Jake & Amy go to the semi-finals

When you find an acting partner who just gets you, you jump at any opportunity to work with them. That’s why entering into the Monologue Slam’s ‘Scene Slam’ this month was a no-brainer - it gave Will MacKenzie and me a chance to work together on a piece from one of our all-time favourite shows, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. We always joke about how we see so many similarities between us and Jake and Amy, so getting to step into these roles was not only fun, it also felt right.

We planned to play to our hearts’ content for it, too. We got coached on the scene and then brought some production value to it by filming “on location” (read: my condo balcony) in an attempt to replicate the scene’s setting. We even borrowed a friend’s pair of binoculars and bought a giant bag of nuts from the dollar store to round out the props. Our only mistake was forgetting to take a behind-the-scenes photo of just how many salted peanuts we dropped on the ground while throwing them at each other. The beauty of this show is that it’s so incredibly well-written, so it gave us some great material to practice comedy with and a lot to laugh about between (and during) takes.

A major thank you to the judges - Larissa Mair, Nicole Hilliard-Forde, and Amy Wright - for naming us as Semi-Finalists. It’s an honour to be listed among so many other talented actors and to continue to learn and grow by watching the various performances. But by far the best aspect of this was just how rewarding it is to work and play with a friend, flex the creativity muscle, and have a ton of fun doing it.