Mother of All Shows

CANADIAN PREMIERE

Saturday, March 2
The Screening Room
9:30 pm

The heroine of Melissa D’Agostino’s very unique feature is buckling under the burden of her unresolved issues with her domineering and now ailing mother, Rosa. To cope, she retreats to a ‘70s-style variety show she creates in her mind, with Rosa (played with bravura by Wendie Malick) as the host. Shot just west of Kingston (Stirling) and filled with songs that express the characters’ hurts and anxieties in vivid, poignant and sometimes hilarious ways, D’Agostino’s wonderfully warped take on the musical genre takes a decidedly fresh approach to the very relatable subject of familial warfare.

Director: Melissa D’Agostino

Cast: Wendie Malick, Melissa D’Agostino, Darryl Hinds, Ann Pornel

Language: English

Runtime: 110 minutes

Melissa D’Agostino, director/writer/cast
 
Melissa D’Agostino is a an award-winning actor, writer, and maker of theatre and film. With over fifteen years on stage and screen, Melissa is well-known for her live performances as the character Lupe in the hit shows Lupe: Undone (Best of Toronto Fringe, Critic’s Pick, Canadian Comedy Award Nomination), A Very Lupe X-Mas, and Lupe’s Next Top Lupe. Melissa is a regular performer  on The Carnegie Hall Show, and has been featured as a comedian on MTV Canada.
 
Melissa grew up in Toronto, Ontario, and studied piano, singing and dance throughout her childhood and teenage years. She attended Unionville High School in the Arts York Program as a vocal music major and then graduated from the University of Windsor from the Musical Theatre program with a BFA in Acting, receiving the Myrtle Kennedy Award for Artistic Achievement and Community Involvement. 
 
Melissa’s theatre work includes collaboration with Nightwood TheatreCanadian Stage, and Tarragon Theatre. Her original live work has been featured at the Rhubarb Festival, the UNO FestivalHarbourfront Centre and Luminato. She garnered a Canadian Comedy Award nomination for best solo show, won a Canadian Screen Award for her performance in the digital series, Tactical Girls, won the Cayle Chernin Media Arts award for her film script, The Female Front and won the Silver Dragon at the DragonCon Film Festival in Atlanta for her digital short, Man of Steel Song.

PRESENTED WITH SUPPORT FROM