MICHELLE MERLINDT

      At heart I've always been a treasure hunter.  I'm always dreaming of finding something beautiful but rare, something beautiful but obscure, something neglected, forgotten or unappreciated yet timelessly precious. 

      My treasure hunting enriches a life dominated by two forces.  The first is a slow-burning, quiet form of wanderlust.  I love to travel. The second is my love of literature.  I'm a wildly eclectic reader and I love to write. 

     The treasures I seek in life are intangible.  They are not souvenirs to be squeezed into a suitcase but fleeting moments, breathtaking sights, glimpses into the secrets of foreign lands, fragments of history, custom and culture which once discovered often inspire stories of my own.

   

      This past September I had the almost unbelievable good fortune to be selected for and appear at the 2022 Vancouver Fringe Festival where I  presented my story The Songbird of Vienna.  Mine was a solo show. I conceived, developed, wrote, designed, directed and performed the entire show myself.  This was my first time participating in a theatre festival.  The experience was exhausting and electrifying in equal degrees.  I had six performances and a short preview performance.  Now that it's over I'm still in a state of shock that might last until Christmas!

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      If you missed that big event never fear, my creative efforts can also be found on the blog, on Bandcamp (where with any luck I will manage to post a recording of The Songbird of Vienna) and on Instagram.