SummerWorks is here with its exciting new programme. 2024’s theme is “Survival Mode” with over 40 works being presented all over the city. As part of their SummerWorks Exchange, writer and actor Carolyn Fe, along with Cahoots Theatre, is presenting a staged reading of her new play Aye Caesar. I was thrilled to get to ask Carolyn about her latest work, her writing process, and what’s coming up next for her!

1. Could you please introduce yourself to my readers and tell us about your role with Aye Caesar?

Hello! I’m Carolyn Fe, a Filipino-Canadian late-blooming creative. A former contemporary Dancer-Choreographer, I left dance for about 28 years to own and operate a Science and Technology Human Resources Firm until one day, I followed my calling as a creative and stepped back on stage as a singer and actor in 2005. Today, I’m a Dora nominated multi-lingual Actress and awarded Singer-Songwriter-Lyricist. In my continuous pursuit of artistic evolution I like to add new instruments to my creative portfolio; a published writer and emerging playwright wherein, during my 12-month tenure as Artist-in-Residence at Tarragon words spilled out and I wrote 7 plays. Some Theatre credits include: Marina/Nana in Liisa Repo-Martell’s adaptation of Uncle Vanya (Crow’s Theatre), Grandmother in Chloe Hung’s Three Women of Swatow (Tarragon Theatre) for which I was Dora nominated for Lead Performer, Precy in Audrey Dwyer’s Calpurnia (Nightwood/Sulong) for which I received a Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress, Lola in Byron Abalos and Andrea Mapili’s Through the Bamboo (Uwi Collective) and the play that turned my life around, the three mothers in Nina Lee-Aquino and Nadine Villasin-Feldman’s Miss Orient(ed) (Teesri Duniya Theatre, Montreal). Some TV/streaming credits include Lola (Grandma) in the Nickelodeon’s show “Blue’s Clues & You!”, Madame Z in the award-winning French series “Meilleur Avant”, various characters in the English-Tagalog sketch comedy series “Abroad” and voices on various animated series such as PBS Kids’ “Work It Out Wombats” and DreamWorks’ “Pinecone & Pony”. https://linktr.ee/TheCarolynFe

“Aye Caesar” is a two-hander, I will be playing the role of Brenda, an old woman who goes shopping online. As a playwright, I wasn’t planning on reading for one of the roles but I understand that the director, Tanisha Taitt, wants to hear my writer’s voice. So with that in mind, I cannot wait see and hear the recorded version of the reading and to field any questions, comments and feedback from the audience thereafter so I can further refine the story toward a production script.

2. Was there a specific event or moment which inspired this play and could you tell us a bit about it?

“Aye Caesar” is one of seven plays I wrote during my residency at Tarragon in 2023. The inspiration was a long time coming. When I came back to the stage in 2005 as a singer and actor, I didn’t realise I how lucky I was to have been cast as the three different mothers in Nina Lee-Aquino and Nadine Villasin-Feldman’s Miss Orient(ed). As an older woman of color, there weren’t many roles available to us (let alone roles for older women, period.) Fast forward to a couple of decades, the great intermission (aka pandemic) happened; news of elders dying in senior-care homes due to non-existent emergency eldercare showed me how society treated our elders as third class citizens. The pandemic also made me very aware of our daily language, exposing how being old is not relevant or the butt of a joke. We’ve found our “inclusive” vocabulary when dealing with racism, ableism but not ageism, not yet. Statistics Canada predicts there will be three times more people aged 85 and older by 2050. To date, Healthcare systems are not equipped to take care of the elderly above and beyond physical disabilities. Mental health disorders are major contributors to physical disabilities. Loneliness is a painful reality in the elder community. Even in the most developed countries, geriatric mental health workforce is ill-equipped and scarce. It’s inevitable. We’re all headed the same way and for some, it’s not funny.

“Aye Caesar” explores elder mental health, loneliness, grief and isolation. An old person goes online shopping and is assisted by the store’s customer service representative. The mundane becomes crucial to the meaning of one’s life and a bond is created. I’ll save the punchline for the reading. I think I mentioned that I have a Science and Technology background, right? “Aye Caesar” is based on the combined laws of Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics and Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law

3. I see that you get a new fountain pen and notebook whenever you start writing a new play! I love it! But what’s your relationship with technology like?

