Veda Hille and Bill Richardson tried hard not to mock.
The writers of Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata were overwhelmed with wacky ads from the online personal ads site.
But they decided early on that making fun of the sellers was definitely not going to be part of their script.
"The amazing thing about Craigslist is that people write so much and tell you so much about their lives," said Hille, an indie singer-songwriter who also performs in the show. "They are more than just the 300 stuffed penguins or the free toupee they're offering.
"You can really get a sense of who they are. It's a rich soup of humanity," Hille said.
The pair embarked on penning a cantata - or song cycle - about Craigslist after performing a 20-minute musical at the PuSh festival. Richardson, who hosts the classical music programming on CBC Radio 2, was the first to broach the concept with his good friend Hille.
For months, Richardson trolled Craigslist pages around the world, searching for the perfect vignettes to tie together a 90-minute cantata for Hille to set to contemporary folk music.
The Best of Craigslist page was visited regularly. Sometimes, "Bill would send me a verse. He would take an ad and extrapolate the story but, other times, he would send me the whole ad and say, 'What should we do with this?' Quite often, I could set it verbatim."
Hille said much of the text was North American based as Craigslist is not used as much in Europe. Also, certain segments of the Canadian population (i.e., in the Prairies) tend to use Kijiji more than Craigslist.
Still, Hille said, "we've played the show to audiences that don't know Craigslist as well and they can relate to it because of the connection to personal ads.
"Also, it's really funny."
In January, when the production premiered in Vancouver, it had 24 sold-out performances on the Arts Club's Revue Stage and was held over for a week. Now, the show is touring B.C. and the Yukon this and next month, including a stop in Coquitlam next week.
Though there is no linear plot line, A Craigslist Cantata is - at its best - a story about desire.
"We all have longings, whether it's to be with people or to get rid of our stuff or just connect," Hille said. "It really shows how much want there is in the world. People are lonely and materialistic. And I think it will be especially difficult for the next generation who will ask, 'Why do want all of this stuff? Who tricked us into wanting it? And where are we going to put it all?'
"It speaks to our society," she said.
Directed by Amiel Gladstone, Craigslist Cantata stars Hille, J. Cameron Barnett, Bree Greig, Selina Martin, Barry Mirochnick and Allan Zinyk. It runs at the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam) from Oct. 23 to 27 at 8 p.m. when a 4 p.m. show on Oct. 27. Tuesday's pre-show chat features a conversation with dramaturge Rachel Ditor. For tickets at $39/$30/$15, call the box office at 604-927-6555 or visit www.evergreenculturalcentre.ca.
