Grant Knutson on How to be a Successful Touring Artist

Grant Knutson

Grant Knutson of Minion Productions has spent the last half dozen years traveling around North America helping touring/fringe artists handle the logistic and networking side of things. Here he talks with the folks at the Stage Hackers Podcast. Give a listen.

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Benefits for video marketing of shows

When I started in the theatre 20-someodd years back, there was very little use of video beyond archiving performances. Nowadays, a video promo of your show is not the icing on the cake, but the cake itself.

That said, here's a short little inspiring blog post by Sabioleon (circus performance promoter and producer based in Europe) about the use of video for marketing purposes... HERE.

Best take-away line for me...

video content has a longer life span than traditional editorial & advertising content

Take a look at the post... HERE. 

Amy Oestreicher on Staying Authentic to Your Own Path

Two weeks before her Senior prom, actress/playwright Amy Oestreicher's life took an abrupt turn. A blood clot caused her stomach to literally explode. She narrowly survived. And then she faced the real challenge... the long, hard road of putting herself back together.

She went through nearly 30 surgeries, a six-month long coma, organ failure, and long-lasting medical trauma in which she couldn't eat or speak for years. She eventually put together a solo show based on her journal entries of this period of her life called Gutless & Grateful. Here, she tells how her early influences in the arts, particularly music and theatre helped her turn her personal journey into an inspiring and personal one-person show.

Amy Oestreicher in Gutless & Grateful

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Staying Authentic to Your Own Path

By Guest Contributor Amy Oestreicher

I had always loved musical theatre and was always fascinated by how the art of song and story could be so seamlessly woven together to share a universal message and to inspire others.   

Coming out of a coma just as I was supposed to be entering my freshman year of college was confusing to say the least.  Suddenly, the career path that had seemed to apparent to me my entire life was pushed to the wayside while I took on the more pressing task of fighting for my life.  It was easy to wonder “why me” or question how my life would ever maintain a steady course again.  

With no clear road map on how to get my life back on “track”, I just stayed true to what had always felt like home – expressing myself through the arts.  Although I had lost my ability to speak for a while, I committed myself to arts that I could express – I lost myself in the world of painting and mixed media and ended up putting on three professional art shows.  

The Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda ended up hearing about my story and my art, and had me on for a segment they do called “Everyone Has A Story.”  It was there where I met David Friedman – a kind soul and a very talented composer.  I went right over to him and told him I admired his work and would love to put together a cabaret act with him.  Two years later, using excerpts from my thousands of journal entries, and songs that effectively expressed my journal – some songs being original – Gutless & Grateful had its New York premiere.  

Theatre was what I always felt like I was born to do.  It felt like a natural medium to tell my story.  Through all the years of obstacles, triumphs and setbacks, I had essentially experienced the frustrations and trying circumstances in isolation.  I didn’t appreciate the full scope of what I had undergone, and more significantly, the impact it might have on others, once I got my story out there.  

As a performer, my main desire was and is to connect with my community and share a message that will inspire others – for me, that is the true beauty and power of theatre.

This was really the first time I was telling my story in my own words – not through whispers from neighbors, or from news stories or documentaries.  It was my way of reclaiming my identity as a performer, and also coming back to the world of the stage with an even stronger message.  Helping yourself is a reward in one respect, but to know that your own struggles might serve to heal others is truly transformative and uplifting.  It is the most alive feeling in the world.

"Except that now I was telling my own story rather than playing an ingénue in Guys & Dolls. Now I was a solo performer."

I have always trained proficiently in singing, dancing and acting and grew up seriously interested in the study of theatre.  I was accepted into the University of Michigan. I thought my life would be very straightforward and well planned.  However, life has taught me that you can have all the intentions, planning and even training in the world, but sometimes life goes another way. Then you have to examine what new lesson you are being taught – and then learn and grow from it.  

For example, as a dancer all of my life, upon waking from a coma, it was alarming to me that suddenly I could not even sit up in a chair, let alone stand.  It was hard for me to believe I would ever dance again.  But every day I did little things – whatever made me feel like I was doing something – flexing my toes in bed, rotating my wrists. I relearned. I started from square one after each of my 27 surgeries.  

