I will be showing up as a "mystery show" at the Festival of Independent Theatres this coming Friday (8/2) performing my solo show Robert's Eternal Goldfish.
Robert's Eternal Goldfish is an award-winning solo show written and performed by me, Brad McEntire. It has traveled to festivals and venues all over North America over the last decade. The show concerns Robert J. Roberts who has a huge problem with the world. In particular he really dislikes people. Especially people. All people. One day he becomes the unlikely custodian of a magical goldfish and Mr. Robert's misanthropic view of the world is seriously challenged. This darkly comic show asks if a person can be frustrated into being a better human being?
For FIT info visit: https://www.festivalofindependenttheatres.com/
Thanks to Producer David Meglino for inviting me out to perform.
# # #
Perhaps you would be interested in adding more excitement and romance, adventure and intrigue to your life. If that's the case, I don't know what to tell you. But I would suggest you subscribe to my newsletter. I mean, who knows? Life is full of surprises. I only send stuff out occasionally, but it is good stuff. Hit the button below...
I recently collaborated on a project with Jeff Hernandez and Jeff Swearingen. It was called Daylan Hillis in Space. A sort of "digital theatre" project for the 22nd Annual Festival of Independent Theatres. Since the Covid-19 pandemic is still happening, the FIT this year was a "virtual" affair. Projects were recorded and presented online as "on demand" videos.
The FIT lasted October 8 - 31, 2020. On October 28, TheaterJones, the local online journal for the performing arts, released a "review" of the FIT entries. So, to be clear, three days before the festival ended, the review came out. The review was written by Arnold Wayne Jones, an experienced reviewer who often works for the Dallas Voice.
I am putting Jones' review below. It illustrates a major challenge in the arts landscape at the moment. Beyond the obvious producing challenge of trying to present a production digitally that would normally be presented on stage, there is a problem on the recieving end as well. Namely, the dilemma of critical coverage of such projects.
Jones' implicit assumption is that the camera MUST move as if this hybrid project was a piece of cinema.
Jones was plainly at a loss of how to "cover" such a project. It is not a theatre production, of course, once it is removed from playing in real time in front of a live audience. However, what was presented was also not cinema. Filmmaking was not the goal. This project (notice I don't call it a play) was purpose-built for the online form the presentation would take. The result was a project that falls outside of easy categorization. It is a narrative, sure, but beyond that, the project operates by its own rules.
After a snarky statement about actor Swearingen being ideal to play "a tightly wound, disappointed, middle-aged white guy with self-esteem issues" Jones states that the director (me) doesn't "know what to do with the camera."
Jones' implicit assumption is that the camera MUST move as if this hybrid project was a pure piece of cinema. This is aside from the fact that the concept of the show was that the main character was addressing the audience through a webcam the entire production. The "static" camera he describes is part of the production concept. It is strange he did not pick up on such an obvious thing.
[Jones] is like a child presented with candy who complains about the wrapper.
On the other hand, the piece was plainly not his cup of tea. Jones' attention was not held the scant 38 minutes of running time (or "35" as he incorrectly states), and that is his to own. I could comment that perhaps, like so many of us, he is unaccustomed to viewing online content over ten or fifteen minutes and has a diminished attention span for focusing on a narrative of any length presented in this way, but that would only be my supposition.
The "non-descript wall" that he refers to was in the piece by design. The first "act" is set in as mundane and as sterile an environment as possible. By the way, the second act has the main character metaphorically in the belly of the whale, so it features Daylan's illuminated face floating in the darkness of an alien space craft while the third act sees out titular hero in a colorful, saturated, mysterious landscape on an alien planet. The design of the environments was on purpose. Jones' seems to want something to hold his attention in the background for some reason, instead of focusing on the tale of the central character. He is like a child presented with candy who complains about the wrapper.
As a reviewer, I would hope that he would question and put forth the smallest of analysis about what he was watching. Though, I would hope, as an arts journalist, he would understand the form and content of the project, perhaps he just didn't like the show... and that is okay, too.
As the Latin saying goes, de gustibus non est disputandum ("There is no accounting for taste.")
