Denise Mader bakes up mesmerizing magic in “This One”
THIS ONE at PORT STANLEY FESTIVAL THEATRE, July/August 2016:
Mader’s storytelling is wonderful, clear and crisply delivered, the smile almost never leaving her face. No matter your age or gender, it’s a fascinating bit of storytelling everyone can relate to at some level.
Director Melee Hutton has done a magnificent job helping grow this to a full-length play that moves along at an engaging, comfortable clip. Mader is a fine actor and This One is an enjoyable, comforting, warm, poignant and funny show.
**** London Free Press
Denise Mader bakes up mesmerizing magic in “This One”
Denise Mader bursts upon the stage to begin the first act of “This One” and for the remainder of the play mesmerizes the audience with a barrage of emotion, energy and humour.
“This One” centres around Denise’s first pie making experience. The pie (pecan, using her mother’s recipe) is being made under somewhat stressful circumstances. She is about to host a family birthday gathering for her 4-year old niece and time to decorate and prepare the promised pie is running out. Early on, she asks the audience members (demands really, but with such dis-arming charm that you couldn’t say no) to help with the preparations by being her “tribe”.
The actual pie creation takes place on a tiny counter, but Mader takes possession of the entire stage with her effervescent personality and portrayal of emotions which tumble forth in rapid succession. She covers her personal theories and worries, at age thirty-seven, about having a successful life, dating, motherhood, being a modern woman, family, rural versus city life and more. – relishelgin.ca
Denise Mader, in her one-woman show now on stage at the Port Stanley Festival Theatre, moves us from hilarious silliness to overwhelming sadness, and then brings us around to foreseeing her happy future. It’s an autobiographical story, where Mader talks to the audience as if we were friends sitting at her kitchen table.
This One is a well-written, well-acted production. The monologue is sprinkled with clever turns of phrase, such as “There’s another day gone and look where you aren’t.” Mader is wonderful about sharing her funny anecdotes on growing up, and then also revealing her heartbreak at her mother’s death. Credit goes to director Melee Hutton for the right pacing to contrast the laughs and the tears.
– entertainthisthought.com
Denise Mader’s This One is about family and loss, farming and dating, and how to make a really good pecan pie. It’s funny and touching and completely engaging.
This One is a deeply personal, autobiographical play, and it clearly resonates with southern Ontario audiences. Mader’s tales of farm work are rich with the insight that comes only from experience (baling straw is much easier work than baling hay, and wet hay is the worst of all) and her attempts at rolling out a pastry bring knowing nods and laughs from the audience.
This is theatre doing what it does best: building tales that people engage with, telling a community stories about itself, and inviting us to dig deeper into our shared experiences. – Andrew Wagner-Chazalon ontariosummertheatre.ca
My favorite show in the Port was the world premiere of Denise Mader’s This One, a biographical story starring Mader who explores her relationship with her mother who died young, suddenly and tragically. This was a delightful, compelling and heartwarming show that was beautifully performed. - Joe Belanger The London Free Press
Mader’s storytelling is wonderful, clear and crisply delivered, the smile almost never leaving her face. No matter your age or gender, it’s a fascinating bit of storytelling everyone can relate to at some level.
Director Melee Hutton has done a magnificent job helping grow this to a full-length play that moves along at an engaging, comfortable clip. Mader is a fine actor and This One is an enjoyable, comforting, warm, poignant and funny show.
**** London Free Press
Denise Mader bakes up mesmerizing magic in “This One”
Denise Mader bursts upon the stage to begin the first act of “This One” and for the remainder of the play mesmerizes the audience with a barrage of emotion, energy and humour.
“This One” centres around Denise’s first pie making experience. The pie (pecan, using her mother’s recipe) is being made under somewhat stressful circumstances. She is about to host a family birthday gathering for her 4-year old niece and time to decorate and prepare the promised pie is running out. Early on, she asks the audience members (demands really, but with such dis-arming charm that you couldn’t say no) to help with the preparations by being her “tribe”.
The actual pie creation takes place on a tiny counter, but Mader takes possession of the entire stage with her effervescent personality and portrayal of emotions which tumble forth in rapid succession. She covers her personal theories and worries, at age thirty-seven, about having a successful life, dating, motherhood, being a modern woman, family, rural versus city life and more. – relishelgin.ca
Denise Mader, in her one-woman show now on stage at the Port Stanley Festival Theatre, moves us from hilarious silliness to overwhelming sadness, and then brings us around to foreseeing her happy future. It’s an autobiographical story, where Mader talks to the audience as if we were friends sitting at her kitchen table.
This One is a well-written, well-acted production. The monologue is sprinkled with clever turns of phrase, such as “There’s another day gone and look where you aren’t.” Mader is wonderful about sharing her funny anecdotes on growing up, and then also revealing her heartbreak at her mother’s death. Credit goes to director Melee Hutton for the right pacing to contrast the laughs and the tears.
– entertainthisthought.com
Denise Mader’s This One is about family and loss, farming and dating, and how to make a really good pecan pie. It’s funny and touching and completely engaging.
This One is a deeply personal, autobiographical play, and it clearly resonates with southern Ontario audiences. Mader’s tales of farm work are rich with the insight that comes only from experience (baling straw is much easier work than baling hay, and wet hay is the worst of all) and her attempts at rolling out a pastry bring knowing nods and laughs from the audience.
This is theatre doing what it does best: building tales that people engage with, telling a community stories about itself, and inviting us to dig deeper into our shared experiences. – Andrew Wagner-Chazalon ontariosummertheatre.ca
My favorite show in the Port was the world premiere of Denise Mader’s This One, a biographical story starring Mader who explores her relationship with her mother who died young, suddenly and tragically. This was a delightful, compelling and heartwarming show that was beautifully performed. - Joe Belanger The London Free Press