Episodes

  • Crochet for Peace with Montreal’s Most Adorable and Edgy Comedian (and Winner of Best Baby Face), Shosho Abotouk

    Crochet for Peace with Montreal’s Most Adorable and Edgy Comedian (and Winner of Best Baby Face), Shosho Abotouk
    Dec 10 2024
    What the world needs now is today’s guest, the radiant and revolutionary Shosho Abotouk! Shosho is a generous and talented stand-up comic, crochet artist, entrepreneur, and activist. When I consider the terrifying atrocities that are happening all over our planet, I feel deeply soothed and heartened people like Shosho exists. Behind her sweet and adorable persona, Shosho brings us edgy and important and straightshooting comedy. She is a joy to watch. You will laugh so hard. Shosho is also the founder of The Montreal Crochet Club, which offers social events and beginner-friendly workshops for crocheters of all levels. There’s Crochet and Cocktails (or Mocktails), Crochet Cafes, Crochet and Comedy nights. What a healing force for humanity! Shosho uses her crocheted creations as statements for activism and she encourages you to do the same. Follow Shosho on Instagram: @nosearchresultsfound, @studioshosho and @montrealcrochetclubFollow Erica on Instagram @erica.j.schmidt or check out her website at ericajschmidt.comFull show notes at ericajschmidt.com/podcast/mtl-crochet-club-comedy-shoshoShosho Abotouk on This Is Your Strange and Beautiful LifeShosho’s Creative Origins: A vigorous bookworm, Shosho always longed to write, draw, and create—but maybe you can relate—she didn’t believe she was good enough. Hear how she went from watching Saturday Night Live to anchoring her high school’s sports events to finally discovering her creative community at Toronto Metropolitan University.Shosho’s First Open Mics and How Her Baby Face Helps with Comedy. A weird face also helps. A weird name AND a weird face, see you on Netflix. But you don’t need to have a weird name or a weird face to try comedy.Can you believe that Shosho only learned to crochet during the pandemic? Now she’s a pro crochet artist and teacher! Shosho recommends crocheting every moment of your life. If you’re looking to solve your next family gathering, hit up the Montreal Crochet Club, and never talk to irritating relatives without a bunch of yarn and needles in your lap ever again. You can also get in touch with Shosho for a stunning watermelon Free Palestine keychain, among other gorgeous creations. Quit like a comedian. Shosho and Erica discuss Shosho’s imminent one-year sobriety from alcohol anniversary. Erica the teetotaller regurgitates everything she learned from Holly Whitaker’s book, Quit Like a Women, featuring kind, gentle, and non-patriarchal advice on how to transcend our culture’s obsession with alcohol. It was the book-club slash share-all portion of This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life and we’re thankful for Shosho’s generous candour and honesty. Listener Question from Reluctant Rapunzel: How Can I Get My Mother to Stop Telling Me to Shave My Head? Shosho’s eloquence and wisdom do not disappoint.Morning Routines, Creative Routines, and Cleaning Routines: A healthy mix of the snooze button, aspirational affirmations à la Louise Haye, and nailing it under pressure. Shosho’s spectacular TED talk: Love yourself like your life depends on it. But don’t be cheesy AF. Try to be grateful, hopefully your life’s not that much of a drag. HALF-BAD UKULELE SEGMENT: Time After Time by Cindi Lauper. Shosho sings like an angel and yet, the segment is living up to its name these days. Someone please help Erica change her strings!THANK YOU SO MUCH, SHOSHO. You are what the world needs now!Recommended Episodes and ResourcesIf you enjoyed this episode, you will love: Dream Jobs With John Cotrocois, Laughs for All With Abby Stonehouse, Just for Laughs With Andrew KhouryWhy We’re Still Single With Mariam Khan, and Better Out Than In With Aloe AzimovIf you, like Shosho, long for the bookworm days of your youth, check out Erica’s essay, How to Start Reading AgainQuit Like a Women by Holly WhitakerFull Listen Question from Reluctant RapunzelDear Erica and Shosho,A year and a half ago, my younger brother—my mother’s golden child—conquered Stage 3 colon cancer. Ever since, my mother has devoted her life to running in every 5K or 10K cancer fundraiser within 400 km of her home. I don’t run because it hurts my knees and I don’t like to exercise. But my mother thinks I should shave my head in support of what my brother went through—oh, and also to make a wig for all the poor children undergoing cancer treatment.This feels like a big and unnecessary ask. It has taken me most of my twenties to grow my hair almost all the way down my back. My hair is thick, shiny, and kind of awesome. I hate how much emphasis our society puts on appearance, but my hair is the one thing about my looks that I really care about.My brother is long in remission, and his golden locks have all grown back. He doesn’t talk much about his cancer and has never mentioned that he thinks I should shave my head. But my mother brings it up every time we talk. It’s that, her next race, or adding extra fiber to her lasagna recipes so we ...
