Charlie Petch explains why “No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart”

March 13, 2024March 16, 2024 Arpita Ghosal

Charlie Petch, an award-winning disabled/queer/transmasculine multidisciplinary artist, brings their world-premiere of No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart to Theatre Passe Muraille (TPM) March 13 – 23, 2024. Written and performed by Petch and directed by Autumn Smith with dramaturgy by Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, this solo work is a compelling and heartwarming exploration of humanity, resilience, and the power of understanding.

No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart is set against the backdrop of 1990s downtown Toronto. The show combines true stories – from Petch’s past as a hot dog stand worker, 9-11 operator, hospital bed allocator and emergency room clerk – with busking performance, novelty instruments, clown, and tragicomedy. Through spoken word and musical storytelling, and by sharing de-escalation techniques that Petch has refined over the years (and now teaches), they invite audiences into tales of survival, kindness, and the complex tapestry of street life.

First conceived during the pandemic, No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart emerged from Petch’s reflections on Toronto street culture and the crucial role of de-escalation practices. The topical, timely show navigates social and economic divides which have been exacerbated by the pandemic and the city’s responses to homelessness.

No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart is more than just entertainment. It’s a direct challenge to negative perceptions of homelessness, poverty and mental health. It’s a call for empathy, compassion, dialogue. And it’s an act of education that seeks to empower audiences to challenge systemic injustice against the unhoused and marginalized. After all, says Petch, “There would be much less fear if people knew how to stay safe when interacting with those struggling with their emotions.”

The TPM run is designed to be accessible to the widest possible audience. All shows are relaxed performances, with ASL Deaf-interpreted performances on Sunday, March 17 and Friday, March 22. Alongside the performances, TPM will host a comprehensive workshop on de-escalation techniques facilitated by Petch on March 17, thus allowing for deeper instruction and engagement with the show’s themes. For information about this unique workshop, including how to register, please go to passemuraille.ca. And following its Toronto run, No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart will tour to Public Energy Performing Arts in Peterborough on April 24, 2024. That performance will also be ASL Deaf-interpreted.

In a conversation with SesayArts Magazine ahead of the show’s opening, Petch shared some reflections on creating the show, discussed their appreciation for street communities and culture, and explained how – in contrast to systemic attempts to “other” – de-escalation narrows gaps and saves lives.

SesayArts Magazine: Can you share more about what inspired you to create No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart? In your recollection, was there a specific moment or interaction which significantly influenced the narrative or themes of the show?

Charlie Petch: I know that what I learned about being a hot dog vendor has helped me in many aspects of my life, especially while working in health care. As I watch political parties use stories of street culture and emergency services as pawns for power, I feel extremely motivated to share stories that add humanity to street communities, as well as increase understanding of how emergency and hospital services work. I love the city, and it’s been so much to watch it decline with increased rents, unrealistic minimum wages, and how much our nurses are absolutely dumped on. I started writing the show before the pandemic arrived and with how it’s impacted all of our lives, I feel it’s more important than ever to dispel fear and misunderstanding.

SesayArts Magazine: Your show tackles themes of homelessness, street culture, mental health, and the importance of de-escalation techniques. How do you hope audiences will perceive these issues differently after seeing your performance?

Charlie Petch: I think it’s vital to understand that people who live on the street have their own culture. They don’t have the privilege of having their worst moments in private, and there are not enough safe injection sites to accommodate those who have no other means of escape. Street communities take care of each other, they are amazing adaptors who make the best of the terrible circumstances they are left with. They are our neighbours, not people to be afraid of. There is this idea that benefits police, and those who resist the reality of living in a city, that everyone who ends up on the street, somehow came into the world as a homeless adult, and they are not worth saving.

Even the idea that when you see a homeless person, you are in their living room, and the fact that you should be respectful, is a notion that I rarely see discussed. It’s funny how often we will speak about stolen land, and then claim ownership around sidewalks and public parks. Land acknowledgements are nothing without bringing decolonization into our everyday lives.

SesayArts Magazine: Beyond the immediate learning, what lasting impact do you hope your show will have on audience members’ views on homelessness, street culture, and societal treatment of poverty?

Charlie Petch: I hope it will have people realize that people who live with poverty and homelessness are a part of every neighbourhood community. That the propaganda around them, further marginalizes them, and just being kind can improve mental health. Fear is such a horrendous weapon; if there was enough for all, we wouldn’t have hardly any crime.

Poverty is created by the (mostly western culture idea) that only the strong survive. Our street communities have such strength. By honouring street communities, we are saying they are a part of the culture of the city, and deserve respect and have their basic human needs met. Thinking people should be different leads to frustration and political grandstanding, as well as increased police interference and decreased resourcing. One only has to look at the lineups at food banks today to really reflect about how government has created poverty.

SesayArts Magazine: What were some of the surprises that came out of creating this work…of weaving together personal narratives, spoken word, and musical storytelling to address such complex social issues in No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart? Any challenges?

Charlie Petch: When I started writing this script there was no COVID, so when that happened, it really tied everything in with such an urgency. I know how much the job has changed because of the state of the system. There were all these stories about people having mental health emergencies in public and police intervention causing harm and death. We need more knowledge around de-escalation. I know each job taught me things that are so useful for living in a city.

I was a closeted kid when I was a hot dog vendor. Knowing that I’m a transmasculine queer person, and I always was, it’s such new understanding of why I was so ready to be in dangerous situations. I was 40 before I came out. What a different life I would have had, with trans health care and queer education in my school.

SesayArts Magazine: Thank you for this opportunity to write about you and No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart. What would you like to add that I didn’t ask you?

Charlie Petch: [That] would be about how the show speaks to what’s happening in hospitals and emergency services today. There is so much about my experiences as a first responder and hospital worker here, and in particular about being a 911 operator for Ambulance and Hospital Bed Allocator. I know how much our emergency rooms and response teams have changed since the COVID pandemic began. I really want people to understand how emergency rooms work, so that those who work in them might get more grace about wait times and capacity.

Watching the conservative government go to battle with nurses and mismanage pandemic response truly has me wondering about the mental health of everyone who comes into work knowing that others just want to believe the pandemic is over, and the increased resentment about the impact of that thinking on our services.

No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart is co-presented by Theatre Passe Muraille and Erroneous Theatre, and runs until March 23, 2024 at Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace. Click here to reserve tickets.