The Upstage Interview: Cameryn Moore

They aren’t real sex calls, but they are based on actual calls.

Upstage Host Eric Sukhu spoke with writer/performer Cameryn Moore about  Phone Whore presented at MainLine Theatre.   Below is an abridged version edited by Estelle Rosen, CharPo Editor-in-chief.

UPSTAGE

How many years have you been part of Montreal Fringe? 

MOORE

This is my sixth year.

Listening to someone’s fantasy; to get a glimpse into someone else’s sex life is another part of what makes Phone Whore so challenging. 

UPSTAGE

Following last year’s Fringe presentation, you went on tour with it; what was the experience like?

MOORE

Fringe is always exciting and edgy. I like to present this piece in a theatrical environment. Touring is very different.

In the U.S and in other non-Fringe venues where I have a chance to do q/a afterwards, that leads to a whole different experience of the show. People ask all types of questions relating to what they saw in my one hour slice-of-life presentation. Can’t do that In a Fringe setting. 

UPSTAGE

For those not familiar with Phone Whore, tell us about the story.

MOORE

Basically Phone Whore is set up so the audience is hanging out in the living room while I’m on call. They get to eavesdrop on four different types of calls. They aren’t real calls, but they are based on actual calls. Listening to someone’s fantasy; to get a glimpse into someone else’s sex life is another part of what makes Phone Whore so challenging.  

UPSTAGE

What is the general reaction from the audience?

MOORE

A reviewer in Calgary summed it up well by sayiing it starts with boisterous laughter and ends in stunned silence. 

We have a hyper sexualized culture but it doesn’t represent authentically what’s happening in people’s minds and bedrooms.

UPSTAGE

I saw it last year and was really fascinated by the world you create on stage. 

MOORE

Representations of phone sex are often grossly inaccurate. Discussions of sexuality are not very common in pop culture or media. We have a hyper sexualized culture but it doesn’t represent authentically what’s happening in people’s minds and bedrooms. 

UPSTAGE

Have you ever had a caller that you were uncomfortable with fantasies they were asking?

MOORE

Yes,  it’s like being a waitress; you like some customers; some you hate because they’re jerks.

In terms of content, I quickly got accustomed to  creating other people’s fantasies regardless of what it was. The one time I got tripped up was early on in first three months of taking calls. A caller wanted me to use the n word; I’ve never said that word in my life and he wanted me to use it liberally. I tried to say I can’t do that and he told me if I didn’t say it, he’d report me.  The company I work for everything is fair game and I would have been fired. So he had used his economic coersion.

Eventually I was able to wrap my mind around uncomfortable challenging calls. 

UPSTAGE

Why theatre as a platform to present this?

MOORE

The more time I spend in the theatre world, I have come to respect the difference between telling and showing.

Podcast could be interesting but I enjoy getting into people’s heads and I think live theatre is best for that. There’s an immediacy and intimacy to the conversation that happens between performer and audience. 

Phone Whore is at Mainline