Here is what Jones had to say:
Review: 22nd Festival of Independent Theatres | Festival of Independent Theatres | ONLINE
FIT to be Online
This year's Festival of Independent Theatres brought six short films from familiar and new groups.
by Arnold Wayne Jones and Mark Lowry published Wednesday, October 28, 2020
Jeff Swearingen in Daylan Hillis in Space | Photo Credit: Audacity Theatre Lab
Dallas — Even though the pandemic has now dragged on for seven interminable months, we are still — as audiences, as theater presenters — struggling to figure out the acceptable contours in translating live in-person performances for “virtual” theatrical experiences. Some companies have done live shows via streaming platforms (or socially distanced in parking lots); some have released previously-recorded performances for current consumption; some have created Zoom readings. The actual post-COVID productions recording a traditional performance have been few (notably, WaterTower Theatre’s full-on version of the solo show I Am My Own Wife). The Festival of Independent Theaters’ crop of shows seem to eschew theatricality for more exploratory visual language, and, well, it’s not always a good fit.
Daylan Hillis in Space (Audacity Theatre Lab) by Brad McEntire and Jeff Hernandez has a one-man show tailormade for its single cast member, Jeff Swearingen. He’s the title character, a mid-level security guard in a top-secret government facility. He’s angry with Susan, who started the job the same time as he but has been promoted faster (most of the play is a series of monologues to her) and who gives him the crappy shifts. But when Daylan investigates a disturbance in a secure room … well, it’s right there in the title.
Swearingen is the natural go-to for the role of a tightly wound, disappointed, middle-aged white guy with self-esteem issues. He modulates the monologue’s pacing and levels well enough to keep us amused. And that’s not always an easy thing. McEntire (who also directs) doesn’t seem to know what to do with a camera. The first half of the play is the same medium-closeup of Daylan in front of a nondescript wall. The setting moves twice, but the single-shot concept never does, making it feel static and confining (Swearingen’s performance often exceeds the borders of the frame). Without varying the image much across 35 minutes, we grow restless and bored. And without an audience to play off of, the jokes land on silence and don’t live in the moment as much. It’s cute, and fun, but it overstays its welcome.
Perhaps you would be interested in adding more excitement and romance, adventure and intrigue to your life. If that's the case, I don't know what to tell you. But I would suggest you subscribe to my newsletter. I mean, who knows? Life is full of surprises. I only send stuff out occassionally, but it is good stuff. Hit the button below...
Leave a comment. If you are a robot or a blatant marketer trolling Blogger, then you will be deleted. Humans only, please.
I am not a superfan of "digitalizing" theatre. I realize a lot of theatres have embraced recording and streaming, or even live-streaming, theatre events since the Covid-19 pandemic shut down venues starting back in March.
Some colleagues in Oklahoma who mounted a "digital fringe" this year in order to keep their event going, contactd me and asked my thoughts on things. I wrote back:
"As a maker of theatre, I acknowledge it is, technically, not theatre any longer. It is a new thing. Not cinema, really, either. The hybrid newness of it I find appealing. The silver lining of the times we are in is that we can step back and question the old ways. If there ever was a time to do a few virtual/digital shows and get away with it, it is now in the hot mess we call 2020.
As a viewer of theatre, I'd sooner poke flaming Doritos in my eyes than watch a damn Zoom play reading. Shows I might have seen in normal times (is that a phrase any longer... "normal times?"), I have no inclination to see as a recording or a live stream. I'd sooner wait everything out and see that production when I can eventually sit in a real audience again."
It is the novelty of the moment, however, that lead me to round up a few friends and create a show for the 22nd Annual Festival of Independent Theatres. The FIT went "virtual" this year. When producer, David Meglino, approached me to participate, I offered to custom-build a show for the constraints of the moment. The result is a very entertaining piece called DAYLAN HILLIS IN SPACE. Here are the details...
Jeff Swearingen in Audacity Theatre Lab's DAYLAN HILLIS IN SPACE [credit: Audacity Theatre Lab]
DAYLAN HILLIS IN SPACE
By Brad McEntire and Jeff Hernandez Featuring Jeff Swearingen Directed by Brad McEntire
Security guard Daylan Hillis feels underappreciated in his job at a top secret government facility. One night his otherwise boring shift is interrupted by an encounter with strange intruders and a chance to show what he is really capable of.
Available for streaming October 8-31, 2020 Two Show Block Tickets - $12 Festival Pass for all Shows - $30 For tickets or more information visit: festivalofindependenttheatres.org/
Running time: 38 minutes NOTE: This production contains some strong language (PG-13-ish)
# # #
Perhaps you would be interested in adding more excitement and romance, adventure and intrigue to your life. If that's the case, I don't know what to tell you. But I would suggest you subscribe to my newsletter. I mean, who knows? Life is full of surprises. I only send stuff out occassionally, but it is good stuff. Hit the button below...