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 26 mins
  • Stories from L’arche with Jimmy and Isabelle

    Stories from L’arche with Jimmy and Isabelle
    Nov 21 2024
    Today we have a special episode with my dear pals Jimmy and Isabelle. I met Jimmy and Isabelle at L’Arche, a worldwide network of communities for people with intellectual disabilities. When I was 19, I moved to L’Arche in search of a transformed heart. For two years, I lived and worked with Jimmy, Isabelle, and three other people with wildly different intellectual disabilities.There’s so much I could share about my time at L’Arche, but for today, I’m handing the mic to Jimmy and Isabelle.JimmyJimmy is rocking his early sixties. He has had a whole bunch of different jobs, including working at a daycare and a curtain factory. Jimmy has a passion for Ancient Egypt, bowling, swimming, drawing and colouring, Hulk superheroes, and the Power Rangers. He has a special notebook in his fanny pack which he uses to write secret messages to the Power Rangers. Jimmy has Down Syndrome and an excellent sense of humour. After 20 years at his L’Arche home the SKiff, he is always looking out for his friends and housemates. Whenever anyone walks through the door, no matter how long it’s been, Jimmy greets them with, “I missed you.”IsabelleIsabelle and I are the same age (39 or just about). When we’re together, people always ask if we’re sisters. Isabelle completed her studies at the Montreal School for the Blind, where she was blessed with exceptional teachers like Barbara, Missy, and Juliet. In her youth, Isabelle and I would go swimming, and she’d bravely trust me to push her alongside the river—Isabelle in her wheelchair, me on rollerblades. Everyone survived. Isabelle has complex cerebral palsy, which means she mostly speaks with her eyes, not words, and doesn’t move very much. Her deepest loves include music, prayers, poetry, family, friends, and community.What you’ll hear today is a just a small glimpse into the worlds of Jimmy and Isabelle. This was originally going to be part of a much larger project. And there’s still time for this. But for now, Jimmy and Isabelle, welcome to This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life.Episode Notes and ResourcesThis recording was created and published with Jimmy and Isabelle’s explicit consent.In 2020, the L’Arche founder Jean Vanier was discovered to have sexually abused several of his mentees. Thankfully, there are no reports of JV abusing L’Arche’s core members, the people with intellectual disabilities. However, the truth is terrible and disappointing. L’Arche has fully acknowledged and apologized for Jean Vanier’s abuse, condemning his actions “without reservation.” To learn more about the horrible revelations, you can read this article. L’Arche has also published a summary of its report on Father Thomas and Jean Vanier.If you’d like to learn more about my years at L’Arche, I wrote an essay called This Is It. Click here to read This Is It by Erica J. Schmidt.To learn more about L’Arche, visit L’Arche International and/or L’Arche Canada.Jimmy and Isabelle live at L’Arche Montréal.If you’re looking for somewhere to donate extra funds, all of these places are wonderful causes.To get in touch with Erica, you can find her on Instagram or her website at ericajschmidt.com. You can also make her day by sending her a listener question to any of these places.And if you enjoyed this episode, you will love: Making It Fun with Mary Owen,Discovering Autism with Maha Abdelhak Cavalcanti, and Taking the Pressure Off with Erica J. Schmidt.Thank you so much for listening! Stay tuned for more episodes extra soon. Don’t forget to followThis Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on your favourite podcast platform. And if you enjoyed the episode, I would be immensely grateful if you could share it with a friend and/or leave a kind and enthusiastic rating and review.
