Intrepid Theatre

Visiting everything from a first time submitting to a dominatrix, to a party that plays Ginuwine’s Pony every hour on the hour, Charisma Furs is an intimate performance about Katie Sly’s difficult relationship with love. Episodic, bizarre, nostalgic, and candid, this show is at times a storytelling piece, at times a dance work, and at times stand-up comedy. Looking at growing up on social assistance, coming out as queer, and exploring sexual masochism (with a few poetic pit-stops in between), the aesthetics are DIY and the text is raw. Expect eye contact, adult language, adult subject matter, nudity, and origami. Come early and Katie will teach you how to make something.

Charisma Furs was developed through residencies at lemonTree creations, Videofag, and the support of Buddies In Bad Times Theatre through the OAC Theatre Creators’ Reserve.

“Sly has an eerily effective presence that at times makes the show feel like a waking dream.” NNN – NOW Magazine 

★★★★½ “Sly otherwise takes her audience along for an evocative, episodic ride….eclectic and intimate, brought out by sheer personality in a shared small space.” – The Torontoist

Pay-What-You-Can – All shows marked * are Pay-What-You-Can for tickets at the door. We reserve 25% of every Uno Fest Opening Night for PWYC tickets. Advance tickets for these shows are regular price.

About the artist: Katie Sly is a playwright, performer, visual artist, and community organizer. They often create work that straddles the space between visual art, theatre, and performance art, and is interested in looking at the queer and conflicted. 

Collaboration between Jonathan Seinen and Katie Sly began in 2012 when Katie was a participant in Buddies in Bad Times Theatre’s PrideCab youth arts program, in which Jonathan was a co-facilitator. Katie and Jonathan’s artistic relationship established itself early in the process, as Katie was finding their voice as a young bisexual person and their presence as a performer. Jonathan’s guidance was instrumental as they worked closely together in developing two solo performance pieces which were performed as part of the sold-out PrideCab production in June 2012. 

The idea for Charisma Furs came from Jonathan and Katie discussing that Katie had many shorter pieces, but no solo work of a more substantial amount of time. Katie applied to the inaugural 2014 lemonTree studio Residency program, their application was successful, and Jonathan and Katie developed a new 60-minute solo performance piece. Charisma Furs received two workshop presentations at lemonTree at the end of the week-long residency.

Following lemonTree, Jonathan and Katie applied for and received development funds through the Theatre Creator’s Reserve and Buddies in Bad Times theatre. Those funds, in conjunction with a developmental partnership with Videofag, allowed Katie and Jonathan to further develop the piece through a week in-residence at Videofag in May 2015. Charisma Furs received three more workshop presentations at Videofag at the end of the residency. 

Katie and Jonathan debuted Charisma Furs at the 2015 SummerWorks Performance Festival in Toronto. Charisma Furs has since then been presented at Vancouver’s rEvolver Festival and New York City’s HOT! Festival.