Stealing the Last Laugh With Francesca Esguerra
Headshot by Selena Philips-Boyle
Listen to Episode 5 of This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. (Google coming soon!)
Today, we have Francesca Esguerra—writer, performer, and cherished member of the Montréal storytelling community. Enjoy Francesca’s unrivalled wisdom on how to:
Survive and thrive as an only child
Become and stay fearlessly creative (+ Bonus pro tips on procrastination)
Use humour to redeem heartbreak, STIs, and other tragic circumstances
Weed out boring online dating peeps by being 150% yourself.
Plus, what it’s like to work as a play and drama therapist, whether that means pretending you’re a zombie or reflecting feelings for a distressed child. And, Francesca has an imminent Fringe show, Two Lives, co-written and soon to be performed alongside the legendary Carole Tenbrink.
About Francesca’s Show
Get Fresh presents Two Lives, a true storytelling show about living with one foot perched in la la land while the other foot tries its best to stay on the ground and do all the things that grown-up humans are supposed to do. It premiers at the St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival from June 9 to June 18 at O Patro Vys, 356 Mont-Royal Ave. E. Get Your Tickets Here!
Show times:
Friday, June 9 @ 7 PM
Saturday, June 10 @ 4:15 PM
Sunday, June 11 @ 5:15 PM
Thursday, June 15 @ 6 PM
Friday, June 16 @ 7:30 PM
Sunday, June 18 @ 12:30 PM
About Francesca
Growing up an only child, Francesca “had no choice but to figure out how to enjoy time alone.” So she just started making stuff. Her first great creative achievement occurred at age eight, when Francesca appointed herself editor and founder of the Canadian Girls Magazine. From there, Francesca went on to produce and direct plays to escape the tyranny of summers at Grand-mama’s house.
After abandoning theatre for a literature degree, Francesca discovered her true calling in live storytelling shows. With her creativity reignited, she pursued a Masters in play and drama therapy. It didn’t take long for her to land a job at a safe haven for children and their moms who need temporary housing in the aftermath of an abusive relationship.
Among her infinite talents, Francesca knits her own sweaters, sings, and displays prodigy-level success at online dating. She is known for her magnificent statement outfits and for infusing humour into life’s most devastating mishaps. Following her last victorious stint on Hinge, Francesca lives with her partner, dog, two cats, an aquarium of fish and a couple of shrimp.
Francesca on Confabulation: The Shortest Story, Me, My Selfie, and I
Follow Francesca on Instagram @uncle__fran
Tiny Ukulele Segment: Wrecking Ball
Mixing, Ukulele, and Cover Art by Erica J. Schmidt in Montréal, Quebec
Special thanks to Taes Leavitt (darling big sister, Big Heart Journey), Sherwin Tjia (technical and creative advisor, Sherwin’s Quirky Events), and my dearly departed Eileen Gun, whose generous gift helped to fund my new podcast equipment. Thank you so much for listening! Stay tuned for more episodes extra soon. Don't forget to follow This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on your favourite podcast platform. And if you enjoyed the episode, I would be immensely grateful if you could share it with a friend and/or leave a kind and enthusiastic rating and review.
This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life is brought to you by Lil and Bud dog cards, purchasable at ericajschmidt.com/merch. If you would like to sponsor the podcast, I would love to plug your product, service, or project as long as it doesn’t harm any people or their bodies. Please get in touch via my website or Instagram.
Website: ericajschmidt.com
Instagram: @erica. j.schmidt
You can also write to Erica with a listener question.
Today’s Listener Question from Swiped Out
Dear Erica (and Francesca),
I’m really terrible at online dating. I’m a 31-year-old straight woman, I’ve been single for six years, and I’ve maxed out on trying to meet people in real life. I’m on all the apps but it’s rare that I get past the What’s up?/How was your weekend phase. When I do swing a coffee date, I find the dudes have no personality and even when I ask them more interesting questions, they aren’t that open to sharing and it’s not a fun time. My friends say my profile is charming and my pictures are hot. They say I am charming. But why are the dudes so boring? Is it realistic to find a quality person online? Am I doomed to be single forever?
Love, Swiped Out