    Show More Show Less
    22 mins
  • Art, Death, and Spiritual Care With Jennifer Hamilton

    Art, Death, and Spiritual Care With Jennifer Hamilton
    Nov 4 2024
    “The privilege of just having the capacity to physically do the art or the music, that’s a huge gift. Because I meet people all the time who have a lot of responsibilities and a lot of setbacks, because I’m in the public health system. So, I get to see people that really are struggling and suffering. And I don’t think all of our suffering is equal. I think there are some people who have to suffer a lot. And it’s not really fair. It doesn’t make any sense. There’s nothing that those people are doing that is making it as though they deserve to suffer. They’re just being human here, and they have whatever setbacks they’re being dealt. And so, I’m lucky that up until now, I haven’t had huge physical setbacks, or if I’ve had financial setbacks, I’ve had safety nets, and I’ve actually been gifted a lot of things in my life in terms of the ability to have time to make art.”—Jennifer HamiltonJennifer Hamilton is a prolific and ignited visual artist, musician, theology scholar, and spiritual caregiver. Her paintings take you on a colourful, embodied, and mystical journey through ritualized inspiration and sacred geometry. Jennifer is deeply connected to the spiritual seekers and artists who came before her. She derives great inspiration from ancient texts and practices, and her special muse Hilma af Klint. In addition to a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Jennifer has her diploma in fashion design and a Bachelor of Theology.Jennifer could have been a bunch of things when she grew up, and that’s kind of what happened. But these days, she is working as a spiritual caregiver in Montreal hospitals. Her current projects seek to explore this world of spiritual care through painting and ritualized reflection.Jennifer is also a generous fan of This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life and I think this episode was a dream come true for both of us.Jennifer Hamilton on This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life00:00 Intro song and bio2:34 Quick and very fun break! Don’t forget to follow This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on the platforms. Bonus points for five-star reviews. And please also follow Erica and Jen on Instagram and across the interwebs.Jenn on Instagram: @vitalongaJen’s website: jenniferhamilton.comErica on Instagram: @erica.j.schmidtErica’s website: ericajschmidt.com4:00 Interview starts! Question one is about growing up in a small town. Does this cause special person syndrome, as per Erica’s theory? Jen shares about her creative origins, her aspirational art teacher Mona Istrati-Mulhern (worththeirsalt.ca), and Jen’s light responsibilities as a gifted child in Goderich, Ontario. PS, Jen’s Catholic school was called, St. Anne's Clinton | Renewing The Promise - Joyful Disciples (huronperthcatholic.ca), and it’s the reason she’s so great at French!14:23 Sacred Texts and Art Practices: Jen talks about the rituals and step-by-step “recipes” that guide her art projects.17:34 Jen describes, Alters of the directions, her most complex “recipe,” where she followed a version of Lectio Divina or “divine reading” a systematic process of reading and responding to spiritual texts. Hit up the full show notes on Erica’s website for some stunning images of Jen’s work.37:49 Even though they are not wildly rich, Erica and Jen discuss their hot, single, zero-child, educated white women privilege. A lot of people overestimate Jen’s privilege since she is quite talented at buying designer clothes at the Salvation Army. Also, she is much more gracious than most when it comes to acknowledging her luck and good fortune. But we talk about the health, time, materials, and money that help us dive into elaborate projects. And how the opportunities simply aren’t equal, and there just isn’t any reasonable reason for this.45:08 Listener question from Good Friends Don’t Make Good Roommates. Our listener’s friend Sara is hard-up and wants to crash at her pad for “a couple of months.” GFDMGR is concerned this will put a massive strain on their friendship, especially since Sara loves to party and GFDMGR needs her alone time. Sara says she’s being a bad friend for saying no. Is she a jerk? What should she do? Jennifer Hamilton and Erica can’t fix it—but this one is kind of a no-brainer.53:14 Morning, creative, and cleaning routines, plus, if Jennifer Hamilton could distill and transform her life into a spectacular TED talk, what would the title and topic be?1:05 Half bad ukulele segment: In the Pines. Sing and play along with this tab! If it sounds weird, try your Capo on one! But most importantly, remember, The same old train that brought me here, will soon take us all away.Gosh that was fun, fun, fun! Infinite thanks to Jennifer Hamilton!Links and Recommended EpisodesOne more reminder to follow Jennifer Hamilton on Instagram @vitalongaand check out her website at jenniferhamilton.comErica is on Facebook or Instagram, and her website is at ericajschmidt.com. You can ...