Leave a comment. If you are a robot or a blatant marketer trolling Blogger, then you will be deleted. Humans only, please.
I have been put in as a "pitch hitter" as part of the inaugural Theatre Crude Fringe in Oklahoma City. I will be taking my show Cyrano A-Go-Go which will be, by that time, fresh off a run at the Elgin Fringe in Illinois. All the details below...
Cyrano A-Go-Go is an exploration of one restless theatre artist's fascination with the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. A chance encounter with the script at a suburban library at the age of fifteen leads McEntire into a wonderful, and sometimes elusive, calling. Mixing the personal, historical and literary into a journey through Rostand's play McEntire puts a funny, warm, insightful spin on the usual coming-of-age one-man show.
Tickets $15 and can be purchased... online HERE or at the door.
More Info... HERE
# # #
Perhaps you would be interested in adding more excitement and romance, adventure and intrigue to your life. If that's the case, I don't know what to tell you. But I would suggest you subscribe to my newsletter. I mean, who knows? Life is full of surprises. I only send stuff out occassionally, but it is good stuff. Hit the button below...
Leave a comment. If you are a robot or a blatant marketer trolling Blogger, then you will be deleted. Humans only, please.
Cyrano A-Go-Go is an exploration of one restless theatre artist's fascination with the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. A chance encounter with the script at a suburban library at the age of fifteen leads McEntire into a wonderful, and sometimes elusive, calling. Mixing the personal, historical and literary into a journey through Rostand's play McEntire puts a funny, warm, insightful spin on the usual coming-of-age one-man show.
Thursday, September 12 at 7:30pm
Friday, September 13 at 9pm
Saturday, September 14 at 10:30pm
Sunday, September 15 at 4:30pm
Side Street Studio Arts, located at 15 1/2 Ziegler Ct, Elgin, IL 60120
Perhaps you would be interested in adding more excitement and romance, adventure and intrigue to your life. If that's the case, I don't know what to tell you. But I would suggest you subscribe to my newsletter. I mean, who knows? Life is full of surprises. I only send stuff out occassionally, but it is good stuff. Hit the button below...
Leave a comment. If you are a robot or a blatant marketer trolling Blogger, then you will be deleted. Humans only, please.
Nice write-up from Christopher Soden on SharpCritic.com This summer the annual Festival of Independent Theatres featured short plays addressing the theme of Coming of Age. The six I attended were: Leos Ensemble – small hours (Directed by Nick Leos)Lily & Joan Theatre Company–Marilyn, Pursued by a Bear (Directed by Emily Burgardt) Imprint Theatreworks – Dirty Dirty Night Squirrel (Directed by Taylor Mercado Owens) WingSpan Theatre, Co – Jo & Louisa (Directed by Susan Sargeant ) The Very Good Dance Theatre – The 1st Annual Gay Show (Directed by William Acker; Choreographed By Danielle Georgiou) Audacity Theatre Lab – The Beast of Hyperborea (Created by Brad McEntire). Some evinced better than others, though just as in past summers, each had its particular quirks, its peculiar charms. . . .
Brad McEntire’s The Beast of Hyperborea features an accountant who is horns-waggled into a trip to a remote island in search of a legendary monster. Like poor Bilbo Baggins, he’s not the least interested in risking physical and/or emotional harm for the sake of mind-bending adventure. Beast is a fairly traditional narrative souped up by McEntire to appeal to contemporary audiences. There’s a strong, able-bodied lady, who smokes cigars, and embraces danger with gusto. There’s a misogynistic, stuffy buffoon, a Baron proficient in the martial arts, and a Captain who’s more about canny nerve than bloviating. McEntire knows how to blend the touching with the fanciful, the astonishing with gravitas. While he sometimes seems to be winking at us, at other times his credulity gives this vivid monologue substance and humanity.
The Bath House Cultural Center presents: The 21st Annual Festival of Independent Theatres: Coming of Age,playing July 12th_ August 3rd, 2019. 521 East Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas 75218. 1-800-617-6904. www.festivalof independenttheatres.org
Perhaps you would be interested in adding more excitement and romance, adventure and intrigue to your life. If that's the case, I don't know what to tell you. But I would suggest you subscribe to my newsletter. I mean, who knows? Life is full of surprises. I only send stuff out occassionally, but it is good stuff. Hit the button below...