Yes! Yes I do! I love fountain pens and notebooks. With every project birthed, I treat myself with new “gear” and vice-versa, sometimes I get new gear to motivate me to birth new projects. I love the feel of a fountain pen; how different inks flow onto different types of paper through different fountain pens’ nibs. For me, longhand serves as a dam to control the flow of thought and words. Handwriting sieves the flow, makes me think twice before laying the foundations of a story in ink. I’m a fast typer so writing things out, keeps me line. All my “Zero Drafts” of plays, songs, stories and poems start off handwritten with a fountain pen; so are new ideas and inspirations that pop up. Once the “Zero Draft” is complete, the ball rolls quickly from thereon. The laptop takes its place and I type out the next draft. I “spit the rock” (direct quote from one of my writing mentors) until I’m done saying what I have to say in the story and am ready for human contact to edit and eventually for dramaturgy and workshopping. By the way, once I am finished with the fountain pen, it is gifted to someone who’s story is somehow connected to what the pen wrote.

Having worked in Science and Technology enabled me to multi-task at a different level. So the writing of many stories at the same time is deeply ingrained in my work habits….that or it’s the urgency to say the many things in the little time I have left to say it in. Technically, my future is a lot shorter than it was.

On technology? I love it. It piques my curiosity, I want to learn it, understand it and try it especially with the hot topic of AI and deepfake. I am not a technologist, my husband calls me a fringe geek because of my affinity to it. I believe there is space for AI and deepfake but not in the initial stages of creative endeavours and certainly not to replace us in the creative milieu – THAT should be reserved for the human mind and body, unless it does us harm. We can allow ourselves to be lazy with the day to day humdrum of…I dunno…cleaning the house, laundry or storing/retrieving our contacts’ phone numbers via voice command (AI) but NEVER should we allow ourselves to be lazy in thought and creation. I see AI and deepfake to be most useful for manufacturing processes such as robotics for the car industry, pharmaceutical, and to put it bluntly, any mind-numbing-repetitive job on the manufacturing conveyor belt. AI is a tool to be used by humans as we are creative beings, not drones. We have critical thinking skills that can maneuver through grey zones thanks to our instincts and life experiences. We should always put those skills in practice. I could go on an on with this topic. Best to save it for another discussion but you get my drift, yeah?

4. What’s your favourite part of the writing process?

I have so many favorite parts! Here’s a few:
I love witnessing or reading something or experiencing something that sparks inspiration.
I love when inspiration extends into form, be it a poem, song, story or play.
I love choosing a new fountain pen and notebook to write the inspiration’s “Zero Draft”. It means I’m serious about it.
I love being in the zone when writing; time and place disappears. When I’m not acting for theatre, I’m an early rising writer. I start my day at 5am and there have been times when I look up and it is dawn of the next day. Thank goodness for my hubby who makes sure a sandwich and soda appears beside me when I get into that zone.
I love when the piece takes on a new life and meaning when I see/hear how beta readers and workshop actors interpret the words; and how it resonates (or not) with them.
I love that once the final draft is confirmed, I am able to let it go easily because I have other stories to take care of.

5. Do you have an upcoming work that you’re really excited about?

Yes, I have two things coming up…I don’t want to jinx the first one…all I can tell you for now is that it’s not a play…it’s gone beyond my Zero Draft stage…I’ve received very positive feedback from beta readers and I’m moving forward on it.
The second one will be announced when Eldritch Theatre announces their season on August 20, 2024 which happens to be HP Lovecraft’s Birthday. So please stand by. It’s a full circle affair for me and I hope you’ll save the date when it’s announced.

I want to thank Carolyn for taking the time to answer my questions so beautifully; she truly is a gem of Toronto theatre and I’m so looking forward to seeing Aye Caesar and the other exciting things she has in the works. For more information about SummerWorks, visit: https://summerworks.ca

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