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 11 mins
  • Singing For Bliss With Kathy Kennedy

    Singing For Bliss With Kathy Kennedy
    Oct 16 2024
    This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life welcomes marvellous community builder, multi-disciplinary sound artist, and relative social butterfly Kathy Kennedy. I met Kathy at one of the 17 Christmas parties she was invited to in 2022. Before that I knew her from when she directed the extraordinary women’s choir Choeur Maha. A conversation and a half with Kathy and I soon discovered that Kathy is as iconic as her far-reaching projects. Her magic awaits, right here on your favourite podcast platform! We even have a few hot takes from Kathy’s spectacular recordings. Listen all the way through, and check out the time stamps below to savour the highlights! (Full shownotes here.)Kathy Kennedy’s Episode00:00 Rousing and arousing intro song and bio 3:07 Quick and very fun break! Don’t forget to follow This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life and leave a five-star review. Also, please track down Erica and Kathy on Instagram and across the interwebs. 4:22 Interview starts. Question One: How did Kathy get started on her journey to creating this very unique art that requires a certain amount of equipment, a lot of skill? Turns out, Kathy moved from the Gaspé to Montréal as a tween. The assault of noise pollution and hormones left a drastic impact. 7:20 On Kathy’s lifelong fascination: the difference between listening and hearing. 8:05 The definition of acoustic ecology: the study of living beings and their sonic environment. This field was initially ununcovered by R. Murray Schafer who happens to be a Canadian. Go, R. Murray Schafer! His obituary on the cbc.ca was a pretty good read!8:55 Noise pollution and industry in nature, particularly in the ocean is affecting our animal friends. Whales are having a hard time mating! So are the humans. And they’ve discovered that birds are chirping at a higher decibel. 9:30 To cope with the grating sonar landscape, Kathy turned to art and sound (plus a touch of drugs and rock ‘n roll). Thank 11:10 The importance of bringing people together to sing. Kathy believes that singing is our birthright and not just for Celine and American idols. Kind of like Lynne Adams says that if you have a body, you are a dancer, Kathy insists that if you have a voice, then you are a singer! She says, “Singing is a gift.” Be that happy person who’s singing along to the radio in the supermarket. 17:30 Voice coaching and the healing power of helping people find, accept, and embrace their true voice. “I’m trying to focus on the concept of your voice healing you and making you feel good as opposed to wanting to sound any particular way.” 23:03 Fun excerpt from Kathy’s lovingly and painstakingly mixed recordings.23:53 How does Kathy get invited to so many parties? Kathy shares the interesting conundrum of being an introverted workaholic artist whose projects overlap with all kinds of wonderful people. Hear about Kathy’s vision of the good enough café, a non-pretentious opportunity for people to eat and commune in a not amazing but good enough place for her peeps to hang out and luxuriate in each other’s company like it’s the eighties in Montréal.31:01 Another soothing and invigorating excerpt of Kathy’s splendid recording!31:34 Like Daniel Allen Cox, Kathy Kennedy is yet another house fire twin! Kathy shares how her apartment fire was nothing short of a miracle that led her into a state of bliss (and possibly a touch of mania). 44:17 Listener Question from Hurt Inner Child: A daughter looks to her mother for support after a job interview. Guess how that went? Kathy and Erica can’t fix it, but they have thoughts about when to call your parents for best results. 56:28 Our last little bit from Kathy’s exquisite sound art.56:40 Morning routines, creative routines, cleaning routines, and Kathy’s spectacular TED talk: Kathy’s rituals in plant care, the struggle to transcend technology and fumble into a flow state, how to navigate neighbours and loud hobbies, procrasticleaning, rage cleaning, and more. Stay tuned for Kathy’s imminent book!Half-bad ukulele segment: If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lightfoot. Thank you to Lisa at Ukulele Fools for this delightful tutorial. Sing along loud and proud and if you’re playing along, we have the capo on 1!Thank you, Kathy Kennedy! What a blast!Links, Resources, and Recommended EpisodesFollow Kathy Kennedy on Instagram @kathykennedy.ca or on Facebook. Her glorious website is kathykennedy.ca.Follow Erica on Facebook or Instagram or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com. You can also make her day by sending her a listener question to any of these places.Recommended Episodes: 5 Rhythms With Lynne Adams, Hot Dates Frenching With Lou Laurence, and Moments of Joy With Al Lafrance.Listener Question from Hurt Inner ChildDear Erica and Kathy, My relationship with my mother has always been complicated. Most recently, I had a job interview I felt really confident about. I called her right after telling her how I had a ...
