Middle-aged women take on Edmonton's 35th Fringe Theatre Festival

Wendy Froberg doesn't get Pokemon Go.

She came to thatconclusion in the green room of a Shakespeare festival, surrounded by teenaged thespians glued to their phones. All the world's a Pokestop, it seemed.

"Sometimes the reality is you can't relate," the 58-year-oldsaid. "It can be a little bit lonely sometimes, it can be a little bit challenging."

Even more challenging, she added, is finding meaty theaterroles for middle-aged women. Lady Macbeth isn't for everyone.

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"Part of the reason I started writing plays was to rectifythat,"Frobergsaid. "To make sure I could tell my story and I could help other women tell their stories."

So shewrote the missing lines andscriptedA Woman of Certain Age. Froberg describesit asa one-woman play about the realities of aging in a society obsessed with youth and beauty.

"There's not an awful lot of good roles written for midlife women," shesaid."I think we just have to take the bull by the horns and say, 'If there aren't any parts for us, let's write them.'"

Midlife became hermuse. Frobergwove a narrative ofparenting, marriageand body image into a scriptfor six aging female characters. She acts all their roles.

Froberg's play debuted in her hometown of Calgary last year. This week she'sshowcasing her work for an Edmontonaudience at the city's35th Fringe Festival.

Erika Conway plans to take in at least one of Froberg'sperformances.

"I want to see more women doing theatre and I want to see more parts for women," Conwaysaid.

I want to see more women doing theatre and I want to see more parts for women.-Erika Conway, playwright

The 38-year-old Edmontonian started acting in high school, but said castingbecame increasinglydifficult as she aged out of certain character types.

"There's this box that we get put inand it's easy for us to feel like we're no longer worthwhile and worthy to put ourstuff out there," she said.

Conway is launching her own one-woman play,Confessions of a Middle Aged Drama Queen,at this year's Fringe Festival.

She hopes itsets the stage for other aging actresses,but said she also doesn't want to exclude young actors and actresses.

RatherConway said she hopes to trade her two decades of experience for their youthful energy.

"It's easy to kind of go down the road of bitterness because you didn't make the break," she said.

"It's so important to actually look towards the younger generation and say, 'Hey, they've got some hope and some energy and some life that we need.' We just need to combine it."

@ZoeHTodd