It pays to be friendly, because you just never know...

So, the DP and I headed down to the Cabaret Festival in the Distillery District this afternoon, specifically to see Sarah Slean play her set. We're sort of new fans, you see. Anyway, we made our way into the theatre, which had been set up with tables and chairs, and were trying to figure out the best place to sit so we could see both her face and her hands on the piano, since I like to watch people play piano. We decided which table we wanted at the exact moment that this older couple also chose the same table. Since there were six chairs around the table and only four of us, we all agreed that sharing the table would be lovely.

Then we proceeded to chat with these random people. First about the festival itself - they had already seen several shows and were planning to see a bunch more. And being the name-dropper that I am, I mentioned that I had a friend appearing in one of them. They asked if they might know her and so I said her name (the remarkable Shannon Mercer, once again). They made that noise of recognition that people make and declared that not only did they know her, but that she'd been to parties at their home. And that they'd seen her in a concert last weekend. Why, WE were at that concert, we replied. Then there was a bit of chit chat about the concert and the gentleman mentioned that his son, Don, was part of the concert.

Wait. What? Don? As in Don McKellar? As in the screenwriter of that big movie that just opened this weekend? As in Tony Award winner for "The Drowsy Chaperon"? As in BIG CANADIAN STAR!?

Okay, I'm not going to bore you with how the rest of the conversation went - not that it wasn't wonderful conversation. I'm just going to tell you that we were indeed sitting with Don McKellar's charming parents. And it came out that his father is a lawyer by trade who produces theatre as a "hobby." He, in fact, is the Chair of Soulpepper and, therefore, one of the producers of the cabaret series we were all there to see.

Crazy cool person to talk to. I only wish I could have excused myself for a moment, run to a computer and googled him, so we could have had an even cooler conversation. Because now that I've done that, it's evident that this man's "hobby" keeps him fairly busy. Apparently he's also the Chair of the Toronto Arts Council and has his own charitable foundation that seems to have funded every theatre and dance company in this town. He's also one of the producers of "The Drowsy Chaperone" and the "Anne of Green Gables" sequel "Anne and Gilbert."

And to think that I downplayed my performance past when they asked me about it. I just sort of mumbled that I used to sing. (Listen, when you're sitting waiting for an amazing singer-songwriter to take the stage, you don't brag that you used to tour across Canada in children's shows wearing a horse costume that had to be inflated just before you went on stage, because it had a slow leak and you didn't want the ass to be dragging on the ground before the scene ended.)

That's my story. Sarah Slean was INCREDIBLE! Charming and gorgeous and full of such originality. We were already big fans of "Get Home" and now my new favourite is "Looking for Someone," which is so simple and perfect. And she had the audience sing along with the chorus, which was haunting and poignant, since it's a song that everyone can (or could have) relate(d) to at some point in their lives.
Oh, and her encore was "Nightingale Sang in Barkley Square," which I love and I used to sing.
All so good. Get thee to iTunes and do some downloading.

Okay, I'll talk about my fun Friday night and the latest money numbers tomorrow. I'm done for the day!