Nancy greets me with a warm hug and a “thanks for coming”, even though this is our first time meeting and she’s the one hosting me at her condo. In the middle of renovations, no less.
When Nancy and I met a few weeks back, she had just returned from Toronto. She was only in town for a week before taking off again to Saskatoon for another show.
I think this moment in time provides a good picture of the pace and rhythm of Nancy’s life. What I learned over our two-hour conversation that followed is that she wouldn’t have it any other way.
When Nancy and I met a few weeks back, she had just returned from Toronto. She was only in town for a week before taking off again to Saskatoon for another show.
I think this moment in time provides a good picture of the pace and rhythm of Nancy’s life. What I learned over our two-hour conversation that followed is that she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Fast Facts
- Nancy is originally from Bathurst, New Brunswick. She went to theatre school at Ottawa U because her Mom was wary of her being in a “big city” like Montreal or Toronto.
- Nancy has a BA in theatre with a concentration in political science as well as Canadian studies. She also did part time studies at Algonquin and got a certificate in conventions and meeting management. “I like pieces of paper that say I know stuff,” she said.
- Despite all the pieces of paper, Nancy is also a big proponent of the school of life – learning through doing. She maintains that she learned the most when she got out into the real world, got her hands dirty, and failed.
Projects
Nancy’s baby is her one-woman show, which she wrote and performed, called Roller Derby Saved My Soul. It was originally performed at the Ottawa and Hamilton Fringe Festivals in 2011.
The show was wildly successful and she ended up taking it on a Fringe Festival tour last summer, stopping in Ottawa, London, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, and Vancouver.
Meanwhile, she was also filming the entire process, which she is now turning into a feature length documentary.
“It was fun. It was also exhausting. It was both those things. And that’s what’s documented,” she said.
However, the success of Roller Derby didn’t come before some decidedly unsuccessful experiences. One of Nancy’s first attempts at writing was a show called No Exit Upstage.
“It was ok. You know Fringe is an experimental time,” she said. “And in Ottawa it did all right. But in Winnipeg it bombed. Like one star reviews everywhere. I was heart broken.
“By the end of the run I got a two star review. And by then I was pissed because I was like, ‘What?! I had a one star streak and you ruined it!’”
Despite how difficult that experience was, Nancy regrets nothing. “I felt I learned more doing those two weeks in Winnipeg about what it takes to be an artist and to promote yourself and create a good show than I did in a year of university,” she said.
The Workaholic or "Artrepreneur"
While Nancy will admit to being a workaholic, she prefers the term "artrepreneur". Like any self-employed business person, Nancy is often doing two or three things in any given moment and wears many hats. She is actor, writer, producer, and social media professional - Nancy has a full time position handling social media for Via Rail. The Via Rail job allows her to work from home, leaving her to create her own schedule and allowing her to travel and do theatre.
She works this way for one, because she doesn’t like working in an office. Nancy worked several office jobs before realizing it was not for her.
“Once in a while I don’t mind dressing up for work but after two days of that I’m like, I don’t want to wear pants,” she said.
Nancy also works a lot because she didn’t enjoy the feeling of struggling to make ends meet.
“I don’t believe in the starving artist. I did it. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like not having money for food. So I was like, I’m not going to let that happen again. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that my life isn’t that way. I will find new ways.”
Clearly, this way is working. And that’s not lost on her.
“I’m very grateful for where I am in my life right now,” she said.
Highlights
I asked Nancy how she stays organized with such a hectic schedule.
“What’s your system?” I asked.
“I don’t have one,” she said.
Nancy proceeded to tell me the following anecdote with a flair and enthusiasm all her own:
“I’m not a write things down person. I don’t write to-do lists. I had an ex-boyfriend and we would do office hours together and I really enjoyed it. But he kept trying to get me to do to-do lists. And so I would. But we’d get into big stupid fights about them. I was like, in the time that I’m taking writing this down I could actually be doing the thing.
“Sometimes I want to be that person that can cross the thing off. But I have so many projects I feel like I never cross shit off.”