Getting Ready for Meta Theatre: Interview with the Team of Honestly, OK
Rehearsal of Honestly OK
Your correspondent recently sat down with the cast of Honestly, OK to talk about their upcoming show at the Mainline Theatre. It was a sunny afternoon and we decided to have our little get-together at the terrace on the Plateau’s Café Santropol. Mary Picard, Kevin Black, Lauren Stone and Kenny Streule shared some details about the semi-true story of a girl and her shoes, to be presented as part of Harvest #7, a celebration of LGBT culture to the performing arts.
Honestly OK. Mary PIcard.
Mary plays the lead character of Nicole, a girl who is kicked out of her home and eventually becomes a thriving theatre director. Given that Nicole’s journey involves stints as a striper and the discovery of her sexuality, Mary talked about the fun she’s had while rehearsing the dance routines and all the girl-on-girl making out that the audience will be treated to. At the same time, Mary believes that all the fun would be incomplete without the play’s exploration of the many facets that Nicole manages to collapse into a single identity.
Kevin is charged with providing the play its hunk factor. He will be playing some 20+ male characters to highlight the variety of experience that is Nicole’s life. For him, this is a terrific opportunity to explore the physical dimension of acting, and a chance to stretch his acting skills from laughter to tears, and everything in between.
Lauren Stone and Kevin Black. Honestly OK
Lauren, the play’s co-author with Nicole Dominguez, will also be playing a few female roles. She is interested in the story’s potential for evolution and transformation. At the same time, she believes that the many identities to be presented on stage are allegorical to what an actor’s life looks like.
As its one-man orchestra, Kenny from Plaid Thursday Productions is involved will all the stages of putting the show together. A fine actor himself, for this production he will be taking care of all the logistics and promotion. He’s honored by the fact that Honestly, OK is this year’s opening act at Harvest, and also highlighted that this is its only lesbian-themed story and the only new show to be presented in Montreal during this theatrical feast.
These and many other reasons are more than enough to persuade you, dear reader, to see his show. Drop by the Mainline to enjoy some of the best high-caliber acting talent that Montreal has to offer.
Honestly, OK is at the Mainline Theatre (3997 St. Laurent) on October 7 at 8 p.m., October 8 at 9:45 p.m., October 11 at 7 p.m., October 12 at 4:30 p.m. $16/12. It is part of the Harvest Festival, which takes place October 7-12.
