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:
Theresa Donahoe 