Ridin Solo

Soon, I will be writing and performing a solo show. Just writing this sentance intimidates me. I’ve known of this assignment since the beginning of my year at TITAN, and now already we are in the process of production, starting with the actual script. It’s going to be about 30 minutes long. We must write, find a location, advertise, actually get people to come, and then preform. We’re allowed to work in a group of three (one to write/act, one to direct, and one to produce.)

To be honest, I’m already having a hard time finding out what I’m going to talk about for 30 minutes that would be even remotely entertaining for other people to hear. Obviously I could talk about how Alexander and I met, and about me moving to Norway, when I tell it people seem to be interested. It’s funny, I always strive for an ‘interesting’ life, one with travel, love, adventure; but when I’m actually living it, I can’t feel it… Already I sense I’ve lost my audience with just that sentence. What I’m trying to say is, people hear the story of me and Alexander, and my life here so far (traveling to watch him play, going to theater school, etc.) and while I’m eternally grateful for all my experiences, to me, it is just life. It doesn’t feel the way I always imagined it would, I guess. Not like when you watch it on a screen or stage.

But maybe if I relay that information to an audience, they will feel that. That sense of love and adventure and struggle. One time, after I told the story of me and Alexander someone said I should write a movie about it. I joked that the film would be two hours of two people silently sitting in front of a computer, with the only sound being the keyboard.

One sub-assignment of this project is to interview 3 people who you feel will have something to do with the theme of your show. Right now, I don’t really know what my theme is but I think I’ll interview my dad, Alexander, and the third I haven’t decided yet. I’ll ask my dad because we have a lot of the same dreams, and goals, and I would like to get his perspective on what it was like when I moved to Norway and got married to Alexander. I think my dad’s story is also fascinating, and I feel so much of my inspiration and strength to continue to follow my dreams comes from him. He is the most creative person I’ve ever met. He is a fantastic artist, drummer, actor, and director. He in a sense, can do it all, and more importantly, do it well. I strive to be that kind of person.

Alexander has a lot of the same principles and values when it comes to art as I do, and he and I share so much of our lives together, including our creative process and result. Even if we weren’t together, I would still want to pick his brain.

I hope I’ll get some insight and maybe even some ideas from these interviews; hopefully some encouragement and confidence to start this process of with a bang and not with a fizzle.

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