Carly McLeod is a body positive activist born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario. She shares her unapologetic “fat grrrl” experience through writing and storytelling, served with a hefty dose of humour. Carly is developing a workshop to help others get over the fear of loving themselves.
‘Excuses’ is on Sunday, April 10th, at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, as the finale to gritLit, Hamilton’s readers and writers festival. Doors open at 7pm and donations are welcome.
Maria spends her time hanging out with middle schoolers, flirting with the elderly and wondering how it can be possible to love rap music so much and still call herself a feminist.
She believes in the power of sharing our stories and has had a lifetime of practice around the dining room table with her big Greek family.
‘Excuses’ is on Sunday, April 10th, at the Art Gallery of Hamilton, as the finale to gritLit, Hamilton’s readers and writers festival. Doors open at 7pm and donations are welcome.
Let’s get to know who is joining Leila on Sunday afternoon!
Introducing… Grace!
Grace Evans is a community worker at the Social Planning and Research Council. Grace is a co-founder of Steel City Stories and lives downtown with her partner Scott and their dog Hank.
Introducing… Layal!
Layal is a dancing queen turned business owner, recently back in her Hamilton hometown after a decade in Toronto. Following a 10-year career in TV and film documentary, in 2012 Layal met Jonny and fell in love. Shortly after she moved in, quit her job and they launched the Jonny Blonde food truck together in 2013.
Before her food-trucking career, Layal produced and directed a film called House of God which screened at TIFF Bell Lightbox in 2011, and a series of music videos for her singing, rapping alter-ego “Roxi Diabla”.
Introducing… Dani!
Dani is a Hamilton imposter, originally from Toronto, but loves her new city. She’s a dance instructor who specializes in “The Groove Method.” She currently lives in a micro-home that she built with her partner. She’s a minimalist and loves to travel.
Introducing… Colleen!
Colleen is a recent transplant to Hamilton, coming from Sudbury via some years in Barrie. She is delighted with the move, and when not blissfully lost in data queries and spreadsheets at work or riding a Sobi home, she can be found at the Art Crawl, a good movie, or sipping a Manhattan and cooking dinner for friends. She has a short attention span and embraces change, trying to live life deliberately and joyfully. Her maxim is “Less is more”.
Introducing… Mary Ellen!
Mary Ellen Scanlon is retired and lives in Strathcona. She believes that Hamilton’s built heritage is one of our most valuable and under-appreciated assets.
Leila’s Girlfriends is running three shows on Friday, March 4th at 7:30pm, Saturday, March 5th at 7:30pm, and Sunday, March 6th at 2pm. All shows are at Mills Hardware and doors open half an hour before the show starts. Seating is limited, so buy advance tickets for $10 here!
Let’s get to know Leila’s girlfriends for Saturday night!
Introducing… Katharine!
Katharine was born in Hamilton and raised in Greensville. After living in the UK while her partner finished school, she moved back to Canada to complete a degree in Museum Studies at the University of Toronto.
Katharine comes from a long line of local history buffs and is proud to once again call Hamilton – the setting for so many family stories – home. She also enjoys indoor rock climbing, fixing up old furniture, and watching Netflix with her cat.
Introducing… Lena!
Lena Scholman is a writer putting down roots in east Hamilton with her family of four. Recently, she traded life as a high school teacher to dust off an abandoned novel sitting in a drawer. When she finishes it, there will be cake and wine and you’re all invited to the party.
Introducing… Sarah!
Sarah is originally from Ottawa and moved to Hamilton two and a half years ago with her husband and two kids. She enjoys all aspects of homemaking and her zen place to be is with her vacuum cleaner.
Introducing… Kim!
Kim is adventurous, energetic, and young at heart. She’s breast cancer “thriver”, and belongs to a dragonboat racing team comprised of other survivors who paddle their hearts out. She engages in numerous creative hobbies, and loves to travel, exercise, and learn. She also loves to assist, educate, and inspire others.
She’s currently student enrolled in a mental health support worker program, and hopes to soon work in that field. She lives in Hamilton with her beautiful cats, Lily and Gracie.
Introducing… Sandy!
Sandy Reynolds has called Hamilton home for two years. Her favourite part of Hamilton is the escarpment. Last she she walked it from Milton to Grimbsy in four days.
She has been married for over 30 years, has two adult children and almost two grandchildren (one is due any day now). Her business, The FIELD Collaborative, helps individuals and businesses focus on the things that are most important in reaching their goals.
Leila’s Girlfriends is running three shows on Friday, March 4th at 7:30pm, Saturday March 5th at 7:30pm, and Sunday March 6th at 2pm. All shows are at Mills Hardware and doors open half an hour before the show starts. Seating is limited, so buy advance tickets for $10 here!