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 18 mins
  • Better Out Than In With Aloe Azimov

    Better Out Than In With Aloe Azimov
    Oct 1 2024
    I had my first conversation with Aloe Azimov during my two-star summer of wretched mental health. Before that I knew Aloe from her candid and hilarious stand-up sets at queer-friendly venues across the city. If you’ve been at the same shows as Aloe, you’ll recognize her unmistakeable and uproarious laughter that reverberates the venue walls and vodka bottles. In the throes of my break-up grief (and worse), I told Aloe about one terrible day after another, the crapshoot of emotional regulation, and whether to embark on a fraught course of pharmaceuticals. As I vented, I discovered that Aloe was a conscientious, compassionate conversationalist, and I thought, when the podcast comes back to life, she needs an episode. So, here we are! ALOE AZIMOV’S EPISODE On the pod, we talk about Aloe’s comedic origin story, how she used to have to wear baggy hoodies so that people couldn’t see how much she was sweating and shaking, how failure became a motivator to keep getting up on stage, and how she overcame most of her performance anxiety (with a little help from therapy). We discuss the difference between comedy and storytelling, citing my darling bestie Sherwin who claims that storytelling comes from the heart, while comedy aims lower from your gut and your junk. Aloe shares her mental health journey, and how her bipolar disorder affects and does not affect her comedy. (Hint: You don’t have to be manic to be an artist, and medication will not destroy all your creativity.) We dig into medication, with its ups and downs and tradeoffs. (NEVER GO OFF YOUR MEDS BASED ON ANYTHING YOU HEAR ON THIS PODCAST OR THE INTERNET!) There’s some talk of lost will to live and suicidal ideation, but we infuse tough topics with riveting charm, and in general, the content warning is milder than anticipated. Our listener question from My House Smells Really Bad! Please Help! features a devastating roommate conundrum. Aloe and Erica can’t fix it—but our thoughts are pragmatic and decisive. Make sure to listen to the end for Aloe’s morning, creative, and cleaning routines, plus the title and topic of her life’s most spectacular TED talk. Like Aloe, this is a thoughtful and generous episode, and the perfect interview to break the sad summer hiatus. THANK YOU, ALOE!LINKS AND RECOMMENDED EPISODESFULL SHOWNOTES ON ERICA’S WEBSITE Aloe Azimov, LIVE AT LADYFEST MONTREAL with Abby Stonehouse on House of Stone PodcastFollow Aloe on Instagram @aloe_aziCatch Aloe’s performances at Stand-up Saint Henri, the Polymic, and Tales of Gender Affirmation.Follow Erica on Facebook or Instagram or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com. You can also make her day by sending her a listener question to any of these places.And if you enjoyed this episode, you’ll love Painting Boundaries with Painting Boundaries With Bean Nunnerley, Dream Jobs With John Cotrocois, and Laughs for All With Abby Stonehouse.ABOUT ALOE AZIMOVAloe Azimov is a cherished comedian, host, and producer on the Montréal stand-up scene. She is also a delightful audience member. Her laughter is unmistakable and beautifully encouraging. It makes the whole show a better place. Aloe’s stand-up offers an eclectic mix of hilarious musings on mental health, family problems, gender identity, and the absurd anecdotes that make life worth remembering. You can catch Aloe on stages across the city, with regular appearances at Stand-up Saint Henri, the Polymic, and Tales of Gender Affirmation, which she founded and produces and which offers a supportive and empowering environment for queer and trans artists.LISTENER QUESTION FROM MY HOUSE SMELLS REALLY BAD! PLEASE HELP!Dear Erica and Aloe, I live in a student house with 3 other tenants, I'm only really friends with 2 of them although not through lack of effort, the other girl just does not give me nor anyone the time of day. Always awkward in passing and never more than a one-word response in conversation. She is somewhat friends with the other girl we live with and she has told me that she hasn't washed her bedding all year - maybe 10months. She is disgusting, her room smells vile of just body odur from I can only assume is clothes and bedding that's gone unwashed and is so messy and dirty it looks like it should be on a hoarder programme.Now I don't want to make comments on her room as she doesn't know I've seen it (the other girl showed me because she was concerned) but I have messaged about the smell because it's really quite disgusting as it's built more over time and guests/visitors/girlfriends/boyfriends have all commented on it, literally everyone who has visited the house. The main issue here is how do I get her to change?! She ignored my message and the smell is so bad I can smell her B.O. in my room (our doors are adjacent). It's one thing to smell like that but its another to not make any effort but what can I do next to try and resolve this? Any help is appreciated because my girlfriend now doesn't want to ...