Leave a comment. If you are a robot or a blatant marketer trolling Blogger, then you will be deleted. Humans only, please.
Perhaps you would be interested in adding more excitement and romance, adventure and intrigue to your life. If that's the case, I don't know what to tell you. But I would suggest you subscribe to my newsletter. I mean, who knows? Life is full of surprises. I only send stuff out occassionally, but it is good stuff. Hit the button below...
Leave a comment. If you are a robot or a blatant marketer trolling Blogger, then you will be deleted. Humans only, please.
My friend and colleague Grant Knutson of Minion Productions conducted a pretty nice little interview with me over on TheSoloPerformer.com website. I'm reposting it here. Explains a lot about me and my solo shows...
Guest Contributor Grant Knutson of Minion Productions offers a brief Q-and-A with solo performer and producer Brad McEntire.
~ ~ ~
I'm excited that I get to introduce Brad McEntire: solo performer, festival producer and founder of this very website, TheSoloPerformer.com. He is the founding director of the Dallas Solo Fest and will be participating as a performer this year.
I've been working on the Dallas Solo Fest since it began in 2014, but Brad and I first met nearly a decade ago when he was performing his show Chop at the (now sadly defunct) New Orleans Fringe Festival.
Since then, he's been kind enough to bring his shows to several events I've produced on the West Coast. And I've been lucky enough to travel with him a few times as he performs at festivals around North America.
Unlike some solo performers, Brad's various shows are widely different in style. In fact, he has this sort of restlessness that pervades both of his work and his personality. What ties his shows all together is that they present big ideas that make you think, but with an understated delivery that makes it feel as natural as a conversation.
Let's dive right in...
Q: Please give us a little bit of background? How did you get involved in the theatre?
A: I was always interested in the arts. When I was a little kid, I liked to draw and I thought for a long time I’d be a graphic designer or fine artist when I grew up. I have also been a voracious life-long reader. I fell into theatre in high school because I had a crush on a girl in one of the theatre classes. In college, I got a theatre scholarship, so the plan was to study theatre, but major in art. I got totally hooked by that time and ended up getting my BFA in Theatre and Performance Arts (emphasis in Acting).
I went to a wonderful, sadly now-defunct university called the College of Santa Fe. It was such an isolated place, but I had fantastic teachers there. They really equipped me to tackle the theatre by the time I was done. While in college, I indulged in pursuing all kinds of things. I played the clarinet (badly), wrote horrible poetry, directed, edited and acted in little student movies – both on film and on video - and did everything there was to do in the theatre. I built sets, costumed, directed, acted, designed lights and swept the stage. It was like a little wonder world of chances to play both in and around the theatre.
After college I spent time living, working and being poor in New York and London. I started the precursor to the theatre I now artistic direct. I ran a suburban public high school theatre department for a few years. I lived in Hong Kong for a year teaching high school kids ESL through drama games. I eventually got my Masters degree in theatre (with an emphasis on playwriting). I became an adjunct theatre teacher at community colleges. That’s my sort of “day job” nowadays.
Artistically, I rolled from one thing into another continually curious and continually working. I studied clowning – both American circus style and Eurporean - and was a birthday party clown for a short while. I got into sketch comedy, which lead to improvisation. I did children’s theatre for a while. I did murder mysteries on a river boat. I acted in a lot of things across the board, from very traditional theatre to crazy experimental stuff. I put in my 10,000 hours, so to speak.
I have built up a unique skill set. Now, I still act from time to time (mostly in my own stuff), direct on occasion and produce. My scope of experience allows me to understand and converse with a lot of different kinds of other artists. I consider myself that old term one doesn’t see much anymore, “a man of the theatre.”
Q: What event or desire brought you specifically into the world of solo performance?
A: At the tail end of my time in Hong Kong, I began tinkering on a one-person show that eventually became my first proper touring production, Chop. It is about isolation, culture shock and the romance of the unknown. I came back to the States and continued working on it with a great director friend of my, Andy Merkel. He helped me shape it into a real show. I started doing the fringe circuit for real back in 2010.
