39 …And Ticking! is a love story about a woman and her issues around dating, aging, raising kids and procreating. The style of the piece explores the genre of the clown-musical using direct address, clown lazzes, modern dance, musical numbers, stage fighting and more.

The plot explores one woman’s hopes and fears via a chorus of her inner voices, voices in her head that act and sing about her journey. Meanwhile she waits for the pregnancy test results in act one and then gets up the guts to tell her boyfriend in act two. As it unfolds we get an overview of Rose’s life, before Dan and then meeting Dan. We learn how she’s using his sperm to get pregnant, how he’s proposed marriage and how they’re falling in love.

The play takes place in Rose’s apartment which is also a cabaret stage. This helps us change from real time, to the cabaret style in her head, to the exaggerated flashbacks, to the future failures. The chorus introduces the narrative and with Rose imagines several outcomes. We eventually work past the drive to procreate, the fear of failure and the lack of communication. With a twist on the projected outcome Rose is able and happy to go and tell Dan the good news.

So we’re in Rose’s mind. Like a dream anything can take place. But if anything can take place and does we will lose focus. I strongly believe that a good work of theatre never introduces something without reason; it kind of folds back on to itself. Artistic choices must have more than one reason to be there. Using theatricality to design the show, using colour, prop choices, stylized movement to bring forward this one idea; Rose’s path to spiritual growth. The multidimensional presentation, comedy, music, and clown will be satisfying to the audience and strengthen the message.

The character/chorus/clown voices support Rose and are there because she needs the protection. Most of the interaction is between the take no prisoners neighbor, and the new arrival; the nurturing mother. These voices ‘in her head’ are becoming stronger and begin competing with one another as Rose she learns to listen to them and more importantly to shut them up. Rose is on a journey of psychic growth and balance. Your voices are important but they’re not you. This epiphany happens between Rose taking a pregnancy test, seeing the results and getting up the courage to tell her boyfriend. Over a dream like state in 6 minutes her voices portray different situations to force the issue; does she want a baby, why and how? Eventually she ‘births’ the new her and a better understanding.

Along with style choices in regards to set, props, costumes, lights, text and songs there is the question of how clowns sings. There is a lot of singing and in a rare clown tradition the singing is good. So how do clowns sing? How do they continue to want to tell the story? It is our objective to weave a tale, to launch the audience on a journey through the magic of theatre, to cast a spell with a hilariously spiritual voyage of dating and procreating, and to stay true to the style using music, text and all of the gifts of our creative team.

Media contact:
Rebecca Coleman (rebeccacoleman.ca)
Download media kit

Script inquiries:
Sharon Heath (e-mail)