You may be familiar with the personal story solo performance stereotype, but I assure you, @Jenna at C arts, aquila transcends your assumptions. Whether you’re a Fringe veteran who has seen hundreds of one-person confessional-style shows, or new to the Fringe, this show will both meet your expectations and exceed them, with charm, wit, and heart.
Using a series of unearthed personal diaries creator/performer Winnie Stack recovered when her mother sold the old family house, the production weaves a queer sexual awakening narrative around Stack’s parasocial passion for Pam from (American) The Office, and interjects stories of other beautiful female paramours as Stack struggles with her own coming out to herself. Interspersed among the hilarious, familiar pre-teen and teen angst are conversations with Freddy, the tree in Stack’s childhood backyard. As with all imaginary friends, Freddy reflects Stack’s childhood subconscious back to her, though in a manner more like The Giving Tree than more humanoid childhood games. Mild spoiler: bring a tissue for the end if you like the idea of Freddy.
Winnie Stack herself is a skilled and engrossing onstage presence, very genuinely herself while also embodying other characters like a judge, elementary school teachers, various therapists, friends, and her mother. Past training at Second City New York becomes apparent in the sketch-like transitions between characters, purposefully choreographed to be messy. Occasionally, some of the characters sound the same; occasionally, some of the characters slip out of their accents, and other characters call them on it. The show never derails thanks to the improv background training.
@Jenna deftly transitions between slideshow-style projections, family videos of child Stack performing, and shots of assorted mentioned characters (her sister, her family dog). Uncountable Fringe shows utilise the available projector in the space for a range of effects, but @Jenna‘s purpose reads like a scrapbook rather than an attempt at digital theatre or multimedia performance, which helps the show retain its humour and charm. In the show I saw, Stack occasionally fought with the projector’s remote to continue the show, but even this minor malfunction is in keeping with the rest of the rehearsed production.
For the child in all of us who suffered the crush of having a crush, for any queer audiences, and for anyone who felt out of place, @Jenna is a show for you.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