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 18 mins
  • Alexia and Erica Can’t Fix It. But We Have Thoughts. (Summer Sprinkles Edition)

    Alexia and Erica Can’t Fix It. But We Have Thoughts. (Summer Sprinkles Edition)
    Jul 30 2024
    Back due to wild popularity, we have the exuberant and life-enhancing, Alexia Côté, here for yet another all-advice episode. Tune in as we tackle a fascinating round of puzzling-to-devastating listener questions. Quandaries/Train Wrecks come from:The Best Friend Fadeaway: She’s drifting apart from her ostensibly draining and judgy BFF. Should she just let the friendship fizzle? Is a mature and honest conversation truly necessary?I Wanna Look Cute on Tinder Too: An identical twin uses pictures from her photogenic sister to land dates on the apps. Does this count as catfishing? Must she stop?Playing Second Fiddle to Her Little Brother: He snoops and finds his girlfriend might be hot for a family friend she calls her “Little Brother.” They even have a pact to get married if they’re both single when he finishes college. Is this the mess it feels like, or is he being paranoid?Alexia and Erica can’t fix it. But we have thoughts.Since she last appeared on Episode 20 of This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life, Alexia has enjoyed a delightful whirlwind of creative thrills. For example, she got into Montreal Fringe last minute and totally nailed it. La Germaine et le Vieux Criss premiered to rave reviews and two Frankie nominations including Best Storytelling Show. Congratulations, Alexia! Follow Alexia on Instagram @sidealexia so you don’t miss her next exciting news. In more upsetting news, Montréal’s beloved Mainline Theatre recently experienced dramatic flooding. They were already hoping to raise a bunch of funds to account for pandemic losses. But now with the extensive damages, they need our help more than ever. The fundraiser is doing great, but it would be splendid if we could give them some extra support. Every bit helps. Here’s the link to the fundraiser. Thank you so much!Half-bad Ukulele Segment: Seabird by the Alessi Brothers. Solidly half-bad!If you enjoyed this episode, you will also enjoy, Moments of Joy With Al Lafrance, and Caroline and Erica Can’t Fix It, and Erica and Alexia Can’t Fix It. But We Have Thoughts.Thank you so much for listening! To support this independent podcast, please consider purchasing a Lil and Bud dog greeting card at ericajschmidt.com/merch. You can also make a one-time donation here at The Donate Button. Feel free to get in touch for other sponsorship possibilities. My infinite thanks for all of this.More infinite thanks, as always, to Taes Leavitt (darling big sister, Big Heart Journey), Sherwin Tjia (technical and creative advisor, Sherwin’s Quirky Events, Episode 22) and my dearly departed aunt Eileen Gun, whose generous gift helped to fund my new podcast equipment. And infinite thanks to you, my dear listeners! Stay tuned for more episodes extra soon. Don’t forget to follow This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on your favourite podcast platform. And if you enjoyed this episode, I would be immensely grateful if you could share it with a friend and/or leave a kind and enthusiastic rating and review.
