The Story: First-Person - Matty Burns on Tagged and It's Complicated

From Napkins to Opening
The jagged journey of Tagged and It's Complicated 
by Matty Burns

Only a few years ago, I thought I had it all. I was living the dream, enjoying my final year at Queen’s University and had everything I could possibly want. I had spent four years not letting school get in the way of my education! I learned a lot about myself, made the best friends I could ask for and secured a spot in the the theatre and campus community that fit me just fine. I was home. Everything was looking up Milhouse! Then over night the curtain opened and reality sunk in. It was time for the bubble to burst. I knew it was coming. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I could possibly hold onto this dream life for a little longer. But I wasn’t the only one leaving. Things were about to change and fast. I didn’t even go to my graduation ceremony because I was so upset about having to move on. But I had to grow up... again....this was the next step. 

With Ruth Goodwin

Months later I was back in Toronto, alone, in the parents basement, with the dream of being an actor. Great. Now what? What to do next? No clear path for this dream, as many of my friends moved in with their significant others, went on to future education, or well-paying 9-5 jobs. I sat at home wondering how I could have spent four years feeling so right only to end up here. It wasn’t an easy path I wanted. It wasn’t like I could just study hard for an exam, get another degree and then start living the life I felt I wanted and was supposed to. Welcome, to my quarter-life crisis. I spent a good 6 months feeling lost and waking up wishing I was further down the 401 in the bubble I was secure in and was my true home. But I had to accepted my network had changed, my friends scattered, and I was stuck feeling alone and offline from the world I once new and gave me a sense of purpose.

Soon this collection of lyrics, lines, and song ideas came to represent the pipe dream and path to focus my energy on the life I wanted to live. 

This is how “Tagged & It’s Complicated” began. As notes on napkins and scrap paper at my keyboard when I couldn’t sleep at 2AM and needed an outlet. As songs that were about my issues and not just fiction I needed for a character. I was reminded of advice I was once given by a Professor at school. “Create your own work. Write what you know”. Soon this collection of lyrics, lines, and song ideas came to represent the pipe dream and path to focus my energy on the life I wanted to live. 

With Ben Wright

Shortly after this realization I approached a guy I knew at Queen’s University named Ben Wright, one of the friendliest giants in the world, standing a good foot and a half above me. He is one of the most impressive guitar players and musicians I know. We sat in a bar and I told him I had an idea for a musical about online dating and the quarter-life crisis, and that with his musical vocabulary and creativity I believed we could partner up and create something special. Out of Reach Theatre Company was born. We based the name off an old headshot Ben and I had together from a show in University, where giant Ben holds an apple far above my tiny reach. Many months and meetings in my parents basement later we found ourselves with a first draft of a show and a collection of songs that were an amalgamation of the issues we and the people we knew were dealing with. At this point we brought in two very talented individuals and friends. Dana Kaluzny, helped flesh out our script, story, and direct our first workshop. Ruth Goodwin was chosen from a group of amazingly talented ladies who perfectly encapsulated what we looked for in our female protagonist. 

Tagged & It’s Complicated tells the story of two young twenty somethings dealing with the expectations of society and the tags social media places on them. Our show is compromised of 11 original songs all of which are inspired by a different musical style. We have everything from blue-grass to funk, hip-hop to heartfelt ballads. It perfectly accents just how many layers and styles there are to us, our characters, and the variety of ways we can communicate who we are online. It speaks to the self reflection that is impossible to avoid when so much of our lives are spent deciding who we are online, seeing who others are, and how we measure up. It’s about unrequited love, and love that we just haven’t had time for in the wake of chasing our dreams. When we set out to write “Tagged” we weren’t always aware we were finding ourselves, and holding mirrors up to our own faces. Looking at the decisions we had made and where that placed us in the marathon of life. Were we winning, or falling behind? Are we where we are supposed to be? We put this through the lens of online dating and social media because that is how we communicate with friends and meet new people now. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is anyone out there who in their right mind calls a guy/girl to ask them out on a first date. 

We have created something deeply personal with a group of amazing artists.

It’s hard to believe that it has been almost two years since my dream of writing and producing my own musical was lyrics on a napkin and my own quarter-life crisis. I look at Out of Reach Theatre Company now and I am very excited about our future. It’s been a thrilling ride learning how to produce, market, and develop a new show and company, and in the process get back to what I missed about my University bubble, learning and doing. We have created something deeply personal with a group of amazing artists. Ben Wright my partner in crime, Dana Kaluzny whose vision has polished and refined our show, and my extremely talented and beautiful co-star Ruth Goodwin. This project is a sum of us all, a collective creation of heart and soul. We’ve been joined by some very committed folks to round out our little company and it’s a dream to get together in a room and work on this show with people I call my closest friends. I remember the out of body experience I had the first time we performed our workshop to family and friends and I’m sure it will come back again on opening night. Thinking, “that JUST happened”. I look forward to our official premiere and to the future of Out of Reach Theatre and hopefully many shows to come. Oh and by the way, I have my own place now. No more basement. NBD. 

"Tagged & It's Complicated" runs November 24 to December 1 at the Palmerston Theatre. Buy tickets at http://www.outofreachtheatre.com
See also: a video from a studio session for the production