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| Alan Fox, solo show artist |
We recently interviewed Alan Fox, whose piece, Dear Mr. President, will be featured in Series B in the festival, running October 27 & 28. Read on, and then go grab your tickets!
Who or what got you interested in telling your solo show?
I was lucky enough to see John Leguizamo on Broadway a few years back and was blown away. Here was a guy blending socially relevant topics with humor in a way I had never seen....and people were listening to him. Or at least I was, and that was all it took to become interested in the idea of a solo show. One day I was looking through a bunch of short stories I had written and realized they all dealt the idea of "the man" (young, straight, white americans) commenting/reacting to a society they were watching change before their very eyes. Inhabiting the form of the oppressor/villian through out American history (the straight white male), I had a bunch of early 20's characters trying to make sense of expectations they were taught compared to what they were actually finding reality to be. For whatever reason this reminded me of Leguizamo's show in that it captured a certain demographic of America at a certain time. I figured "hey, maybe this could be turned into a one person show" and then "Expectation: Tales From The Majority Minority" was born. "Dear Mr. President" is a piece from that.
Who has helped you along the way with creating this piece?
I want to send a thousand thanks to my director and acting teacher Kimberly Ryan. To be around her for an hour is to be exposed to the countless gifts she possess. I could spend pages going on about her coaching/teaching abilities but what I'd like to thank her for the most in this process is her tireless support and her unique way of trusting whole heartedly in where a performer is headed before they themselves can even see it. Also I want to thank Marc Glick (he deserves a novel) but I will keep it short at: It is my hope that everyone can name the first person that made them really believe in themselves. Marc is that person for me.
What do you hope to do with your piece after Plus 1?
After Plus 1 I hope that I can continue to work/rehearse/work shop on the piece as a whole and in time have a run at a theater here in New York. More than where is lands, I am focusing and excited about who it will land with. Often times I feel as if I am writing it for my grandfather, conservative and apprehensive about where America is headed in every sense of the word, and it's my hope that one day he will see it and maybe not feel so threatened by the changes he sees in the country he loves.
Thanks so much, Alan! Cannot wait to see your piece later this month!
Series B of the Plus 1 Solo Show Festival runs Sunday, October 27 & Monday, October 28 at 8 pm
@ The Bridge Theatre (244 West 54th Street, 12th Floor)
Tickets are $20 at http://www.smarttix.com/Show.aspx?ShowCode=SER11 or by calling 212-868-4444
Everything you ever wanted to know about the festival can be found at www.tictheater.com, too.
Everything you ever wanted to know about the festival can be found at www.tictheater.com, too.
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