Q-and-A with Diana Shortes

Diana Shortes in White Sauce and Diaper Babies [photo credit: Louis Maistros]

Based in New Orleans, Diana E. H. Shortes has a deep and diverse background in theatre and education. In June, she will be a part of the 2016 Dallas Solo Fest with her show White Sauce and Diaper Babies, about the life and work of poet Anne Sexton.

TSP got a chance to ask her a few questions. Here we go...

Q: Please give us a brief bio, where you are from and how you started in theatre/performance?

A: I am a performing artist and educator, yoga instructor, tour guide and bartendress, who has been living and working in New Orleans, LA since Mardi Gras of 2000.

I was born in Austin, TX and moved a lot while growing up (Galveston, San Fransisco, Cleveland and Nashville were among the highlights). No, my family was not military. My mother is a social worker and a free spirit, and she took me wherever the wind took her.

I fell in love with Shakespeare in the fourth grade, when we were introduced to a few scenes from Romeo and Juliet, and found myself on stage for the first time in the fifth grade as a spunky girl from a children's book adapted for the stage by our librarian. After that, I was hooked.

My high school years were spent in Clarksville, TN - a military community just north of Nashville - which just happens to be home to one of the best regional theaters in the Southeast: the Roxy. It was there that I cut my teeth, theatrically. While the other kids were doing whatever "normal" kids do in high school form 7-10p, I was almost always in rehearsal, learning the discipline of the dramatic arts.

 After a nine month internship in NYC at Dixon Place, I graduated from Antioch College with a self-designed degree in "Feminist Literary Theatre" and a burning desire to create something new, rather than put myself into the well established theatrical rat race of NY...LA...Chicago, etc.

I decided to move to New Orleans, LA and quickly became entrenched in the theatre scene there. I have worked with many of the city's production companies over the years. I served as Artist in Residence for the Dog and Pony Theatre Co., spearheading their Shakespeare in City Park series, and am the proud recipient of two Big Easy awards for Best Actress. In NOLA I have had the opportunity to write for the stage, perform, direct, design, produce and stage manage. I've also taken to teaching, and am currently a member of the Drama department faculty at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a public high school dedicated to the creative arts, where I teach yoga as part of their movement curriculum.

Q: What event or desire brought you specifically into the world of solo performance?

A: The desire to control everything, honestly. I've had a vision for years of finding a way to literally control even the lights and sound from the stage. Complete artistic control, however, comes with complete artistic responsibility... and I have questioned the wisdom of my decision to perform solo many, many times since creating "White Sauce" as my senior thesis at Antioch.

The more time I spend in the world of solo-performance, the more I begin to recognize that quite often the best solo performers have an army of folks supporting them behind the scenes: directors, designers, producers, etc. No woman is an island.

I do think, ultimately, it is my passion for the entirety of theatrical production that drives me to perform solo. I do truly love every single element of the process of creating something for the stage.

[photo credit: Louis Maistros]

Q: Could you tell us about some of your particular kind of of solo work?

A: "White Sauce" is an exploration of the life and work of the great American poet, Anne Sexton. I created the piece by weaving together excerpts from her body of work: poems, prose, letters, interviews and journal entries. In this way, I have attempted to build a narrative which speaks to the poet's struggle to create, amidst a minefield of mental illness, chemical dependency and the social expectations of the mid-twentieth century middle-class American landscape.

With my work, I try to tell the truth about what it is to be a woman in the world. I am passionate about women's history, women's stories and women's words. The more I talk about the accomplishments of women whose lives I find inspiring, the more I recognize how vitally important it is that our stories be brought to light and kept alive. Most folks honestly don't know how powerful and productive so many women have been throughout history, against all odds. They simply haven't heard.

For instance, I have also written a piece about the Baroness Michaela Almonester de Pontalba. Some people are aware that she built Jackson Square and the Pontalba Apartments in New Orleans, as well as the Hotel Pontalba in Paris, which is now the residency for the U.S. embassy. Most everyone who has heard of her has also heard the erroneous rumor that she had an illicit affair with President Andrew Jackson, hence the statue placed in the center of the square, tipping his hat to her center apartment. Very few, however, know the truly incredible story that she did all of this AFTER surviving a brutal attack upon her life by her father-in-law, leaving her with a mangled left hand and three bullets lodged permanently in her chest.

