EdFringe Talk: Too Big For Her Britches

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2023 by

“I never wanted to spoon feed my audience about how to feel. Sometimes the characters respond completely opposite of what you’d expect. That’s real life. It’s unpredictable.”

WHO: Lisa Pezik

WHAT: “A hilarious and heartbreaking dark comedy driven by 20 characters and 11 original songs, in which the heroine, Luna, endeavours to disentangle herself from bad decisions and an overbearing, narcissistic mother. A compelling rollercoaster of emotions, Too Big for Her Britches will resonate with anyone who has ever felt lost, unimportant, or disregarded. A one-woman solo musical that answers the question: what happens when we stop hoping for the storybook ending by honouring our father and mother at all costs, and instead make the courageous decision to honour ourselves?”

WHERE: theSpaceTriplex – Studio (Venue 117) 

WHEN: VARIES (70 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Although we’ve traveled from Canada to perform in Hollywood and Off-Broadway in New York City, this is our first time in Edinburgh. I say we, as my husband and 9-year-old son travel everywhere with me. The show may be solo, but I’m not alone! I’m incredibly excited to showcase this deeply personal, mostly autobiographical story in Edinburgh. I believe that narcissism, shame, and being told we’re too much, too big, too bossy, too loud, too small, too sensitive, etc is a cross cultural conversation and after workshopping in for the past year, I feel ready to be seen in Edinburgh! I believe Edinburgh Fringe is the launching pad for great work, necessary conversation, and the celebration of creativity. It’s like the Super Bowl, Grey Cup, World Cup of theatre! It’s right where I want to be! And my family and I are excited to check out all the sights, delights, and food. My son is very excited at the idea of flyering and telling everyone about “my mom’s show” as we work together as a team. My creative team and I were very intentional from a writing, directing, producing, singing, and movement perspective to encompass this story of the strength of the human spirit.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I believe that good theatre makes you think and in humanizing villains, and seeing the hero’s faults, it makes the story real. I never wanted to spoon feed my audience about how to feel. Sometimes the characters respond completely opposite of what you’d expect. That’s real life. It’s unpredictable. I also wasn’t set on tying everything up in a bow and giving my story a happy ending. That’s not always the truth of narcissism, dysfunctional families, and mental health. It’s a continuum. Healing isn’t linear. It’s mixed with amazing decisions and awful days. I’ve learned that my story is going to evoke real emotions from people and that’s good. They laugh hysterically one moment and deeply cry the next and when we have the courage to “go there, ” it helps others be seen, validated, and heard. Lastly, I learned there is a cost when you vulnerably and powerfully share. When you’re on the other side of healing and you go back to the dark days of the character. Self-care is a must. No one wants you to vomit your vulnerabilities to them on stage and that takes work to perform from a healed, whole, powerful way. Self care will be a huge part of my experience in Edinburgh performing a full fun and 20 shows.

Tell us about your show.

My show was created, written, and acted by me, Lisa Pezik! It completely transformed when I started working with movement and acting coach, Jean-Louis Rodrigue. He’s helped Margo Robbie, Ke Huy Quan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Keanu Reeves. The music is co-written and composed with Drew Lawrence, a multiplatinum songwriter and producer who has worked with Leah Michelle and co-wrote the song Jar of Heart with Christina Perri. My director is Heather Dowling, an award winning solo theatre actor, director, and co-creator of Down the Middle. For Edinburgh, we chose to self-produce. The show was previously produced by Jessica Lynn Johnson of Soaring Solo LLC. During pandemic, I was in a business mastermind group and we were given the challenge to come up with a 10 year plan and execute on it. As the world was shutting down, I decided to go inward and write a one woman musical with the goal to get on Broadway. I had never acted, sang, or wrote before. It presented a huge and fun learning cure. Instead of trying to figure it out on my own, I started searching for the best to help me bring my vision to life. Though my group, I was able to find this dream team and I’ve been able to take the show to Hollywood, Hamilton Ontario Canada and Off-Broadway in New York City where it’s won multiple awards. There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not working on my craft and presenting the most powerful performance of this show. After Edinburgh I hope to tour and to connect with mental health agencies to put on a workshop where I perform the show and teach about how to live a regret free life.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

I’ve developed a tight night circle of friends in this “band camp” of theatre that is Fringe. My top recommendations are: Rise by Diana Varco. Asexuality by Becca McGlynn, Breed or Bust by Joyful Raven, A Terrible Show for Terrible People by Bonnie He, Hollywoodn’t by Lisa Verlo, A Shark Ate My Penis by Laser Webber, Break up Addict by Paige Wilhide, and Wendy My Darling by April Wade Wish.

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