Nominated for Outstanding Solo Performance at the My Entertainment Theatre Awards!
Produced by Theatre Born Between
The Commons Theatre
November 15-25, 2018
Written by: Rosamund Small
Directed by: Bryn Kennedy
Executive Produced by: Laura Jabalee Johnston
Produced/Marketed by: John Wamsley
Stage Managed by: Aidan Shepherd
Cast: Lauren Wolanski
Dogs: Starbuck the rat terrier & Barrington the Boston terrier
Originally performed as a workshop production in the 2018 Paprika Festival
Anna meets people on the worst day of their lives.
As a paramedic working in Toronto, her daily experience is life or death and every call she receives is an emergency. But as the distinction between professional trauma and personal tragedy becomes blurred, Anna suddenly finds herself fighting for her own life. Originally produced by Outside the March in 2014, this new pared down production re-explores the text and life inside Anna’s mind in a completely new way.
“Vitals depends on its strong script, but also needs an actor who’s up to the high-pressure task of delivery. Luckily, Lauren Wolanski does an electric job with the role of Anna…. Wolanski gives us a multifaceted, nuanced and unusual character, mixing outspoken toughness and sarcasm with compassion, and aloofness with an ultimate vulnerability.” – Ilana Lucas, Mooney on Theatre
“Wolanski is a brilliant storyteller; complementing the taut, razor-sharp observations of the script, hilarious gallows humour, and engaging, theatrical staging with a sharply rendered performance that weaves in and out of each 911 story with profound candour, intelligence and vulnerability…. Wolanski takes us right along this ride with Anna’s deep, personal sense of commitment to the job and her raw personal reactions to the horrific, human mess of it all.” – Cate McKim, life with more cowbell
“Thanks to a strong performer and some unique staging elements, the company proves that this urgent script doesn’t need an elaborate production to remain vital… Anna’s use of chalk on the black floor to highlight moments and numbers is very effective.” – Ilana Lucas, Mooney On Theatre
“Darkly funny, deeply human and candid, Vitals is an up close look at the collision of a paramedic’s personal and professional responses to the serious, sometimes tragic, situations she’s called upon to attend.” – Cate McKim, life with more cowbell