Toronto Fringe Presents BIRDY…OR, HOW NOT TO DISAPPEAR, Opens Today

Birdy is afraid she might be crazy. It runs in the family, she thinks. Her grandfather had religious hallucinations. Her father was hospitalized for depression and self-harm. Birdy spends her life worrying-wanting so much to save the world, to help each person she sees. She's haunted by the fear she's inherited her family madness and there's nothing she can do about it. Part memory play, part manifesto of compassion, and part anxiety attack, Karie Richards' deeply personal solo show BIRDY... OR, HOW NOT TO DISAPPEAR plays July 2-13 at theHelen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse as part of the 2014 Toronto Fringe Festival. Tickets are available via www.fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-966-1062 ext.1, or at the door.

"The play's honesty and unexpected universality make it powerful, its contrasts make it sad,
and its humour make it hopeful." ~ Plank Vancouver

BIRDY... is a beautiful and unexpectedly funny confessional about keeping your balance, and a near-tragedy suffused with hope. An intimate story of memory, fear, love and loss, and the power of art to save us-from madness.

"Nothing short of stupendous. 5 stars (out of 5)." ~ Winnipeg Free Press
BIRDY...OR, HOW NOT TO DISAPPEAR was created as part of a Playfinding Master Class with Daniel MacIvor at The Banff Centre. Creator/performer Karie Richards (interrogation, Fairly Lucid Productions; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? & Summer and Smoke, Alumnae Theatre) premiered BIRDY at the Vancouver International Fringe Festival in 2012. It went on to great reviews at the 2013 Winnipeg Fringe and Atlantic Fringe Festivals. The production isdirected by highly-acclaimed solo-show performer and director Jeff Culbert (as creator/performer: The Donnelly Sideshow & archy and mehitabel, Ausable Theatre; as director: 2012 Fringe circuit hit Underbelly; Fall Fair & Boat Load; Stars and Hearts).

Karie is donating 5% of the ticket sales from BIRDY... to the Yonge Street Mission, an organization which reaches out to meet the needs of people living with poverty in Toronto with programs that have made a positive difference in the lives of families, seniors, socially isolated adults, street-involved youth and children growing up in low-income communities.
Full Media Kit is available here.

SHOW INFO for BIRDY...OR, HOW NOT TO DISAPPEAR: Venue: Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse, 79 A St. George Street, Toronto.

Dates & Times:
Thu, July 3 @ 8:45pm
Sat, July 5 @ 1:45pm
Mon, July 7 @ 9:00pm
Wed, July 9 @ 4:00pm
Fri, July 11 @ 11:00pm
Sat, July 12 @ 5:15pm
Sun, July 13 @ 12:00pm

Tickets:
$10 at the door (cash only) or $12 in advance (Visa or MasterCard, service charge included)
Beginning June 12 via www.fringetoronto.com, by telephone at 416-966-1062 (ext.1), or at the door.
Show running time is 50 minutes. **Please note that there is absolutely no latecomer seating**

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