Advertisement 1

Creative Isolation: S.E. Grummett wows crowds while stuck in Australia

Grummett won the Best Theatre award at the Adelaide Fringe for their show Something in the Water, which premiered at the Saskatoon Fringe.

Article content

We’re checking in with a different Saskatchewan artist each week to talk about their life and work during COVID-19. This week we hear from Saskatoon transgender theatre artist S.E. Grummett, who started the local Scantily Glad Theatre company. They were stuck in Australia for more than a year after being in the country for a trip during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

While there, Grummett won the Best Theatre award at the Adelaide Fringe and worked on their show, Something in the Water, which premiered at the Saskatoon Fringe. They spoke with The StarPhoenix about their pandemic year.

Q: So why were you in Australia in 2020?

Article content

A: I was only supposed to be there for three months, as sort of a vacation, and I was working at the big Adelaide Fringe last year, and was supposed to work at the Melbourne (International) Comedy Festival … I went down to work as front-of-house, and to get a feel for the Aussie circuit and go, “Can my work survive here? Let’s meet some people who do this and can give me some advice, kind of get a feel for it” … the last weekend of Fringe was March 14th-ish, when everything started to hit the fan.

I remember watching the news and was like, “Oh, the NBA is cancelled. What?” We were set to tour the North American circuit again … then within a couple days, Melbourne Comedy Fest cancelled, fringe festivals were dropping like flies, and we watched all of our work for the next year dry up in a matter of weeks.

Q: How did you end up getting “stuck” in Australia?

Article content
Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

A: No one knew what to expect. Some were like, “This will be a couple of weeks, tops.” So we were like, “Let’s just stay in Australia until this whole thing blows over, and that should be about mid-May, and then we’ll go back.” We were stuck in lockdown in Melbourne until the end of June. We had three to four weeks where stuff was starting to open up again, and then Melbourne hit a second wave … we were only allowed to leave our house for an hour a day, only allowed to go out for essential groceries, prescriptions, and we were in that for about four months.

So what was supposed to be a three-month vacation turned into, we’re stuck in these lockdowns until late October, and by that point I had found out I got into the Adelaide Fringe … it was kind of like, “Why don’t we just stay a few extra months and I’ll do this festival?”

Q: The Adelaide Fringe is much bigger than most in North America. What was it like taking your show to that stage?

A: I was really, really nervous. I felt like this little fish in the big pond. I was nervous that nobody was going to see it, that I’d fade into the background. I was kind of like, “You know what? It’s a chance to do it, I have funding to do it. And it’s a weird year. This COVID year is going to be a weird year, it’ll shake things up, maybe something great will happen.”

Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

And it did … we got there, and I got great reviews, I sold out my whole run, and I won this big award. And all of that was sort of gravy on top of being able to perform live again.

Q: How would you compare performing in Saskatoon to performing in Adelaide?

A: Saskatoon is my hometown, so when I perform anything in Saskatoon, it just feels like I’m performing it for family, in a way. All of the people who have seen my artistic journey grow up, get to come and see it. I also find Saskatoon Fringe, and frankly all of the fringes in North America, are almost like summer camp. Because they’re so much smaller, you know everybody, you form these bonds … But because of the size of it, Fringe festivals in Australia are treated as viable theatre, whereas fringe festivals in North America are sort of looked down on.

I’ve had a number of fellow artists in Saskatoon, across Canada, be like, “Well, that’s Fringe theatre,” and look down on it like it’s less than things we see on “professional” stages. So that was really nice, to feel like the work I’m making is just as good.

Q: I know Something in the Water has a lot of personal elements for you. Knowing it was so well-received, what does that mean to you?

Advertisement 5
Story continues below
Article content

A: I think this show is sort of my creative coming out. It’s the first time I’ve ever made a solo show, I’m really pushing myself creatively … I think it’s just, as a creator and a performer, it’s just knowing that, trusting my own aesthetic and creative impulses are enough, and I don’t have to try to be something else. That the uniqueness I bring to the show and my own creative voice sells tickets or wins awards, or is good enough. That’s something I wish I’d known coming out of acting school.

Q: You mentioned connecting with other transgender creators at the Adelaide festival. What was that experience like for you?

A: It was just really nice to have similar support, I guess is the word. Often when I do a festival I do a lot of outreach in the community and contact queer organizations and go, “Would you like to come see this show?” So having the support of the queer community behind me was amazing, and having friends who have gone through similar gender journeys, similar creative journeys, was really nice … we could just go for a beer afterwards and talk about hecklers, or talk about our goals as trans creators, and talk about the queer people that came to see our work, and how that really resonated with them. It was nice to have this squad of trans artists, to just feel like “we’re going to take over the world, take over the Fringe.”

Advertisement 6
Story continues below
Article content

Q: After more than a year in Australia, what’s next?

A: I have no idea. The COVID situation here in North America is so vastly different than Australia, so wrapping my mind around that is step one. I’m really not sure. I think most of the festivals this summer have moved to digital only, so trying to participate in those as best I can … I’m hoping there are some opportunities that open up, and I’m hoping to tour the show again in 2022.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

maolson@postmedia.com

Recommended from Editorial
  1. Carlyn Rhamey performs during the Nutrien Fringe Theatre Festival preview night at the Broadway Theatre in Saskatoon, SK on Wednesday, July 31, 2019.
    Fringe Reviews: Grandmothers and ADHD
  2. PeachPit Productions is one of the three companies putting on a
    Saskatoon Fringe Festival calls for performers, plans virtual and live shows

The news seems to be flying at us faster all the time. From COVID-19 updates to politics and crime and everything in between, it can be hard to keep up. With that in mind, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox to help make sure you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    This Week in Flyers