I was particularly drawn to the DIY and personal nature of solo performance. In an ensemble show, ideally (though I will admit this isn’t always the case), the emphasis is on trying to make as tight a final product as possible. The emphasis is on perfection. The cast, crew, designers and director are working to all get on the same page and make the show - the end result - as good as it can be. The goal is to bend the collaborations and interpretations into a coherent whole and to make it as impactful as the playwright or director means it to be.
Solo performance is not a format that lends itself to the strive towards perfection. The aim it to be as idiosyncratic and as novel as possible. I wrote an essay about this years ago. This little excerpt says it well.
The Collective works, ultimately, towards perfection. My idea of an Individual working in the Theatre is different. The goal is not perfection. The Individual Theatre-maker (such as a solo performer) is working ultimately for the most personal outcome. Originality trumps perfection.
Q: Could you tell us about some of your particular kind of solo work?
A: Sure. Like the rest of my works for the stage, my solo shows are a mix of weighty thematic explorations together with fluffy retro/pop-culture weirdness. It has been called “kitsch with significance.”
So, though the backbones of many pieces involve the search for identity, place, love, respect, revenge and other substantial age-old thematic universals, the plays are also filled with chupacabras, rocket packs, time travel, carnival barkers, dinosaurs, robots, unkillable goldfish and so on.
That play I mentioned above, Chop, is a darkly comic gothic love story about an extremely isolated and lonely man finding his place in the world. That place just happens to be at the center of an amputation fetish group.
Brad McEntire's show Chop
Q: Could you tell us about some about the show you are currently touring?
A: Sure. I am currently, for the summer, touring and performing my show Cyrano A-Go-Go. It is the closest thing I have to a TED-talk/Spalding Gray/ Mike Daisey style monologue show. What I mean by this is that I essentially play myself, talking to an audience that is playing an actual audience. Most of my other shows are structured more like narrative plays, with me playing fictional characters. This makes it my most personal work, too.
The show traces my development in the theatre and in life from the time I read my first play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. I also tie in a lot about the themes of that play, a behind-the-scenes look at its history and touch on the real-life historical figure of Cyrano de Bergerac.
My hope is that my show is jam-packed with just as much action, poetry and tragic romance as the swashbuckling play that serves as the subject of my exploration.
Q: What inspired Cyrano A-Go-Go?
A: I have been a sort of armchair scholar obsessed with Rostand’s play for years. It also struck me that a lot of how I perceive theatre comes from Cyrano, such was the impression it made. You know how your first encounter with something affects your views of that thing. Remember the first time you went a certain place for vacation, or the first book in a certain genre? The first song from a certain band?
I was also deeply influenced by TJ Dawe’s fringe show Totem Figures. He talks about the influences on him growing up and the things that would be in his “personal Mt. Rushmore.” I only ever heard a recording of it, but I totally deconstructed it to see how he had put it together and I tweaked that structure to put this show together. Before hearing Totem Figures, I was dead-set against doing a talky monologue show where I play myself onstage. Up until then, I usually found autobiographical shows kind of narratively weak and overly confessional. Hearing him set up thematic ideas and then compound on them was a light bulb moment for me. It was like hearing a theatrical essay. Though we have never met, I owe him a great debt for the inspiration.
Brad McEntire in Cyrano A-Go-Go
Q: What inspires you to keep going and how do you keep yourself motivated?
A: Solo performance actually brings me joy. I am not sure about other people, but I hear that advice to do what makes you happy and I always think, “Okay, great, but I don’t know what makes me happy.”
The list of activities and experiences that bring me actual, genuine joy is very, very short. Honestly, and I know this sounds horrible, but I really just tolerate most things. Many things in the world bother or upset me. At least of the things I can actively identify that make me happy (and that can be done publicly, in front of other people), creating and performing solo shows is near the top of the list..
I genuinely love crafting and then touring my one-person shows. I enjoy the travel and networking and sharing my work with far-flung audiences. I enjoy the intimate nature of it. You don’t need a huge audience for a one-person show (I’m not against that, by the way, but it is not a deal-breaker). You just need a cozy room full of folks who listen and who you can engage with.
The whole thing still has a veneer of romance to it and I am, sadly, seldom romantic about anything anymore. Age has given me a pervasive cynicism. And this romance appears despite how incredibly difficult the work itself is. I sometimes say, when faced with a ridiculously absurd or challenging situation, "If it were easy, it wouldn't be any fun." For solo performance, the non-ease is actually one of the things I really like about. And it is never easy. At least, not for me.
