Episode 38: Trent Wilkie

Meet Trent Wilkie, the writer, performer and blogger behind The Undad, where he tries to “make sense of being a father, a husband and a malcontent.”

Trent is an intensely creative guy; you can see it in his resume as a member of Mostly Water Theatre, a Fringe performer, a contributor to The Irrelevant Show and Friends Without Benefits, and much more. You can also hear it in this interview, as answers that start seriously veer into surrealism (swords, bananas — you’ll hear).

In some ways, The Undad is just the latest expression of that impulse to create, but there’s something different this time. The stakes are higher, and the priorities have shifted. “Watching my son being born was a line in the sand of my life,” he says. “I am now responsible for so many more things.”

Trent is also a wilderness guide, and we talked a bit about the parallels between that and parenting. Everything changes when you have to keep someone else alive. And that’s kind of what The Undad is about. Listen:

You can also get it in iTunes, on SoundCloud or on Stitcher.

For an occasional counterpoint and companion to Trent’s musings, check out his wife Elizabeth’s blog, Mrs. Undad.

Trent made a couple of great recommendations:

Grace and Champ, an honest and perceptive new parenting blog written by Jessica Holt, the mother of twins;
The Movie Jerks, the long-running and hilarious podcast hosted by JP Fournier and Shawn Gramiak.

Trent is gearing up for a busy Edmonton Fringe season. He and JP are co-writing a Fringe play. Mostly Water is doing a production, too. And Trent is planning an off-Fringe fundraiser for his friend and collaborator Christian Zyp, who is recovering from a devastating fight with meningitis (you can help his family out here.)

You can find The Undad on Twitter and Facebook, and Trent is also at @thetrentwilkie. Watch for a short film he’s involved in in the fall, and catch him as the host of Metro Shorts. He also turns up in Edmonton’s Child magazine.

This week’s Seen and Heard in Edmonton is brought to you by Alberta Beer Festivals, which is putting on the Edmonton Craft Beer Festival on June 3 and 4. Hear Dillon Stecyk describe what’s so great about the festival.