Last weekend was a bit of a homecoming for Devon More.
The Vancouverite was in Merritt to perform her one-woman show, titled Silent Party Interlude, at the Culture Club on Friday and Saturday nights. The performance tells the story of the 10 days she spent at the Dhamma Surabhi — a meditation centre off of Coldwater Road.
“I was delighted to bring the whole project full circle, because it was at the vipassana centre just outside of Merritt that I did the retreat originally, just over a year ago,” More told the Herald.
The show incorporates guitar and ukulele interludes as More recounts her experience of each day at the meditation centre via a series of monologues.
More said her show is all based on a true story, although it does employ some creative licensing.
She premiered her show this past summer on the fringe festival circuit starting in London, Ont.
She has also performed the show in Ottawa, Toronto, Berlin, Nelson and Vancouver.
She said the reason she decided to attend the meditation retreat was because she “was in a bit of a downward spiral again.”
“By that point in my life, I started to recognize when I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t satisfied and I would turn to my bad habits to cope with that — drinking, partying, temporary distractions — and I just thought I need to try something else,” More said.
She described attending the meditation clinic as her “reintroduction to the Interior.”
Vipassana is a type of Buddhist meditation that involves concentrating on the body, its sensations and the insight it provides.
More said she thinks vipassana has gained momentum because it teaches one how to unplug and cope with being alone, and helps people achieve stability they can use in their busy lives.
After obtaining her first degree in theatre from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, More travelled to Berlin before returning to Canada to attend school in Vancouver.
“I hated it so much,” More said of her schooling, “and finally admitted to myself that I might not be cut out to do a Monday-to-Friday, nine-to-five type job. I want to be doing something creative; I want to be able to use my voice to inspire people and possibly, also, get some political content out there in a more accessible way than we’re being fed through our media now.”
More worked as an actor in Kamloops for a couple years after she got her first degree.
Though she currently works as a bartender in Vancouver, More said she’d like to be doing her shows on a full-time basis.
“It’s hard to turn art into money,” she said.
