The Citizen, 2018-08-23, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018. PAGE 19.
Young Company, Garratt bring ‘HC Kid’ to life
This year’s Blyth Festival Young
Company production of HC Kid was
delightfully unique and weird, which
is exactly the way it was supposed to
be.
To review this show I had to mine
my memory to remember “Fox
You”, a Coldplay song from 2005
and then Google a different song
called “Gimme Pizza” from an old
Olsen Twins movie that centres
around a slumber party. Those kinds
of obscure references often only live
in the confines of the Young
Company creative process.
Emma Marcy of Seaforth – the
star of last year’s one-woman Young
Company show, From Sallows to
Selfies – West Larabee of Lucknow
and Annika Balzer of Auburn were
the three artists on stage for this
year’s installment of the program.
They began the process under the
direction of Blyth Festival alumnus
Curtis te Brinke, but were led by
Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt
by the time the show hit the Phillips
Studio stage.
HC Kid was billed as a unique,
Huron County ghost story that
would explore the realities of being a
young person in Huron County,
touching on intergenerational ideas
and the differences between growing
up “then” as opposed to now.
In the end, however, Marcy,
Larabee and Balzer chose to focus
on an amusing – if that’s the right
term to use – look at their own
mortality. Whether they were
rhyming off “awesome” ways to die,
murdering stuffed bears or
discussing local ties to the great
beyond, the subject of death was
always the focus of these young
artists in the show.
The three actors, who also created
HC Kid themselves, framed the
show around planning their own
funerals. They explored everything
from casket selection to funeral
attire and the eulogy and – most
importantly – music.
After one of the actors would hear
the other two eulogize them, the
“deceased” had to settle on the
perfect funeral song, which was
followed by a dance number.
Balzer decided her ideal final song
would be “Happy” by Pharrell
Williams, while Marcy chose a song
by Miami-based rapper Pitbull.
Larabee’s song selection was a
little different, seeing as how he
chose to forego the casket and be
cremated, a choice gaining
popularity in recent years.
However, with all of the actors
having a connection to local
pizzerias, Larabee hoped that his
ashes would be baked into a pizza
and that his friends would then eat
that pizza.
This, of course, is where “Gimme
Pizza” comes in. “Gimme pizza, P-I-
Z-Z-A,” go the lyrics and all three
actors act out making their own
special pizza. Larabee’s remains
may or may not have been included.
The actors did a great job of
interacting with their audience
members. The front row of seats
included couches and chairs, which
brought a level of intimacy to the
show between the actors and those in
the front row. In fact, those audience
members were lucky enough to be
involved in the cast’s take on a
Build-a-Bear heart ceremony for the
show’s pet stuffed bear, Bearemy. (If
you remember my “murdering
stuffed bears” mention from earlier
in this piece, unfortunately things
don’t end that well for ol’ Bearemy.)
Marcy, Larabee and Balzer all did
a great job getting their stories
Congratulations
on
50 Years!
Bruce & Margaret Whitmore
August 17th
With love from your family xoxo
Happy 65th Anniversary
Bill & Maxine Seers
Love & Best Wishes
Gail & Allan Faye & Geoff Carol & Bert
Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren
Happy 85th
Birthday
William (Bill) Rodger
Long-time Huron County Resident
Steve and Rita Bowers
of RR 2 Brussels
are happy to announce
the marriage of their son
Greg
to
Nicole
daughter of Fred and Lori Bade
of Port Franks
Wedding to take place on
Saturday, August 25, 2018
in Strathroy
Forthcoming Marriage
Wedding Announcement
Steven & Laurie Sparling
and
Joel & Jean Green
are pleased to announce
the marriage of their children
Jessica Elizabeth
and
Ethan Ross
on June 2, 2018
at Sage Chapel
on the campus of their
alma mater, Cornell University,
Ithaca, NY.
Ethan & Jessica Green
currently live in
New York City, NY.
Happy
65th
Anniversary
Ross & Shirley
Smith
Brussels
Entertainment Leisure&
The exorcist
Billed as a Huron County ghost story focused on what it’s like to grow up in the community
right now, HC Kid was on the Phillips Studio stage three times last week, bringing to fruition
the hard work of this year’s three members. The show explored life, death, murder and many
points in between during a delightfully weird and unique experience. From left: Annika Balzer,
director Gil Garratt, Emma Marcy and West Larabee. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 20