Natural Novice
nytheatre.com q&a preview by Siobhan O'Loughlin
September 14, 2012
What is your job on this show?
Writer and Performer .
What type of theater do you like most to work on?
Right now, I'm really interested in solo performance and storytelling; both as a performer and an audience member. As an audience member, I love to be included in the experience, to be made a part of the event. I think it is a delight that the solo performer can accomplish this; that they can empower the audience and mobilize them towards social change or their own creativity.
What was the last show you saw that really excited you, and why?
I saw a solo show called "Title and Deed" by Will Eno at The Signature Theatre. It was INCREDIBLE. A soft thread of confessions in a very Beckett/Shepard sort of way, so extremely simple and still so profound. I felt like I was part of an intimate dialogue, even though I had no text of my own.
Why did you want to write/direct/produce/act in/work on this show?
Mario Giacalone directed me in a Writers in Performance program at Tribeca Performing Arts Center last year, where I came in with the kind of writing I was 'comfortable' doing. Mario encouraged me to write from the first person, and to be...funny. I told him I wasn't good at either of those things. Now, here I am! Doing them both, taking a piece that was just 5 minutes and stretching it into an hour's worth of material and my second full-length solo show.
Which famous New Jerseyite would like your show the best: Snooki, Bruce Springsteen, Thomas Edison?
Springsteen, duh. Not only do I love The Boss TO DEATH, but I think he'd get down with the idea that our every day stories are pretty extraordinary.
Can theater bring about societal change? Why or why not?
Of course. I've always considered myself to be an Actorvist. It means everything to me. I believe that art fuels us, mobilizes us and propels us forward into our work as humans, as members of a community. Theatre illuminates our stories and helps us to understand each other and to see our common struggles. Recognizing each other is the first step to creating a dialogue and making another world possible.
