“Decades ago, my high school acting troupe wrote and performed a play called “California Stories,” and I delivered a heartfelt monologue about how I felt personally traumatized by bikinis. (Ah, the angst of my youth!)”
WHO: Dominique Salerno
WHAT: “In this award-winning solo show, Dominique performs 25+ characters while inside a tiny box. (Think SNL performed in a cupboard!) Each time the doors swing open, Dominique transports you to a hilarious new reality including: a lonely giantess, a drunken couple mid-fight, the entire Greek Army inside the Trojan Horse, and more! With sketch-style characters and musical numbers, The Box Show is an adrenaline-filled roller coaster ride that plunges its audience into different worlds without ever leaving The Box. ‘Purely delicious…a paragon of Fringe form’ (New York Times). ‘Intensely creative’ (Time Out).”
WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard – The Cellar (Venue 117)
WHEN: 15:00 (60 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
Decades ago, I wandered the streets of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as an impressionable adolescent! My high school acting troupe wrote and performed a play called “California Stories,” and I delivered a heartfelt monologue about how I felt personally traumatized by bikinis. (Ah, the angst of my youth!) Our little show had a four day run at the festival, and I remember those four days being a whirlwind of excitement, fatigue, and artistic exploration. This will be my first time coming to the festival as an adult, now with an hour-long solo show, which I will be performing for 25 days… not 4 days! Pray for me and my aged bones! This time around, I hope to survive my run, see a bunch of shows, be inspired by other creatives from around the world, and dive fully into the Fringe experience!
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
Something that I learned very recently is that you can avoid Covid-19 for the entire pandemic only to catch it a month before the Edinburgh Fringe Festival run of your solo show. What’s that old adage? “If you want to make the gods laugh, make plans?” Well, the gods must be having a good chuckle at little ol’ me. Getting sick and remaining bedridden during the two week period that I planned to be in the throes of rehearsal was a firm reminder that we mere mortals can’t control everything. No plan will ever be perfect, and, as they say, the show must go on! Now, I’m grateful to have recovered, and I have been reminded that life is too short not to make art! I’m entering into the festival with a feeling of gratitude for my health and my community, and with a sense of exploration and adventure. Let’s see what unfolds!
Tell us about your show.
The Box Show is a solo comedy show where I play 25 characters while inside of a small box. I initially created the show by playing around with some characters inside an actual cupboard in a wall. Don’t ask me why- it’s just how my brain works, okay? I see a cupboard and start to think: let me get in there! After I wrote the first draft of the show in that cupboard, I built my own box and toured The Box Show around the U.S. at places like The New York Fringe Festival, Soho Playhouse, iO Chicago, and La Jolla Playhouse. This will be the first time that I’m performing a shorter version of the piece internationally, and I’m thrilled! This Edinburgh run is being produced by the amazing company Alchemation, who has produced incredible projects including “SIX,” “The Play That Goes Wrong,” “RENT,” “Avenue Q” and many others. I’m so grateful to be counted among their productions and to be working with their fantastic team to make this show happen!
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
I’m super excited to see “Hello Kitty Must Die” (a dark new musical about smashing stereotypes and taking control of how the world sees you even if your hands get a little bloody along the way!), and Cat Cohen and Zach Zimmerman’s new shows!
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