What’s In Your Fridge is where the Straight asks interesting Vancouverites about their life-changing concerts, favourite albums, and, most importantly, what’s sitting beside the Heinz ketchup in their custom-made Big Chill Retropolitan 20.6-cubic-foot refrigerators.

On the grill

Stephen Sawchuk and Elysia Rotaru

Who are you

Stephen: Stephen Sawchuk here, I’m a writer/director/producer based here in Vancouver! I’ve done a little bit of everything in the industry—documentaries, reality television, movies, commercials, and everything in between. Elysia and I have known each other for almost 15 years—holy, we’re old—and we recently finished up a short horror/comedy film that I wrote and directed called Hell is a Teenage Girl that’s currently making its rounds through the festival circuits. I’m in development on a feature-length adaptation of the short film which I’m pretty stoked about, and have a few other genre features that I’m writing at the moment.

Elysia: My name is Elysia Rotaru: a Canadian-born actor, mother, voiceover artist, producer, wife, dog mom, and so much more! Right now I live in California with my family, but Stephen and I first met in Vancouver many moons ago, and right away we got on like a house on fire. As Stephen mentioned, we just finished up our second short film Hell is a Teenage Girl that’s just beginning its festival run. It was nominated for four awards at the Mammoth Film Festival 2024 in California, and won the Gold Remi Award at the 57th Annual Houston WorldFest last month! Hopefully many more to come! I’m also a part of a highly anticipated video game called Homeworld 3 that will be dropping this May. And you can also check out my podcast called YOU DID IT!, wherever you listen to podcasts.

First concert

Elysia: I have to rack my brain for this one, but I think it was No Doubt or a Gwen Stefani concert way back in the day (like in my early twenties) at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. I cried. It was so great. 

Stephen: Elysia’s answer is way cooler than mine... I probably shouldn’t even answer this question. Okay, fine, it was O-Town.

Life-changing concert

Stephen: Hmm, this isn’t an easy one to answer because I love going to concerts and have been to a ton over the years. I can’t remember what year it was, but I went to the Kanye/Rihanna/N.E.R.D./Lupe Fiasco Glow in the Dark Tour in Edmonton and I remember it being one of the most incredible shows ever. This was before they all became the big household names they are today, so it was cool to see them all under one roof, and pretty early on in their careers.

Okay, I know you only asked for one example, but a few other super memorable ones were The Killers when they were touring for Sam’s Town, No Doubt’s reunion tour, Britney Spears’ Circus tour, and even though I wasn’t a huge fan at the time, I went to a Coldplay concert once and it was actually one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. I like a spectacle when I go to a show—I’m not a big fan of going to see artists that just kind of park and bark and stand in one place. I feel like I wanna go to high-energy shows with big production value. Oh, fun side fact: I actually had tickets to one of Michael Jackson’s This Is It shows at the O2 in London. Sadly never got to see it, for obvious reasons.

Elysia: I think seeing the Dave Matthews band at the Gorge. It was an awesome time and I love outdoor concerts. I wouldn’t say that I’m like a gargantuan fan of that music except that song “Crash Into Me” that everybody loves or hates. But that was a fun experience. And the first time travelling to go see a show.

Top three records

(Elysia)

Prince Purple Rain  I’ve always loved Prince, and I had a vintage poster of him in my room growing up. Now my two-and-a-half-year-old is obsessed with his music, too—her favourite song is “I Would Die For You”. Hah! 

Green Day Dookie  I probably had this album on repeat in my room every day throughout high school. I loved it. Never been to one of their shows, but there’s still time.

Rüfüs Du Sol Solace  I came across this group a few years ago and I’ve been obsessed with their music ever since. Would definitely like to see them in concert.

(Stephen)

Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy  This whole section is a tough one because I listen to a ton of different genres. I’m not a fan of him or his work anymore, but Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is one of those rare albums I could play top to bottom without skipping a track!

Britney Spears Blackout  Another album that I think was ahead of its time and is another top-to-bottom’er. This is the one that Danja and Pharrell produced.

The Killers Sam’s Town  Another favourite for sure—just so many good songs on one cohesive album, and I think after seeing them live I loved it even more. I know you said three, but a few more picks are Nirvana’s Nevermind, the Beatles’ 1, and Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die. I’ll shut up now.

All-time favorite movie/music video

(Elysia)

Poor Things. I just watched it a few months ago and I’m absolutely obsessed with that film. For favorite video, Christina Aguilera “Dirrty”. Iconic.

(Stephen)

Scream. Favourite movie is hands-down the original Scream—Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson are what inspired me to get into film. Favorite music video, hmmm. When we were kids, we used to watch and re-watch the VHS tape of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video on repeat—hah. Epic video—it doesn’t really need much explanation. And I mean, when you think of MTV and the TRL days, you think of “...Baby One More Time”. Other notable mentions are The White Stripes’ “Fell in Love with a Girl”, Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”, and Michael and Janet’s “Scream” video, which I think is still the most expensive music video of all time. I’m really bad at giving concise answers, aren’t I?

What’s in your fridge?

(Elysia)

Placenta encapsulation pills. I got those made by my doula after the birth of my daughter in 2021. So it might be time to toss them, but to be honest, I kinda like having them around.

Batteries. Someone once told me that if they are kept cool they work better and last longer. So I put them in there in hopes of the best. If that’s false advice, can someone out there let me know, please?

My metal eye de-puffer rollers. If you all don’t have something like this in your fridge, you gotta get them! It’s the best feeling anytime of day, and helps me not only relax and depuff, but also if a lil’ headache comes on. I’m teaching my two-and-a-half-year-old how to use them on me, so she can give a baby facial someday [laughs].

(Stephen)

Eye de-puffer. Well I don’t have placenta pills in my fridge, but I do have an eye de-puffer in there, for the late nights and early mornings [laughs].

Ketchup. I go through ketchup like nobody’s business, so there’s always at least one bottle in there.

Coke Zero. As for beverages, Coke Zero is my vice, so that’s a fridge mainstay. And I always have Stella beer on hand. You know, all the essentials.

Stephen Sawchuk and Elysia Rotaru are currently submitting Hell is a Teenage Girl to film festivals across North America and have scheduled screenings of the film in Vancouver to take place this fall. Follow @hellisateenagegirlfilm on Instagram for updates.