It was certainly frustrating, but my determination and passion for what made me feel vital kept an unnatural energy burning through me.  As soon as I was able to, I was diligent about training, and even though it was easy to look back at old tapes and envy the ease with which I would complete everything as a pre-comatose teen, I kept looking forward and envisioned myself as a mosaic – broken apart, but putting myself back together. Maybe the reassembly would be different, but somehow also beautiful (unexpectedly so).

Along the way, I faced people who discouraged me. I nicknamed one of my favorite doctors Dr. Doom because he never had a single positive thing to say until I was discharged. I will never forget an innocent occupational therapist that told me to never give up, because one day I might even be able to walk on my own without a wheelchair. 

There was no way I would settle for walking as my greatest strength!  And even as I became healthier, it was hard for others to not see me as “sick” even though I felt my determination and passion could conquer an entire army.  If I did listen to one person that told me “not yet”, “too soon”, or “when you get healthier” I would have never put up my art shows, taught yoga and I definitely would not have performed my autobiographical solo show Gutless & Grateful several times in several different states over a three year period.  

"But I think the most important (and difficult) thing for me was patience."

Beating the odds and defying expectations is one thing, but I believe for the psyche it is detrimental to ever let yourself believe you can’t do something, even when the odds are against you.  It’s that spark of “well maybe there’s a tiny chance” that lights a little fire in your soul, it’s that something that keeps you going, that wakes you up in the morning, that put the little smirk on your face that warms whatever you do with heart and an unbeatable spirit.

It’s natural when someone tells you you can’t do something to think about it a bit.  And many times, I admit, it was hard not to believe them. I went to auditions with bags attached to me. I attended hot yoga daily while connected to an IV pump. I have gotten many funny looks over the years and some awkward situations made me feel very embarrassed and upset.

I would occasionally pity myself for a bit.  In the process of putting together Gutless & Grateful, it was easy to compare myself to colleagues that were doing theatre, but “bigger” and “better” than I was – on Broadway, on tours, seemingly “breezing through” their career.  But I think the most important (and difficult) thing for me was patience.  Telling myself that I will get there – this is my own unique path, and as long as I am still doing what I love, in whatever shape or form, I am staying authentic to my own path. 

"Suddenly, I was telling my story in my own words."

When Gutless & Grateful premiered in New York at the Triad in October 2012, I felt like everything had really come to fruition.  I stopped comparing myself to others and realized that I had stayed true to myself and in doing so, I was still the same performer I had always aspired to be.  Except that now I was telling my own story rather than playing an ingénue in Guys & Dolls. Now I was a solo performer. It took a bit more work, and the path was a bit rockier, but I now had the privilege of performing theatre that was connecting with audiences on an even more personal level – inspiring others with a journey of my own that I had never anticipated.  

After the run, I would get hugs from total strangers who told me “I didn’t know anything about this show – my wife dragged me – but I’m so glad I came!”  I had messages in my guest book from audience members who disclosed that I had helped them through a very traumatic time in their own lives.  Suddenly, I was telling my story in my own words. It was now no longer Amy Oestreicher the woman who’s stomach exploded, but Amy Oestreicher the actress, telling her inspiring story on stage. I was so grateful for this experience, and it felt like  springboard for even more opportunity.  

After years of isolation, it was not just difficult getting back out into the world again, but more specifically figuring out how to get back into the professional world of networking and managing a career in the creative arts.  I wasn’t sure how to get out there. Honestly, I was intimidated by the wide world of theatre and felt as though I didn’t know how to form connections.  

So I did it the old-fashioned way.  

I posted flyers everywhere humanly possible, researched the contact information of every news source I could get my hands on, and spread my name - relentlessly and shamelessly - wherever I could (I mean, I'm writing here on The SoloPerformer.com site, aren't I?).  There were no shortcuts and it wasn’t easy. But it was worth it.  The hard work taught me valuable lessons about publicity and business, and I have gradually created connections that are truly invaluable.

The single skill has proven to be most useful is straightforward, raw persistence. In every respect I've learned to just keep going and never give up. Even when I was exhausted or overwhelmed by the idea of what I wanted to accomplish, I just kept at it. One opportunity at a time, one contact at a time, day in day out.  I literally was a girl waking up from a coma trying to find her place in a big world. 

Persistence gradually transformed into a faith that with determination, I would get there. I could get anywhere.

Now, I’ve toured Gutless and Grateful across the country for over five years – not only to theatre venues, but to conferences, colleges, support groups, hospitals, organizations – you name it.