The making of the work is always difficult and challenging and I always feel like I have to venture into the belly of the beast to craft something worthwhile and entertaining and original. And when I am waist-deep into creating a new piece, I sometimes want to give up, but then I remember that out of all the hardships of life, I chose this particular struggle. I chose to make this thing. Choosing to do something difficult is a special thing. The world hurls difficulty at us right and left and usually gives us very little choice in the matter, but getting to choose your struggle, that is sort of a sacred, wonderful thing.
And when I complete a show, at least enough to show to people, I feel an immense sense of achievement. I had to work for it. A lot of things these days offer only shallow instant gratification. Making a one-person show is not one of those things.
Q: Besides TJ Dawes, who are some of your influences on your work?
A: As far as solo performers go, I like the work of Bremner Duthie. I like the energy that Martin Dockery gives to his pieces. I like the archival recordings of Ruth Draper.
In the theatre, I am a die-hard Peter Brook fan. His books (particularly The Empty Space) have been hugely influential on me. I like the playwrights Samuel Beckett, George S. Kaufman, Sarah Ruhl and Mickle Maher. I like some of Dan Dietz’s plays and some of Sheila Callaghan’s work. I like Shakespeare, of course, and some Goldoni. I like some of Oscar Wilde. I like the work of my friend Lin-Manuel Miranda. And, of course, Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac.
I know this sounds like a horrible mish-mash, but I take inspiration from wherever I can get it. It all goes in the mix and adds to the fodder of my imagination.
Brad McEntire in his show Robert's Eternal Goldfish
Q: What prompted you to start this site, TheSoloPerformer.com? A: As a solo performer, I was looking for resources online about solo performance back in 2010. Back then, there just wasn't much on the internet yet about solo performers, their processes, clips or shows and so on. There are a lot more resources now and a lot more performers have individual websites. Since I couldn't find as much as I wanted back in 2010, I just decided to start this little Blogger site and just started compiling stuff. It has become a place to put essays and opinions, opportunities and profiles. In 2013 I was interviewed by Adam Szymkowicz for his wonderful website I Interview Playwrights. He did the whole thing over email and the format he used became a sort of an inspiration. I began doing a silimiar thing with solo performers here on this site. TheSoloPerformer has just been a side hobby, but nine years in, it has become a neat little compendium of information on the world of solo performance.
Q: How do you bridge the gap between the creative and the business side of solo theatre?
A: Not great yet, but I’m learning. It took me a long time to realize, like everything else, marketing and PR are things that could be learned. It would take time, but I was not powerless to acquire the skills and knowledge I needed to sell my shows. I have only really put a lot of focus on it since starting the Dallas Solo Fest back in 2014.
I have slowly embraced the administrative side of things as inevitable and that they should, in fact, be done as well as the artistic side of things. To do otherwise is a disservice to your show.
Live performance is a unique thing to market nowadays. It is location dependent and time-sensitive. A lot of what the internet has to offer, doesn't work for marketing theatre. But there's tools still to be found in social media, email, websites and the like. It has been a slow trudge, but I am getting better at it a little at a time.
Q: This is a good time to talk about the Dallas Solo Fest. How’d that come about?
A: I envisioned an intimate, “boutique” fringe-like theatre festival in Dallas to showcase a curated collection of local and national solo artists presenting full festival-length pieces. My li’l theatre company was in an interesting place back in 2013-2014. We had a cheap, accessible space with about 80 seats and I saw that here was an opportunity to finally make the idea a reality.
A lot of getting things done in life, I believe, is recognizing opportunities when they arise. So, I put together the kind of festival that I’d want to go to. It has stayed small and personal on purpose. I’ve had a small, flexible, wonderful crew. The technician, Shea Smith is just a great, solid dude. And you [Grant] were instrumental in helping me get it off the ground, supporting the festival behind the scenes every year. Thank you for all your help. This year, my friend Erin Singleton is coming in to work box office.
Q: How has the Dallas Solo Fest been received?
A: Mostly positive. The artists who have participated have mostly had positive experiences. A lot of that has had to do with who has been selected for the festival. Most of the performers come in with warm, open and enthusiastic attitudes. And we have tried to make southern hospitality a real thing.
