Making Your Solo Show

Are you tired of the classics? Were you frustrated by casting choices in the past? Sometimes, you have to step away from the canon and create your own work. Do you have something to say about race, class, gender, ethnicity, nationalism, sexuality, yourself, or any other issues? Did you ever want to create and perform your own show but didn't know how to start? This is your chance. In this course, you will learn techniques for creating your own solo show. The contemporary solo performer is descended from a long line that includes the griots of Africa, the troubadours of medieval Europe, and the solo performance artists of the twentieth century. In this course, we will view examples of historical and contemporary live solo performance and uncover principles and practices that will help us develop our own solo shows.Through exercises in acting, writing, and embodied contemplation, students will learn to discover the stories within and around them, and to give voice(s) to their burning issues in a theatrical form that is intimate, idiosyncratic, and deeply personal. The course will culminate in a workshop performance of solo pieces developed by the students.