Want to know what accomplishment I am most proud of?

Finding myself and feeling happy for the first time since I came to.  It was scary to be in a high school class getting ready for my senior prom one minute, and then suddenly being thrown into an alternate universe, where my body was plugged into machines and my own existence felt very alien to me.  It was difficult (such an understatement!) grappling with the reality that I would never be able to even consume a drop of water again.  

I could have given up millions of times.  But I didn’t and I am appreciative of my own insanity to keep believing. I got depressed, but I never threw in the towel.  But more than that, I refused to simply survive.  Now I can truly say I am thriving.  I’m doing what I love on a larger scale than I ever could have imagined.  I’m reaching others in unforeseen ways. I am on stage, performing my one-woman show.  And I love what I do.

So here’s my advice to anyone dying to put a solo show together:

You have to really want it.  REALLY want it.  That's the only way anyone else will want it.  Then, start from anywhere.  Don’t compare yourself and your work with what you currently have.  Don’t accept what you start with.  Visualize what you’d like to be, where you'd like to go and manifest it – will it.  The most important thing is to really tune into your passion and work from there – wherever it may lead you – no matter how crazy.  If it is authentic, it’s worthwhile.  And with a bit of dedication - and raw persistence - it will happen.

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Amy Oestreicher is a visual and performing artist, author and PTSD peer-to-peer specialist. You can watch her discuss her journey via her TEDx talk (here) or visit her website at: amyoes.com

Say Thanks after the Performance

Theatre people, particularly actors, are not always great at taking compliments/feedback/criticism/etc. from audience members after a performance. In the lobby, post-show, one can find actors making excuses, leaning into a compliments, becoming defensive or pleading for a second chance. These are not a great responses. I have found the best policy is just to say "thank you," and then, you know, live your life. 

Daisey to livestream Trump Show

Mike Daisey will be performing his  one-man show about Donald Trump, THE TRUMP CARD from Broadway, November 1st and It will be livestreamed via Slate.com for FREE. 

This man is an excellent solo performer and his shows are more often than not hilarious and razor sharp brilliant. This performance is directed by Isaac Butler.

For info and tickets to see it live in the theatre: http://thetownhall.org/event/thetrumpcard

[NOTE: Daisey has offered the friends and fans code via his website: DAISEY50]

[NOTE: If you missed the show you can listen to a recording on Soundcloud... HERE]

5 Tips of Personal Branding for Solo Performers

Personal brand is what people say about you when you leave the room.

~ Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon.com

As the producer of a fringe-like solo performance festival and a solo performer in my own right, I am sometimes asked by solo performers just starting out what they can do to start growing their audiences. I tell them they need to put some thought and action into starting - even as they are still creating their shows - a Personal Brand.

I know personal branding is something that sounds icky. It brings to mind those overly-slick, somewhat packaged people who brag openly about themselves and are all smoozy. I think of these people as douche bags.

On the other hand, if you think of personal branding simply as an organized way to purposely tell about who you are and what you do, then personal branding can be really beneficial for solo performers. It doesn't have to be scummy. In fact, it can really help you differentiate yourself from others. It comes down to how you would like yourself to e percieved. That's step one.

Once you understand how you wish yourself to be perceived, you can start to be much more strategic about your personal brand. This doesn’t mean you can’t be human. On the contrary, as Michael Simmons writes on Forbes.com, authenticity is key in the digital age.

1. Start a Blog

People who are good at what they do have usually racked up plenty of experiences and eventually a bunch of achievements. And there are all sorts of ways to share your knowledge, and demonstrate your expertise and your skills. Having a central location for all your work, history and information is actually important). But the biggest reason to blog is because you want to be found during Google searches.

Blogging will boost your search engine efforts and make it easier for directors and producers to find out about you. This goes for traditional actors as well. Plus, if you talk about parts you’ve played, venues you’ve played in, and shows you’ve been in or want to be in, your name will be associated with those shows, parts, and theatres, thanks to co-citation. In other words, talk about your one-person adaptation of Carlos Arniches The Lady from Trévelez at the Indianapolis Fringe Festival, and if someone searches for those two things, your name could pop up.

Speaking personally, when I narrow down performers for the Dallas Solo Fest as a member of the selection committee, I only take performers seriously if they have websites, either for their show or for themselves.

