The Creative Process

I performed “Part 2” of my one-woman show “All the Great New Things to Come” on Monday night in Berkeley and it went GREAT. I just never know when that is going to happen. I can only rehearse so much in my apartment and then I need the audience to fill in the gaps.

“We never know where the laughs are going to be,” said some comedic writer/producer of a late-night talk show. I don’t remember who said it or what show it was; I just remember being shocked and thinking, well shoot, if the comedy writers, who do this for a living don’t know when the audience is going to laugh, how on earth would I know?

It’s always a risk. A creative risk.

Now I do know from my conventional theatre days that every audience is different even though the show is more or less the same. Opening night crowds are hanging from the chandeliers, while matinee crowds are relatively mellow.

I do have to say though, this time around I wasn’t very nervous. Even the days leading up to the performance, I didn’t think much about it. I mean I ran lines and rehearsed but that’s it. And then we had to perform in a space that didn’t have a green room (backstage for performers) so I couldn’t even “get into character”. I had to sit out with the audience, which I do not prefer, but it seemed to work for me this time. I felt so cavalier. I know confidence helps, but I am used to being nervous and using my nerves to fuel my energy. I am always learning about the process. I admire comedians who take a notebook of jokes on stage and try them out. They are not super rehearsed; they are just ideas they’ve jotted down. That seems like a freeing experience to me. I am used to being completely off-book, I can’t imagine simply reading jokes. I get obsessed with memorizing lines so I can free up my body and move around and not worry about what I am going to say next, knowing it will come to me.

I don’t have any more scheduled dates for that show until December, but, this just in:

I will perform the entire 63 minutes of my other solo show “Born Again in Berkeley“, on Tuesday, November 7th, in….Berkeley of course. As I typed this out, I just thought, “uh oh, is that “Super Tuesday“? Am I going to be competing with Super Tuesday? I guess I can use it to publicize. “Remember, on Tuesday, November 7th, do your civic duty….and come to my show.”

• WHAT: Born Agan in Berkeley
• WHERE: Berkeley Marsh Theatre
• WHEN: Tuesday, November 7th

More info to follow!

As I type this I am in an Airbnb in Pacifica. My home away from home. I love the cool weather here.

Wednesday, August 30, 2023:

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All the Great New Things to Come- Part 2!

In the 1920s, my Great Grandma Katie ran off to Hollywood to try her hand at modeling.

It didn’t last long and she soon returned home, back to the Bay Area. The first time I saw this picture, I thought, “it must be in our blood!” The second time I saw it, I was cleaning out my apartment in 2020 and rediscovered the photo album. Not only did this photo album have pictures, but it had letters – written by my Great Grandma Katie about what life was like in the San Francisco Bay Area at the Turn of the Century. I knew I had to write a show about it.

I have been memorizing “Part Two” of my current solo show, “All the Great New Things to Come”. I get up in the morning, go for a walk, and recite the lines to myself -wandering up and down the neighborhood trying to not look too crazy, but such is the life of an actor. It reminds me of when I used to work in film and television casting, and actors would come into our office to audition. They would pace back and forth in a narrow hallway or wherever they could find space, and mumble to themselves, with script in hand, trying to get off book.

Speaking of the art of acting, I watched the Season 3 Premiere of “Only Murders in the Building” last night and Meryl Streep had a guest spot. Watching her work is like taking a master class in acting. I love her choices.

And although I am no Meryl Streep, (according to my college acting teacher) I like to think I hold my own. I have three upcoming performances lined up.

“All the Great New Things to Come- Part 2” – A Story About Being a Fourth Generation SF Bay Area Native

Monday, August 28, 2023 – Berkeley Marsh Theatre – TICKETS Doors at 7pm, show at 7:30pm. I will be one of six performers (20 min each)

Monday, December 4th and 18th – San Francisco Marsh Theatre – TICKETS – Doors at 6:30pm, show at 7pm. I will be one of three performers.

So come on out! Great Grandma Katie would want you there. 🙂