The Edinburgh Fringe is almost upon us and to get prepared for another Scottish summer Read About Stuff is running a ‘Five From The Fringe’ interview series, where creative teams answer five questions about their upcoming Festival shows.
In this interview, I chat to Sara Malinowski about their new show Girlfriends.
Can you tell me a little about your show and what audiences can expect?
My show is called Girlfriends. It’s a not so straight-play featuring radio hits from Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Norah Jones, and Alicia Keys sung live. This one-woman play tells the true story of a cross-country road trip from New York to California in 2014. Scout brings along a stranger, Olishka – her Starbucks barista, after spray-painting her Honda with stars and hitting the road on a heartbroken whim. Audiences can expect to laugh during my tears, to watch me fight off wildcats. There’s an equal sprinkling of Sex and the City and Shakespeare references, with scenes around female pleasure, queerness and mislabeled intimacy. It confronts the grey areas of deeply close, boundary-less female friendships through comedic, clown and musical elements.
What drew you to this specific story, and why does it belong at the Edinburgh Fringe?
I wanted to write a play about a wild road trip with lots of comic tales of strangers I met on my journey. I was then drawn in by how emotional, naive and raw I was ten years ago, in contrast with the stranger I brought along with me, who was pragmatic, Polish and poly. I was then drawn to bring it to Edinburgh Fringe through seeing the differing audience responses generationally. Older generations took until nearly the end to identify the intimacy, while Gen Z and younger see it in minutes. The queer representation I did not have (Carrie Bradshaw, after all, being my premiere sex advice columnist and saying ‘bisexuality does not exist’) kept me from seeing a love story I lived. It’s perfect for fringe because it’s playing with format – from music, to true stories, to back and forth scenes of one woman playing two, sometimes three characters, I love watching the audience come along on a joyful ride.
What has been the biggest challenge in bringing this production to life?
Likely that there are so many firsts! This is my first one-person show, first play, first Fringe, first international premiere. I’m throwing myself in the deep end and know I’ll come out a better artist on the other side. I’m used to a cast of many in Shakespeare repertories, so I do often run backstage expecting to rejoice with others. It’s been a real new skill to learn how to keep the story energetic and afloat, alone, for 60 minutes. I learned so much about the rhythm, melody, and the shape that exists in playwriting, in comparison to other writing styles. I find all the hardest learning curves to be the fun aspects of Fringe.
How does the design of your show (set, sound, or lighting) impact the presentation of your story?
My show design offers up a lot to the audience’s imagination. The set is one chair. The lighting will bring us to the stars in Zion National Park, to the red hot hues of the middle of Texas, with only two blackouts as the show moves rapidly across the United States. The sound is a character all its own as the radio that highlights the music shifting across the American landscape, as Scout gets to know the landscape of her own body simultaneously. In the end, all these elements highlight the major relationship, welcoming the audience into a tiny Honda Civic 98.
If you could sum up the show in one word or phrase, what would it be and why?
ROADTRIP! Or: I’ll have what I’m having.
Girlfriends runs at Jade Studio at Greenside @ George Street (Venue 236) from August 7th – 29th. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/girlfriends
