Creative Heart Coaching

So You Want to Write a One Person Show, Part 2 of 7

Alicia Dattner — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:00:00 -0700

In my last post, Part 1 of 7 on writing solo shows, I spoke about discovering the Central Moment that your show pivots on. You did free-writing about this pivotal moment and you held it close to your bosom.

Writing solo show takes guts. Mostly, the guts to get out of your own way. You can still keep it private. In fact, you could keep it private forever. You could write this show solely for discovering a truth about yourself. What is that private truth that you have not even allowed yourself to know about you?

I have made so much sense of my life in crafting a story arc out of the miscellaneous and non-linear events in my life. I believe we're hear to find and make meaning.

Leading Moments

As you explore the Central Moment, begin to write about what led up to it. What was happening in and around your life? Who were you before that Moment? What kind of friends did you spend time with? What was your family like? How did you spend your free time? What kinds of thoughts ran through your head and why? What did you know to be true about yourself? Answer each of these questions with an example, a concrete smaller moment that shows us an event occurring.

Turning Points

How did this Central Moment then change your world? Write about the changes that took place after this event happened. Write scene after scene. Don't censor. Did your thoughts change? Did your friends change? Did people react differently to you? Did you stop going somewhere? Did you start going somewhere? What did you start wearing? A smile? A purse? A bathing suit? A fedora? All of the above? Perhaps these changes seem to have nothing to do with your Central Moment. All the more interesting to note them...

Through Lines

What co-incidences do you notice that have to do with your Central Moment? Begin to keep a journal of co-incidences and synchronicity. Note each time something comes full circle. Note the through-lines that string together the random moments in your life relating to this Moment. Begin to think back to childhood. What memories from when you were 4 or 7 years old seem to relate to this Moment? Find the earliest memory that relates to this moment and anchor your through-line with it. Then, look at your dreams and fantasies of your future. Which of those have to do with your Moment? Write about them in concrete ways. Show, don't tell.

Write Write Write

During this process, it's imperative that you don't censor yourself. Set a timer for 10 minutes, and just write. Don't take the pen off the paper. Let yourself be surprised. Know that no one will see it. Say something to yourself you haven't dared to speak until This Moment.

Ready for Part 3 of 7 on "So You Want to Write a One Person Show"? Stay tuned! I'll be writing it in the next few days.

Michelle interviews me on Laughter Yoga

Alicia Dattner — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:22:23 -0700

"I slowly walked into the hallway and turned the knob on the door leading to the teacher’s lounge. I was tightly clutching my cell phone as I sat at the table rearranging my papers again and again. I got up and started pacing as Michelle, my classmate, reassured me that it was going to be fine. The blend of leftover pasta, soup and banana filled my nose as I nervously looked around for any excuse to put this phone call off. I finally came to the conclusion that there was no excuse and I just have to conquer my fear and get it over with. My fingers shook with terror as I carefully typed the ten digit phone number wondering if it was a cell number or office number. This number belonged to Ms. Dattner, a laughter yoga instructor and comedian in San Francisco, who has toured the world bringing smiles to people’s faces. I figured she would be the perfect person to talk to for information on laughter.

via blog.aliciadattner.com

A sweet youngun' called me up after finding me on the internet and interviewed me about leading Laughter Yoga... here's what she wrote. I'm quite proud of her.

Eat, Pray, Laugh! solo show run extended a second time

Alicia Dattner — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 03:47:23 -0800

Recently, having sold out the last two showings of Eat Pray Laugh! we decided to extend the show run through March. And on Wednesday night with a great audience we found it necessary to extend the show a second time. What a treat. If you had told me five years ago this would be happening, I would likely not have believed you. Hare om.

Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com $20.

So You Want to Write a One Person Show? Part 1 of 7

Alicia Dattner — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:22:53 -0800

So you want to write a one person show? Not everybody does. It used to be most people felt they had one good novel in them. One good album. Five minutes of good standup. Maybe one good screenplay. You take the particulars of your life and assemble them in a funny or touching or absurd or poignant way and they become universally understood as human. And after that, you have to actually get good a the craft and technical know-how. There's charisma, and there's skill. Possessing charisma might bring you to the stage, but building skill is what can keep you there.

Today, especially in the San Francisco theater and standup comedy scene, solo shows or monologues are becoming a great venue to speak your life. And many people are taking the form to the level of mastery. You've heard Eric Bogosian on CD, you've seen Spading Gray on DVD, maybe you went to the theater and saw your first solo show in person. And now you're Inspired. "This is it!" you realize. This is how I want to tell my story! (I'm chomping at the bit to go see two shows at the Marsh in San Francisco: Ann Randolph's Loveland, and Dan Hoyle's The Real Americans. I'm on my way in the next week to see Dan Hoyle!)

So if this is your first foray into the world of possibility in creating your first solo show, where do you start? Well, you start where only you can. You already know in your heart why you're reading this. Something incredibly important, intense, and powerful occurred in your life. It may even be connected to some issue out in the world that is equally important, intense, and powerful. That's where you start.

Begin by allowing yourself to speak what that is. But keep it to yourself for the moment. This is a precious moment, when you acknowledge to yourself what it is you know you have to tell the world. Take 30 minutes and sit. Let yourself write the it down. Write in whatever form: bullet points, a poem, short pieces of prose... Write what comes about the CENTRAL MOMENT of this powerful event or truth in your life. During this central moment, where are you? What time of year is it? What are you wearing? What does the air smell like? Who is with you? What music do you hear? What did you eat that day? What are the sensations in your belly? Write with a pen and paper if you can... let those images and emotions wash over you and spill onto the paper directly from your heart through your hand to the page, and make Natalie Goldberg proud.

