McSweeney’s List (7 February 2024)
Starting over is hard. While we can all get excited about a fresh start or new chapter, there's also the lingering feeling that we’re starting from zero. Our language enforces this idea with phrases like back to square one, or back to the drawing board, as if we've scrapped our previous design. The truth of the matter is that we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for where we've been.
Recently a friend of mine returned to Montreal after a short stint living in a warmer climate. She thought she had left here forever, planning only to return for quick visits, so she ditched a bunch of stuff on her way over the pond. She sold her condo, and now finds herself back in Montreal apartment hunting, with no winter clothes. (Her warm things and a million other comforts are in a shipping container, awaiting her new address.) It's a daunting start to a chapter, and she's struggling with the reboot, her Montreal Volume 2. Thankfully, she's a big picture gal, and despite her frustration, she knows that she had to leave to create space for her return. If she had stayed here when her heart told her to leave, that would've been staying at zero. Her return marks a new stage in her journey. She hasn't crumpled up her previous vision, she has built upon her experience.
As a woman of a certain age, I find myself in good company with a growing number of single women. Still, before I pulled the plug on my last relationship, I struggled with the thought of starting from square one. Did I really want to throw away those years? Was I ready to tell my loved ones that I had miscalculated my future yet again? But the years weren't wasted, and calculations change as data is acquired. While it is a new chapter, I am also a more evolved character. As the story progresses, characters have no choice but to keep up. To develop the skills and wisdom needed at this stage in their arc. That's -- well, that's how stories work.
How many times have you hit a wall? How many times have you realized that this career path, lifestyle, or person was no longer serving your highest interest, but felt reluctant to move on? Sure, there's the appeal of the Devil we know, but there's also the nagging (and lying) voice that tells us that moving on means giving up. The same voice says shitty things like sure, there's mediocrity here, but are you capable of more? Stay still. Failure lies beyond. As an example of this particular rhetoric, please note that I've been at my Muggle Job for 10 years next month, and I'm fairly certain I'm unqualified.
When this line of thinking becomes impossible to ignore, it's time to check in with the people you trust for perspective. And yes, your knee jerk reaction will be to assume they're just saying nice shit to you to spare your feelings, but remind yourself that you trust these people for a reason. And yes, the prospect of moving from a big fish in a small pond to a small fish in a big pond is daunting, but that's how we grow. Sometimes despite the rivers and lakes that you're used to, it really is time to chase waterfalls. And as you take those tentative steps, feeling out of place and uncertain, remember that you aren't starting at zero, you are in fact leveling up.
ANGRY & FUNNY
Double the laughs with the Fucking Hell - An Angry Stand-up Comedy Show / Poly Mic double bill! Hosted by Lucy Gervais, Fucking Hell is happening this Wednesday! Come see the premiere of the Poly Mic double bill with a great lineup hosted by Lucy Gervais, with Mariam Khan, Mason Terry, George Assily, Trevor Thompson, and Rickie Leach.
Double your laughs by coming for the PWYC Poly Mic at 7 PM.
Get your tickets for Fucking Hell 50% off at the link below.
WHAT: Fucking Hell - An Angry Stand-up Comedy Show
WHERE: Notre-Dame-Des-Quilles, 32 Beaubien St. E., Montreal, H2S 1P8
WHEN: Wednesday, February 7, 9 PM
METRO: Beaubien (Orange)
TICKETS: Eventbrite
DREAMSCAPE
Helen Simard is a big deal in the dance world. She's a choreographer, rehearsal director, and dance dramaturge who creates visceral interdisciplinary shows. Her work uses repetition and complex spatial patterns to create hypnotic, dreamlike performances that blur the boundaries between conscious and subconscious spaces. She's been collaborating with composer Roger White for over 20 years.
Roger White is an autodidact composer and sound-based artist. While he's done about a million things, these days he primarily composes music for dance, creating immersive sonic landscapes that invite spectators to sink into altered levels of consciousness. Along with Helen, they are the founders of We All Fall Down, a non-profit organization that supports and promotes creation, research, presentation and innovation in dance, music and theatre, through interdisciplinary artistic propositions.
Their latest production, Dans Les Bras de Morphée explores the realm of the subconscious. The dreamer ventures into a strange, playful choreographic universe where the limits of reality are in constant flux. His travels lead him to a fabulous bestiary made up of masks and lights, ingenious references to video games or comics. This work is the perfect illustration of this striking ability that dance has to embody the fantastic and project it into the waking world. This show was made for young audiences, so all ages will be awed. Recommended for ages 8 and up.
WHAT: Dans Les Bras de Morphée
WHERE: Agora de la Danse, 1435 De Bleury St., Suite 102, Montreal, H3A 2H7
WHEN: Saturday, February 10, 4 PM
METRO: Place-des-Arts (Green)
TICKETS: Agora de la Danse
#200 🎈
It's a big night for World's Smallest Comedy as they celebrate their 200th show! Hardcore fans won't want to miss this, and if you've been meaning to check out this show, now’s the time! Food, drinks, and laughs in a chill, welcoming setting. It’ll be extra festive as they toast to 200 shows down, and countless more to come. It's no small feat to have made it this far, so cheers to the whole Crew.
The Lineup will include Zak Kik, Walter J. Lyng, Troy Stark, Vance “Monday Michel” and more. The show is free, but definitely slip a few bucks into the pot, ya feel?
WHAT: World's Smallest Comedy Night #200
WHERE: Hurley's Irish Pub, 1225 Crescent St., Montreal, H3G 2B1
WHEN: Monday, February 12, 8 PM
METRO: Lucien L’Allier (Orange)
DETAILS: Facebook
GALENTINE'S
Tongues is back for a fun-filled night of giggles for Galentine's day! Come witness some stellar sketch comedy from a group that just so happened to be voted "Best Newcomers" at Montreal Sketchfest 2023. Bring your gals, pals, dudes, buds, and everyone in between to get away from the valentines BS and partake in some platonic comedy lovin'. Will there be special guests? Will the Patron Saint of Galentine's Day Amy Poehler show up? You’ll have to be there to find out!
WHAT: A Galentine’s Sketch Show
WHERE: Théâtre Sainte-Catherine, 264 St. Catherine St. E., Montreal, H2X 1L4
WHEN: Tuesday, February 13, 730 PM
METRO: Berri-UQAM
TICKETS: The Point Of Sale
McSweeney’s List drops every Wednesday with the best events, workshops, and more, each week in Montreal!
