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Preview Talking With Talking With ... is a play that is not a play, w r i t t e n by a w o m a n w h o m i g h t be a m a n . It caused a sensation w h e n it w a s first p r o d u c e d in 1982 a n d w o n an A m e r i c a n Theater Critics A w a r d . It is n o w Theatre W e s t Van's entry in the North Shore Zone of Theatre BC's A n n u a l Festival of Plays, before w h i c h it runs at Presentation House. Talking With... d o e s n ' t have any interaction b e t w e e n the actors. Instead, it's a set of eleven m o n o l o g u e s by w o m e n . It's a lot m o r e exhilarating t h a n that description m i g h t imply. For a start, it has s o m e very singular characters. "These people, m o s t of t h e m are c o p i n g w i t h c h a n g e , " says Christine Gardner, w h o directs the p r o d u c t i o n a n d plays Lila, an elderly w o m a n w h o surrounds herself w i t h lamps. " T h e y ' v e all h a d s o m e t h i n g h a p p e n to t h e m . But they're incredible survivors. They live in hope. A n d they g o off into f a n t a s i e s . " The characters vary w i d e l y in age a n d social b a c k g r o u n d , but their lives are m a r k e d by s o m e c o m m o n themes. There's a lot of loneliness -- the loneliness of a destitute w o m a n w h o dreams of living in M c D o n a l d ' s , of a w o m a n o n a gurney about to give birth to a d e f o r m e d baby, of a scarred a n d t a t t o o e d w o m a n in a bar. There's the loneliness of b e i n g on stage, too, (or not b e i n g on stage), w h i c h takes its toll o n the slightly u n h i n g e d M a r y Titter. Titter turns up at an a u d i tion a n d threatens to kill her cat (Tat) w i t h a h a m m e r if the director stops her t a k i n g her clothes off. "She's been p l u g g i n g a w a y a n d p l u g g i n g a w a y a n d not really g e t t i n g a n y w h e r e , " says Y v o n n e Dejardins, w h o plays her. " S h e just d o e s n't take no for an answer. She's not a c o m i c character. But that's w h a t makes her funny. You see c o m e d y in most things w h e n they are very truthful. S o m e b o d y w h o seriously believes that w h a t they are d o i n g is the truth for t h e m w h e n it's a b s u r d to everybody else -- that's funny. That's comedy." 18 May | June Other characters t o o are connected w i t h entertainment, to use the term loosely. There's Big Eight, w h o m o u r n s the c o m m e r c i a l i z a t i o n of the rodeo she l o v e d . There's theTwirler, w h o finds in cheerleading a way to religious ecstasy -- " T a m m y Faye Baker w i t h a b a t o n , " says Pamela M c M o r r a n , w h o plays her. "She's not a twit. She's got s o m e thing to say a n d she w a n t s to be taken seriously." The need for s o m e t h i n g to believe in holds Talking With... together. It's seen m o s t dramatically in the Handler, w h o g r e w up in a family that handles snakes in church. "If y o u got the spirit, snake don't bite," the Handler says. "If he bites y o u , you k n o w y o u ain't got the spirit. M a k e s the difference real clear, d o n ' t i t ? " The snake is played by Icesis, a three-foot a l b i n o corn snake w h o turns in an a d m i r a b l y sinuous performance. The w a i f i s h Handler, with her small-town Southern d r a w l . Is played by S h a n n o n Jardine. Jardine used to be afraid of snakes. That's w h y she w a n t e d the part. She's taken her fear a n d a n d turned into a kind of energy. "The first time, she w r a p p e d herself a r o u n d my waist. I took some deep breaths a n d tried to be c a l m . Then I started d o i n g the piece and getting into character. I c o u l d feel her tongue flickering on my neck a n d feel her g o i n g into my hair. But I w a s so into the piece that it helped m e transcend the fear. The Handler says, 'Snake k n o w s w h a t you're f e e l i n ' , ' a n d w h e n I c o u l d actually feel that it w a s an amazing experience. There w a s a chemistry b e t w e e n us. W e b o n d e d . " Talking With ... is attributed to Jane M a r t i n . But nobody's ever actually met Jane M a r t i n . This has led to speculation that she might in fact be a m a n , or even a group of m e n . " W h o e v e r w r o t e it has an incredible sense of c o m p a s s i o n , " says Gardner, w h o describes herself as being " o f f the floor w i t h adrenal i n e " about the p r o d u c t i o n . "It's the sensitivity to h u m a n k i n d that makes it t i c k . " See Calendar pages for more information.