The Upstage Interview: DeAnne Smith and Sarah Quinn

Logo for Other People's Problems

Australia/Montreal/The Zoo

Upstage Contributor Alison Louder and Upstage Host Eric Sukhu spoke with DeAnne Smith who will be presenting About Freakin’ Time as part of Just For Laughs Zoofestival. She also wrote one of the pieces in Other People’s Problems by Sarah Quinn. Below is an abridged version of interviews with both Smith and Quinn, edited by Estelle Rosen, CharPo Editor-in-chief.

UPSTAGE

Tell us about your time in Australia and how that’s informed the show.

SMITH

The show has grown and changed a lot. Having done it about 30-40 times, it’s a different show now - used to be some staged choreography which has been cut out but there’s other good stuff - sorry don’t know what else I could say

A teenage video blogger with questionable teenage advice on the Internet was what I wanted to do a show about.

UPSTAGE

Improvise -  give us some unscripted hilarity.

SMITH

What’s going on in Montreal?

UPSTAGE

Are you going to flip the interview on us?

SMITH

Yes going to take control of it. Have you spoken to Sarah Quinn yet?

Sarah’s the reason I first started going to Australia. After seeing what I was doing and having a good time, she said that’s something I could do...

UPSTAGE

She’s coming up next. Didn’t you help write her show, Other People’s Problems – tell us a bit about your involvement.

SMITH

She can tell you more but it’s three short plays. I wrote the first one, she 

wrote the second one, Sam wrote the third one. I’ll leave the rest to her.

UPSTAGE

This isn’t the first time you guys have put on this production. How did you meet. She’s from Australia, you’re from Montreal. Did it happen naturally or was it planned?

SMITH

She’s the reason I first started going to Australia. After seeing what I was doing and having a good time, she said that’s something I could do; it’s a really fun circuit. She’s a talented actress; it was kind of natural for her to put a show together. 

UPSTAGE

What’s coming up after Zoofest?

SMITH 

I’ll be going to Edinburgh Fringe Festival, then back in Montreal in September. 

UPSTAGE

Joining us now is Sarah Quinn.  Is your show Other People’s Problems a remount? 

QUINN

Yes it is. I put it on at Theatre Ste-Catherine in 2009. It was a smaller show then. More bare bones. The show has been tightened up, and in some ways fleshed out. There are now some audio visual elements that weren’t there earlier – slicker overall.

...this girl was giving birth control advice. That set something off in me – this is dangerous territory.

UPSTAGE

DeAnne mentioned there are three stories in one show. Written by you, DeAnne, and the mysterious Samuel Booth - who shall remain anonymous – how did the three of you come to collaborate?

QUINN

I had an idea for a show that I thought would work as a short. At the same time I knew Diane was working on the idea of a crazed motivational show. We were bouncing ideas around.  

A teenage video blogger with questionable teenage advice on the Internet was what I wanted to do a show about. There was an Australian blogger who was quite famous for a while. I started watching these videos. There was one where this girl was giving birth control advice. That set something off in me – this is dangerous territory. Especially because I had also found out about a company that pairs up  these Utube celebrities with other companies to surreptitiously sell their stuff. 

Then I decided to make it a trilogy. Went to my friend Sam and said let’s write another character. Together we came up with the idea of this uptight woman listening to a self help sex tape. She’s a very dear character,  trying to loosen up so that she might finally approach the man she’s been secretly in love with since she’s 12 years old.

UPSTAGE

Dangerous plus fun equals inspiring?

QUINN

For me yes.  It’s a comedy but I do try to stress to people that it’s a dark comedy.

The strangest thing to me is getting really mixed responses.

UPSTAGE

Who gets it more - guys or girls - or do they find their own niche about what’s funny?

QUINN

Yes they do.  I thought the other two pieces would stand out as being a lot more accomplished. Also thought people would find one character they loved the most. The strangest thing to me is getting really mixed responses. I can’t choose a favorite. Neither can audiences. It taps into different people in different ways.

UPSTAGE

You’re writer, you’re an actress, you’ve done  theatre, film - how did you get into performing a one woman show in comedy – is this new in your performance world?

QUINN

I find as I write more of my own material, it does tend toward the comedic. It’s definitely not standup comedy. It is a comedy show but I wouldn’t classify it as standup comedy. When I do write I write in character. They tend to be satirical and humorous.

Little things about characters will spark me. I might be gently making fun of something or exaggerating an aspect of someone.

UPSTAGE

Satire is very important; there’s power in it and you get to make people laugh and think.   Lots of comedians don’t warm to the idea; what makes you so comfortable with it?

QUINN

That just happens to be the way I think. I’m interested in human nature. Little things about characters will spark me. I might be gently making fun of something or exaggerating an aspect of someone. That’s what interests me.

The Zoofest Site