Q: What is your favorite thing about doing this work?

A: The sense of connection that comes from working so closely with the spirit of such incredibly accomplished individuals, and the appreciation I receive from folks in the audience who have been touched in some way by the performance.

Q: What inspires you to keep going and how do you keep yourself motivated?

A: A sense of duty, at this point. I have come to view the work as my dharma - simply what it is I am meant to be doing with my life at this time. The way I see it, I've been blessed (or cursed!) with certain talents, skills and abilities, as well as a passion for performance, literature and women's history. It therefore stands to reason that it is my job in this lifetime to figure out how to use what I have been given to be of service, to share all of that energy with the rest of the world.

If and when I start making it all about me, that's when I get myself into trouble. When I begin questioning whether or not all of the hard work is worth it, if this is actually something I want to be doing, if the work is important or necessary, if people will like it or like me, that's when self-doubt comes around, makes itself comfortable, and often hangs out for weeks...eating everything in the refrigerator.

Thankfully, that voice is most often drowned out by the encouragement I receive from a wonderfully strong support system of fellow artists, colleagues, friends and family who never miss an opportunity to ask, "so what are you working on now?"

Q: What is your approach to the development process when putting together a new project? Do you create a lot on stage, improvising? More on paper? Tape or video record? Hold readings? Go to a mountain top?

A: Depends on what the work calls for. I do know I create most effectively in community, which can certainly be a challenge as a solo performer. Each one of my solo shows has found its genesis alongside others working toward the same goal. I've facilitated several of them writing for performance workshops in NOLA, and in this way created an incubator for my own ideas to come light.

Feedback, for me, is essential. I generally begin performing a piece before I feel it's "ready", and allow it to alchemize in the fire of audience opinion. I'll often add elements that interest me along the way, and then scale back when and where it feels necessary. Everything for me is an experiment. I love the feeling of security that comes when something is "set", but often we need to adapt to new perimeters of space, time or energy, and I always leave room for improvisation. As a performer, I view myself as an instrument, playing with the portrayal of human existence. Life is an ever evolving act of improvisation, is it not? If so, there must always be room, in my mind, for possibility - for that moment of discovery on stage.

That being said, I have found using video taped recordings of performances absolutely invaluable as a tool toward directing myself. I will often ask trusted colleagues to sit in on rehearsals and offer feedback, but nothing has proved so helpful as literally watching myself and taking notes as I would with any other performer.

Q: Who are some of your influences or people that inspire you, be they solo performers or just in general as an artist?

A: Frida Kahlo, Georgia O'Keefe, Patti Smith and the Dalai Lama. Carolee Schneemann, Marina Abramovic, Diamanda Galas and Coco Fusco. Tilda Swinton, Julie Taymor, Jane Campion, Maya Deren, Shakespeare, Chekhov, David Mamet and my mom.

Q: How do you bridge the gap between the creative and the business side of solo theatre?

A: This may be the single biggest challenge of my adult life. I find it quite difficult to open myself fully to the creative process, while simultaneously remaining focused and grounded in the material world.

I have experimented with trying to block out time (hours, days, weeks...) to work on one aspect or another of production, but so far I haven't been all that successful at disentangling the two. I do my best to outsource when and where I can. While I am truly interested and invested in every element of the process, I have learned the messages I received growing up that said, "if you want it done right, do it yourself" don't always serve me - or the work.

Another interesting challenge I have found is that of self-promotion. While I have been a performer my whole life (my mom will be the first to tell you how much I have always enjoyed being the center of attention), I am actually quite shy and introverted in many ways. If I am completely honest, I would also have to admit to regularly experiencing nearly crippling bouts of insecurity and low self-esteem, which can make talking about myself and my work almost painful. Ironically, (and perhaps it is no accident) I believe Anne Sexton - and many other artists as well  - have also suffered from a similar dilemma.