    Show More Show Less
    53 mins
  • Moment(s) of Joy With Al Lafrance

    Moment(s) of Joy With Al Lafrance
    Jul 2 2024
    Today my guest is the Montreal Fringe and Canadian Heartthrob Al Lafrance. I caught Al during this year’s Fringe and it was a dream come true. Over iced tea and zero air conditioning, we reminisce about Al’s prolific Fringe and haiku career, his cringey and champion insomnia, how not sleeping and other mental health adventures help and don’t help creativity, how Al’s brain’s doing now, thrift stores, hoarding, cleaning routines, plus a 5-star listener question from How Much Tea Should I Spill, a would-be artist who’s dying to write their juicy and incriminating opus but they’re worried they’re family will sue them. And not to be missed, we wrap up with Al’s first and last singing performance of everybody’s favourite punk rock 90s hit Basket Case. Transcend the bottom of the u-shaped curve with moments of joy with Al Lafrance. If you love Al’s soothing and hilarious, spot-on rambly shows, you will love this episode.About Al LafranceAl Lafrance is a veteran and idol in the delicate and risky art of the one-human show. (We all know these can go either way. But for Al, they always go the right way!) Time and again, Al has taken to the stage in bare feet and a statement t-shirt. He is famous for enthralling audiences and leading them to laugh their faces off. Al has the enviable gift of infusing humour and fascination into life’s most unlikely crevices, whether that’s insomnia, trampoline injuries, fast food jobs, beards, mental health, or obscure award-winning board games. To watch Al Lafrance do his thing is to be captivated, to restore your faith in humanity and to rediscover the magic of creativity. Same thing goes for listening to this interview!Follow Al Lafrance on Instagram @notsoweirdalSlide into Al’s DMs and tell him all about your creative failures and moments of joy! Bonus points for selfies of you in a rubber chicken hat!Al Lafrance’s WebsiteStay tuned for tickets to Al’s Show Is This Yours, This August 16-25 at the Edmonton Fringe FestivalResources and Recommended EpisodesIsland of the Sequinned Love Nun by Christopher MooreIf you enjoyed this episode, you will also enjoy, Quirky Events With Sherwin Tjia, Default Creative Settings With Paul de Tourreil, Hot Dates and Frenching With Lou Laurence, andErica and Alexia Can’t Fix It. But We Have Thoughts.Half Bad Ukulele Segment: Basket Case. Thank youUkulele Cheats for this splendid ukulele tutorial!Follow Erica on Facebook or Instagram or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com. You can also make her day by sending her a listener question to any of these places.Listener Question With How Much Tea Should I Spill?Dear Erica and Al,I have all these crazy stories from my family and fucked up childhood. I want to turn them into art, butI’m worried about compromising other people’s privacy. Some of the parties involved have not treated me well. In these cases, I don’t care about their feelings and feel like any repercussions would be worth it. At the same time, I don’t want to jeopardize my relationships with certain friends and siblings. Plus, couldn’t anybody take me to court and sue me? How do I write my opus while avoiding a lawsuit and other complications?Love, How Much Tea Should I Spill?Thank you so much for listening! To support this independent podcast, please consider purchasing a Lil and Bud dog greeting card at ericajschmidt.com/merch. You can also make a one-time donation here at The Donate Button.Feel free to get in touch for other sponsorship possibilities. My infinite thanks for all of this.More infinite thanks, as always, to Taes Leavitt (darling big sister, Big Heart Journey), Sherwin Tjia (technical and creative advisor, Sherwin’s Quirky Events,Episode 22) and my dearly departed aunt Eileen Gun, whose generous gift helped to fund my new podcast equipment.And infinite thanks to you, my dear listeners! Stay tuned for more episodes extra soon. Don’t forget to followThis Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on your favourite podcast platform. And if you enjoyed this episode, I would be immensely grateful if you could share it with a friend and/or leave a kind and enthusiastic rating and review.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 17 mins
  • Bandwidth and Boundaries With Iris Bahr

    Bandwidth and Boundaries With Iris Bahr
    Jun 25 2024
