EPISODE 2
“Pochsy is a must-see … a blend of charm and vitriol who traipses blithely over mercury-traced waters … she skewers middle-class aspirations and consumer obsessions with poison-tipped arrows and relentless slings.” (Eye Weekly)
OH, BABY SYNOPSIS: On vacation from her job packing mercury, Pochsy trips lightly across a beach of slag, splashes in silver-lined waters, and communes with 2-foot minnows. From her perch atop a huge, shimmering seashell, Pochsy delivers an ecstatic meditation on this, our horribly beautiful world.
PRODUCTION: Oh, baby premiered in 1992 at the Orlando Fringe Festival and went on to tour around North America. Written and performed by Karen Hines, directed and dramaturged by Sandra Balcovske, Score by Greg Morrison.
POCHSY POD EPISODE 2: Mike Kennard and John Turner (Mump&Smoot) with Karen Hines. Web design by Cory Ingram. Sound design and poster art by Peter Moller. Performance by Karen Hines as Pochsy and Greg Morrison on keyboards.
ARTIST BIOS
Sandra Balcovske (Director and Dramaturg) spent many years at The Second City, where she taught classes and directed the Touring Company and eight Mainstage shows. It was there that she met Karen Hines and started collaborating with her on the “POCHSY” plays and films. Sandra was director and dramaturge of Linda Griffiths’ The Game of Inches, Spiral Woman and the Dirty Theatre, and the third iteration of The Drowsy Chaperone. Sandra has been nominated for a Canadian Comedy award and three Dora Mavor Moore awards for directing. Currently working with Justin Miller on Pearle Harbour’s Chautauqua, and other shows upcoming.
Karen Hines (Pochsy) is a writer, performer, director and magazine writer. She is the creator of The Pochsy Plays, and the director of adult horror clowns Mump & Smoot. She has acted in many Canadian films and television shows, and played assistants in numerous “Canada-for-Hollywood” television shows and films.
Cory Ingram (Web Designer) is an acclaimed poet and novelist with two new books in the works.
Mike Kennard and John Turner (Conversationalists: Episode 2) are the creator/performers of internationally beloved horror clowns Mump & Smoot. Both are teachers and widely sought after in both university and conservatory settings. John is the founder of The Clown Farm, Mike is a professor at the University of Alberta. Both have collaborated for many years on the Pochsy plays – and John directed Citizen Pochsy, while Mike is directing the upcoming Pochsy IV.
Peter Moller (Sound Designer and Graphic Artist) has run Egg Press Co., a Calgary-based graphic and sound design establishment, since 1976. As the recipient of a number of Betty Mitchell and Elizabeth Sterling Haynes awards and nominations for his theatre sound designs, it has been his good fortune to collaborate with many widely diverse theatre companies across Canada. Recent work: Modern Times Redux, Tales O’ Calg’ry & S’roundin’ Reejuns, an exhibition of recent artworks at cSpace King Edward, and 1958 a tone poem representing his family’s move from Denmark to Calgary playing at the Arts Common +15 Soundscape. To see and hear Peter’s works please visit eggpress.ca
Greg Morrison – Composer and Performer (The Pochsy Plays and these Pods) is a Canadian composer and writer best known for his work on the Tony Award winning musical The Drowsy Chaperone, written with songwriting partner, Lisa Lambert. The Drowsy Chaperone was their first collaboration. Greg is a graduate of the Humber College Jazz program in Toronto. He began his theatre career as musical director for the touring company of The Second City in Toronto. As well as working for The Second City, Greg composed and performed scores and musical direction for a variety of Toronto artists, most notably, playwright Karen Hines, powerhouse horror clown duo, Mump and Smoot and Canadian theatre icon, Linda Griffiths. He continues to write for theatre as well as writing songs for television and film.