A few years ago I had an awesome conversation with a successful artist in NOLA who explained she has taken a cue from Beyoncé and created an alter-ego for herself, a persona who can take over whenever fear or self-doubt begins to creep in and mess with her. I have found this method to be super helpful. Often, when Diana feels like she just can't do whatever it is that needs to get done, that's when Anne (or the Baroness) steps in, gets all dressed up, puts her game face on, and goes out into the world - to take it by storm.

Q: Any advice for some aspiring artist just starting out in solo performance?

A: In many ways, I feel I am still a novice, and so any advice I may have is directed first at myself!

Don't be afraid to ask for help. And don't give up. The reality of solo performance is that one will find s/he must at some point take on the role of artist, director, designer, producer, stage manager, tour manager, marketing director, technical director, videographer, secretary and booking agent. Have I left anything out? Probably. Oh yes, that's right. Most of us are also likely  holding down a jobby-job (or two or three) that allows us both the freedom and stability to pursue our performative passions. So just do it. Accept it, and then figure out who you know who can help you with what and ask them for support.

Q: What do you see for the future of solo performance and for you personally as an artist?

A: As far as the future of solo performance goes, I think the form is optimally suited for healing and transformation. By this I mean, as solo performers we have a unique opportunity to explore the Universal Truths of human existence through the specific lens of individual experience. When we share our stories with one another - or perform our individual interpretation of the stories of others who have inspired us - we participate and engage others in the primordial act of human connection. Traditionally, storytellers serve as shamans in society. When we listen to one another's stories, we begin to understand and identify with each other on a very deep level. Compassion is cultivated through the sharing of our stories, and the result is often an opportunity for both personal and social alchemy.

Personally, I have hopes and dreams of traveling the globe, performing and building community. I love teaching, directing and helping others to create new work. I also have had a life long love affair with both classic and contemporary theatre, period. Basically, I want to see great work world wide and be an integral part of making it happen. 


Q: Links?

A: My show is playing this June at the Dallas Solo Fest. Check it out... here.

Q-and-A with Eileen Tull

Eileen Tull

Over the last few years, Eileen Tull has carved out a place for herself doing solo performances. In June, she will be a part of the 2016 Dallas Solo Fest with her show Bad Dates, or What Killed That Monkey In Indiana Jones Only Makes Me Stronger.

TSP sits down and asks a few questions. Here we go...

Q: Please give us a brief bio, where you are from and how you started in theatre/performance?

A: I'm originally from Cincinnati, OH, and I've spent the last ten years in Chicago with a brief, but beautiful stint in the Bay Area. From a young age, I was always creating and performing and reenacting my favorite movie scenes or performing holiday plays with my siblings. So I was constantly making and expressing things through art. I moved to Chicago to attend Loyola University, where I focused on directing after failed attempts at being an actor. 

Q: What event or desire brought you specifically into the world of solo performance?

A: I hadn't had much success as an actor in college or beyond, and I was finding directing to be less than satisfying. I'd always been funny at parties and had lots of creative ideas, but I wasn't so good at pretending to be other people onstage. I didn't know where I fit in, and I hadn't thought so much about playing myself. On kind of a whim, I applied to the 2012 San Francisco Fringe Festival, submitting a solo piece with just a title. No script. No plot. Just the idea that I wanted to explore faith and love and I wanted to perform it all by myself. The show (Jesus, Do You Like Me? Please Mark Yes or No.) got picked in the Fringe lottery, so I had a handful of months to write it and learn how to be a solo performer! I've ended up performing Jesus in Cincinnati, Chicago, and New York City since. I fell in love with the art form, especially the opportunity to create such a singular relationship with the audience. 

Q: Could you tell us about some of your particular kind of of solo work?

A: My work is radically vulnerable. I talk about my own life and experiences, ranging from religion, body image, relationships, loneliness, movies, and alcoholism. And though I broach serious subjects, I infuse everything with humor and joy. 

I wrote Bad Dates, Or What Killed That Monkey In Indiana Jones Only Makes Me Stronger, over the course of last year. It's a show about romantic relationships and how my lifelong obsession with Harrison Ford movies has skewed my perception of human men. It's a sweet and funny piece, choc-ful of movie references. I've been touring it through Chicago and taking it to the Dallas Solo Fest in June. 