    I met Iris Bahr at the 2024 Montreal Fringe Festival where she premiered her spectacular one-woman show, “Stories From the Brink.” I laughed endlessly! Afterwards, I was super smooth and awkwardly asked Iris if she would like to be the most famous person to ever appear on This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life. And Iris very generously said yes. What a thrill!Iris and I recorded outside on Avenue Duluth so you’ll get an authentic Montréal experience, complete with birds, tourists, and exciting cobblestone traffic. We talk about creative routines (or lack thereof), the pénurie de main d’oeuvre, the boundaries we didn’t inherit, the guilt we did inherit, our relationships with our mothers, that time when Iris saw her mother have a stroke over video chat, the years of caregiving that followed, Iris’s autistic brother who grew up in a group home, grief, art, humour, healing, the quandary of online dating, neurotic moments with the dust buster, plus the magical line, “I don’t have the bandwidth for that right now.”About Iris BahrIris Bahr is a multi-talented, multi-voiced writer, artist, and performer. Iris was on her way to becoming a neuroscientist when she changed her mind and decided to pursue a career in acting. This led to all kinds of dreamy creative projects. Iris took up stand-up comedy, she wrote a couple of memoirs, and she appeared on a whole bunch of TV shows, including Friends, The Drew Carey Show, and maybe you’ve heard of Curb Your Enthusiasm? The peeps over there concluded that Iris was so perfect for the role of Rachel Heineman, that they shut down the audition process.In 2010, Iris pitched, wrote, produced, and starred in her original TV series, Svetlana. Meanwhile, she has channeled her colourful childhood and sometimes devastating past into multiple, masterful, and very very very funny one-woman shows. Stay tuned for imminent runs of Stories From the Brink, a hilarious ride through a remarkable number of near-death experiences. The fabulous show won a Frankie at the 2024 Montreal Fringe Fest. (Congrats! So well deserved!) And coming up at the Toronto Fringe (July 3-14), Iris will be performing “See You Tomorrow,” a poignant and heartfelt comedy about parenting a parent with dementia. I highly recommend jumping at any opportunity to watch Iris do her magic on stage. Iris, it was a joy to have you on the pod! Thank you so much! Until we meet again, See you tomorrow!Links to Iris Bahr’s WorkIris Bahr’s Website at irisbahr.comInstagram @iris.bahrIris Bahr on FacebookIris Bahr’s Workshopsand CoachingTickets to “See You Tomorrow” at the Toronto Fringe (July 3-14)Resources and Recommended EpisodesBurned Haystack Dating Method™The Boy in the Moon by Ian BrownDiscovering Autism With Maha Abdelhak CavalcantiFat Liberation With Emma LanzaMore Episodes With Delightful Comedians:Just for Laughs With Andrew KhouryWhy We’re Still Single With Mariam KhanLaughs for All With Abby StonehouseDream Jobs With John CotrocoisFollow Erica on Facebook or Instagram or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com. You can also make her day by sending her a listener question to any of these places.Listener Question from “Caught Short of Words”Dear Erica and Iris Bahr,At a recent family gathering, my cousin and I were drinking it up andhaving fun dancing outside with some others. My cousin thinks it so funny to fart and watch peoples’ reactions, but this time when he pushed real hard, it was not a fart that came out. When he turned around, the back of his pants were coated, but he just kept dancing and laughing, not knowing the disaster he made in his downstairs department. I didn’t say anything, and others saw it eventually and he was mortified. He isn’t speaking to me anymore because he says I should have told him. Did I do something wrong?Love, Caught Short of WordsThank you so much for listening! To support this independent podcast, please consider purchasing a Lil and Bud dog greeting card at ericajschmidt.com/merch. You can also make a one-time donation here at The Donate Button.Feel free to get in touch for other sponsorship possibilities. My infinite thanks for all of this.More infinite thanks, as always, to Taes Leavitt (darling big sister, Big Heart Journey), Sherwin Tjia (technical and creative advisor, Sherwin’s Quirky Events,Episode 22) and my dearly departed aunt Eileen Gun, whose generous gift helped to fund my new podcast equipment.And infinite thanks to you, my dear listeners! Stay tuned for more episodes extra soon. Don’t forget to followThis Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on your favourite podcast platform. And if you enjoyed this episode, I would be immensely grateful if you could share it with a friend and/or leave a kind and enthusiastic rating and review.
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute