“I enjoy creating theatre for small stages with minimal sets, it allows the audience to use their imagination too.”
WHO: April Alsup
WHAT: “BANNED is a modern-day musical that follows a group of gender misfits through the events leading up to their debut at a local performing arts festival. The polarising discourse around gender today goes beyond opinions and has real consequences in society. The characters in BANNED go online to live out their dreams and escape the harsh realities of the world. We witness the juxtaposition of their psyche online and offline, we experience their inner struggles with intimacy, authenticity and acceptance. If the root cause of inequality is marginalisation, the remedy is inclusion.”
WHERE: Greenside @ Riddles Court – Willow Studio (Venue 16)
WHEN: 18:35 (60 min)
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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
No, my first time was in 2019, it was right before the pandemic and I decided to spend a few nights in Edinburgh before heading out to the small Isle of Eigg in Scotland’s inner Hebrides. I was writing a show about the community buyout of the Island and wanted to speak directly with the islanders and get a better sense for the events leading up to the buyout. Beforehand, I visited with some friendly folks at the festival fringe store and I connected with them in early 2023 and let them know I had finished our Eigg show. They were super helpful and afterwards I connected with Greenside Venues. It was a perfect match. We received several 5 star reviews for the show and everyone seemed to embrace the performance.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
Developing a 60 minute show from a full-length musical can be challenging, but I’ve found the exercise to be helpful in the development process. You really have to be concise with your performance’s delivery. I typically mount my productions in the basement of an old (1864) church in Denver, we tape off the small theater size and tailor our blocking and choreography for the Edinburgh space. I enjoy creating theatre for small stages with minimal sets, it allows the audience to use their imagination too. The blackbox setup at many theaters at Fringe is immersive and becomes a real conduit between the actors and the venue’s patrons. It’s wonderful!
Tell us about your show.
I’ve been writing and living the songs in the show BANNED my entire life. At a high level the show follows a group of gender misfits through the events leading up to their debut at a local performing arts festival. The characters all go online to live out their dreams and escape the harsh realities of the world. We witness the juxtaposition of their psyche online and offline, we experience their inner struggles with intimacy, authenticity and acceptance. The theatre community has always had its share of gender benders (myself included) and as I was standing up the piece I decided to select actors from a wide spectrum within the category including; straight, gay, transgender, non-conforming & gender queer. In our lifetimes we’ve witnessed a lot of changes around gender and our show tries to make sense of it all.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
Here are some of the shows that caught my eye at this year’s fringe festival; first, “Shitty Mozart” I’ve been playing Mozart my whole life and it feels like this show will be a personification of my ability to play his music, next up “Skank Sinatra” I always enjoyed playing from the American songbook at local piano bars, but could never sing them very well; on the other hand, Sinatra sang the songs like a songbird, I think this show could make me feel better about my performances. Finally, I really want to see “Potty the Plant” Music theatre is rarely presented as a dark comedy and my sense is the songs will be annoying, catchy and twisted, but all in fun. Besides that, I’m sure I’ll be seeing lots of shows at Greenside Venues, there such a great organization. Thanks Darren and Tara!
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