I enjoy exploring different strands of solo performance as well. I've built exhibitions of performance art that feel like theatre, storytelling that sounds like poetry, and long form shows that are reminiscent of stand-up. The wonderful thing about solo work is that the art forms blend together so well. 

Q: What is your favorite thing about doing this work?

A: I love working with the audience as my scene partner. The work I do is mostly autobiographical, so I am essentially having a long, one-sided conversation with the audience. I love the intimacy that this creates. It encourages the audience to be more invested in and connected to the story. And, if the occasion calls for it, it allows us to have a frank and open dialogue in a post-show setting. I've found that people are comfortable enough to share their own stories and secrets with me, because they know so much about me at that point. This kind of scenario lets people unburden themselves of whatever shame they are holding onto. If it's about faith, family, body image, addiction, love, loneliness, what have you, they are able to feel less alone in their experience.

Q: What inspires you to keep going and how do you keep yourself motivated?

A: I'm inspired by other artists. When I see great work, especially here in Chicago, I feel a combination of pride, envy, and inspiration. There's a lot of people who push me to keep up! If I'm feeling stuck, I watch something, I go see something, I help somebody create their thing. It's revitalizing.

I'm also continuously inspired by my family. We have stood beside each other through lots of joy and sorrow. They've always supported me. I have a little baby nephew who inspires me to be the best version of myself and try to make the world a better place. I also have a great support system of friends who will let me try jokes and bits and stories on them, with lots of love and patience. 

Q: What is your approach to the development process when putting together a new project? Do you create a lot on stage, improvising? More on paper? Tape or video record? Hold readings? Go to a mountain top?

A: I'm still experimenting with the best process. Usually it devolved into writing furiously at the last minute. I do a lot of thinking about each show. I take walks, I run, I try to go to nature and map things out. In the early stages, I record a lot of ideas using an app on my phone. I use index cards to outline the subjects I want to talk about. I scribble down ideas on the train.

When I started doing solo work, I did everything myself, and I've found that to be very lonely and the work is lesser for it. The last few projects I've worked on, I've brought in collaborators. I do a "garbage read," which entails a few friends and colleagues watching me read all the material I've gathered into a big mess. Having this initial audience helps me cut and shape the script into something clear.

For the show I'm working on right now, I enlisted a director and an actress for a second stage of development. We had private rehearsals where the actress played 'me' and I could focus just on the writing part. It was immensely helpful to have that distance.

For me, these shows are never done. Depending on the venue or the audience, something will change and you have to be open to improvisation, unexpected audience participation, and, in one special case, a dog walking in.

Q: Who are some of your influences or people that inspire you, be they solo performers or just in general as an artist?

A: Anna Deavere Smith has made solo performance familiar to the world. Although I don't perform multiple character shows, she's heavily influenced the genre.

Gilda Radner's Broadway show was basically a one-woman show with friends. Gilda had such a sweet earnestness, and I'm inspired by the rapport she created with audiences.

Mike Birbiglia's shows changed the way I thought about how comedy and storytelling can work together. Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, and Lou Reed have had a huge effect on my writing, poetry, and use of imagery. Steve Martin is my absolute idol, with his diverse breadth of work and his absurd comic genius. Tig Notaro is an outstanding and amazing performer and human.

I've been a huge fan of Lin-Manuel Miranda for years. I love "Hamilton," for its sincerity, precision, and its idealism. He's a generous genius and a champion for the arts.

And there are of course, so many people in Chicago that bring the noise every single night on stages all through the city. I'm so grateful to be a part of this incredible community. Some of my favorite movers and shakers in the Chicago solo world are Arlene Malinowski, Lily Be, Bea Cordeila, David Boyle, Laura Scruggs, John Michael Colgin, and Ron Keaton.

Q: How do you bridge the gap between the creative and the business side of solo theatre?

