-out run of Daniel MacIvor’s This Is A Play - Ottawa Fringe)
[...] Kenny’s No Exit Upstage, opens with a 2-for-1 admission price Thursday, June 18 at 9:30 pm and plays in Venue #3 – [...]
[...] I couldn’t figure out if I had slept. If I did sleep, I spent the entire night dreaming about THE SHOW and my tossing and turning was based on all of my blocking, or I didn’t sleep and I just [...]
[...] No Exit Upstage Writer/Creator: Nancy Kenny [...]
[...] night we opened No Exit Upstage to a very full house and instead of feeling “Wow, I did it. I wrote a play, produced it, and [...]
[...] and could use a break. Besides, I have a busy day today of seeing shows (aiming for 7 or 8 ) before performing in one of my own tonight at 11 p.m. However, it’s that very crazy show-viewing schedule that is forcing me to write [...]
“What a great show! Nancy Kenny was really good. And what a script! Who wrote it?”
“Nancy Kenny.”
“Really? But she usually plays these sweet young ingenues, like in ‘This is a Play’ and ‘Tuesdays and Sundays’. Here she plays a real c***! And she does it so well!”
“Well, when actors don’t want to be typecast, they sometimes write their own plays to demonstrate that they aren’t limited to one set of roles. Take Beverley Wolfe’s ‘Jump’ for example.”
“‘Jump’ is fantastic! Beverley Wolfe is an acting goddess! The way she plays an 8 year old girl and a middle aged woman in the same play…”
“Can we focus here? This is supposed to be a review of ‘No Exit Upstage’.”
“Sorry. So why don’t more directors cast Nancy?”
“Beats hell out of me! However, by creating her own show, Nancy Kenny gets to choose a director rather than the other way around. She chose Ken Godmere.”
“Didn’t he direct ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’? I loved that show. You should tell Harvey Glatt about ‘No Exit Upstage’.”
“You tell him. He’s on your email distribution list.”
“OK, OK, I’ll tell him about Nancy Kenny and Ken Godmere.”
“Hey, don’t forget Natasha Jetté! It’s kinda hard to have a two-hander without another actor.”
“Well she’s something of a wimp. She doesn’t stand up for herself.”
“Um, that’s her character, not the actress. It’s an alter-ego for Nancy Kenny’s character: Hyper-organized, works hard, does all the right stuff, but lacks the confidence to do the close.”
“As opposed to Nancy Kenny’s character who’s disorganized, doesn’t prepare, wings it, but is confident as hell. And a slut to boot! And I thought Kenny was such a sweet young thing. Boy, did she pull the wool over my eyes!”
“You’re confusing the character and the actress again.”
“Oops, sorry. So where did Ken Godmere find Natasha Jetté?”
“Actually, since Nancy Kenny’s producing the show, I believe she auditioned Natasha Jetté. The way I heard it, a number of actresses auditioned for the part. She had some pretty stiff competition.”
“Really! Like who?”
“That would be telling. You are number Six. I am the new number Two.”
“Oooooh! Whenever you pull that ‘I’ve got a secret stuff’ you quote ‘The Prisoner’.
So Natasha Jetté auditioned for a play in which she plays an actress auditioning for a play? And she auditioned for the actress (Nancy Kenny) who plays the other actress in the play who’s auditioning for the same play.
Ow! My head hurts.”
“But I thought you really liked the play?”
“Well I do. Especially when there are all these clever self-referential turns that the plot takes on itself. For instance, when…”
“Watch it! This is a review. No spoilers allowed!”
“Oh you never let me have any fun.”
“So put it in your review and send it to your email distribution list.”
“So why haven’t I seen Natasha Jetté at the Fringe before?”
“Well she became a full time actress in June 2007. She’s got a growing bio in film, television and theatre:
http://www.natashajette.com/filmography.html
And she’s worked in both languages. So Fringe audiences might not be familiar with her theatre work in French.”
“Well I’m glad she got the job. I really liked this show.”
“So did I. Was it worth coming downtown?”
“Definitely.”
“‘Nuff said.”
“How come you always get the last word?”
“You’re confusing the character and the actress again.”
No you’re not ;)
[...] blown away by this show that I needed a moment to compose myself before doing a preview pitch for No Exit Upstage at the beer tent. I hadn’t left and perhaps didn’t want to leave their little [...]
Nancy Kenny is one of the hardest working women in the Ottawa Scene. I had the privilege of reading an earlier draft of “No Exit Upstage”. The show I saw on Sunday retained many of the laugh-out-loud moments I remember reading, but Nancy has taken the script in some weird, wonderful directions that I was not expecting.
“No Exit Upstage” captures the creepy, off-kilter quality of those dreams that hover too close to reality. At the same time it’s funny and it’s accessible. People can relate (especially those of us in theatre).
This is the first chance I’ve had to see Natasha Jetté perform on stage. Of course Natasha is well-known ’round these parts for her skills in graphic design. Turns out she’s got the acting chops as well. Who knew?
“No Exit Upstage”. It’s weird. It’s funny. It’s worth seeing.
[...] Around (2 sell outs!), Catgut Strung Violin (played to two very full houses on Saturday and Sunday), No Exit Upstage (big crowd for an 11:00 pm show), INCLEMENT WEATHER (very full all the the time), and Countries [...]
[...] Exit Upstage Reviews Well, after three solid performances, the reviews for No Exit Upstage have started pouring in and I’m thrilled to say they are all very [...]
[...] “That’s a good thing,” I thought. I needed the break. I realized throughout my marathon viewing schedule that my attention span was waning. Unless an hour-long show was absolutely brilliant, I’d start to lose focus. This did not mean it was a bad show, it just meant I was tired. (Though I give incredibly high-praise to anyone whose shows come in just under the hour mark – Hey! This one does!) [...]
[...] up: No Exit Upstage. I really enjoyed the script and was sorry that it ended so quickly. Time and space is warped, neat [...]
[...] 1. Know your program schedule – Otherwise known as the Marathon Fringer’s Bible, it is your guide to making sense of this very intense time in your life. I know some people go extreme hard-core and use spreadsheets and other such technical marvels. For myself, I’m a bit old fashion – different coloured pens and some highlighters. Review the schedule daily and keep it with you at all times. (The bonus of using a spreadsheet is that you have it on your computer. I am currently on my third Fringe program and had to redo my schedule a few times – ROOKIE MISTAKE!) That said, stay flexible. You never know when I show might run over or under. [...]
[...] Our houses (or attendance) have been great for No Exit Upstage. According to the Ottawa Fringe Festival, we’re well above average almost every night. As a [...]