Q&A: Supperfesta!

Jason DeRosse, Natasha Boomer, Allana Reoch and Scott Cavalheiro in Supperfesta! Photo by Nick Wong.

Natasha Boomer knows a thing or two about making people laugh. The Canadian Comedy Award winner has spent the last 13 years teaching and performing at The Second City Training Centre in Toronto, and her show Supperfesta!, a play about relationships (old and new) set at a dinner party, won Patrons' Pick at the 2013 Toronto Fringe Festival. This month, she will reprise her starring role alongside Jason DeRosse, Allana Reoch and Scott Cavalheiro in a remounted production directed by Shari Hollett at Unit 102 Theatre.

We caught up with Boomer to find out more about this entertaining experience.

Theatromania: Tell us about Supperfesta! What inspired this show?

NB: I really wanted to explore the differences in long and short-term relationships, both in our romantics lives and family lives.

Theatromania: The production won Patrons’ Pick at the 2013 Toronto Fringe Festival. Has it changed much since then?

NB: Oh yes, actually it has an all new cast, new director, it's 20 minutes shorter, clips along faster and the whole ending has changed. So a little bit.

Theatromania: You also star in the show as Betty, the “self-imposed” family matriarch. Can you tell us a bit about your character? What are her motivations?

NB: She is motivated by fear, fear of not knowing everything, fear of her family not needing her but at the same time she is reaching a point in her life where she knows that those old patterns of behaviour don’t work anymore so she is trying to change. In my experience when you try to change the old behaviour the people around you are more resistant to it than you are.

Theatromania: Have you learned anything new or significant from this experience?

NB: I have learned more than I can put into a diary each night. This experence was the first time I really worked with a dramaturge. I am so used to writing sketch-type plays so it was really challenging for my ego.

Theatromania: What do you hope audiences take away from this performance?

NB: That people live in contradiction, it is the natural state of human evolution. In the end all we have is love.

Theatromania: What’s next for you?

NB: I want to keep writing plays for sure, all different styles—one-women shows, two-handers, big musical farces—and I really want to create an original monthly staged sitcom. The genre is basically uncreated so there is so much room to discover. Bring theatre back to the youth. Create a revolution.

Catch Natasha Boomer in Supperfesta! from December 10 to 15 at Unit 102 Theatre. Click here to buy tickets.