A: I still find it quite difficult. The business side of art is always a little sticky, but in solo performance, your product is yourself. So there's a whole rabbit hole of narcissism and vanity to dive into. But I think it's about being bold and asking for what you want. The power of just asking is a magical thing, and it's how a lot of my relationships with venues have started. However, you have to be prepared when the answer is no. You have to be gracious with rejection, especially on the business end. Because to business owners or potential partners, your art is not a special snowflake. You have to get tougher. You have to believe that your product is worth a certain dollar amount. I'm always learning and always reminding myself that my work has that kind of value. 

Q: Any advice for some aspiring artist just starting out in solo performance?

A: Go see things. Look at how much you can stretch this genre. Try new things, weird things. Work on your whole piece, then chop it into bits. Ask for advice. Support other solo artists. Keep writing. Your experiences are not trivial. No one gets to see the world the same way you do. 

Q: What do you see for the future of solo performance and for you personally as an artist?

A: With the rise of social media and all the avenues the Internet provides, it seems solo performance output is at an all-time high. This is exciting, but also daunting. I'm looking forward to more voices and more experimentation within the genre. I'm hoping to explore more theatricality in my work, as opposed to the straight storytelling I've been pursuing. I hope to become a mentor to younger folks eventually, and I hope to find solid repeat collaborators. I'd love to take my work all over the world, while making a large impact on the Chicago community. 

Q: Shout outs or links?

A: All my upcoming shows can be found on my website www.eileentull.com. If you're in Chicago, I co-curate a monthly performance series featuring female-identifying and non-binary artists exploring gender, feminism, and sexuality in their work called Sappho's Salon. It runs the second Tuesday of every month at Women and Children First bookstore. I'm working on a new solo show about addiction and recovery, with a few other projects in the works. 

Q-and-A with Vincent Mraz

Vincent Mraz in THE ESCAPE PLAN

Vincent "Vinny" Mraz is a multidisplinary artist and educator based in Yonkers, New York. October 1st of last year he launched the sometimes soulful/sometimes funny/ always fascinating "100 Letters 100 Days" project. You can check it out at: onehundredonehundred.tumblr.com 

He will be performing his solo show "The Escape Plan" at the 2016 Dallas Solo Fest. TSP got him to answer a few questions.

Here we go...

Q: Please give us a brief bio, where you are from and how you started in theatre/performance?

A: I grew up in Milford, CT about 15 minutes away from New Haven and 90 minutes from New York City. I started theater when I was in middle school after I saw my sister perform as one of the cards in "Alice in Wonderland" at the high school. I thought, "I want to do that..." I did the middle school drama club and then in high school went to the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven which is an arts magnet high school. I was a part of the theater program there and was exposed to so many incredible artists and work that really started to form me as a serious theater maker. Being so close to Yale I was able to see a lot of theater coming out of their school and the rep company (I took it all for granted...only recently did I realize how lucky that was) as well as the Long Wharf Theater and Broadway shows in the city. It all got me into this world pretty quickly. A crash course in the theater. 

Q: What event or desire brought you specifically into the world of solo performance?

A: I never wanted to be a solo performer. When I started my graduate program at Sarah Lawrence I was dedicated to writing and directing and didn't think much about performing. Part of the program is to generate a capstone project which at the time was open to anything you wanted. I thought about writing a play but that was my focus throughout and I thought a solo would be a great challenge for myself, to both write and perform. It was really the necessity of needing to come up with a project for myself in addition to the desire to challenge myself in a new way that led me to the solo performance arena. 

Q: Could you tell us about some of your particular kind of of solo work?

A: That's hard to describe because I am always reinventing the wheel. Truthfully I'm always boring myself so when I sit down to write something new or begin a new project I think, "Ok, what can I do now that I haven't done before?" It's not exactly a sustainable model but at this point I want to explore my options, to try something brand new and in the process discover my own limitations and tendencies. If I have to describe my work I would say it's a mix of autobiography and comedy, monologues and rants, stream of conscious and neurotic thought patterns. Language and text based, but again I'm finding that's a usual place to go and I want to find a new little corner in which to dwell. 

Q: What is your favorite thing about doing this work?

