Movement, monologues & memories.

Hello everybody,

Holy crap it's cold! =( It's currently -16 with the windchill and I can't say that I'm at all digging it. Are we getting spring early this year? I never could remember what that groundhog's shadow means... Anyhoo, the second installment of my new charity series Friends With Benefits will be on Friday March 17th at the NOW Lounge and proceeds will be going to V-Day. If you can come, please do. The V-Day Movement truly is one of the most important in the world. Visit its website and learn all about it. There is so much to know, so much to be angry about, so much to celebrate, so much work to do.

Speaking of this wonderful movement, I can't say enough about the experience I had performing in V-Day Toronto's production of The Vagina Monologues at the St. Lawrence Centre on Saturday night, benefitting Ernestine's Women's Shelter. What a special group of women and what a wild, far from typical day. We had a 10:30 a.m. call for an 8 p.m. show - yikes - and the nerves got my stomach churning early. So when I walked into the rehearsal hall and saw a shiny black upright staring at me, I fired a quick thank you to God and walked straight over to it. How perfect. I was sitting there playing some new songs and singing to myself in complete oblivion when I turned around to find that about half the cast had entered the room and were listening silently behind me. Although I'm not normally comfortable playing publicly, somehow with them all around me I felt completely at home.

The day was filled with unforgettable moments... enjoying a fine conversation with Melissa Auf Der Maur about her support for David Suzuki on CBC's The Greatest Canadian... my song Where I Dwell being selected as the show's closing music... playwright & fellow cast member Judith Thompson mouthing the word "beautiful" to me after I finished my piece during dress rehearsal... the producers giving the entire cast translucent red waterbottles with the words "Vagina Warrior" printed on them... chillin' and philosophizing with the unbelievably sweet Rachel McAdams in her dressing room. How refreshing to experience this young woman, now an L.A. starlet and multi-millionaire, as nothing more than a smart and passionate soul with whom it's lots of fun to sit and laugh and share grapes and drink tea. Hanging out with her in our sweatshirts and jogging pants was, quite simply, nice. No airs, no affectations. She was authentically lovely, as stressed and goofy and worried about her lines as the rest of us were. So when a few of us went to Tim Horton's for lunch, it was an unflinching reminder of how bizarre life becomes under the "celebrity" microscope. Man, can people ever stare. And point. And whisper.

The evening was great. I loved being on that stage and absolutely fell in love all over again with my piece, I Was There In The Room. The feedback I got afterward blew me away. A drama teacher from the Randolph Academy sought me out post-show to tell me that she'd brought a dozen of her students and that when posed the question after the show, every one of them had cited my performance as the one they would most emulate as actors in training. That blew my mind! I didn't even know what to say. I was floored. All I could do was take her hands in mine and say thank you too many times. There were other comments that really moved me, energized me and encouraged me amidst lots of hugs, and a card from my director calling me a "rarity"... I was just so touched. I kept thinking "I don't deserve this." But then I remembered the hardship I faced last year, and darn it I changed my mind! =) Thank you sooooo much those who attended and made it such a memorable night for the entire cast, crew and production team. I truly feel that having been involved has slightly altered the course and shape of my life.

As for my music, the new songs come and come. Looking forward to sharing them with you at shows when it's a bit warmer. Holy crap it's cold!

V-Love, Tanisha.