Interview: David Dean Bottrell Brings Humor to Pangea with TEENAGE WASTELAND
The show plays Jan. 18, 21 and Feb. 7 at 7 pm - the latter two are benefits for the LA wildfires
Storyteller David Dean Bottrell’s new show Teenage Wasteland, which plays in NYC at Pangea on January 18, 21 and February 7, is all about those awkward pubescent years and how they shape your life. Bottrell has appeared in many iconic TV shows such as the reboot of Frasier, Modern Family, NCIS, Mad Men, True Blood and Boston Legal to name just a few. In 2024, he won both the NYC Bistro Award and the Los Angeles Stage Scene Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Storytelling" for his most recent solo show, The Death of Me Yet. His storytelling shows are extremely popular with both audiences and critics. (BWW’s Nathan Johnson says, “Bottrell's storytelling is a mesmerizing journey, unveiling subtleties and deep humor even in the darkest moments.”
Bottrell’s show was originally set to appear on January 18 as part of Pangea’s Incubator Festival, which highlights new works. However, he recently decided to add two additional performances as fundraisers for the devastating LA wildfires. We spoke about the origins of this show, Bottrell’s future plans, and more.
What inspired Teenage Wasteland?
A few years ago, I was seeing this therapist, and over and over my teenage years kept coming up. I was amazed how much the events from that weird time in my life were still affecting how I was behaving now. I've been doing a lot of these shows in the last few years and I'm always looking for subjects that can be both funny and universal in some way. And I started thinking that adolescence was the perfect subject. Everything about you (inside and outside) is changing and it's all so embarrassing, and you don't know who to talk to about it. It's also this crazy time of exploration and accidents (both happy & unhappy). I immediately started to remember a thousand stories.
What were your teenage years like, in a nutshell?
I was a mess. My family was a mess. We were living in this crappy factory town. I entered high school as this quiet, friendless art geek, and graduated as this dope-smoking, school-skipping bonehead. It was a little rough, but it was also quite a lot of fun. In my opinion, if you never forged your parents' signature, you weren't really living.
What was it like crafting the stories for this show?
The tough part was paring down the list. I had so many adventures! This first show only focuses on my life from age 13 to 15. I finally got the list edited down to the five biggest turning points. The stories are very funny – except when they're not. But that's true of all my shows.
You're doing two extra performances of the show as a fundraiser for the LA wildfires. What led to your decision to do that? Do you have a personal connection to LA or anyone affected by the wildfires?
I lived and worked in LA for about 20 years, so I have a whole professional family there. Sadly, I now know of six people who have lost everything, I've been donating to a lot of GoFundMe campaigns to the point where I'm tapped out. I just feel compelled to do a little more, so that's why I'm adding these two additional performances (Tuesday, Jan. 21 and Friday, Feb. 7). Both shows are at 7 pm. Tickets are available at www.PangeaNYC.com. We particularly need people to buy tickets for Tuesday the 21st.
Do you have any future plans for Teenage Wasteland, or any other projects you're working on?
Yes, I'm hoping to someday do it in rep with a second show that covers my adventures from age 16-18. Also, I've got some bookings this summer to do shows in Nantucket, Hyannis and a bunch of other places, so I might be doing it there.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Yeah, I think the basic formula of life is fall down, get up, fall down, get up. The main reason I write these shows is that it gives me a chance to recycle some experiences I've had in the past that weren't so great and turn them into something funny and hopefully universal. I believe the instant a group of people can laugh about something together, you collectively release it. You forgive it. And I think that's a very important & cool thing to do. I'm grateful to be doing this job.
TEENAGE WASTELAND: Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen 5 Painfully Funny (and Totally True) Stories about Heartbreak, Hard-ons & Hair will play Jan. 18, Jan. 21 & Feb. 7 (all at 7 pm) at Pangea NYC on 178 2nd Ave (at 11th St). Tickets are available on Pangea’s website.
Header photo credit: Conor Weiss
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