Let’s get to know who will be joining Leila on Friday night!
Introducing… Tamara!
Tamara has lived in Hamilton since the day she was born at St. Joseph’s Hospital. She has performed in community theatre for 30 plus years. She is a Humanities and Social Sciences Professor at Mohawk College. She is glad she has these two venues to help her give back to her community. She’s honoured to have the opportunity to work with Leila on this supportive women’s project.
Introducing… Tricia!
Tricia was born in Montreal, Quebec, to an Irish mom and a Scottish dad – with a German surname. She moved around quite a bit when she was young, and has moved a few times as an adult. She is now a Hamiltonian of about 23 years and loves living here. She also loves to travel and among many places she’d still like to explore are the Yukon and Northwest Territories.
Introducing… Janice!
Her name is Janice Clarke Scott, Clarke Verboom, Clarke Blatz, and soon to be Clarke – never to change again. She is 67 years young with three children, five grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.
Introducing… Anne!
Anne is an ardent lover of chocolates, flowers, and cats. She landed in Hamilton almost three years ago after a forgettable stint in the prairies and a blissful time on the west coast. By day, the secretary in her keeps an office in order; by night, the musician in her listens to jazz, R&B, dance, pop, rock, and the odd bit of classical tunage. She hopes to spend more time in her adopted home, laughing and aging gracefully.
Introducing… Debbie!
Have you ever had to hide something from those that you love and care about? Have you ever had to be something that you know that you are not? Debbie is a Hamilton born post-op transwoman who has overcome mountains. Debbie has been a pioneer in women’s and LGTBQ rights within Hamilton.
Debbie enjoys travelling and experience new adventures. She likes spending her free time skydiving, crafting it up, and spending time with her Chihuahua Jessie. Debbie has shared her story via other media sources but feels the importance to tell her story first hand to Hamilton.
Leila’s Girlfriends is running three shows on Friday, March 4th at 7:30pm, Saturday, March 5th at 7:30pm, and Sunday, March 6th at 2pm. All shows are at Mills Hardware and doors open half an hour before the show starts. Seating is limited, so buy advance tickets for $10 here!
Izad Etemadi is an award winning actor / singer / writer based out of Toronto, Ontario. He first came to Hamilton in 2013 with his solo show Borderland. In the past 3 years he has brought 9 different productions to Hamilton – most recently he performed his new solo piece The Hidden One at the inaugural Frost Bites Festival.
He is best known for his show Love With Leila which was performed Off-Broadway in New York City this past November. Izad won’t be seen on stage tonight, but you can catch his story on CBC Radio’s Definitely Not The Opera! Twitter / Instagram / Facebook: @IzadEtemadi
Leila is an International Persian Superstar. She first appeared in Izad Etemadi’s play Borderland. After that experience, she knew she was destined to be a celebrity. She created her own show Love With Leila and began to tour across the continent winning the hearts of audiences from coast to coast.Her holiday special A Very Leila Christmas is becoming an annual tradition and her web series has thousands of views.
Leila is embarking into the world of fashion with Leila Wear – her own line of designer scarves and into the world of music with Modest Woman – her upcoming EP. Follow Leila on all things social media @LoveWithLeila and don’t forget to use her hashtag #LeilaNation.
Leila’s Girlfriends is running three shows on Friday, March 4th at 7:30pm, Saturday, March 5th at 7:30pm, and Sunday, March 6th at 2pm. All shows are at Mills Hardware and doors open half an hour before the show starts. Seating is limited, so buy advance tickets for $10 here!
Thank you to everyone that came out to Some Assembly required and made it such a great event. We had a blast partnering with Art Forms for this storytelling event featuring youth, and we can’t wait until we do it again!
The evening was hosted by Zak McDonald. You can listen to the full podcast here.
Deb started off the evening with a few eye-opening stories from her career as a social
worker. A few things we learned from Deb:
Jesse was our first youth speaker for the night and definitely set the bar high! Along with gracing the audience with his spot-on Chewbacca impression, he talked about his struggles with being misunderstood by his educators.
Our favourite part of Jesse’s story was how he was able to help a young boy with communication issues finally speak to his parents by bonding and talking with him over Pokemon. Jesse left us with the message that no matter how loose a screw is, you can still turn it.
Grace was up next! She gave us insight into what it’s like to struggle with mental illness and battle alarming sights and sounds all in your head. She shared with us how these overwhelming experiences caused her to withdraw from her peers and isolate herself in the school library.
