Metropolis Blue Literary Foundation

Literacy! Finding out who you are through the power of words! 

I am very proud to have contributed to fundraising for Metropolis Blue Literary Foundation for the past 10 years.

My partner in crime, Matt Zimbel and I co-created, co-directed and hosted two bilingual events a year. The Shoe Show, Bedtime Stories, Bad Girls, Stirred Not Shaken, Angels and Demons, Grill and Literature and many more... you name it…we did it. The ingenious artistic director of Met Blue, William St-Hilaire challenged us by proposing all the fabulous themes.

The “le Comité d’Honneur”, (the honorary committee), is composed of powerful women, lawyers, doctors, corporate presidents, vice-presidents, directors, PHD’s…. who give their time convincing people to buy tables at the vintage cabaret Le Lion d’Or.

The concept was to find a piece of literature chosen to fit each of their personalities, and bring the audience into the thematic world of the show. We also wrote monologues and sketches, which would glue the evening together with lots of humour and feminine power!

But we asked a lot more from these powerhouse women and they were always ready to jump out of their comfort zone. They trusted us to direct them to be the best they could be and that’s what made these events uniquely electrifying. 

 “How did you get them to do that?” 

Someone ask me after one of the shows… 

One thing for sure, with only one general rehearsal we had to be very organized to stage these shows.  I would record a video on my phone  of a few bars of choreography and bits of songs and send it to them so they could learn the material on their own. 

There was also one on one sessions on Facetime. They would always do their homework. Ready for Showtime!

Our last event was a Woodstock Revival to honour the festival’s 50th Anniversary! Lots of stories from the muddy farmers field were told of course, but we also crossed over to what was happening in all of Quebec on that same weekend fifty years ago. It was educational, humorous, touching and very entertaining indeed! 

Lots of friendships have been built over the years, but most of all, these shows raised money to create and sustain programs that help young people at risk, victims of intimidation, exclusion and isolation. It is one important cause! Here’s a couple of clips for your amusement.