Author Archives: Rachelle Fordyce

Montreal International Fringe Theatre Festival

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I’m presently in Montreal for the Montreal International Fringe Theatre Festival.

If you’ve never heard of a Fringe Theatre Festival before, the term Fringe Theatre essentially refers to alternative theatre / entertainment not of the mainstream. I’m self-producing and performing a show of my own creation.

So, if you’ve been wondering why I haven’t written much lately, that would be the reason. It’s kept me pretty busy!

I’ve titled my show unADULTeRATED me. The meaning of the title has multiple layers, but perhaps I’ll go into that at a later time.

The show would fit into a number of different styles and genres, so it’s difficult to label it very easily. It has elements of cabaret, burlesque, comedy, clown, and even opera.

It’s a solo show, meaning I’m the sole performer.

My character, whom I’ve named Fizzy Tiff, is done in clown. There are many different types/styles of clown. I think when people hear the term ‘clown’, the first type or style that comes to mind is typically the circus variety with the heavily painted faces that wear bright colors, baggy clothing, giant shoes, and rainbow hair. Just so we’re on the same page, I’d like to clarify that this is not the type or style of clowning that I portray in my show. (Nothing against that style, mind you!)

I’ve received some training in a style of clown that has been referred to as Pochinko clown, named so for the man who developped a certain process or method for creating one’s clown. It’s a very involved process. Perhaps I’ll write more on that another time.

Anyway, this show is a huge personal risk for me. I’ve never done a show quite like this one before. I’ll be improvising a lot, and the show will incorporate audience participation, so each and every performance is going to be unique.

It’s an experiment. It could be a hit! Or, it could turn out to be a dismal failure. It could even be both — some people might love it, while others hate it. As long as at least some people are touched by the show in some way and are positively affected by having seen the show, then I shall consider it to be a success.

My first performance will take place on June 11th at 11pm here in Montreal. I’d really appreciate some positive and creative energy sent my way at that time! 😀

I’ll try to keep this blog updated more frequently after this first festival of six festivals has been completed. I’ll write again soon to keep posted on how everything is going, too!

Also, just a note for anyone popping by who is visiting this website trying to find more info about the show:
I’ll be adding an unADULTeRATED me section to this website very soon. If it’s not showing here yet, it will be in the next day or two. 🙂

I’ll also write more about the show itself soon, and explain the show’s themes and what it’s all about. Although… I don’t want to give away too much!

Til next time…
Happy Fringing, everyone!

What To Do If You’ve Dropped Your Cell Phone In The Toilet

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Thankfully I’ve never had the personal experience of dropping my cell phone in the toilet.  Phew. Lucky me!

But perhaps you or someone you know has been less than lucky and as a result has had the unfortunate experience of accidentally dropping his or her cell phone into that cold and wet porcelain bowl of doom.   If so, than you may find this brief article to be of use.   If not, well… read anyway!  Then you’ll know what to do if it ever does happen to you.  On the other hand, the solution presented below should work if you’ve happened to immerse your cell phone into water from a source other than that from a toilet bowl.  It might even work for other water-damaged electronic devices as well.

Somewhat recently I had gone out to dinner with a couple of gal friends of mine. One such friend ended up revealing to us that her brother had dropped his cell phone in the toilet. And, thankfully he was able to get it working again! I’ll share with you how he was able to do so, but first I want to share with you an interesting series of synchronicities that occurred which led me to write this article in the first place.

When my friend was initially sharing the oddity of her brother dropping his phone in the toilet, I remember she was astounded how something like that could even happen. “Have you ever heard of anyone dropping their cell phone in the toilet??!?” she queried of my friend and I.  Neither of us had.

The very next day I found myself on a local city transit bus when I overheard a teen aged passenger telling her friend how earlier that very morning she had accidentally dropped her cell in the toilet. She was actually really stressed out and exasperated about it, too!   I noted the bizarre synchronicity and thought of interrupting the girl so I could tell her how she could get her phone working again by the same method my friend’s brother had used.  Unfortunately she soon got off the bus before I had a chance to approach her.

A couple weeks have passed since then.  Today one of my friends on Facebook announced that he dropped his cell in toilet!  Huh!  I suppose it happens more often than you’d think!

So, if you’ve ever had the unfortunate luck of dropping your cell phone into the toilet, fear not!  You are not alone.


Here’s what you can do to fix it:

1. Retrieve your cell phone out of the toilet bowl. Perhaps this step is obvious, but it’s worth pointing out if only for humor’s sake. 🙂 Wear rubber gloves if you’re concerned about germs or are really grossed out at the idea. Either way, don’t worry too much about the germs – simply give your hands a good thorough wash with soap and hot water afterward and you’ll be fine.

2. Power down your phone.

3. Clean and wipe dry all the surfaces of your phone. Use an all-purpose cleaner. For an environmentally friendly approach, try using a solution of water and vinegar. Furthermore, use reusable and washable rags instead of paper towels – it’s friendlier for the environment.

4. Remove the battery from the phone.

5. Place both your cell phone and its battery into a bag of rice. Make sure it is immersed in rice.

6. Leave the phone and battery in the rice for a minimum period of 24-48 hours. I’d say 48 hours to be on the safe side, especially if you live in a less arid climate.

7. After 24-48 hours, retrieve your cell phone and battery from the rice and put the battery back into the cell phone.

8. Recharge your cell phone battery.

9. After your phone has fully recharged you can turn your phone back on.

10. Make sure you don’t drop your cell phone into the toilet again! 😉

So… why rice?  Well, you may have noticed that some restaurants make it a practice of putting grains of rice in their salt shakers.  Have you ever noticed that?  Why do they do that, anyway?  The reason why that is a common practice in restaurants is due to rice’s nature and ability to absorb moisture.  When placed with salt in a salt shaker, the rice prevents the salt in the shaker from clumping.  In the solution presented above, the rice will acts in a similar way, absorbing the wetness and moisture from your cell phone and battery.

Another way to dry out your phone involves folding your wet phone into two pairs of thick socks, and then putting it in the dryer.  The double layer of the thick socks will act as padding, preventing it from being damaged as it’s tossed around in the dryer.


In retrospect, I realize this may have seemed a strange topic to post about in a blog geared towards inspiration and creativity.  But when you think about it, it’s not really all that much out of place.  I like the idea of helping people and this is certainly one creative way of doing so.  Additionally, a creativite aspect of this brief article comes into play in the form of a creative solution!

As for inspiration?  Well… sometimes even inspiration can be found at the bottom of a toilet bowl.  😉

😉