
I must admit, when I first interviewed Waawaate Fobister, I walked away somewhat distressed by the nagging feeling I had that his first solo show could all go very wrong. I mean, he was smart and had the wisdom of someone who had lived an interesting life in his 24 years. I knew that Buddies in Bad Times Theatre and his director/dramaturge Ed Roy had great confidence in him.
But really.
He was 24. He seemed like he was painfully shy. He seemed unsure of himself. He was going to be writing and performing a mainstage, full-length show based on a short personal (and traumatic) anecdote he had told on a youth performance stage. He was performing multiple characters, solo. He talked about making last-minute changes to things. Buddies was opening its season with something so untested? Really?
As I wrote up my piece for Eye Weekly, I wondered if too many expectations had been placed on somebody much too young and inexperienced--and what the fallout would be.
Boy, was my pessimism misplaced. Fobister's Agokwe took six Dora Mavor Moore Awards this week, teaching me never to underestimate what comes out of talent and hard, hard work.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for the comment!