“We also learned which of us could talk their way onto Noah’s Ark as the third giraffe after spending so much time pitching our show.”
WHO: Jackson Viccora
WHAT: “One lucky audience member will see their dreams analysed onstage, thanks to October Brian’s patented Sleep-to-Sketch Technology. Will it be you? In this sketch-comedy show, four scientists guide you through a full sleep cycle, uncovering personal truths about the dreamer and themselves along the way. Hailing from Chicago, USA to make their Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut, October Brian Sketch Comedy features Katherine Coates (NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!, Reductress), John O’Neill (Opener for Nikki Glaser), Michael Salles Holtzman (Annoyance Theatre) and Jackson Viccora (Edinburgh Festival Fringe alum).”
WHERE: Greenside @ Infirmary Street – Mint Studio (Venue 236)
WHEN: 16:10 (55 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
For 3 out of the 4 of us, it’s the first time to Fringe — although it’s been a BHAG of ours for years (BHAG = big, hairy, audacious goal). And Jackson performed as a 14 year old, so that doesn’t really count.
To us, EdFringe gets as close as possible to the pure, unadulterated ideal of a performer’s paradise. You spend a month roaming around this incredible city and nearly everyone you pass is either a fellow artist or fellow art-lover or both. You prioritize the potential, hypothetical magic of attending an incredible show over sleep, hygiene, nutrition, the whole kit and caboodle. It’s exhausting and exhilarating and excruciating and exceptional all at once.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
It sounds obvious, but we’ve learned to write the show that is meaningful and evocative to us — and that the audience will come along with you when they see your connection to the work. We too often get mired in attempts to appeal to a broad demographic or make a point that resonates far and wide. But the more you create and consume as an audience member, the more you realize that the shows that strike a chord the deepest are those with a relatively narrow, passion-fueled point of view.
We also learned which of us could talk their way onto Noah’s Ark as the third giraffe after spending so much time pitching our show.
Tell us about your show.
The Dreams of You: A Volunteer Sleep Study is a sketch comedy show all about your dreams, as we follow 4 sleep scientists using their proprietary sleep-to-sketch technology to analyse the dreams of a single audience volunteer across an entire sleep cycle, from light to deep to REM.
The show was conceived, written, edited, directed, performed, edited again, directed, performed many more times, edited, and produced by all four members of October Brian Sketch Comedy: Katherine Coates, John O’Neill, Michael Holtzman, and Jackson Viccora. We have been performing together for over a decade since meeting at university, and most recently previewed the production across various theaters around Chicago, IL, USA — and plan to continue touring the show after our return from Edinburgh!
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
We have to give love to other sketch comedy folks, so:
My Last 2 Brain Cells (these two do so much in 60 minutes you wouldn’t believe it, enough energy to keep you going the rest of the night)
Mr. Sister (we don’t actually know them but their content is incredible and we imagine their show is too)
Hello, Hi (same reason ^^)
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