A: It's terrifying. It takes ever fiber of myself to get into the room and do it. I feel like...ok well maybe I can get away with not doing it today...I'll spend some time on it tomorrow. I have to hold myself accountable. It makes for a real pressure cooker of a situation where you just have to work with the ideas you have in the room. If you try too hard to make it something you think it "should" be you spend a lot of time feeling frustrated. Instead it's a very intuitive process, following a thread until you pick up a new one. It's you facing yourself, pushing yourself, investigating your own humanity a bit more. It can be egotistical navel-gazing, but I try to always focus on the universals in the work, the things that keep me out in the world, relating myself to others. 

Q: What inspires you to keep going and how do you keep yourself motivated?

A: Usually the deadline inspires me. I will either have something to show for myself or I wont. 

Q: What is your approach to the development process when putting together a new project? Do you create a lot on stage, improvising? More on paper? Tape or video record? Hold readings? Go to a mountain top?

A: I tend to write a lot at first. Then once I'm on my feet I try out the words in my mouth because they don't always fit what I heard in my brain when I first wrote it. So I edit on my feet, try to make things sound more natural, less heady. Once I have some kind of a structure then I go back and try to identify the major elements that exist in the piece, isolate those elements and begin to play around with an order and a structure. 

Q: Who are some of your influences or people that inspire you, be they solo performers or just in general as an artist?

A: Spalding Gray, Nicole Eisenmann Richard Maxwell, Erik Ehn, Sibyl Kempson, Annie Baker, Clare Barron, Gertrude Stein, Robert Irwin, James Baldwin, I could keep listing...

Q: Any advice for some aspiring artist just starting out in solo performance?

A: I myself feel like I'm just starting out in this world...so...I would say just keep working. If this is a mode of expression that you feel you must pursue then you have to show up and do it. Don't wait for someone else to tell you what to do next. I heard the phrase "hold on tightly, let go lightly" I don't remember where but I think it rings true for this work. Don't talk yourself out of your own ideas before you even try them. Give these impulses the room to breath and grow and experience them fully and then make the decision if they stay or go. I threw out about 80% of the original work I generated with "The Escape Plan" at first because at the time it seemed like the right thread to follow and then eventually after working with my friend/collaborator CB Goodman she helped me realize that I was all over the place and needed to focus the piece. So experiment, test hypothesis, try everything, and then focus. Don't judge yourself. Let go lightly. 

Q: What do you see for the future of solo performance and for you personally as an artist?

A: The solo will live on. There will be good solo and bad solo as there has always been. But what keeps me (and maybe everyone else) coming back is the ability to connect with someone on a deeply personal level. I've seen a couple of stand-up/story-telling shows recently (Mike Birbiglia and Neal Brennan) and they were a mix of stand-up and theater. It was powerful and funny and moving. So that keeps me coming back. As for myself, I'm looking for new ways into the form. I'm looking for new ways of story-telling, of taking autobiography and moving it past confessions and monologues and into a place of poetry and metaphor. I'm trying to get down to the essentials and see how little I can get away with without boring everyone. 

Q: Shout outs or links?

vmraz.com

Spaulding Gray: A Life in Progress

Filmmaker Robby Henson has produced an excellent documentary on the late, great solo performer Spaulding Gray. Maybe not as thorough as And Everything Is Going So Fine, but has some wonderful behind the scenes footage and clips of Gray's early work.





If for some reason the videos above don't play, go... HERE

Bogosian/ Daisey Conversation

Eric Bogosian and Mike Daisey

Monologuists Mike Daisey and Eric Bogosian sit down for a sort of mutual interview for the American Theatre Magazine podcast Off Script.

There are some real nuggets of wisdom as the two discuss why they do solo performance and why they dislike seeing solo performance sometimes.

They touch on two things I have been thinking about lately... 

First, what is solo performance, as a career, for? Bogosian seems to express that it is its own thing and both he and Daisey bemoan the concept of it being a "vehicle" for an actor to move onto something else. But, Bogosian is practically retired from solo work, having performed the last of his solos a decade and half ago (outside his one-shot performances to promote his recent 100 Monologues book, thus why he is being covered in the press right now). He admits to having done as much television and film work as he ever performed in the theatre by this point in his career. Daisey admits to continually growing restless and striving to push the limits of the specific solo form he does (i.e. guy at a desk telling interconnected narratives).

