But I felt compelled to write about my recent experience performing in St. Marys. My show, “Jewish Girls Don’t Kayak,” was presented as part of the city’s storytelling series, and I was overwhelmed by the response. There were about 100 people in attendance, most locals, some from Stratford and the Kitchener-Waterloo area, others as far as Kincardine. It was truly a lovely, supportive audience who stayed glued to their seats throughout the 90-minute performance. Most were not Jewish, and a theatre-goer friend of mine commented that it’s an interesting phenomenon, how non-Jewish audiences are often more responsive to Jewish stories than Jewish audiences. Go figure!
After the show there was a reception at the United Church, the site of the performance. The repast included bagels and challah, and I included a display tray with food that’s mentioned in my show (knishes, hamantashen, latkas etc.). One woman came up to me and told me that she was inspired to start Internet dating as a result of seeing my story. I wish her the best of luck! To me that’s what makes putting my story out there worthwhile.
Next up: Ottawa!
Enjoyed it as much this time as the first three. Your father sounds like a real character.
Regarding non-Jewish audiences, one set of my grandparents were immigrants from Europe around the same time as yours, so I find a lot of the things in your show familiar. With Canada being very much a nation of immigrants, I suspect a similar familiarity is at least part of the reason for the response you get. Whatever the explanation, it must be great to get so much positive feedback.