Totem Figures
by TJ Dawe
Fringe workhorse TJ Dawe (Maxim & Cosmo, co-writer: 52 Pick-up & The Power of Ignorance, director: Teaching As You Like It, Teaching the Fringe & Mr. Fox) returns, with a look at his personal mythology, the faces on his own Mt. Rushmore. "TJ Dawe is a phenomenon" - Globe & Mail .
June 4th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
TJ rocks my world. Every year I never miss his shows - I went with the flu two years ago. (Sorry again to the people around me who caught my illness…but wasn’t it worth it?)
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:04 pm
[...] Totem Figures - monologue [...]
June 24th, 2008 at 12:26 am
I just came home from seeing TJ’S show, and after looking up Charles Bukowski, had to review - TJ talks very fast. But I have a theory - it’s because his brain is so crammed full of anecdotes and information and crap that his tongue has to keep up with the overload. He’s bloody brilliant, and after his shows I feel the spirit of the Fringe and that spirit invigorates me until next festival, when I count on his return to refresh it. So I will never ask him “What else do you plan on doing with your life,” because a) it’s none of my business let alone anyother nosy prat who dares ask a stranger such a question and b) I don’t want him to leave fringe. He is my totem figure, well of my theatre conscience anyway.
He’s a must see!
June 24th, 2008 at 9:14 am
I liked the totem theme and the weaving together of the different,
apparently disconnected story lines. His homage to George Carlin is
timely considering the recent death of the comedian on Sunday.
His story has even more words in it than “Old Growth”, and that’s saying
something. To be fair, the actors in “Old Growth” actually move around
the stage to act and do things, and that takes time. TJ didn’t have to
move, perhaps not even to breathe; it’s all words.
The delivery was under-enunciated for my ancient ears. He spoke
very quickly but not always clearly. The lack of crispness in the
pronounciation was just at the limit of my hearing and occasionally
a bit beyond (third row, SAW Gallery). Strangely enough, during a
faster passage in the text, his diction was good and we applauded him
when he got through it. It was the bullk of the monologue, where he
wasn’t paying quite the same attention to crispness, that had issues.
English-as-a-second-language students, stay away.
I like language. It was an entertaining and diverse weaving together of
a huge number of words and ideas. Lots of words! Think of it as the
“buy in bulk” section of the Fringe, where you get the most words for
your Fringing dollar!
June 24th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Yes, I must concede the words-per-minute award to the wonderful Mr. Dawe…this year. A great show from an intriguing mind. Being in a small crowd for a TJ show is a rare thing (enjoy it Ottawa, you’re the last city IN THE WHOLE WORLD to have that opportunity) and it made me want to take right on over where he left off - talking and sharing with him the way he shared with me (this might be true even if I didn’t already know him), and then maybe taking my own personal mythology to the stage with the honesty that he does. What a paradox, hey? It might be the intimacy of his shows that makes TJ the Keir-described “Fringe God”.
And I’m pretty sure I dreamt about rabbits last night.
June 25th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
I loved the show. If I have the chance to see it again, I will. A lot went through my mind during this performance, and much more will continue afterwards. It wasn’t that TJ Dawe was saying anything I didn’t already know, it’s just that he put it in a way that made me listen. To both him and myself. You should go listen to what he has to say, and in the meantime, here is what I was thinking.
We are the sum of our experiences and the creators of our own meaning. Great words to live by that I’ve been saying for quite a few years now. But what do they mean? I sometimes feel that I am simply going through the motions — I get up, feed my cats, go to work, clean the litter, play guitar, watch TV, go to sleep, get up, feed the cats, . . . and the routine continues. I often talk about how I believe the journey is the destination, like it is my life mantra. But then I somehow forget to believe in it.
I don’t believe in many things. When I remember to, I do believe in the journey. I believe in energy, that it is us, it is life. I believe in trees, the earth, rocks and what they tell. But why? This play reminds me that maybe I just need to stop and take a look back, to see my own patters of my life. What are my influences? What were past influences that aren’t there now? What has always been there? Indeed, what are the faces on my Mt. Rushmore?
I highly recommend “Totem Figures.” TJ Dawe is a wonderful storyteller. From Luke Skywalker to George Carlin to high school pep rallies, Dawe may help you draw your own connections, too.
June 28th, 2008 at 7:25 am
I went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride
Down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride
Nobody seemed to know me, everybody passed me by
- Robert Johnson
T.J.’s been to the crossroads.
Many times.
He’s had to face it alone. (We all do.)
And he’s there now. With 75 Fringe festivals under his belt, he’s trying to figure out what path to take next.
(It can happen to any Fringe veteran. Kevin Williamson, Director of English Suitcase Theatre spent 10 years on the Fringe and then…)
Hence this piece that is more reflective than previous shows. (Well known on the western Fringe circuit, T.J. hasn’t appeared in Ottawa very often in his 10-year Fringe career, so I won’t bore you with a greatest hits list.)
He’s realized that, in the past, at the crossroads, he’s drawn on certain influences to decide what to do. (Examples in his case include: John Fahey, Charles Bukowski, George Carlin, Robertson Davies, Dawe’s father, George Lucas’s “Star Wars”, Bilbo Baggins, “Watership Down”)
What are the influences in your life, when you come to the crossroad? How have they helped you to decide? How did your life change?
T.J. doesn’t know you. So he can’t talk about your influences. Or as he says “Who’s on the Mount Rushmore of your life?” So he has to talk about his own…
in his characteristic machine-gun rapid fire monologue. Come with your wits about you. Zone out and you’ll lose the thread. It’ll take a while to recover.
Multiple threads, actually. And disparate. How WILL he tie Jesus of Nazareth and Robertson Davies together? Plus all the other ones?
T.J. is a master weaver of a story teller. And “Totem Figures” has more threads on the loom than ever. Come see the shuttle fly!
No spoilers here.
I saw T.J.’s show here in Ottawa because it’ll be hard to get anywhere near it in Winnipeg. It’s still possible to get into this venue for his show.
I noticed that T.J.’s audience reaction split the night that we were there. There was most of the humour where everyone laughed. And then there were some places where only a small group laughed. The same group. Every time.
These were people who’ve toured the Fringe, either as performers or as audience members. As Crash Davis (Kevin Costner’s character in the film “Bull Durham”) would put it: they’ve “been in the show”. Ie. they’ve been to the majors. On the Fringe circuit, the majors are Winnipeg and Edmonton. Ottawa might run about 15 thousand paid attendance this year. Montreal runs about 35. Toronto runs about 45. Winnipeg and Edmonton run about 70. Each!
Touring performers should see this show BEFORE they hit Winnipeg. Especially if they’re having trouble filling houses. With 141 companies, Winnipeg will be VERY competitive. For a small part of the show, he talks about flyering. How he learned to apply creativity to selling his show in the queues. How he took what he learned from that experience and applied it to his later work on stage.
This is a chance to learn from a master. Don’t miss it, performers.
Highly recommended.