Review: 'Stupidhead!', an audio broadcast from Toronto's Outside the March

Yes, I have been guilty and now regret bypassing some plays and their titles without doing any research on them.

‘Stupidhead!’ was one of them.

I disliked hearing this term when I taught at an elementary school for three years as some of the students used this word as a ‘put down’ towards each other, and I was forever having to stop lessons (or name calling in the school yard during recess duty) and privately speak to individuals to explain how inappropriate this label truly was whether it was used in jest or not, and its usage had to cease immediately.

When I heard it was the title of a play, I just had no interest in learning more about it (or seeing it for that matter) as I was reminded of what I had to do in the classroom setting of crying young people who might be emotionally scarred at how viciously hurtful this term was hurled at them.

The press release states: “Stupidhead! (an audience favourite) is a show about learning that no matter who you are, you’re not alone.” To hear this ‘label’ still bothers me to this day, but I felt it was time to separate my personal feelings about this word and listen to this live audio presentation which is described in the press release as “A hilarious and heartfelt musical about growing up with dyslexia.”

Outside the March founding member and creator of the production, Katherine Cullen, is one brave and courageous person for wanting to showcase her story of dyslexia for audiences.  She tells us that her dyslexia stems from numbers and spatial connections and concepts, ergo Mathematics was always a difficult subject for her. She’s not alone there as Mathematics was not my thing in elementary school and I really to work diligently at the subject in high school. I get where you’re coming from, Katherine.

Ms. Cullen has once again teamed with the other creator of the production, Britta Johnson (who is also Katherine’s best friend) to perform ‘Stupidhead!’ re-imagined for a listening audience as a live audio broadcast. The press release also states the production will be live in Barrie, Ontario as part of Talk Is Free Theatre’s ‘Bees in the Bush’ Festival in August, and I will include the link at the end if you wish further information on tickets.

I have now changed my mind about ‘Stupidhead!’ and perhaps a visit to Barrie will offer me another perspective in seeing the show live.

Why the change of mind and heart?

Well, Ms. Cullen has taken a part of her life that makes her uniquely different and now wishes to celebrate that difference about herself through laughter, humour, and song. Yes, at times, the humour is initially puerile, but what made this audio presentation resonate within me was the ‘adulting’ of the story, the humour, and the laughter. Britta Johnson’s music composition becomes tunefully razor sharped edged as Katherine shares how she grew up and matured with this form of dyslexia and shared stories about how she had to cope. I loved the song ‘Is This Where the Puppet People Get Picked Up?’ as Katherine waits to go to camp. She used to take her brother to the candy store with her to buy candy as Katherine never could understand how much change she carried, so her brother was able to tell her if she had enough money or not to pay at the till.

Another reason why the audio production worked well for me – Katherine and Britta did not merely rely on juvenile and puerile humour and situations to move this story forward.  Some of the song lyrics and the story’s plot subtly mature in nature, and that is an important logical and natural progression as we all move forward with life in dealing with its constant struggles. The song ‘Colby’s Requiem’ becomes extremely sensitive for Katherine as she sings about her great uncle.

 I don’t want to spoil what we learn, but as Katherine sings to us about who Colby was, she steps away from the microphone at the end of the song to compose herself emotionally. What she shared with us about her great uncle was profoundly moving for me too, and I applaud Ms. Cullen for sharing a personal side of herself with the listening audience.

Both ladies maintain a natural rhythmic dialogue pacing in the audio presentation so kudos to the two of them along with carefully controlled direction by Aaron Willis. Since they are best friends in real life, there appears to be this ‘sixth sense’ between Britta and Katherine that each knows the other extremely well and can sense things about the other. This was most apparent when Katherine steps away from the microphone after her tribute to her uncle, and Britta just instinctively knew what to do to bring Katherine back to the present.

Final Comments: In this musical context, ‘Stupidhead!’ becomes a celebration of personal uniqueness and heartfelt vulnerability through hearty laughter at times. Its thoroughly delightfully and sometimes devilish lyrics speak to our own vulnerable sensitivities of wanting to fit in even when we feel that we may not. I would like to see the live production of it at Talk Is Free in Barrie in August as I’m sure I’ll derive even more from the live production.

‘Stupidhead!’ – Outside the March

Audio co-creators and performers: Katherine Cullen and Britta Johnson

Director: Aaron Willis and Production Designer: Anahita Dehbonehie

The live audio broadcast will be held to July 16. For further information and how to purchase online tickets, please visit www.outsidethemarch.ca.

If you wish to see ‘Stupidhead!’ live as part of Talk is Free Theatre ‘Bees in the Bush’ Festival, from July 20 to August 1, please visit www.tift.ca for ticket information.

Photo of Katherine Cullen by Outside the March webpage.