“My process definitely lines up with that old artist’s adage. This is awesome. This is tricky. This is shit. I am shit. This might be ok. This is awesome!”
WHO: JJ Pyle
WHAT: “JJ Pyle finds herself accidentally, unfortunately, home for Christmas and stuck in this little truck with her dad in Indiana, where everything is surrounded by cornfields. In an unconscious search for acceptance and emancipation, a tale is told through their conversation and memories revealing criminal activity, dysfunctional family cycles, heartbreak and hope (and, if we’re honest, obsession and lust)… a coming of (middle) age story. ‘…an absolute master of storytelling. Sneaky even… we are not only charmed and entranced, but we also understand a little more about ourselves…’ (NoHoArtsDistrict.com).”
WHERE: theSpace @ Surgeons Hall – Haldane Theatre (Venue 53)
WHEN: VARIES (60 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
This is my first Edinburgh Fringe. It has been a bucket list thing for me for years! My first Fringe experience was in 2009 in NYC. It was the first time I performed in New York and we were assigned the Cherry Lane Theatre, which is one of the oldest, iconic, cute AF, small theaters in the West Village. It was a super lucky draw. I was mesmerized with the city… this neighborhood… and this little theatre. I was playing Matchgirl in Paul Hoan Zeidler’s, Time’s Scream and Hurry. Matchgirl, a nurse by trade, was giving a seminar at an adult entertainment expo about how to get into the business of being a dominatrix.
This role is what started my addiction to solo theatre. We had done two runs in Los Angeles and doing this play in the Fringe Festival is what moved me to New York. What I love about festivals is the energy of a community getting together in a place to perform, seeing each other’s shows, talking about each other’s shows, hearing about everyone’s process and experiences and just the general buzz in the air of art in process and progress.
Producing a show in a festival is the best and the worst, debilitating and self-satisfying, experience at the same time. My process definitely lines up with that old artist’s adage. This is awesome. This is tricky. This is shit. I am shit. This might be ok. This is awesome! It’s so much work and it drains you physically, emotionally, financially, but it also builds confidence and street cred and just all around makes you feel productive and purposeful. Punter? I did have to look that up as how it relates to theatre (I’ve been watching too much Ted Lasso. lol) “a member os an audience or crowd”, Yes, this is the best part, the reward in a way, when it’s time to sit back, take a break and watch and see what I can learn from someone else.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
Trust my gut. Listen to people. Ask for thoughts and notes, from everyone, colleagues, friends, audience, mentors… But don’t feel obligated to take every note. Early in my process, I felt I needed to correct everything anyone had a question or comment about, but later in my process, and this past year of workshopping the whole show, I realized it’s my story and there are things that are important for me to say even if someone else doesn’t think it needs to be there. That may be the thing that resonates for the next person.
Everyone feels something different based on their own mind and heart, and my experience and my performance will hit each person differently, and that’s ok. Also I was really lucky to find a director, a stage manager, and a projection designer who all went above and beyond and each helped my vision come to life from the get-go. I learned as the process went along if I bring in someone and I’m not feeling it right away, it’s ok to part ways on a gut feeling. I kept trying with some people and maybe spent too much time and money to get somewhere, when I knew it wasn’t working right away and should have said, thank-you…next, sooner than I did.
Tell us about your show.
How to Find a Husband in 37 Years or Longer is more about how I’ve managed not to find a husband in longer than 37 years… And my father is the main character. It was sorta by accident and writing this play that I realized the blatant family patterns that have been staring me in the face, that I’m dating aspects of my father AND I’m on the same life trajectory as him. Although he’s had 4 ex-wives, that he talks about throughout the show.
Sometimes the same can actually be the opposite (wink-wink). And my father’s words are recorded straight from his mouth, unbeknownst to him, on-a-whim, not knowing I was going to write a play about it. That being said, I wrote it. I produced it, with the help of a group that I co-founded called Solo Heroes. I met Ivy Eisenberg in a class at The Primary Stage’s Einhorn School of Performing Arts. Comedian, Judy Gold was our teacher. We reached a point where we needed a bigger audience than just our classmates, in order to try out our new writing. So we found rehearsal space, performance space, we took submissions and cast other artists who were writing shows, we invited, we posted, etc. etc. And we started making solo theatre.
We would have nights of 5-6 performers trying out 15-20 minute excerpts from shows in development. It’s inspiring and rewarding to see finished shows that are touring and off-broadway after working with them in our humble little showcase. We finally did a 3 day workshop of the whole show, How to Find a Husband in September 2022, made changes based on audience notes and tapes and took that to LA and tried it out again at Whitefire Theatre’s Solofest (where we won a Best of Fest) and then we cut again to a 60 minute version for Edinburgh. We will try out this version for four shows at 59E59 in NYC in July in their East to Edinburgh Festival, before we land in Edinburgh at theSpaceUK, Surgeon’s Hall, Haldane Theatre in August.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
I love solo theatre because it takes such courage to get up there all by yourself and tell your story (or someone else’s story as if it were your own) in front of strangers. I love watching other people’s journeys and I always learn something and feel compassion towards humanity. It’s often hard to “get audience” in the beginning stages of solo development because it’s just you. I find it important to support other solo artists.
So I will start start there, seeing my fellow performer’s shows. I was introduced to a community of solo performers when I was doing my show in LA at the Whitefire’s Solofest because Lisa and Cindy (listed below) came to my show. I had never met them before that. Lisa started a FaceBook group so we could all share information about our producing paths. It has been very helpful and encouraging. Laser even interviewed me on #10MinuteFringe, an Interview segment about Fringe shows. Many of these shows explore love, sex, relationships, gender, identity, and generally how to fit in (or not) in this big bad (or not) world. Some of my favorite themes to watch and learn from. And a friend, Lia Romero, who I am in a theatre company (InViolet) in NYC wrote and immersive Yoga show which I am definitely getting to right away.
Hollywoodn’t is by Lisa Verlo at The Gilded Saloon @rocknrollinmom
Cat Sh!t Crazy is by Cindy D’Andrea at theSpace Triplex- Studio
Yoga with Jillian – Pleasance Courtyard by Lia Romero With Michael Biacosino
Breakup Addict by Paige Wilhide at Gilded Balloon Teviot @paigetostage
A Shark Ate my Penis by Laser the Transboy/ Rhymes with Purple @shartatemyp
Rise by Diana Marco at theSpaceUk at Surgeon’s Hall @dianavarco
Too Big for Her Britches by Lisa Pezik at theSpace Triplex- Studio @lisapezik
Wendy, My Darling by April Wish at theSpaceUK at Surgeon’s Hall @girlthatgrewup
This list goes on and on… but I’m starting here. Hope to see you there!
LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! FIND US ON FACEBOOK! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!
INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!
Get Your Coats On 