Joylyn Secunda plays a portal-hopping office worker in surreal solo show The Routine, November 22 and 23

At Studio 16, artist weaves mime and clown components in vignettes that explore a person’s search for the meaning of life

Joylyn Secunda in *The Routine*. Photo by Mark Halliday

Joylyn Secunda’s The Routine is at Studio 16 on November 22 and 23 at 7:30 pm

WHEN STIR SPOKE to Joylyn Secunda for our 2024 Fall Arts Guide, they had just recently premiered their solo show The Routine at Upintheair Theatre’s rEvolver Festival. The artist, who is a trained mime, clown, and puppeteer, describes the eccentric physical-comedy production as a blend of Mr. Bean and Death of a Salesman.

Over the past year, Secunda has toured The Routine to the Adelaide Fringe in Australia and across Canada, stopping at fringe festivals in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montreal, where they garnered four award nominations. Now, they’re bringing it back home with performances at Studio 16 on November 22 and 23.

In The Routine, Secunda plays a lonely office worker who squeezes through a bathroom-mirror portal and embarks on a wacky adventure in search of the meaning of life. Complete with whimsical vignettes and plenty of illusions, the surreal show offers a new perspective on making a seemingly mundane existence feel extraordinary.

The production is informed by Secunda’s clown training with Mump and Smoot’s John Turner and Spymonkey’s Aitor Basauri, and mime training with Cirque du Soleil’s Dean Evans. It’s also a family affair—Secunda’s dad, David Secunda, co-created The Routine and serves as director, while their mom, Linda Arkelian, choreographed the dance components.

Secunda also worked with their parents on an earlier solo show called The Moaning Yoni, a satirical production about a college student taken over by her anthropomorphic vagina.

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Emily Lyth

Emily Lyth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who graduated from Langara College’s Journalism program. Her decade of dance training and passion for all things food-related are the foundation of her love for telling arts, culture, and community stories.

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