This show was performed live on May 9, 2020. Watch a recording below. 

About the project

Imagine, if you will, a show. Not just any show—a spectacular show. A show that exhilarates; a show that changes hearts and minds; a show that has definitely been written and was absolutely going to be produced by us. You see, this was going to be our year: the year we went from Emerging Artists, to Emerg-ed Artists. We had for sure created an intimate-yet-explosive production that was going to change theatre forever, and would have toured the world connecting individuals both emotionally and physically. It definitely exists.

However, for obvious reasons, we cannot mount that production. Instead, we would like to offer you the next best thing: a variety show, starring us, explaining how cool this definitely real fringe show was going to be and sharing songs and stories about our lives in quarantine.

Instead of our show-stopping opening number, we perform our two-person show-slowing number about how excellent this original opener is. Instead of a love song inspired by what was going to be Keauna’s spring trip to Hungary, we create an immersive romantic journey using only a guitar, our imaginations, and the Wikipedia page for Budapest. Instead of the awards our original show would have surely won, we give ourselves awards like Refrained From Learning a TikTok Dance Out Of Boredom and Did Not Text My Ex. All the fun and fear of seeing a Fringe show from the safety of your own home! This new show, comprised of songs, sketches, and performance art, has it all. Just trust us.

This project received financial support from the National Theatre School of Canada via the Art Apart program, an emergency fund for emerging artists who are affected by physical distancing due to coronavirus (COVID-19).

About the artists

Keauna Miller and Emily Jane King are the co-founders of Bitter Ink: a growing collective of female (inclusively defined) theatre creators who collaborate to tell stories not found in the traditional theatre canon. They met at Studio 58 in Vancouver, where they debuted their first co-written comedy song in 2016: an ode to their teenage selves, Oh My God, What if I’m Not Straight?

Keauna moved to Toronto where she graduated in 2019 from Randolph College for the Performing Arts. She has continued her practice most recently in a three person take on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol at Canada’s Wonderland; as a dancer with Diva Diverse; and as a movement dramaturg for creator Alix Sideris.

Emily graduated from the acting stream at Studio 58 in 2019, and remained at the school for an additional semester to apprentice under the Head of Voice as an intensive study program. She continues her work as a performer, recently appearing in Mx by Lili Robinson (Vancouver Fringe New Play Prize Winner, re-mounting at The Cultch in 2021) and Infinity by Hannah Moscovitch (co-pro between Toronto’s Volcano Theatre and The Cultch).

Via Bitter Ink, Emily and Keauna collaborate on music, playwriting, and performance, creating memorable pieces inspired by their feminist ideals and personal experiences. Their primary project, pre-COVID, is The Sisters Wild, a new musical about the original fairy tale tellers, for which they received partial funding from the OAC.