“I’ve learned I can trust my gut more without reason. Sometimes something just feels like you’re meant to do it without any real logic behind it.”
WHO: Ellen Toland
WHAT: “The long walk home. A treatise on the four Fs: no, not the dirty ones you know… The roles we assume when things get scary and the expectations held when we share. Who do you want me to be when I tell you what happened? Whose story is it anyway? New work by two tired Texans, Ellen Toland and Rachel McBath.”
WHERE: theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall – Stephenson Theatre (Venue 53)
WHEN: 09:55 (50 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
This is my first time at Edinburgh and I cannot wait! I have absolutely no idea what to expect. I feel like I’m jumping off a cliff into the ocean and there’s a bunch of people dog paddling beneath me yelling “Come on in, the water feels great!” I think that’s what makes the festival already feel so special. It’s a gangs all here mentality. I’ve had a bunch of friends perform in the past and they’ve all been super supportive of us on this journey. It feels like a right of passage as a performer.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
This year I’ve learned I can trust my gut more without reason. Sometimes something just feels like you’re meant to do it without any real logic behind it. I’d never worked with my director Rachel McBath before this but just knew she was the right person for Pretty Good, Not Bad. My gut was right. She is the exact force of nature Pretty Good, Not Bad needed to get to Fringe. If you follow that intuition it works out 99% of the time. I’ve been trying to coin a way too long of an acronym DFWMI. Don’t F@#! with my Intuition. It’ll catch on someday.
Tell us about your show.
I’d always flirted with the idea of performing my own writing but I never had the balls to do it. Randomly, I decided to do a story teller series in NYC and realized after it was just the thing I’d been searching for as an actor. I needed some form of autonomy after feeling like a leaf blowing in the wind during covid and the strikes. I wrote Pretty Good, Not Bad based on an experience I had with the criminal justice system two years ago. When you are subject to violence your physical and spiritual makeup changes. I didn’t realize how different I’d become as an artist until writing this show.
My life felt super meta at the time. I was auditioning for procedurals based on the same kind of experience I was having in real life. I wanted to be living my pretend version with a beginning, middle and end. Pretty Good, Not Bad is my attempt at reconciling that.
Fast forward to asking my director Rachel McBath to work with me and here we are. We’re coming off a couple sold out previews at The TANK in NYC. We’re hoping to stage another longer run stateside and who knows maybe also stage it again in the UK! Wink wink, nudge nudge!
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
God I’m so excited to see ALL the shows. I want to stumble around and get inspired. Someone described Fringe as Theater Kid Coachella and that’s exactly how it feels (but somehow less cringey then Coachella).
Things I can’t wait to see!
Sarina Freda’s – no no no please no god no, nevermind I’m fine
I got to see a sneak preview in NYC and she blew my mind. Her physicality and comedic timing is a dream.
Katie Folger – Getting in Bed with the Pizza Man
Katie is a fellow Texan vixen. She commands the stage and makes her audience feel like they’re her best friend. You’ll laugh your ass off.
Kevin James Doyle – After Endgame
Chess but make it funny. Kevin’s show just came off a killer run in NYC and I cannot wait for it to get to a UK audience. He takes you on a journey and you have no idea what’s coming!
Olivia Levine – Unstuck
Unstuck will pull you in from the very beginning. Olivia is such a beautiful performer inside and out. You’ll walk away feeling lighter.
Sarah Alice Shull – Something to Believe in
Sas’s spirit is infectious. You’re immediately more joyful watching her perform. You feel taken care of and a little less alone.
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