Luckily, Grace already had a friend in Jesse and was introduced to Art Forms. These workshops have given her the chance to create all kinds of art and form a new, supportive friend group.
Zak, our host for the night, was the final speaker before intermission. He began by telling us that, compared to the struggled from his childhood, his life is so good now that he’s run out of stories.
Ten hilarious minutes later, we would definitely know that a) this was definitely not true and b) it’s very hard to start a rap career with the name “Ziplock”. Zak sent us off to intermission with big laughs, and the assurance that if you feel like you don’t know how to be a person,
he is right there with you.
CJ, another frequenter of Art Forms, opened up the second act of the night. CJ kept his
story short, but awesome.
He talked about having ADHD and being bullied, but said that Art Forms has now given him self confidence, new friends, and fame!
Kyla was up next and spoke about her experiences being a runner. She’s run away from homes, school, and lots of her problems over the years.
Luckily, she’s also run into some amazing youth workers who have helped her turn things around and find outlets for her frustrations. She’s now enrolled in a Child Youth Worker program and, always a runner, now finds herself running towards solutions.
Treasa was up next with a story about making your own luck. She took us on a journey through the beginning of her music career, a journey which ironically began with theatre school.
She went from being an unknown at a folk music conference in Memphis, to soaring to the top of the blues charts, to scoring an opening spot on a tour in Ireland. This tour was a bumpy trip that caused her to lose a lot of money, her temper, and her way, but also led to finding the end of the rainbow.
As her song “Stuck in Soulsville” goes, “Some people say that you make your own luck, I guess to get where it’s at sometimes you’ve got to get stuck.”
Levi was our final speaker of the night. He talked about the ups and downs of being trans, and especially how it has affected his relationships with important people in his life. He’s also self-proclaimed expert on being trans and taught us that it’s always a good idea to ask a person what their pronouns are if you’re not sure. He’d like you to remember that some people are born with the body that’s right for them, but for others there is still some assembly required.
Steel City Stories and Unveiled Productions are excited to announce Leila’s Girlfriends will be returning to Hamilton this year to Mill’s Hardware for an epic celebration of International Women’s Day 2016!
This year we will feature 20 local Steel City Women sharing their personal stories about being a woman in the world. This raw and honest presentation will be hosted by Hamilton Fringe’s favourite Persian Superstar – Leila. Over the course of February, women will meet weekly to work with Izad Etemadi and Grace Evans to hone and develop their storytelling skills. The workshop component is generously being hosted by The Good Shepherd.
We are looking for women or women-identified folk from ALL backgrounds! No auditions and no acting experience necessary!
Join us for our information session:
January 19th at 5:30 p.m.
The Good Shepherd, 30 Pearl Street North
Workshop Schedule:
Tues. Jan. 26 – 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Tues. Feb. 2 – 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Tues. Feb. 9 – 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Wed. Feb.10 – 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Tues. Feb.16 – 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Mon. Feb. 22 – 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Tues. March 1 – 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm
To register for the workshop series please share your name, phone number and email address with Paula by Monday January 25 at noon.
Paula M. P.
Good Shepherd Wellness Facilitator
905-523-8766 ext. 4232
Participants will be invited to share their crafted stories at the following events:
Steel City Stories presents:
Leila’s Girlfriends
In celebration of International Women’s’ Day
Treasa Levasseur moved to Hamilton in 2013 and is proud to be taking part in Steel City Stories. Treasa has released 4 albums of original songs, including the Juno-nominated Low Fidelity, which she toured across North America in her dearly departed mini-van, Vinnieman. Treasa is also in demand as a session player on her trusty accordion, and has been mastering the glockenspiel, the fife and the dulcimer (among other weird instruments).
She has made her living for the last 18 years singing songs and making couch forts with preschoolers across the GTA, and strongly believes she should have been the 6th spice girl, Pumpkin Pie Spice. She loves facilitating sessions at Art Forms, and is constantly inspired by the courage and creativity of the youth community there.
‘Some Assembly Required’ is on Saturday, November 1st, at Mills Hardware. Doors open at 7pm and you can buy advance tickets for $10 here!
Kyla is an energetic student at Mohawk College studying in the Child and Youth Worker program. She hopes to one day combine her lived experience with her studies and be the founder of a non-profit youth organization.
For fun Kyla, or Young Killah, as she’s known as when she’s rapping taught herself piano. You can hear a few of her raps on the Freestyle Friday Facebook page. Kyla takes 3 creams and 1 ½ sugars in her coffee.
‘Some Assembly Required’ is on Saturday, November 1st, at Mills Hardware. Doors open at 7pm and you can buy advance tickets for $10 here!
Steel City Stories 