Name Something Lost : Wild Heart Acres Episode 4 Recap

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Wild Heart Acres is winding down at Montreal Improv, and before the last show on May 15th, here’s a recap of Episode 4: The Strong Men of Wild Heart

Hazel Stanley from Wild Heart Acres

Hazel Stanley from Wild Heart Acres

The idea for the night started with “something lost”, and it took about 30 seconds for someone in the audience to shout out “virginity”, which made the next 45 minutes of improv on the Wild Frontier the best so far in the series.

First up is Moses Stanley (Vance Gillis), and he’s shocked to find a deer going to town on his flowerbed a few yards away. Elder businessman Emmett J. Murdoch (James McGee) stops by, on his way to look for shillings in the grass. Moses gets onto the subject of how lonely he is, how he dreams of his dead wife, Bonnie. Old Emmett confesses that he’s a virgin, having “never known the touch of a woman.” (Not much of a surprise if you’ve seen Emmett Murdoch’s wickedness over the last few episodes…)

Unmarried schoolteacher Sara Thorn (Kyla Margaret) meets Moses’s daughter, Hazel (Lara Simms) at school. Hazel tells Ms. Thorn that her father kept her up all night because he was dreaming of a lady. Moses arrives (which still works even though it’s the middle of a school day), and he blurts out that Sara reminds him of his dead wife. To this, Sara only admits that she’s entered Moses in a strongman competition for the upcoming county fair. He’s to fight Mr. Burley (James McGee), a massive man from a neighbouring town called Tatler’s Durge.

The Murdochs. Wild Heart Acres.

The Murdochs. Wild Heart Acres.

At the Murdoch compound, Emmett is depressed because he can’t find a woman. He tells his elderly mother (Kyla Margaret) and she thinks he should try to meet someone at the county fair. It’s the one day of the year in Wild Heart Acres that men and women can rub elbows and fraternize. Otherwise, it’s against the by-laws. She says she’s been getting questions from some of the townspeople about why he’s never married. Emmett says that it’s his mother’s expectations and his fear of disappointing her that keep him a bachelor.

On a walk through Wild Heart, he quickly becomes smitten with Lara Doyle, a woman selling flowers (Lara Simms). Emmett tries to impress her but fails, so Moses takes him aside and tells him to try to ask her out on a date, “direct and honest.” Emmett’s not great with women or honesty, as it turns out, but he still manages to get a date to the county fair with Lara Doyle.

Alas, a little violence erupts when Emmett and Ms. Doyle meet at her house before the fair. Her gruesome father arrives (Vance Gillis), and not only does he insult his daughter, but he calls Emmett “virgin boy.” So naturally, Emmett has to strangle him on the spot with his bare hands.
At the county fair, Moses and Mr. Burley meet for the strong man showdown. Hands down, Moses is the winner, and it seems like that’s exactly what he needed to finally tell Sara Thorn that he’s… in love with her. (The sexual tension was there for the last two episodes, people!)
Not to be outdone by Moses, Emmett turns around and proclaims that he “cares” for Lara, that he’s a virgin, but he too is ready for some action…

Wild Heart Acres’ last installment is at Montreal Improv (3697 St-Laurent) on May 15. 8:30 p.m. Doors open at 8:00. $8