A stilted approach to walking real tall

Usually, I’m pretty content to be who I am.

Every so often, though, I think how nice it would be not to have to climb a chair to reach the top cupboard, or automatically have to shorten all pants, including capris.

Laura Astwood made my dream of being taller come true — if only briefly.

Astwood’s first experience with stilts was at age six, when her father built her a pair for fun. By the time she saw a Winnipeg theatre company use stilts in the early ’90s, any thought of her childhood toy was at the back of her mind. But she had never seen stilts used like that before, and it blew her mind.

Now president of the Ottawa Stilt Union, you might have seen Astwood, a performer, at festivals or practising in the parks. She uses stilts that are more flexible than that first childhood pair — shoes attached to the top of four-foot poles, with short extensions that allow her to brace her legs during her performances.

“I think the element of visual surprise is valuable in theatre,” she said. “It’s startling. It makes you go ‘Wow.’ Instead of intellectualizing, it gives people the opportunity to be surprised and delighted.”

Over at Bingham Park, Astwood straps the stilts onto my feet, binding them tight with long strips of cloth. I’m going to give them a test walk.

Holding onto both of her hands, I slowly (and shakily) rise to a standing position. Stilting, I soon realize, takes a lot of strength, especially in the hips and upper thighs.

I’m really unstable, like that Salvador Dali painting of the elephant on toothpick legs. But if I fall, I figure I can always turn the stilts into crutches.

“You have to make a leap of faith at the beginning,” said Astwood.

If you think of yourself as fragile, you have to work harder to be a successful stilt walker, she said, adding, “If you think of yourself as sturdy, it’s easier.”

The old adage about those who are tall having further to fall occurs to me and I envision smashing my head open. Fortunately, Astwood is patient. She loves to teach people, she said, especially young women.

“I love it when they go from feeling kind of small to big and strong,” said Astwood. “I love it when people realize what’s possible.

“There’s something empowering about gaining control and rising above the fear.”

Metro Ottawa’s Tracey Tong is an award-winning reporter. Her Cityscapes column appears every Wednesday.