‘Oh Mother!’ Calgary Fringe debut paints grief, God, and gutsy conviction

When your imaginary friend tells you to be an artist, you listen – even if it means painting nudes while God watches.

In her solo show Oh Mother!, multi-disciplinary artist Rebbekah Ogden brings brush and bravado to the Calgary Fringe stage, transforming grief into live comedy — and live art, inspired by her and her mother’s lives.

“My mom was a woman of strong convictions and no compromise,” Ogden says. “She was brave. And I think that’s what inspires me to be bold about my calling, too.”

Although her mother wasn’t always totally on board with her daughter’s calling, she supported art.

“My show is about a young girl who is excited that her calling is to be a painter and nothing’s going to stop her from it, except her mother’s convictions that a calling must change the world and be useful. And the revelation, of course, that she’ll have to maybe probably paint naked people while God watches,” Ogden says. “It’s an outlandish comedy that follows the true story, the mostly true story of my journey into being an artist and my calling as an artist.”

In Oh Mother!, Ogden performs a live painting of an audience member, who sits silently and plays the part of imaginary friend as Ogden unravels her path from ballet and piano lessons in Lethbridge, to artistic isolation in rural Saskatchewan, to the Fringe stage in Calgary.

This is Ogden’s first time performing her own written work. It’s also her first one-woman show and the first time she’s acted while painting.

“It’s a whole skill,” she says with a laugh. “But it’s everything I do, in one.”

Behind the absurdity, including twelve siblings, spiritual dilemmas, and nude model anxiety,  is a quieter throughline: a daughter still in dialogue with the mother she lost 11 years ago. Oh Mother! may be irreverent, but it’s not cynical. It’s a love letter to conviction, craft, and chasing your voice even when no one else hears it yet.

“My mom felt called to trust God and not use birth control. She ended up with 12 kids. I think that bravery – to follow your calling is what Oh Mother! is really about.”

And yes, the audience member gets to keep their painting.

Oh Mother!
Lantern Community Church, 1401 10 Ave SE, Calgary
Saturday, Aug. 2 @ 1:45 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 3 @ 8:45 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 4 @ 5:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 6 @ 8:45 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 7 @ 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 9 @ 5:15 p.m.
Tickets $22
More: www.calgaryfringe.ca