Two plays that look at mental illness in different ways

Call me crazy – or maybe not.

That’s the challenge in a double bill of comedy-dramas facing two regional playwright-actors who deal honestly and compassionately with mental illness.

Sterling Award winner Cat Walsh and St. Albert’s own Louise Casemore, two individual forces to be reckoned with, team up to produce 3 Nights, 2 Plays, 1 Woman Shows at El Cortez Mexican Restaurant from March 20 to 22.

Each performing artist will present a solo show running about an hour in length.

Set at night time, Walsh’s Eleven-oh-four opens the door to the life of an anxiety-plagued woman unable to sleep.

“During the course of her struggle, she becomes obsessed with the upstairs neighbour. Because she can’t sleep, all the noises are magnified,” said Casemore.

“It’s a dry comedy, but there’s also a degree of spookiness. Here you have a woman alone in the dark who isn’t entirely sure what is real and what is not. There’s a certain degree of a ghostly story element.”

Casemore in turn remounts OCD, an exploration about obssessive compulsive disorder. Now an Edmonton resident, the former Paul Kane High alumna struggled with OCD since her formative years.

“It manifests in different ways for everyone. I was very preoccupied with numbers, counting and angles. I had difficulty sitting at round tables. I couldn’t line anything up. I had a technical preoccupation. I sought treatment and writing this play was a big part of it,” Casemore explained.

Although the two psychologically examined stories are different in context, they share a common dilemna – both women are faced with a decision about seeking treatment.

The two artists originally met in 2009 when they performed in the Edmonton Fringe Festival’s production She Came From Planet X, a sci-fi spoof on ’50s B-movies.

Although they move in the same social circles, the opportunity to work together failed to reappear until they sat down for coffee and a gab.

Both women needed a video of their show before applying to festivals across North America.

“It was a light-bulb moment. We decided to remount our shows and capture it on video and hope to caputre that lightning in the bottle that accounted for our previous soldout runs.”

“We also got along famously as creators. Cat is a brilliant playwright and I pursue directing,” Casemore noted.

The production location was chosen because she wrote OCD specifically for El Cortez’s Tequila Room, an intimate space that seats 60.

“It’s like a rock and roll art dungeon, a cave, something found in Mexican catacombs. The room is so ambient. It tells its own story.”

Casemore encourages fans to see OCD before it is slated to go on tour to Winnipeg, Vancouver and Victoria. She has also received offers for American dates and interest from Melbourne, Australia and Capetown, South Africa.

In addition, Theatre Alberta has booked a provincial tour that travels to smaller centres.

“What a surprise. Something I wrote for me has resonated with people and it’s taken off. It was very surprising and gratifying.”