#scarecrow at the Toronto Fringe Festival
Toronto, Robert Gill Theatre, 2016
When Tesai is found unconscious in a motel room all hell breaks loose, friendships are put to the test and the truth becomes subjective. How did this happen? And more importantly why? Tesai’s “friends” are left to deal with their guilt, place blame and possibly seek revenge.
#scarecrow is Chantel Winters’ first play and Hard-Bitten Productions’ inaugural show. Directed by Ashlee Bueckert, this dark comedy explores how our projected images can feel more real than our skin. It examines how our friendships, lifestyles and even our sense of self are being shaped by social media.
It asks what are the possible consequences when we fall short of the person we portray to be online.
Note from the playwright, 2016
The initial idea for #scarecrow came at that time when I was forced into independence. After the cap and gown were taken off and I was thrown into a world of choices.
The play was born in the confusion, loneliness, and stupid decisions of young adulthood. Although the story has changed quite a bit over the last few years, the major themes of friendship and self-perception have remained.
It’s amazing to look back at the evolution of ‘image’, in particular self-image, because of how technology has dramatically affected our self-perceptions. Social media sites like Facebook have given us more control over how we present ourselves to the world.
As I wrote, and rewrote, (and will probably rewrite) I became more interested in the gap between our manipulated images online and our “true-selves”.
Looking at some of the recent research about the negative effects of social networking, I learned about the competition we put ourselves in to live up to the (often false) lifestyles publicized by our peers. It’s become an addictive hobby today with the takeover of the selfie.
Even though we can have over 1000 friends on Facebook, I don’t think many of us would say we actually have 1000+ friends. It’s more likely that we have a few people we choose to spend our time with and with whom we’d be willing to share our secrets.
Take a look at our promotional video
Cast
Melanie: Celia Aloma
Tesai: Dana Dyal
Monica: Jennah Foster-Catlack
Nasir: Julien Hyacinthe
Jason: Soroush Tolou
Coco: Vé Shone Cunningham
Reporter/Housekeeper: Daniel Chung
Creative Team
Director: Ashlee Bueckert
Playwright: Chantel Winters
Stage Manager: Shanaise Williams
Lighting Designer: Echo Zhou
Projection Designer: Jason Thomson
“..Solid leading performances from Dana Dyal as Tesai and Celia Aloma as Melanie..” - Mooney on Theatre
