Do you believe in God? Do you believe in threesomes? Believe in Poly Queer Love Ballad

Photos by Emily Cooper Photography

20 Nov 2019

After rave reviews and numerous awards in Vancouver, Poly Queer Love Ballad is arriving in Toronto. While boasting a great title, the description - “A polyamorous bisexual poet meets a monogomous lesbian songwriter at an open mic night” - sounds suspiciously like the first line of a woke joke in a stand-up routine. And just what is a "slam poetry musical?" Fortunately creators and performers Anais West and Sara Vickruck are happy to answer questions by email.

Drew Rowsome: Is Poly Queer Love Ballad more musical comedy or more operatic dramatic?

Anais West: Actually, me and Sara disagree about whether the show is a drama or a romantic comedy. And this is where a lot of the humour in the piece comes from -- how different the two characters are, and how opposites attract. Nina is an atheist, a bookworm and a queer history nerd who’s also a bit of a hedonist. She’s serious, and thinks the gay agenda is about dismantling the status quo. Meanwhile, Gabbie is a lesbian and recovering Christian, still attracted to more traditional things, like walks in the park, marriage, and children. She’s a real optimist and often described by reviewers as a "puppy."

I think both of us were tired of the way queer stories are usually represented as tragedies in the media. So in all my work, I’m looking to challenge the notion that queer lives are inherently doomed, and explore notions of queer joy and resilience.

Because Enquirer-ing minds want to know, how much of the show is based on your real lives?

Sara Vickruck: Isn’t it so much more fun for everyone to keep people guessing . . . Seriously though, most things are taken from personal experiences and experiences that we have heard about from close friends. It’s part of why people identify so much with the show, because it’s so real.

Queer relationships are wonderful because there are so many possible variations, but also fraught because there are so many identities that can become strictures. How difficult do the characters find crossing the barriers between bisexual and lesbian? Polyamourous and monogomous?

Anais West: I think labels are liberating for some and restrictive for others. I’ve personally felt deeply empowered by the label ‘bisexual,' even if there’s a lot of stigma attached to it. And when you are both bisexual and polyamorous, the stigma doubles. These stereotypes are imposed on us not only by straight people, but by queers within our community. In the show, we address some of the tensions that exist between lesbian and bisexual women, especially within the context of non-monogamy.

How did the concept of “a slam poetry musical” come about?

Sara Vickruck: We knew right away we wanted to do a musical. I was itching to write one, and Anais was interested in pop music that would explore non-monogamy. The poetry came from a few places. We wanted the characters to have two distinctive voices, one music and the other poetry. Secondly, slam feels like such a big part of the queer community, especially on the female/trans/non-binary side of thing.

What do you hope that audiences get from Poly Queer Love Ballad?

Anais West: I hope that audiences are delighted and moved, and I hope they question the biases they may have around romance and sexuality. Monogamy and heteronormativity are deeply embedded in Western culture which centres on exclusive, romantic love and devalues other types of connections. I also hope we’ve created a show that balances the perspectives of both characters evenly. I love that monogamous and polyamorous audiences have approached us after the show and said it made them empathize with the character whose view was in opposition to their own.

What moment in the show is the most fun for you to perform?

Sara Vickruck: Oh man, I love so much of it. If the loop pedal comes together perfectly, creating harmonized loops with myself is so good. I love the Tinder song (yes, there is a song about Tinder) cause it’s just silly. But I think maybe it’s the opening song I love most, because people are still trying to figure out what the show is in those first 10 mins, and I think they are surprised and excited when I interact with them.

The show is described as “intimate” and “edgy.” Are there parts that are difficult to perform?

Anais West: Parts of this show remind me of the mistakes I’ve made in previous relationships, how as someone who does relationships in unconventional ways, I’ve compromised my values out of fear of never finding a partner who would understand me. I used to have a lot of deeply internalized shame around my non-monogamy, and while it can be intense to relive this guilt, doing this show has also been incredibly healing. It’s taught me so much about myself and how I want to love.

What song do audiences find the most earwormy?

Sara Vickruck: Probably the last song, cause you hear it right before you leave. But I had a woman I ran into at a choir group come up to me who I had never met before, and tell me, about a year after seeing the show, what her favorite lyric from the opening song was. So maybe it’s the opening song.

Which stanza hits the hardest?

Anais West: I’ve always loved the part where Gabbie asks: “Do you believe in God?” and Nina responds, “Do you believe in threesomes?” It’s part of a section where dialogue and poetry merge, and we always get a great reaction from the audience here. I think it’s such a concise surmising of Gabbie and Nina’s differing perspectives.

The promo photo is casually sexy. How do you balance the queer dilemma of being sexualized or objectified by a straight audience? Being marginalized by a gay male audience?

Sara Vickruck: For me, I spent most of my life trying to live up to the beauty standards of femme women, and I had a rough time. When I finally stepped into the more masculine butch side of who I am, I started to feel at home and confident in who I was. I think that’s what people are looking at when they see our photo, confident me, who isn’t afraid to be who they are now. So I am gonna choose to celebrate that, and take their enjoyment as a job well done.

A white gay reviewer in Vancouver loved Poly Queer Love Ballad. And we have actually had a few white older me, who appear to be cis, but I could really be wrong, come up to us and tell us how awesome they think the show is and what it’s about. And we had a white male cis pastor tell us how much he appreciated the show.

You brought your show Kill Your Lovers to Buddies for the Rhubarb Festival. Did you find a difference between Vancouver and Toronto audiences? Have you made any adjustments to Poly Queer Love Ballad for Toronto audiences?

Anais West: I’ve never actually brought a show that was premiered first in Vancouver to Toronto. Kill Your Lovers actually never had a Vancouver production: it went to a festival in Toronto, then a festival in New York. But what I can say is that Vancouver is Sara and I’s home, we have a big theatre community here that we’re part of, a community that nurtured us as young artists, so it feels warm and familiar. However, there’s a much bigger queer community in Toronto, a lot more opportunities for queer artists, and it’s a faster-paced city, so I’m excited to see how they will respond. I’m stoked to feel that new relationship energy with Toronto!