Tag Archives: solo show

Jun17

So You Want to Write a One Person Show, Part 3 of 7

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So You Want to Write a One Person Show, Part 3 of 7

So to recap, Part 1 of "So You Want to Write a One Person Show", I spoke about discovering the Central Moment that your show pivots on.  You did free-writing about this pivotal moment and you held it close to your heart, a secret for yourself.  

Part 2 of "So You Want to Write a One Person Show" we looked at the moments that lead up to the Central Moment of your revelation in your solo show.  We explored possible turning points and after effects of the Central Moment, and we looked at possible through lines, the threads that sew your stories together into one cohesive piece.

Part 3, Write write write.  It can be tempting in this phase to feel as if it's time to choose a topic and stick with it.  You may have chosen a topic for your show in your first step but something else keeps coming up.  You may want to talk about being a used car salesman and tell us about all the cars you sold and all the old ladies who bought them.  But every time you write, you write about your mother's tattoos.  Or your mother tattoo.  It can be disconcerting to find that your subconscious is steering you in a different direction than your conscious mind.  For now, don't worry if it seems like you're going in multiple directions, or if it seems difficult to focus.  It's like making a patchwork quilt.  You need a lot of patches.  At a certain point, you take all your patches, and you see which ones matches….  Lay 'em all out on the floor, see what goes where.

What you're doing right now is allowing things to bubble up from the surface that may never have been give voice or permission to speak.  I'm giving you permission right now not to know where this is all going, and I'm also giving you reassurance that if you stay committed to this process, it will go somewhere, in the end.  As my friend Avishai says, "It's all good in the end.  If it's not good, it's not over."  

In this step, ponder characters: is this show coming from the different voices in your head? Different voices in your body?  People from your childhood?  Loved ones in your life now?  People in politics?  People at work?  If it's a personal story, what's the context of the world?  If it's a worldly story, how does it affect you personally?  Show, don't tell.  

Let's try some Natalie Goldberg-esque exercises.  Do some of these or all!  Do it in pairs if you can, and read them to each other after each exercise. Don't make comments afterward, just set the timer again.

 

  • Set the timer for 10 minutes and write about the first time you tasted an artichoke.  
  • Write for 10 minutes on why you want to write and perform a one person show.
  • Write for 10 minutes on performers you're inspired by.
  • Write for 10 minutes on imagining the insecurities of the performers or artists you're inspired by.   Imagine the/your world if they decided not to create the work that's inspired you, because they didn't think anyone would care.  
  • Write for 10 min on the one thing about you that you really don't want people to know.
  • Write for 10 min on the one thing about you that you really, really don't want people to know.

 

Stay tuned for part four, and let me know how your process is going!  If you have questions or concerns, I'd love to hear and address them in my blog.  

Alicia

Jun16

Solo Performer and Comedian Joe Klocek on Secrets

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Solo Performer and Comedian Joe Klocek on Secrets

Master head shot I met Joe in 1998 when I first started doing standup.  He was about to start headlining at the Punchline then, and his comedy has grown and ripened into a fine french cheese.  It's riddled with self-deprication, wit, and charm.  He is one of the best "riffers" in San Francisco history, on and off stage.  We did his show last Sunday (I was performing a bit from my new, new show for the first time.)  I have to say the crowd was a little quiet, and that had me feeling some nervousness.  Back stage joking around with Joe was actually about three times as much fun as being on stage with the crowd.  I forgot how much fun Joe is to kid around with.  

Here's five minutes with Joe Klocek on standup, solo show/solo performance, storytelling, and comedy in general. Joe's new venture is a monthly show called Previously Secret Information, in which performers walk the line between storytelling and standup comedy.

Alicia Dattner: How long have you been doing stand up?

Joe Klockek: 17 years.

AD: But, Joe, you're like so proficient at sstand up why start telling stories that aren't all funny? Isn't what people want just the good stuff? Just the funny stuff? Like, that's the part non-comedians can't do on their own. That's why you're here, isn't it?

JK: I love stand up and will always be a stand up. I found that editing a incredible, often times life changing event in my life down to only the funny parts started to feel like I wasn't respecting those moments fully. These stories have love, loss, hope, death and faith all told honestly without over the top dramatics. A good edits an adventure down to a series of 30 second jokes. I like to think of this show as the story behind the punch lines. Its for people who want something a little more thoughtful in their comedy.

AD: What kinds of stories do you tell in this show?

JK: I tell one story about losing everything in the Utah desert after I hit a cow with my car. I have another one about taking a stuffed animal to a food court in a mall and then security tries to kick me out. The stories are funny sometimes tragic always entertaining episodes from my life.

AD: What kinds of stories do other comics tell? Who else has performed in this show?

JK: We have had a lesbian explain breast feeding an adopted child, a man tell about helping his father with a plumbing disaster and a woman tell what she wanted to say at a funeral for her mother. 

AD: Who are some of your favorite performers that walk this line that you're proposing we walk?

JK: This might be cocky sounding, but I don't know. The goal is to take elements from solo performance and stand-up comedy to get at something real where the audience doesn't feel sperated from the storyteller and the storyteller feels they are in a place where always getting a laugh isn't bad.

AD: What's the craziest thing you've ever seen?

JK: I once saw a mostly naked man get on the 38 Geary holding a jar of peanut butter, crakers and a guitar. He yelled, "Does anyone have a knife?" The bus was silent for a second then a woman reached in her purse and took out a butter knife. She handed it to him and he sat down quietly to spread peanut butter on his crakers. But that is another story.

AD: Anything else you want to share?

JK: Come see Previously Secret Information at the StageWerx theater.  

