Cheryl Gensiorek doesn’t often find herself in the middle of a monologue, but she will on March 8.

It’ll be intentional for the East St. Paul actress, who will perform Edith Spanner by Robyn Israel as part of Sarasvàti Productions’ Cabaret of Monologues at the Gallery at Manitoba Hydro Place at 360 Portage Ave.

The evening will feature 10 monologues in all, which will all follow the theme of ‘wild women’ and will help commemorate International Women’s Week. The Buffalo Gals drumming group will also perform.

Gensiorek said her piece chronicles a straining relationship.

"Edith Spanner works for a paperclip company, and she’s enamoured with (CBC hockey commentator) Don Cherry and (bygone American actor) John Garfield," said Gensiorek. "She and her best friend, Mildred, have been perennial spinsters, and then Mildred drops a bomb on Edith."

Gensiorek is looking forward to performing her first monologue for Sarasvàti, noting she generally only otherwise performs them during auditions or during plays with an ensemble.

"During an actual play, you have the dialogue back and forth, and during the monologue, you’re on your own," she said. "You’re also not relying on another actor for the dialogue... They’re both exciting."

Showtime on March 8 is 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.sarasvati.ca or by calling 204-586-2236.    

As well, Gensiorek displayed her acting chops at a Sarasvàti fundraiser last month.

During the second-annual So You Think You Can Act? event on Feb. 20, Gensiorek and scene partner, 102.3 Clear FM host Kerri Salki, won for their performance of a scene from Daniel MacIvor’s Marion Bridge. Curler Jeff Stoughton, CBC host Marcy Markusa, comedian Jon Ljungberg, soccer player Desiree Scott, jazz musician Ron Paley, and City TV personality Jenna Khan also took part in the evening.

"You get to see local celebrities do something that’s a little out of their norm," she said. "They get to appreciate what it’s like to do something different and be on stage for everyone to see."

Gensiorek and Salki were allowed one rehearsal with Sarasvàti artistic director Hope McIntyre, who directed the scene, and the pair were then allowed to rehearse on their own as often as they wished.

Gensiorek said Salki’s hard work helped make everything run smoothly.

"We met one time, ran it through quite a few times, and went with it," she said.

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