It’s easy to see why actor and writer Faly Mevamanana named her comedic new play The Baking Show Show: The Play. First of all, it revolves around a contestant in a Reality TV baking show. Secondly, Mevamanana has been baking goodies since childhood. So, if she were going to address Reality TV in a theatrical production, this would be an ideal element.
“Other than acting and writing, it was always my favourite thing to do,” Mevamanana tells Pancouver over Zoom.
She created and plays a character named Grace, who becomes obsessed with winning a televised baking competition.
“She is very nice, very kind, and very smiley—with the internal life of a criminal mastermind,” Mevamanana quips.
Mevamanana has played lead characters in previous theatrical productions, but never one that embodied this good-and-evil dichotomy.
“On the exterior, she is so sweet and nice and lovable and kind, but also—as you go along in the play—so competitive and cut-throat,” Mevamanana states. “It’s really fun to get to play that.”
Ruby Slippers Theatre will present the world premiere of The Baking Show Show: The Play at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts from February 5 to 7 and at Presentation House Theatre from February 12 to 15.
Mevamanana explains character’s will to win
Mevamanana, the artist-in-residence at Ruby Slippers Theatre, didn’t watch a lot of Reality TV before embarking on this project. In the past, she believed that these programs represented reality—until she started doing more research.
“I’ve learned that that’s not actually true,” she maintains. “So much of it is faked or is written and narrated in a specific way to make you feel something or to showcase a certain story.”
Producers of Reality TV shows often amplify certain characteristics or personality traits of contestants. Mevamanana confesses that she is a “recovering perfectionist”, so she drew on her insights in crafting Grace’s character.
“She’s a perfectionist,” the actor-playwright reveals. “She feels like she has to win in order to be happy and in order to be good enough.”
The two other cast members—Sharon Crandall and Andy Marie—each play several other characters on-stage. Mevamanana says that it’s fun to watch them change from one character to the next, reinforcing Grace’s confusion and anxiety during the competition.
Mevamanana is of mixed race, with Malagasy, Chinese, and European ancestry. And her character in The Baking Show Show: The Play is also of mixed race. While Grace has experience with different baked goods because of her background, identity isn’t a central aspect of the play.
“My goal as a writer is to make stories that are diverse, and have diverse characters in them, but are not about their diversity,” Mevamanana explains. “I want to see representation without explanation.”
Director creates feeling of Reality TV on-stage
The Baking Show Show: The Play includes original music by Sapphire Haze (Aysha Dulong and Cindy Kao). Mevamanana points out that every Reality TV show has an intro theme, as well as dramatic music in moments of high tension.
“There has to be music when someone’s going to get eliminated or when someone wins because there are always those tropes in those shows,” she notes. “So, I knew we had to have a version of that.”
Experienced actor, writer, director, and producer Jasmine Chen is directing The Baking Show Show: The Play. In her interview with Pancouver, Mevamanana emphasizes that Chen has expanded her play into something that she never imagined would be possible.
“I’m the words person,” Mevamanana acknowledges. “So to have someone that understands the visual language and be able to articulate that to all of the designers and the makers and the sound designers and the stage management team—and to be able to take and hold all of that—is incredible. And she does an amazing job.”
Ruby Slippers Theatre will present the world premiere of The Baking Show Show: The Play at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby and Presentation House Theatre in North Vancouver.
The Shadbolt performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on February 5, 6, and 7. There will also be a 2 p.m. matinee performance on February 7. The Presentation House Theatre performances will be at 7:30 p.m. from February 12 to 14, with 2 p.m. matinee performances on February 14 and 15. For tickets and more information, visit the Ruby Slippers Theatre website.
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