Slip Slap Trip Wack reinvents classic comedy tropes with youth performers at the Russian Hall
Leaky Heaven Performance’s innovative new show takes audiences for a literal ride through scenes of pies to the face, balloon suits, and talented dogs
Leaky Heaven Performance co-artistic director Steven Hill (left) gets pied. Photo by Vanessa Mercedes Figueroa
Max, one of the youth participants in Slip Slap Trip Wack. Photo by Vanessa Mercedes Figueroa
Leaky Heaven Performance presents Slip Slap Trip Wack from July 26 to 28 at the Russian Hall
PICTURE THIS: you’re seated on a circular platform inside Strathcona’s historic Russian Hall. As the platform begins to rotate a full 360 degrees, you bear witness to a cast of children aged eight to 12, performing alongside adults, in different snippets of classic comedic tropes—think two kids in a trenchcoat, or a pie in the face—that have been revamped into contemporary gags. You might see talented dogs pulling homemade car props, or a kid wearing a balloon suit. At one point, you may even get up and switch seats to ride a couch on wheels.
This intentional mayhem is the premise for Leaky Heaven Performance’s innovative show Slip Slap Trip Wack, which will have its world premiere at the Russian Hall from July 26 to 28. Co-directed by Josh Hite and Steven Hill, the spectacle takes any normal semblance of a stage and does backflips with it, transforming the entire performance hall into a feast for the eyes.
Though Slip Slap Trip Wack will run for hours on end in its rotating-platform format (with many of its sketches being improvised), audience members are encouraged to watch for a total of just about 20 minutes, or the duration of a comedy-TV episode. Speaking over the phone before the show’s premiere, Hite tells Stir that the experience for audience members will be comparable to getting on a carousel at an amusement park.
“I think the kind of uncensored joy and excitement that’s most common to experience as a kid, or by watching kids, will be the vibe in the room,” Hite says. “There will be a lot going on—but because of the way the carousel is set up, you’ll get little portions of the show, so that hopefully by the time you leave, there are maybe three aspects to it that you’ll be able to put together and start to imagine what it is as a whole.”
Dogs become performance collaborators in Slip Slap Trip Wack. Photo by Vanessa Mercedes Figueroa
Slip Slap Trip Wack is based on the comedic short-film series Our Gang, which consists of 220 cinema installments that date back to 1922. Later popularized as The Little Rascals when it was adapted for television programming, the series follows a realistic group of lower-class neighbourhood children getting up to different hijinks.
Though it’s been nearly four years since Hite and Hill started working with youth living in the Strathcona neighbourhood near the Russian Hall, they recently helped the kids learn about and reinvent bits from Our Gang with a 10-week workshop series co-presented by RayCam Co-operative Centre. From there, Leaky Heaven began another creation session for the development of Slip Slap Trip Wack. The whole process, explains Hite, has been a true joint effort between the young artists and established theatre professionals.
“It’s a good reminder of thinking about being a good collaborator, and coming with offers, and not being precious about them,” Hite reflects. “Because certain things that I may have a desire to see, we can realize really quickly that things simply are not happening in that way. So it’s just constantly focusing, adapting, and listening—and trying to come in with a plan to focus our time together, but also be willing to be surprised.”
Youth participants during a development workshop at the Russian Hall for Slip Slap Trip Wack. Courtesy of Leaky Heaven Performance
Hite has been co-artistic director of Leaky Heaven for just a couple of months alongside founder Hill, who previously helmed the company solo from its inception in 2001 (though the two have been collaborating together for over a decade). With an eight-year-old son of his own that will take part in Slip Slap Trip Wack, Hite says that the show is more than just an acting gig for the kids.
The youth have invested creative energy into every single aspect of the presentation; for example, they’ll be selling their own homemade popsicles at a concession stand (be on your toes for prank flavours). Plus, kids who’d like to see the show as audience members can come prepared with a toy or book in hand to barter for free admission. All of this stemmed from a strong interest on the youngsters’ behalf about how the economy works, says Hite.
“Just thinking about the economy with young people is kind of eye-opening,” he says. “Some of them want to give the popsicles away for free, some of them want to make money from them….It has been energizing seeing their excitement and their thought processes around money.”
One of Hite’s biggest takeaways from the project, he says, has been learning how to match the kids’ boundless enthusiasm. There will be plenty of that on display this weekend—so here’s hoping the audience can, too. 
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