#thestaircasetheatre

[youngemodernlaughs]

@miss.alice.rose on stage @comicsanscomedy There is few people I have had such an instant bond with her ability to read me as a person is wonderful and frightening. These shows are really special I’m so proud of my friend. . . . . . #comicsanscomedy #alicerose #QAPD #thestaircasetheatre #hamiltoncomedy #queercomedy #portraits #canadiancomedy #cannon70d #youngemodernlaughs (at Staircase Cafe Theatre) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2W0tGwnI-d/?igshid=1d93e6264w6dy

[steelcityreviews]

FRINGE 2022 PREVIEW SERIES -Civilized

Steel City Girl Reviews thanks performer and content collaborator Kristi Boulton for her insights and experience with bringing Civilized to the 2022 Hamilton Fringe Festival.

1. Quickly! 5 words to describe your show!

Space! Improv! Comedy! Death-Around-Every-Corner! Chips?

2. What inspired your company to produce this show? What inspires you generally when creating shows?

Civilized was born from a goofy conversation between @passitalong (Sean Howard) and I on a Go-Train on the way to our long-form improv class at @baddogcomedy in 2019. Also, I was looking for new ways to explore storytelling and performance. I've been a theatre kid my whole life, so it was thrilling to discover podcasting and realize how sensational it was as a medium. There are so few boundaries with audio drama; you can reach audiences you'd never get the chance to interact with in traditional art spaces.

With Civilized, somewhere along the way, what started off as a fun way to spend time improvising with friends became a four-season, award-winning show that gets upwards of 50-60k downloads a month. It's crazy to think about.

Civilized is part of the Fable and Folly Network (@fableandfollyproductions), created and run by an incredible team of storytellers and indie creators who decided to make stuff because it was joyful, because they faced less creative and representational boundaries than in traditional media, and because they had stories worth telling!

Civilized was born out of joy, fun and as a means to bring laughter into the world, and it's a dang dream to work on, but it would never have been as successful without our incredible audience and community. They're a big part of why we keep creating, too.

3. Is this your first time producing a show at the Hamilton Fringe Festival? If so, what influenced your decision to bring your show to the city? If not, what helped you decide to return to the Festival this year?

This shall be my 11th (or 12th? Oh god, how have I come to the point where I've lost count?!) Fringe Festival, which is wild! I came back this year because:

1: It definitely feels safer thanks to the Fringe staff's incredible work, and being at The Staircase where they're taking safety precautions very seriously.

2: I miss the energy of live performance more than I can say, and Fringe gives you that in spades.

3: I love it. I missed it. I wanted to chase that feeling!

4. What have been some challenges in bringing your show to life and how have you overcome them?

Civilized is traditionally a serialized podcast that we perform in a studio and then give to the outstanding Eli Hamada McIlveen to do his sound design magic. Doing it live provided an opportunity to explore an entirely new way to deliver the same energy and phenomenal show but with live sound design and audience participation. Also, we've found ways to introduce folks to the show without having to have listened to any of the actual production.

Working on the format with the Civilized crew has made my creative brain juices get all a-buzz, and I'm confident we've come up with format audiences will get a lot of fun out of.

We've found some delightfully goofy and fun ways to make sure the audience feels like they're a part of creating the unique episodes they get to see, and we'll have a new guest every night that will get to build their own alien/species/story arc with them. It's going to be ridiculous and awesome.

5. How will this show speak to audiences?

Civilized has something for everyone. If you like Sci-Fi, we've got it! If you like Improv comedy, you'll see it! If you like obnoxious death scenes, you'll get 'em! If you like workplace comedies, you're in the right place! If you want to help make a show that over 50-60k people will hear, you're in luck cause that's exactly what you'll get.

Come to Civilized if you want a good laugh and a new, unique theatre experience. You're sure to have a good time. You can find out more about the show in general too, at civilizedpod.com

6. Why is Fringe important to you? How do festivals like Fringe help you as an artist?

I love this Festival and not being able to perform in it the last few years hurt my soul. It brings so many incredible artists and daring productions into our community and always feels like it breathes life into my artist's lungs. Also, this time I get to bring something entirely different for the stage with Civilized: Live, so it's going to be a treat to see how audiences react to it.

BONUS PLUG: I should mention I am also performing in @RedBrickTheatre's End With A Kiss, a fully improvised Hallmark movie that we make up with the audience every night. Getting to be on stage with that phenomenal troupe feeds my lil' theatre kid/improv/performer soul in magnificent, different ways, too! Yay, improv! Yay, theatre! Yay, live performance! YAY, FRINGE!

For more information, including show dates, times and ticket information, please visit: Hamilton Fringe 2022 - Civilized

The cast and collaborators of Civilized... coming soon to The Staircase Main Stage