Girls Only co-creator Barbara Gehring originally hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Last night, Girls Only opened in her hometown at the Manitoba Theatre Centre. We caught up with Barbara to get her take on sharing her childhood memories with audiences in the town she grew up in.Q: Girls Only has been in Denver for 18 months now. What's the best part of performing this show a mile high?
A: I've lived here in Colorado now for 15 years, and after 15 years of being a professional actress here, it's very fulfilling to witness Girls Only have such a successful start as a franchise here.
Q: Girls Only is crossing the border! Are you excited to be taking GO to Winnipeg?
A: Yes, it is actually a dream come true for me. As Mary Poppins says, "Anything can happen if you let it." I always wanted our first international show to be in Winnipeg. It will be so exciting to be able to perform the show in my hometown where, ironically, it originated when I was ten years old. That's when I got my first diary and unbeknownst to me, started writing the show. Linda and I workshipped the show up there in 2007 at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. We had improvised the show approximately 20 times at that point, and while we were in Winnipeg we started actually writing the script down on paper. Since then, it has grown into a full-fledged production. It's literally and figuratively a "trip" to take the finished product back to the city in which is it so deeply rooted.
Q: What was it like to grow up in Winnipeg?
A: Cold. But seriously, all joking aside, Canadians are known for their sense of humour, and I think it comes from dealing with the adversity of the cold. It is a beautiful place to grow up - especially at our cabin at the lake some 60 miles north of town. Our summers are so beautiful. And everyone knows of each other. It's a city of 700,000 but it still feels like a small community. There seems to be only a few degrees of separation. I love that about Winnipeg.
Q: There is a good bit of humor for US audiences hearing your stories of growing up in Canada, asthings like going to Grand Forks for Spring Break seems a little foreign to Americans. Do you think Linda's stories of growing up in the US will have that kind of effect for Winnipeg audiences? And what about your own stories - do you think you'll get some bigger laughs in your hometown?
A: Even though Linda's stories take place in the States, they are really universal in nature. I think the Canadian humour of some of my stories is such that, in Winnipeg, the laughter will change from the audience laughing "at" the stories to the audiences laughing from how they relate to the stories. Additionaly there are some diary entries that I don't read in Denver because the audience wouldn't understand the context or the references made, and I look forward to bringing those out when I'm up north. It will be fun to change things up after nearly 500 shows.
Q: With a new city comes a new group of women in the audience. What should the new audience in Winnipeg expect from Girls Only?
A: I think they should expext to come and see a "show" but leave feeling as if they were at a girlhood reunion. We have found that no matter where the women come from, or where the show is performed, that all the material is very universal, made personal. I would encourage women to find their old diaries or items from childhood because they'll be compelled to look through them after coming to the show.
Q: Will there be any changes to the current set?
A: Nope. The traveling set is pretty much what we have on the Denver stage, which is pretty much what my bedroom looked like, which is actually pretty much intact at my parents house. Except my walls were yellow and my carpet was green -- I wanted it to look like the outdoors. During the 2007 Fringe run of the show, my Dad lugged my actual bed and night table into the theater! I think he was pleased to to learn that there would be a big truck arriving with our set this time.
Q: What's the most exciting part of taking GO across the border?
A: Being able to perform for my childhood friends and family. My Nana is 93 and I'm hoping that she will be able to come to the show. As a Winnipegger, it is thrilled to have created something that has roots in Winnipeg and be able to bring it home to share. I'm looking forward to letting all those women have a really good laugh.
Q: Girls Only still runs in Denver. Is the entire cast making the move?
A: No, just Linda and I. We have three wonderful and talented actresses taking care of our Denver audiences while we are away.
Q: Can we expect more cities welcoming GO to the stage?
A: Oh absolutely! As the franchise grows, we hope to see it across the states and do a tour in Canada. Our next production is opening in Charlotte, NC this May, while Denver remains open. So far in Denver, we have playued to over 70,000 women. There are lots of women in the world and every one of them deserves to laugh like this. We have lots of work to do.
Q: What is the best part of doing a comedy celebrating women?
A: Honestly, the best part of all is that response we get from women, both during the show and those that talk with us in the lobby afterwards. The fact that they feel compelled to hug us like we are best friends and thank us for a much needed laugh makes me feel like I am making a difference doing what I love to do - what I was meant to do. Originally we thought we wrote a show about ourselves, and have since discovered that we wrote a show about all those women sitting in the seats. It's very fulfilling to have written a show that not only touches women's funny bones, but their hearts as well.
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