2. Create a YouTube Channel

Not only can you do a demo reel for your  show on your YouTube channel (and you should), but YouTube greatly boosts your search engine juice. If you want to win Google searches, don’t spend a lot of your energy optimizing for Google. Try to win YouTube searches instead. Since Google owns YouTube, and they put the top-ranked YouTube videos on Google search pages, your video could easily show up in a search for “Desdemona actress Portland” or whatever a director/ venue programmer/ festival organizer may be looking for.

3. Get Your Own Name as Your Web Address

Pick a domain name registrar — some people like GoDaddy because it’s inexpensive, some people hate them because of their business practices — and buy your name as a domain name. Either buy it for many years, or be sure to renew it year after year. For one thing, if you become famous, you want to own it now before it gets squatted. For another, it will tell people how to easily find you. You can use your stage name, not your real name, if that's what you wanna do. Oh, and list it on your headshots, résumés, and business cards.

TIP: Get Business Cards. Headshot on the back, contact info on the front. Way easier to have on you all the time that 8 x 10s. Even easier than carrying around postcards.

4. Get Comfortable With Google+

This tip is the out-of-left-field one. If you use Facebook, you understand how to use Google+. But the biggest reason to use it is not so you can interact with your fellow theatre people (although that certainly helps). The biggest reason is because Google assumes that if you’re connected to people on Google+, and they search for something you’ve shared, written about, or have videos and photos for, that stuff should show it in your connection’s search results. For example, if we’re connected on Google+, and you do a Google search for, for instance, “Trévelez Indianapolis,” Google may display you a recent review for the show. But if we’re not connected, you won’t see it at all. Google+ might be the most underrated social media site out there that can help people find you.

5. Network in Person

The world of theatre is like many other things... it is about relationships. Eventually, you’ll reach a point where people want to work with you because they know you and like you. They hope you will be at the same festival they will be at. They'll start to follow your work. And the best way to get to know and like people is to spend time with them outside the theatre. 

Talk about your show. Be nice. Be engaging. Make others look good. Make yourself worthy of being talked about.

Oh sure, you need to be good, be professional, and not be a punk-ass jerk. But, just like everywhere else in the working world, people want to work with and watch people they like. And if directors/ fellow peformers/ audience members can get to know a bit and like you outside of the times when you’re onstage (i.e. in the lobby or at the bar after the show), you increase the possibility of them coming to see you the next time you are on stage.

Some theatre artists I speak to — playwrights, designers, directors and performers — don’t like all this marketing. They think it’s beneath them, or too difficult, that their art should speak for itself, and they should be judged on their own merit.

Branding, networking PR and marketing are part of it. And for solo performers who are the creators as well as the production teams behind their shows, it is part of the endeavor. No one is going to automatically do it for you. Sometimes, we want part of it without the other parts. Solo performers should just get used to personal branding as part of it all. 

It would be awesome if we could live in a world where people are truly judged and rewarded based on the quality of work they do (assuming you are doing awesome work). But that’s not the world we live in. The world we live in runs on relationships and self-promotion. So, you need to do this for a while... until you can get rich and famous and get someone to do it for you. Might as well do it well and in an organized way.

Elaine Liner's 107 Publicity Boosters That Work

You need good publicity to promote your production (or product, project or company). You can't afford a publicist. Where do you start? Author, veteran arts journalist and solo performer in her own right, Elaine Liner lays out 107(+) tips, strategies and insider secrets that tell you exactly who media are, what they want from you right now and how they want it.

The book is targeted to performers heading off to the big Edinburgh Fringe, but apply to promoting yourself at venues and festivals pretty much anywhere.

Worth the small pice tag with a lot of good take aways, such as...

"Since email is your first line of attack in reachng media, address each one personally and personably. Do not gang-blast the same story pitch/release to everyone on your media list."

and

"If you have an idea for a story pitch while you are out and about, email it to yourself."

and 

"Do NOT send the same photo to everyone."

Get a copy... HERE

Rebecca Perry on the Stageworthy Podcast

LINK: http://stageworthypodcast.com/rebecca-perry/

Rebecca Perry [credit: Rebecca Perry]

This podcast about Canadian indie and fringe theatre, Stageworthy, hosted by solo performer Phil Rickaby, is great. This first episode is chock-a-block full of little tidbits of marketing and PR wisdom about taking a solo show to the Edinburgh Fringe. So good to hear about how Rebecca Perry went about producing and promoting her show in an international market. Also, especially nice to hear how professional she approaches her production, fringe or not.

