Tickets for MIA are on sale now, taking place at Revue Stage from Sept 10 – 20. Book your spot today for just $16 per person!
Hi, I’m Abby, the writer, producer, and social media manager of MIA. I also play her, as you can tell, I love to work myself. I studied at Capilano University in the theatre program, acting for stage and screen. I’m a huge fan of unconventional theatre and any horror theatre – the crazier, the better.
Hi, I’m Angeles; I helped co-create the show and I play Eva. Similar to Abby, I’ve been doing theatre since high school and went to Capilano in the same program. Now, I’m studying psychology at Langara to see how actors work with cognitive processes. I’m a huge vanguard theatre fan, dipping my toe in theatre for young audiences and even Shakespeare. Fun fact, I’ve even volunteered at the Fringe box office in the past, so I’m super excited to be part of the Festival.
This show has been a long time coming. Both of us met in drama in 10th grade, where we created a 10-minute homoerotic rap battle called ‘Bros’. From there, we knew we were going to be friends.
What is the plot of your show?
Abby: MIA is about Mia, an online content creator who runs an interactive digital game of hide and seek where once a year she hides, and her fanbase must find her through a series of games and weird puzzles. Once they find her and the game finishes, she goes into hiding again.
We then meet Eva, a longtime super fan who’s at rock bottom, feeling alone and depressed, referred to as ‘Girl Loser’, who is chronically online and loves MIA. Through luck, she meets MIA and starts assisting her and planning the game. Throughout their relationship, things go haywire, not ending well.
What inspired you to create this show?
Abby: The story was inspired by many things from the digital world, such as looking at a post-simulation society and the development of a hyper-reality society. Also, examining a sense of ownership you have over a person because you’ve seen them online, but not actually knowing them, creating this love attachment and parasocial relationship.
Angeles: One of the references we kept mentioning was the Wattpad stories of “What if Mom sold me to One Direction?” and now here’s what if they did sell me and the consequences of it. We really see that through Eva, who has grown up on the internet and wants to immerse herself fully in Mia.
Abby: We really wanted a story about what if you followed your worst impulses, especially when you’re scrolling on the internet, all those societal norms and shame that stop you kind of disappear. You do what you want to do, such as stalking, commenting mean things. That de-identification process happens, and you’re finally doing all the things your brain stops you from doing.
What are you hoping audiences will experience or take away from your show?
Abby: We hope audiences leave with a sense of understanding and empathy for the characters, and we’re not trying to make them feel bad about themselves. The show explores behaviors and relationships that blossomed in the digital age, and we don’t want to dehumanize it, but rather examine the twisted universal relationship we have with the internet and how we use it to feel something big.
Hopefully, people will walk away thinking about how not everything you see online is real, but it can still affect you in real ways.
Angeles: We’re hoping people leave feeling seen and heard, as a lot of us become different people online compared to when we’re hanging out with people in real life. Showing that mistakes happen and toxic relationships both online and in person are formed, but this story is ultimately about humans seeking connections and the weird ways we seek connection in different ways.
How did the Fringe Mentorship Program help you create your show and shape your Fringe experience?
Abby: We love Holly Brinkman so much! She is the absolute best, especially for first-time Fringers, and we needed a lot of resources. Holly really demystified and made things more approachable, providing us with lots of contacts from previous and new Fringers.
She showed us that once you’ve done a Fringe show, there’s nothing like it, and since Holly has done it to a science, it was fun watching her.
Angeles: Fun fact: members of the team have been a part of the Fringe mentorship program. Overall, it was such a wonderful experience, and the pairing was amazing.
We wanted to do some experimental theatre, and she was doing that, so she really understood us quickly. So, shoutout to Holly; she’s at Edmonton Fringe, performing A Woman’s Guide to Romance Novels.
Why should people come see your show?
Abby: It’s going to be a great show that everyone can relate to, both for younger and older audiences, as we explore the nuances and interesting relationships with idolization and display the horrors of online content creators and how people meet through this avenue.
Angeles: Come see our show if you’ve ever followed someone online and can’t look away from them and what they’re doing, like watching a car crash. Our show really embodies that; it’s a 55-minute-long car crash. If you’re interested in seeing one-sided relationships, like having a crush on someone, it’s like a Heated Rivalry, but what if it’s one-sided?
Abby: Please come see our show, and we promise you’ll have a visceral reaction of’ Omg, What, No, Help, Stop, What are you doing?’
Theatre edition: what is a hill you’re willing to die on?
Angeles: I think everyone should go see theatre. There’s so much variety in theatre that there’s something for everybody, and the better it gets. As humans, we’ve been doing theatre for 1,000 years, and the moment you share with the person on stage is intoxicating and nothing can replace it.
Abby: We need more horror in theatre, as my favorite horror films are stories about attention and anticipation, and theatre could do that so well. It would be electrifying and so creative.
This would also push for more fun shows. So, please hire me and let me scare people on stage; I beg, like imagine Nosferatu on stage.