I had a discussion with a programmer of a major U.S. performing arts center a few month ago and he flat out asked me what the end goal of my adventures of solo performance would be. I did not have an answer. I have been performing solo works for the last five years as just another way to express myself as a theatre artist. Until recently, I never really thought about solo performance as a "career." But why not? 

Solo performance is still a sub-arcana of an already barely-in-the-mainstream art form (Theatre). So what does the mountaintop look like for that? What does a successful solo performance career look like? Is there even such a thing as a successful "solo performance career?" Who would we look to as an example of someone who has made it?

Is it TJ Dawe... who conquered the fringe circuit for a decade, perfoming to sell-out audiences across Canada, but is otherwise unknown outside fringe circles? Is it Mike Daisey... moving beyond fringe fests, playing at the Public, getting interviewed by mainstream press (and experiencing NPR-level public scandals), pushing the barriers of duration, and touring to performing arts centers and regional theatres to be the subscriber add-on show? Though that is well beyond the fringe-level I currently operate at (even Dawe's level recognition is higher than my current status), that is still a pretty low level of notoriety and impact. Or is it Bogosian, or Goldberg, or Tomlin, or Leguizamo... all of whom used their solo shows as springboards into other media, most prominently television and motion pictures. In this latter example, solo performance is just a bridge to other pursuits, not the end run.

My theory is, until we see solo performances being performed in stadiums (like some mega-successful comedians) or perhaps a return to the Ruth Draper days when very large fees could be had for very exclusive limited engagements at places like the Royal Albert Hall, I don't think solo performance is, as it is, the ultimate culmination of a performer's career. Maybe it is a stepping stone to other kinds of performance. 

The other thing the conversation between the two makes me wonder about is the small, but noticeable fact that Daisey keeps referring to "solo performance" and to "theatre." The implication is that they are separate.

I consider solo performance to actually be a form of theatre. It fulfills whatever definition of theatre one wants to apply to it, whether it is Aristotle's six elements (even if some, like Daisey's works, for instance, almost completely dispense with Spectacle altogether) or Peter Brook taking an empty space and having someone watch someone else walk across it. 

In the conversation, this is touched on indirectly when they riff on how critics respond to solo shows... initially loathe to go, but sometimes begrudgingly admitting it was surprisingly engaging. Why should a reviewer be any more wary of a show with one person than a show with fifteen? Is the risk for the audience different? Is there a difference in percieved quality? 'Cause I have seen multi-actor theatre productions that have been shitty and I have seen some that were great... just as much as I have seen some solo works that are shitty and some that are great. Either way, both are theatre.

Anyway, the conversation is well worth a listen or two. It gets going around the 18:40 minute mark. Feel free to leave a comment below for any bits and pieces you might pick up from it.

Here's the link... http://www.americantheatre.org/2016/01/29/offscript-eric-bogosian-and-mike-daiseys-wild-ride/

ALSO: Bogosian will be performing a selection of his monologues in Dallas at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, Feb 11-13, 2016... Click here for TIX.

Q-and-A with Antonio Sacre

Antonio Sacre [photo by Dixie Sheridan]

I first saw Antonio perform at the Phoenix Fringe back in 2010(ish). Super engaging performer. I am thrilled he agreed to answer a few questions for TSP.com

Q: Please give us a brief bio, where you are from and how you started in theatre/performance?

A: I was born in Boston to a Cuban father and Irish-American mother.  I was raised in Delaware, where I discovered theater in high school.  I was too scared to pursue it in college, so I got an English degree but did plenty of university theater.  I finally got the courage to pursue theater after graduation and went to Northwestern University and got a Masters in Theatre.  During the program, I studied storytelling, acting, and solo performance, and discovered solo performers Spalding Gray, John Leguizamo, and Anna Deavere Smith.  I was fortunate to be mentored in Chicago by incredible storytellers and solo performers.