The audiences have been very enthusiastic and audience attendance has grown over the years, but only incrementally. We have had sell-out crowds and we have had audiences of as little as three people. It has been horribly uneven. I have yet to figure out the tipping point/ force multiplier to really launch audience attendance. It is the single most frustrating thing. At the rate DSF is currently growing, it would be years before it becomes the draw that I’d like it to be.
The growth of the DSF has paralleled the decline of print media and, really, just arts coverage in general. My media list is much shorter than it used to be. And though a few bloggers and amateur arts journalists have sprung up, they do not have the reach and readership to counterbalance the disappearance of arts coverage at mainstream newspapers and websites. And those mainstream papers and websites that are still around are now harder than ever to grab the attention of. On tp of this, they don't have the sway they use to possess. Potential audiences get their information from some many different places nowadays. So that, too, has been a challenge.
It could be that festivals have a shelf-life. Maybe the demand really is not what I think it is. That has to be take into consideration. The only way to know is to try as hard as possible to put on a great fest, then sell the festival to audiences. Then we'll see who and how many show up. It is a hard process, but I try to stay optimistic and I keep good books. I genuinely hope the DSF will be embraced in the cultural landscape.
On a personal note, I hugely enjoy getting to know both new artists and the audience members who attend the fest. If it starts to really take off, then I could see keeping it going, and continuing to refine it, for another five or even ten years.
Q: Since 2014, the Dallas Solo Fest has featured around 30 different individual solo shows, with eight more about to be presented this year. Of the shows you've seen to date, which DSF show has most surprised you or been different than you expected?
A: Ooooh, good question. I have seen all of them, sometimes more than once. I am going to leave off from this answer any shows that were surprising because they were less than expected (sadly, that has happened a few times).
One of the shows that made me laugh the most was David Mogolov's Eating My Garbage. He has set me against eating Subway sandwiches since. One of the most heart-felt pieces in the DSF was Bremner Duthie's show'33: a Kabarett. I was overwhelmed at the depth of his show and the performer's talent as a singer.
Q: What do you see for the future of solo performance and for you personally as an artist?
A: I am not sure what the future of solo performance holds. Though it has been a thing for ages, I feel it is just in the last decade or so become a true legitimate format. Unfortunately, it is often still viewed as a narcissistic showcase thing. Or is mixed up with other one-person formats like stand-up comedy (this is not helped by stand-up's recent sneaky co-opting of solo performance, such as Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette).
Since the financial crisis of 2008-2009, theatres around the United States seemed more and more were willing to give solo performance a chance since the production costs are comparatively low for one-person productions. Arts Centers around the country continue to “round out” their subscriber packages by programming solo performers… if those performers have a bit of a name.
I used to consider solo performance as nothing better than a stepping stone to another career. Famed soloists of the past like Lily Tomlin, John Leguizamo, Whoopi Goldberg, Eric Bogosian, Anna Deveare Smith and even Spalding Gray leveraged their solo performance fame into film and TV roles. And then kinda stopped there.
One of the most successful solo performers in a long-term sense has been Hal Holbrook with his ever-adaptable show Mark Twain Tonight! He has been performing that show for half a century. It is an institution by this point. But again, Holbrook is a film and television actor mostly. The draw to his solo show is his marginal fame as a commercial actor. And he has traded variety (by having just the one solo show) for depth. It is a good trade-off, in my opinion, but a trade-off nonetheless. Mike Daisey continues to experiment with the form, mostly testing the limits of time duration in his storytelling, but I am not sure what his end goal is. Beyond its use as a stepping stone to other industries, I am not really sure what the mountaintop looks like in solo performance. I mean, there is a support structure for sustaining it with fringes fests and independent venues scattered around, like a less formal and more contemporary Chautauqua circuit or vaudeville circuit. But what is the highest achievement to be had? In the past Ruth Draper gave a command performance for King George V at Windsor Castle. That was cultural power.
I do hope solo performance catches on enough in mainstream theatre - or hell, just with the mainstream in general – to maybe fill large theatres or even stadiums and get Netflix specials someday. I think that would be great, but to be honest, even if stuff does go that way, it will be a long way off.
For me, I am not sure what my own end-goal is, either. I will continue doing what I’m doing as long as I feel it has significance and I am enjoying it. I have, at least, a few more solo shows in me waiting to be created, toured and performed for audiences all over the place.
Q: Shout outs or links?
Sure thing…
Come see my show Cyrano A-Go-Go at the Dallas Solo Fest (or later this summer at the Elgin Fringe).
