Proving that a summer of Fringe Festivals makes one lose all track of time and chronology, these are reviews for "Circumference" from the Winnipeg Fringe, which came BEFORE the Calgary Fringe, but alas, my blog entries are in the wrong order. "Circumference" got "Best of Fest" for its venue in Winnipeg (hooray!), which was lovely and unexpected...it wasn't the continuous sellout that "So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz!" had been, but the audiences were great, and very appreciative.

CBC Review, July 16, 2008:
Link here.
✭✭✭✭
Written by and starring Amy Salloway, "Circumference" cleverly explores one woman's antagonistic relationship with her body and her treadmill.

A lifelong battle with weight leads Amy to her ultimate goal of adulthood: to get her insurance to cover gastric bypass surgery so she can find someone to love her. With that, we are swept along on trips to the local convenience store and nights dipping into the secret universe of post-surgery chat boards.

Salloway uses humor and a whole lot of energy to delve into fat stereotypes, the haunting influence of a junior high school gym class and a unique way to get an extra serving of vegetables. Circumference is extremely relatable for anyone who dislikes something about their body and the near full house on opening night proved women's body issues can also make the men in the crowd laugh.

Though I did hear a couple of women leaving the show talking about how much weight Salloway is likely to lose given the physicality of the performance.

I think they might have missed the point.


Winnipeg Sun, July 18, 2008:
Link here.
Pesky belly bulge may be the subject at hand, but there's nothing flabby about the latest effort from Minneapolis' Amy Salloway ("So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz!"). The lovable drama queen's comical and endearing exploration of her past and present body woes -- ignited while she's waiting to see if her insurer will fund gastric-bypass surgery -- takes a firm stance on society's tight expectations of women's waistlines. But she doesn't try to make everyone feel sorry for her because she doesn't meet them. Instead, she takes us on a relatable journey, from her horrifying locker-room experiences as an obese adolescent to her current struggle at the adult gym -- where her similarly miserable crush announces he has started seeing another woman who is "so beautiful." At her lowest point, Salloway finds herself binging and vowing never to leave the house again -- even after she swore off her weight obsession and got a "divorce" from her body. Clearly, this quest for perfection has its ups and downs -- but there's a lot to love.
Sun Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Winnipeg Free Press, July 17, 2008:
Link here.
Comedic tales of life in the fat lane are Amy Salloway's bread and butter. The Minneapolis-based performer, who brought summer-camp frolic "So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz!", to the fringe in 2006, serves up more of the same humour and heartbreak in this well-rounded sequel (Amy's interruptive editorial note: it's really not meant to be a sequel.). Back in pigtails and intentionally unflattering baggy gym gear (Amy interrupting again: um, I actually didn't intend for my costume to be unflattering...I guess some wardrobe consultation is in order!), Amy recounts a battle of the bulge that began in junior high school gym class and may end on a gastric bypass surgeon's table. As a teen, tormented by a sadistic gym teacher and cruel peers, Amy declares she is divorcing her body, but years later, she still can't shake the fat -- or the self-loathing and public mortifications that accompany it.

Longing for love, but convinced she's unlovable in her current state, she's finally driven to consider an extreme surgical remedy that would stick a knife in the heart of the notion that self-acceptance is the only theatrically acceptable happy ending. But first, she makes a fateful foray to a gym, where she meets a man who is even more physically damaged -- and he's fresh from a coma, to boot. We should all be so lucky. But will this prince save Amy from herself? Will she make peace with her body at last? Stay tuned. The story takes a few side trips, some uncomfortably painful and filled with raw emotion, others painfully funny and filled with raw vegetables.

This is not the most substantial meal at the fringe, but if you're grazing for a tasty one-hour morsel, Circumference is a sweet treat.
-- Pat St. Germain


Uptown Magazine, July 24, 2008:
Link here.
This brutally honest one-woman show by Minneapolis native Amy Salloway tells of her lifelong struggle with her weight. Torturous junior high gym classes where she was teased mercilessly for finishing last in the Presidential Fitness Test and the lonely nights that come with a poor self-image have convinced Amy that a gastric bypass operation is the only chance for a "normal" life. Salloway is a charming performer, and assumes the quirky characters of her story easily - in particular, the spazzy junior high friend and the Super America clerk with the accent straight out of Fargo. She gives a high energy performance that spreads to the audience.


Jenny Review, July 20, 2008:
She's ba-a-ck! Amy Salloway delighted us with "So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz!" two years ago. Now she's back with "Circumference". Anyone who's struggled with their weight (or anything, for that matter) will immediately feel their hearts go out to Amy. Her quests are to get bariatric surgery to lose weight, and a date. She suffers with exercising, gym class, dieting and "profound datelessness". This extremely funny, talented and just plain nice actress hits the spot!
-- Lisa Campbell