Q: What event or desire brought you specifically into the world of solo performance?

A: My first exposure was watching Spalding Gray live and the world opened to me.  When I saw John Leguizamo perform in English and Spanish, though, I shifted all of my attention to solo performance.


Q: Could you tell us about some of your particular kind of of solo work?

A: I’ve created 10 full-length solo shows (between 60-80 minutes each).  Half of them are autobiographical, where I play different characters from my family, very influenced by John Leguizamo.  The other half are characters I have created that explore specific topics in detail.


Q: What is your favorite thing about doing this work?

A:The challenge of holding an audience’s attention for 60 minutes in today’s world is nearly impossible.  It’s very demanding of the audience and the performer, and when it works it’s spectacular.  When it doesn’t work, it’s incredibly painful (or worse) for all involved.  I’ve had a lot of both, slightly more of the former than the latter.  That magical moment at the end of a performance that actually worked can’t be duplicated in any other way that I know of.


Q: What inspires you to keep going and how do you keep yourself motivated?

A: The most important thing that I do to keep myself motivated is to work with a director.  He or she will give me assignments to write about, tell me about solo shows I should be watching, and generally hold my feet to the fire.  My two most successful collaborations have been with Jenny Magnus of Curious Theatre Branch in Chicago, and I am currently working on my fourth full-length show with Paul Stein in Hollywood CA.


Q: What is your approach to the development process when putting together a new project? Do you create a lot on stage, improvising? More on paper? Tape or video record? Hold readings? Go to a mountain top?

A: Nine of my ten shows started entirely on paper.  I then did readings of the first draft to my directors, who then told me what they thought I was trying to say.  This was almost always not what was on the page.  I would then rewrite based on their notes and bring in the second draft.  Six times I heard that I had kept all of the bad stuff and didn’t incorporate anything that they had said, and once Paul Stein told me, “That shit might work with your mom, but it sure won’t play with me.”  Lastly, I do extended runs of early drafts at fringe festivals around the country, mostly in Chicago, Hollywood, New York, and San Francisco, but also including places like Washington DC and Phoenix.


Q: Who are some of your influences or people that inspire you?

A: Danny Hoch, Will Power, and Sara Jones are huge influences on my work.  The Wooster Group of the 1970s and of today continues to inspire me.  In the storytelling world, Jim May and Bill Harley are mentors and friends.


Q: How do you bridge the gap betwwen the creative and the business side of solo theatre?

A: Solo performance is a purely creative activity for me, and the business side of it doesn’t factor in at all.  However, I make a living as a storyteller and children’s book author, something that my solo career has helped facilitate.  One example is that I got my literary agent, who helped me sell my children’s books, after she saw one of my solo performances in New York City.


Q: Any advice for some aspiring artist just starting out in solo performance?

A: Deadlines are crucial, and the best way I know to give myself a deadline is to apply to a fringe festival.  There are now fringe festivals all around the world and they’re wonderful places to do and see theater.  Secondarily, get a director.  Please get a director.


Q: What do you see for the future of solo performance and for you personally as an artist?

A: The cost of doing theater for major theater companies across the country can be prohibitive, and solo performances can be a great way to make ends meet for theater companies (if the product is spectacular).  As I write this, Hal Holbrook is remounting his famous Mark Twain solo performance as a benefit in Hollywood for $500/ticket.  However, it seems that solo performance has also become celebrity-driven.  Danny Hoch got on HBO before he was famous; that doesn’t seem possible now.  I had been performing solo performances in Hollywood for the last 10 years and recently have had producers, agents, and managers interested in trying to turn my solo performances into TV series.

Q: Shout outs or links?

A: Five of my solo plays have been published and are available on IndieTheaterNow.com(http://www.indietheaternow.com/Playwright/antonio-sacre).  It’s one of my absolute favorite spots for discovering new theater.  My website is antoniosacre.com.  Oh yeah, there's my twitter and Instagram @antoniosacre and Antonio Sacre on FB. Shout out to the amazing Paul Stein, who just held my feet to the fire in rehearsal last week as we start the journey anew.