Q-and-A with Erin Singleton

Erin Singleton in SUPER MORTAL

Erin Singleton is making her solo performing debut at the 2016 Dallas Solo Fest with her show SUPER MORTAL. 

TSP gets a chance to talk with the cheeky soloist. Here we go...

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

A: I am native to Dallas and interested in telling stories that express Dallas! The show that first made me want to be involved in theatre was a Shakespeare play at Dallas Theatre Center - I walked away with bits of Ophelia's flowers the way someone would walk away with drumsticks from a rock concert. I majored in acting with a minor in directing at Oklahoma City University. For theatre, I've taken the advice of my composer/sound engineer/musical performing Dad and tried to have as many skills in my wheelhouse as I could. Well, really what he said was "anything for a buck," but that makes my mom roll her eyes.

Q: You're fairly new to performing one-person shows yourself. What event or desire brought you specifically into the world of solo performance?

A: I'd like to thank John Michael and Brad McEntire for that! I directed John Michael two years ago in Crossing Your I's at the Dallas Solo Fest. I took over from the late Matt Tomlanovich after he was first hospitalized. 

I have loved watching and being involved in the DSF, and I was feeling inspired by the people behind the DSF to become a part.

DSF, naturally stands for the Denver Scholarship Foundation. Or Dallas Solo Fest. I'm not sure which. Google it.

Q: Could you tell us about some of your current show SUPER MORTAL?

A: It's about a comic book enthusiast who discovers that her dream is coming true - she's developing super powers. Honestly, I'd say it's really a story about the effects of codependency and what self-actualization is in a culture that values reboots and sequels... but this show can also just be enjoyed as an interesting story about a funny, quirky character. So sit back and enjoy it on whatever level you feel like.

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

A: I am so excited to develop something that is uniquely mine. It's the scariest, most exciting thing I've done in a long time, and I'm thrilled to be able to share it with others. It's also great being able to write your own material - as long as I don't accidentally cuss, I can invite my Mom to this one! (Ask me about the time I lit my hand on fire and cursed on stage in front of about 80 small children and parents.)

Q: How do you keep yourself motivated?

A: I picture my audience in my underwear. Wait, I may have misunderstood that one...
My favorite thing in the world is to be challenged. I've recently been thinking a lot about an interview with David Bowie where he talked about always staying slightly outside of your comfort zone. It's been inspirational. If I'm totally comfortable and not feeling pushed, then I'm not growing.

Also, I eat lots of fiber and stay hydrated. 

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: It starts with conversations and life experiences that reform themselves into images that interest me. For this show, it actually started with a day I had a conversation with Brad McEntire, but the script started forming itself while I was... this will sound cheesy, but I was meditating and had some images and scenes that I wanted to write. I wanted to write it because I wanted to see those scenes come to life. I write shows that I want to see. 
A lot of this show is based on the idea that all creation is just regurgitation. You take in images, phrases, and ideas throughout your life, and whatever you create is the result of the chemistry of those things inside of your own mind. Nothing is really original, in that sense, but just a variation on a given theme. We add our own chemistry to whatever we take inside our mind.

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

A: I watch a lot of Netflix and YouTube. I also read cereal boxes in my spare time.
This is a really funny question for the type of show I'm performing. I'm playing a character who is an amalgamation of her favorite influences.


Q: One of the interesting things about solo performance is that one is usually a one-person operation on stage as well as off. How do you bridge the gap between the creative and the business side of solo theatre?

A: I just have to share my event pages with the same voracity most people use for cat memes.

A lot of networking and creativity! And also the ability to drop the showtimes of your upcoming show into every conversation. It's like being a proud grandparent. If I had a wallet, I would show off pictures of my scripts.


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

A: I am excited to see what the most challenging thing I can do after this show is! I'm thinking anything other than sky diving. Maybe I'll get a lot of cats.

Q: Shout outs or links?

A: Thanks to John Michael, Greg Silva, and to my director Shelby-Allison Hibbs!I'm on the board of Dallas-based theatre group N47, so check out Facebook.com/N47Theatre to keep in touch with that.

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.