“Every once in a while, I see a show that I not only love, but that changes my idea of what is possible in theatre.”
WHO: Noam Tomaschoff
WHAT: “Winner: Best of Fringe Toronto 2023! What does a 31-year-old theatre kid do when a DNA test reveals that his biological parents aren’t quite who he thought they were? Write a musical, of course! In this hilarious, moving and true story, Noam Tomaschoff grapples with questions of family, identity and just how many brothers and sisters he really has. Blending comedy, drama and addictive music, Noam takes the audience on an unforgettable journey, ending with a message of optimism that will make you hold your family just a little bit tighter.”
WHERE: Gilded Balloon Patter House – Doonstairs (Venue 24)
WHEN: 17:30 (60 min)
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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
It is! And every day I hear something new that puts the sheer magnitude of it into greater relief. For example. Today I learned that Fringe is the third highest ticketed event in the world after the World Cup and the Olympics. For a first-time Fringer like myself, that is extremely daunting, but it also makes things simple: just like an athlete, when the show begins, all the hubbub and distractions fall away, and it’s just you and the stage and the audience that matters. I love performing Our Little Secret- I feel like it’s exactly what I’m meant to be doing, and my biggest wish for the fest is that I can make audiences feel the same way every night!
Outside of my own work I am especially looking forward to seeing the most creative theatre practitioners in the world all in one place. Every once in a while, I see a show that I not only love, but that changes my idea of what is possible in theatre. This is exactly the type of work I’m looking to get into this summer as an audience member. I want to leave shows saying “wow, I didn’t know you could do that…”
And then stealing all the best ideas of course!
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
This is the first solo show I’ve ever done, and by far my biggest takeaway as a performer is just how alive and active the connection with the audience is. It makes sense, it’s just the two of you together in that room, but only once I started doing the show did I fully feel how the engine of the show, the thing that drives it forward, isn’t just me, but rather the energy that lives in the space between myself and the audience. It’s an electric and addictive feeling that I don’t think you get anywhere else in life. As a lesson, it’s taught me to stop thinking ahead in performance and relish each individual moment as they come, and trusting that one moment will naturally lead to the next.
And I am buzzing to see what the famous Edinburgh audience and I can create together.
Tell us about your show.
Our Little secret is a solo musical that tells the true story of when I ordered a DNA test on a lark a few summers ago, and discovered that my parents aren’t quite who I thought they were, and oh, surprise! I’m not actually an only child, but actually have 35 half siblings all across North America…. I can’t say more! But the show is a blend of comedy, drama, music, confession, and communion, taking the audience through my and my family’s journey of genetic discovery right up until the present day.
As the revelations about my genetics and heritage were rocking my world, I quickly realized that I was going to have to create something out of this experience, or I wasn’t going to make it out in one piece. Luckily, my best friends from high school and I are still in close contact, and we LOVE musicals – we performed in them, sang them around the piano instead of playing Mario Kart, and even wrote and produced one as kids! I got together with Ryan Peters, the composer, Russell Citron, the producer, and Ben Deverett, who does the musical arrangement, and we decided we were going to make a musical. I wrote the book, and Ryan, Russell and I camped out in Ryan’s basement for a week and wrote the music, and Ben, or rather, Dr. Deverett, did the arrangement on his laptop in the call room when he wasn’t anaesthetizing patients. Less than a year after I ordered the DNA test and got the news, we were premiering Our Little Secret at the Toronto Fringe Festival of 2023.
Toronto Fringe was an incredible success. We sold out every show, won the Patron’s Pick award and Best of Fringe, and we just recently secured our first mainstage production, which will be in the spring of 2025 at the Segal Center Theatre in Montreal.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
My best friend Arsalan Akhavan is doing his solo show “The Good Iranian” August 13-26 right across the street from us at Just the Tonic! He weaves together the story of the Persian epic myth the Shahnameh with his own experience growing up as a Middle Eastern kid in the post-9/11 American South. Tremendous stuff.
Also, my long-time favourite sketch group BriTaNick are back with their live show at Pleasance. I saw their work in progress last year back in LA and I think they’re one of the best comic duos working today.
Another cool show at our venue the Gilded Balloon is Artificial Intelligence Improv, which I’d never heard of before- an improv show hosted by a robot. We should all be very interested in seeing how our future overlords fare with yes and-ing!
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