Created by Euan Wheaton
Produced by Empty Orchestra Productions | Ottawa, ON
Review by Audrey Pridham
14+ / M / Comedy, Drama, Dramedy, Historical
When Trina and Mick are signed on to voice characters in an English dub of “Troopgirl Pawn,” a magical girl anime, they never expected the show to become a pop culture hit years later. But behind the scenes of their recording takes lies a deeper story that their fans wouldn’t have known about… until now.
Girls Can Do Anything (Except That) is a hilarious and emotionally-charged production that explores how censorship in cartoons not only dramatically changes a story, but also erases important representation to abide by certain standards.
Conflict arises when an episode of “Troopgirl Pawn” involves a lesbian and gender fluid storyline, and when certain lines are re-written to make sure that there’s no controversy from parents, Trina and Mick are at a crossroads. They want to speak out but are afraid of losing their jobs. More importantly, they also see themselves in these characters.
Banner image for Girls Can Do Anything (Except That). Photo provided.
Most of the show takes place in two separate recording booths, where Trina (Ainslie Moors) and Mick (Llewyn Kinney) are both instructed by their director Dave (Euan Wheaton) to record their lines. The scenes alternate between Trina and Mick’s recording sessions in the 90s while a podcast interview featuring the two of them years later is played through the speakers to reflect how they were both feeling in those moments. Dave is never shown on stage and is heard through the speakers, allowing the audience to feel as though they are also in the studio.
Both Moors and Kinney do a hilarious job at their voice acting behind the mics, comedically over-enunciating while adding both huskiness and squeaky vocals into their respective anime characters’ lines. There are plenty of fun moments that fans of 90s anime will appreciate, such as Trina and Mick’s attempts at recording not so subtle PSA’s about cigarettes and tattoos and trying to “Americanize” certain sayings.
However, these funnier moments are perfectly balanced out with the more thought-provoking ones involving the cartoon’s censorship, creating dramatic tension between the two voice actors and Dave. Trina and Mick both believe that the queer storylines would be impactful towards their audience, but as they grapple with how to remain in the voice acting industry, they also feel a sense of alienation over these erasures.
Girls Can Do Anything (Except That) will not only have fans of Sailor Moon feeling nostalgic, but also offer a fresh perspective on how the voice dubbing industry has impacted forms of representation in media.
Girls Can Do Anything (Except That) is playing at ODD Box from June 14–22. Tickets are $14 plus service fees at the Fringe box office (3rd floor, Arts Court, 2 Daly Avenue), and at the three satellite box offices (LabO in the Ottawa Art Gallery, Fringe Courtyard, 67 Nicholas St and La Nouvelle Scène). Five and ten Show Passes are also available. Visit the Ottawa Fringe Festival’s website for more information, and check out their online schedule here.
