Back in 2012, I missed Sam Mullins’ Tinfoil Dinosaur and my colleagues raved about it. So I saw it at the Edmonton Fringe Festival. The following year I saw and reviewed Mullin’s Weaksauce. Now he is back with The Untitled Sam Mullins Project doing what he does best. Telling stories.
This play is a compilation of four stories that are linked together by the fact that they are all truths that Mullins wrote down in a comedy writing class. The truths are: I am prone to embarrassing myself, I will never find love, Life is fleeting and I’m always in a state of perpetual panic.
The first story tells of how Mullins lands the part in a terrible play and how he is ill suited for the role. The second tells about falling in love while touring the Fringe circuit. The third is more about life and Mullins’ father than it is about him and the fourth is a story about struggling with the demons within.
The first story is familiar. I feel like it was in Tinfoil Dinosaur or Weaksauce but it’s never the less amusing. The thing is, at the end of the day it isn’t about what story Mullins is telling, it’s how he tells it. He has a unique way of getting up on stage and making you feel like he’s a long time friend that you haven’t seen for a while. And every audience member feels that way. Like they just enjoyed a conversation with an old friend.
The Untitled Sam Mullins Project strings together stories that are truths in Mullins life. The things he wrestles with. And the more he is able to share those truths, the less they stand in his way. And we’re just along for the ride.
The Untitled Sam Mullins Project is part of the Calgary Fringe Festival. There are only 3 more chances to see it (and every single show sells out.) More information is available online.