We caught up with Matt Baram and Naomi Sniekus, who are coming to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Big Stuff a show about having too much to unpack, something many STARBURST readers know all too well.
Introduce yourselves
Naomi: Oh hello! I’m Naomi Snieckus.
Matt – I’m Matt Baram. Together we’re the writers, performers and co-creators of Big Stuff, alongside our director and co-creator Kat Sandler. We’re also a real-life married couple…
Naomi – Yes, don’t forget that!
Matt – How could I? How could I EVER?
Naomi – Okay, so, Big Stuff was born out of a time when we had lost the last of our parents, and we discovered how different our ways of dealing with the stuff that’s left behind. Both physical and emotional.
Matt – By the way – If you’re thinking of creating theatre with your spouse, hire a great therapist first.
Naomi – Yes, we love Helen – also – work with your spouse – it’s tough, but it’s the most fun and rewarding thing you’ll ever do.
Matt – That too.
How would you pitch Big Stuff to someone with way too many books and DVDs?
Naomi – People like holding things, turning pages – feeling the crack of a DVD case – it’s satisfying. It’s right in line with our show! Big Stuff explores whether we really need the physical things we keep, or whether the memories live inside us. It asks why we hang on to objects, and whether they’re gateways to the people we love or just really heavy boxes to move.
Matt:
If your shelves are overflowing, this show won’t tell you how to throw anything out. It might help you understand why you’ve kept it in the first place. Or you’ll leave thinking, “Maybe I don’t need every season of Seinfeld on DVD.” It didn’t get really good until the second season anyway.
How would you pitch it to someone who loves improv comedy?
Naomi – Even though the show is mostly scripted, every performance changes because the audience changes.
Matt – We should explain further because you just described every theatre show. Every performance changes because the audience changes.
Naomi – Our changes a little more. You see, before the show, people write down on a card an object they keep that reminds them of someone they love, and those stories become part of the performance.
Matt – Yes, We have spent years improvising entire shows with our company “The National Theatre of the World”. The funny thing is, improv evaporates the moment it’s over. With Big Stuff we wanted to create something we could return to night after night, while still leaving room for discovery. About 95% stays the same. The other 5% belongs to THAT audience.
Naomi – But you don’t get a credit.
Matt – Right – so don’t look for one in the program!
What’s one thing from a previous project you can’t throw away?
Naomi – OH SO MUCH! Posters, photos, our friend Kurt Firla created this giant 1×2 meter glittery Carnegie Hall Show sign from one of our old improv shows. It’s ridiculous and wonderful – I’ll never get rid of that.
Matt: It’s made of Styrofoam, glitter and nostalgia. It currently lives in our basement, which is exactly the kind of problem our play is about.
Naomi – As soon as we get home – I’m putting it up above our bed.
Matt -Perfect
How is this different from working on TV shows like Umbrella Academy?
Matt – Naomi and I do both theatre and film and TV and working on set can be collaborative in a wonderful way, but once the cameras stop rolling, the story belongs to the editor. In theatre, especially at the Fringe, nobody edits us. Every afternoon we get another chance to make the show better.
Naomi: Plus, Improv skills are incredibly useful on set because they keep you open to discovering new moments. But ultimately you’re serving someone else’s vision.
What’s your favourite part of the show?
Naomi – I love the toaster debate. That’s all I’m saying. You’ll have to come see it. You’ll never look at a toaster the same way.
Matt –The discovery of “inactive diarrhoea.” It makes absolutely no sense until you’ve seen the show, but once you have, you’ll never forget it.
Is nostalgia toxic?
Matt –Memory is valuable. The trick is remembering you’re still making new ones.
Naomi – Isn’t anything toxic if you do it too much? Living in the past? Eating hot dogs?
Matt – Now I want a hot dog.
Naomi – Toxic behaviour.
Why the Edinburgh Fringe?
Naomi – We’ve wanted to come to Edinburgh for years. We finally found the show that belongs here.
Matt – It only took our entire lives to save enough money to do it.
What inspired the show?
Naomi – Matt and I wanted to make theatre again. We improvise theatre but we wanted to be involved in a show that can tour and get refined. Around the same time we were staring at a basement full of family belongings after losing our parents. AND we wanted to work with Kat Sandler, I mean, who doesn’t? Those three things collided and became Big Stuff.
Matt – We originally thought we’d use the show to get rid of all our stuff by giving it away every night. Instead, touring required doubles of everything, so we’ve actually accumulated more stuff. The lesson? Don’t write plays.
Where else can audiences see you?
Naomi – You might have seen me in The Handmaid’s Tale, my company/podcast Firecracker Department or Mr. D on Netflix, and we’ll continue touring Big Stuff across Canada before returning to Toronto to create a new show called We Swear for Crow’s Theatre and Luminato.
Matt – I’ve appeared in The Umbrella Academy, Cross and The Apprentice. Between touring and theatre, we’re keeping ourselves very busy.
Doctor Who or Doctor No?
Naomi – Doctor Who. In improv you’re not supposed to keep saying “no.”
Matt – It’s always good to see the doctor. Just hopefully not one who keeps saying “No” to prescribing me with fun pain medication.
Bowie or Freddie?
Naomi – Freddie. We Are the Champions has been my personal anthem for years.
Matt –Bowie. He kept reinventing himself. His brand was never a brand. He just kept exploring. I hope that rubs off on us.
Truth or Beauty?
Matt – Truth. Sometimes it’s messy, awkward and even ugly. That’s okay. I’d rather make something truthful and messy than something simply beautiful.
Naomi – And I’d argue that when something is truly honest, it becomes beautiful anyway.
Matt: Which is probably why we’ve stayed married.