When you finish, don't yet show it to anyone. It's a tender and sweet piece of work you're doing, and you deserve to have it held with your own utmost compassion before opening it to others.

Ready for Part 2 of 7 on "So You Want to Write a One Person Show?" Stay tuned! I'll be writing it in the next few days.

Ending World War Through Laughter

Alicia Dattner — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:12:48 -0800

I came across a little blurb in the New York Times a couple of years ago that intrigued me, and I clipped out... I started using it as a bookmark and it would pop up at various times when it seemed coincidentally apropot.

via blog.aliciadattner.com

Wha??? Could we actually end world war through laughter?

I just posted this blog on another site of mine... wanted to let y'all know about it here too...

No Laughter Yoga for Fido.

Alicia Dattner — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:33:29 -0800

Think us humans are the only ones who need comedy in our lives? Turns out animals have neural circuits for laughter in the ancient parts of the brain, that predate even the existence of humans! There was laughter even before there was people.

via blog.aliciadattner.com

Did you know animals laugh? They were probably laughing before humans existed!

Want more creativity in your life? Be more like the monkies!

Eat, Pray, Laugh! solo show premiers

Alicia Dattner — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:00:51 -0800

So the creativity coaching work that I do is largely based on the work I've done to get through the blocks to being a comedian, solo performer, and artist. Here's a little sample of what I've been up to in my creative life. I'll be performing this show Eat, Pray, Laugh! in San Francisco January 20th, 2010 to April 28th each week with a kirtan leader. You can get tickets here.

When inspiration Strikes

Alicia Dattner — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:45:56 -0700

The truth is, inspiration doesn't always strike! But something does! Perhaps we've had a difficult day, or woken up with a sleep injury and nothing seems to be going "right." The creative choice--the difference between people who feel creative and people who don't is choosing to take whatever comes (bad day, etc.) and using it versus letting it use you. Inspiration may not strike, but creation will!

"Boldness has genius, magic in it." -Goethe

Publicizing Your One Person Show

Alicia Dattner — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 01:34:46 -0700

I'm in Phoenix, Arizona, getting ready to put on my one-woman-show, The Punchline at the Phoenix Fringe Festival. It's no simple task being a solo performer. The benefits are that you don't have to compromise your vision with other people who you might work with, and that you can perform as much or as little as you like. The challenges are that, until you are ewell-known (and even then sometimes) you are responsible for your own promotion.

It can be a strange sensation for many artists and performers to promote their work as much as is needed. We often believe our art should speak for itself. Or that it's somehow shameful to "brag" about what we do. For those of you who are not yet famous and have a generally healthy disposition, I suggest you learn to brag about what you do.

Tomorrow I will go out to Phoenixand Scottsdale and promote my show by handing out flyers and talking with people about what I do. I'll do it all week to sell out my five shows. If I find myself with waning enthusiasm, I'll phone a friend to help encourage me.

I often think of my favorite musician to stay inspired. I remind myself that if he hadn't promoted his music, the world wouldn't be such a beautiful place. And I understand that I too must give my gift to the world. Not out of self-serving or indulgence, but out of reverence for the gifts we have been given.

Your Creative Groove

Alicia Dattner — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:00:00 -0800

Would you like to feel more productive, more excited, and less like you're pulling teeth while creating your artwork? It could be as simple as turning your desk to face a window.

Does it ever seem like you're just not "on your game" and you can't figure out why? Perhaps you haven't yet found your Creative Groove. I had a realization recently that changed my whole sense of myself as an artist and creator. I was feeling discouraged about writing comedy, and not getting that "funny" feeling I get when I something makes me laugh for a while.

One day, while talking about it with a friend, we started joking and laughing, and I suddenly remembered that I'm funny when I'm with other people! Things strike me as funny, and I get to share them around people I have fun with--particularly people who I don't feel competitive with or judged by. That's when I open up, laugh at things, and start to feel the creative juices flowing. That's also when I pull out my notebook and joke that I'm going to write down what just happened. My friends laugh, but I really write it all down. If we "wrote" it together, I ask their permission to talk about it on stage.

I also know about myself that once I've written notes, I need time on my own to edit, sort things out, and use the other side of my brain to see what else I can fill in. I also use the time on my own to reflect if what I'm writing about really feels like it's in my "voice" and it's aligned with what I want to say to the world, or if it's really been influenced by that particular group of friends. Then, I go back to people again--this time an audience--to work on my material next.

I actually knew how to get into my Creative Groove, but I'd forgotten. Do you know where to tap into your Creative Groove? Take some time to answer these questions to help you consider when you feel most creative. What does your body or heart want to tell you about when it's happiest and most free? Is it:

Night time? Morning? Afternoon?
Every day, same time?
Big chunks some days? Little bits every day?
Doing it when you don't feel like it and then getting in the groove?
Only when you feel like it?
Do you groove better around people or alone?
Which part of the house? Or maybe a cafe? Loud cafe or quiet one?
Maybe at a co-working facility?
What foods help you create better?
Are you more creative standing? Walking? Dancing? How about showering?
Do you need to meditate, exercise, eat, sleep, or vent before you're ready to create?

"Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a fox?"

-Dr. Suess

If feels like Green Eggs and Ham, you're on the right track. Invest some time getting to know just how you like to work! You'll be happy you did.