May19

Solo Performer and Comedian Bill Santiago Interview

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Solo Performer and Comedian Bill Santiago Interview

image from assets.nydailynews.com Alicia Dattner> I remember you'd been performing for a year when I first started and we met… How did you start doing comedy?

Bill Santiago> I had friends that were interested and got me hooked. But it appealed to me right off. Say what ever you want to say. Use your wits. Get people to see things your way. Laughter. Applause. What's not to like?

AD> What was your motivation to write a show about dancing?

BS>Whenever I'm dancing I have this inner monologue going on, about about how well it's going or not, all the characters out there that you see and meet and dance with, whether I just nailed a move, or someone's foot, the constant frustrations and occasional moments of unparalleled joy, and the simple human interaction of being that close to someone you don't know and trying to synchronize. Plus how obsessive people can get about their dancing, and how far it's come, the Latin dancing, from the way that my parents danced, how people are taking it now to a ridiculously Cirque du Soleil level that is frankly laughable. 

And the way the different people dance the different dances, and how each dance has its own tricks and personalities, salsa, versus tango, versus bachata, versus samba, versus flamenco, versus cumbia, versus merengue, and on and on. And the teachers, my God, they're all such crazy gurus! And the whole process of learning, how you have to train yourself to absorb these movements into your own being, and how thrilling it is to be learning. There's a lot there. 

The quest to become the dancer you'll never be and enjoy yourself as much as possible along the way. It's a comedic gold mine, really. And combining standup so closely with dance is new for me, allows me to be physical on stage, and look for the humor in the physicality as much as in the words. And I get to work with super musicians, and invite people from the audience to come up on stage and dance with me. It's very interactive. It's always a different show, you know.

AD> What's your favorite thing about dancing?

BS>My favorite thing about dancing is the connection that you have with where you come from, this music stirs that in you, and the escape that you have from everything else in your day, in the periphery of the present. I love that when you're dancing nothing else matters, and if you're lucky you can let go, and maybe connect with someone else in a very unique and beautiful way. But it's high stakes because there is a lot of pride on the line, that's the stuff of funny. 

image from www.speakoutnow.org  AD> What's your favorite thing about comedy?

BS>My favorite thing about comedy is whatever latest the line I am working on to perfect, or idea that I am trying to get traction on. When it works, when I finally get it to gel and I hear the laughter, it's very satisfying. I like that bulls-eye feeling. It's also nice when people remind you that you are doing good work, that it has affected them, that it matters, that they want to see more and that you are appreciated. 

AD> How would you classify what you do? Is it standup? Is it solo performance? Is it something else?

BS>It depends on the project that I am working on, the particular show. The "Funny of (Latin) Dance" show is way beyond standup, but standup is the basis of my approach, I apply that skill, those chops to this new topic, and hopefully renders an entirely new kind of show. 

AD> Anything else you'd like to share with us?

BS>I'd love to share some of the spontaneous magic that happens on stage when I invite folks from the crowd to come up on stage and dance with me in this show, but you are just going to have to come out and experience it for yourself.

Bill Santiago performs all over the country.  Go see him. 

-Alicia

Jan10

Eat, Pray, Laugh! solo show premiers

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Eat, Pray, Laugh! solo show premiers


So the creativity coaching work that I do is largely based on the work I’ve done to get through the blocks to being a comedian, solo performer, and artist.  Here’s a little sample of what I’ve been up to in my creative life.  I’ll be performing this show Eat, Pray, Laugh! in San Francisco January 20th, 2010 to April 28th each week with a kirtan leader.  You can get tickets here.

Nov17

How to Actually Manifest Your Dream, Part 6 of 7

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How to Actually Manifest Your Dream, Part 6 of 7

Pushpin
In the last post, we used different hats to have your inner creator, appreciator, and editor work with you.  Today, it's time to look at the logistics of your project.  Is it an album?  A one-person-show?  We'll take a break from the "inner work" to look at a checklist of possible things you might to do help the world receive your gift more fully. 

Take note that as you come close to fruition, you will be likely to find ways to self-sabotage all the great work you've done so far.  Keep in touch with your daily action partner, and keep posted somewhere the purpose why you're doing this to help stay powerful in the face of obstacles.

The creative part:

  • Is your work "on track?" Have you been spending the right balance of time creating/editing/planning?
  • Have you gotten feedback from people who gave constructive information about your piece without criticism?

The event:

  • Have you sent emails?  Put out a press release?  Sent the info to lists and groups and social networks?
  • Have you created images or video to let people see a preview so they can get exciting about the event?
  • Have you been letting everyone you know and meet how excited you are and how they can participate?
  • Have you asked people to support you by helping at the event?
  • Have you checked on the venue?  Have you checked on the people putting together any external part of your project?
  • Do you have to pay for services?  Let people know about your preferences?  Have someone host or introduce you?  Will other people perform/exhibit/etc at the event?

This is the time to cull all of the work you've done into what feels like a "finished piece".  It's likely that it won't "feel" finished.  Don't worry.  As my friend Brian says, "Better done than good."  You'll always have time to improve upon it or make something even better with all that you've learned from this experience. 

Before you present your material to the public, make sure that you've presented it to a good friend who can give you feedback with enough time to re-vamp anything that needs clarification.

In the final post on actually manifesting your dream, we'll get to the best part: celebration!

"Action that is inspired from aligned thought is joyful action.
Action that is offered from a place of contradicted thought
is hard work that is not satisfying and does not yield good
results. When you really feel like jumping into action, that
is a clear sign that your vibration is pure and you are not
offering contradicting thoughts to your own desire. When you
are having a hard time making yourself do something, or when
the action you offer does not produce the results you are
seeking, it is always because you are offering thoughts in
opposition to your desire."

-Esther Hicks