The Eight-Sided Room - Feel Free to Choose

Monologue

This show features a monologue by Chris Wakaluk in the Origins Coffee Shop about 55 minutes in length. When I first sat in the audience, I was distracted by the fabulous smell of coffee (and wishing that I had a cup).  I noticed a slip of paper on each seat – I picked mine up.

It read: “The most effective way to do it, is to do it. Amelia Earhart.” I picked up the one on the seat next to mine (because I'm nosy). It read: “You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination was out of focus. Mark Twain.”

Apparently, this show is about asking the question, “what is life?” The monologist wants to share his truth by examining the transformation that he undergoes one summer while working alone in the eight-sided room of an isolated fire tower. I guess I might have a lot of time to think too if that was my summer job.

Our hero is a mild-mannered man, balding with a beard wearing a blue T-shirt and khaki pants. Much of his slow-paced monologue centres on the activities of an invading house fly named Harry. This fly is an unwelcome visitor to the eight-sided room and starts up the philosophical musings about life, death and so on. He also tells us about negative memories of his childhood and how he chooses to banish those thoughts. He is challenged by the isolation of working alone and begins to think about how to overcome his fears.

I firmly believe that a sub-genre of Fringe shows is autobiographical solo shows about confronting one's past. Often these performances have an odd confessional quality – like the performer is talking to  others in the hope that their own experiences will inspire others to change their lives. In The Eight-Sided Room, Chris Wakaluk tells us that we can do whatever we want – the only thing stopping us is ourselves. And what does he want to do? Well, he wants to share his own life and truth with others onstage at the Fringe. Even though he has no experience, no real training... just a desire not to be afraid. I will let you be the judge of whether such a show appeals to you.
 

By Allyson McGrane