The Solo Performer's Journey - From the Page to the Stage

Written and performed by: a credit that suggests the profound artistic commitment of the solo performer to the creation of a project. Yet one-person shows are rarely individual efforts, being instead a collaborative voyage between a writer–performer and a host of people from theatre professionals to creative muses to friendly well-wishers.

No one knows this better than Michael Kearns, whose career, wearing various hats, is distinguished by his involvement in dozens of top-notch one-person shows, and in The Solo Performer's Journey, he takes you step by step into the lifespan of a solo show, from its genesis through a highly successful theatrical run. Part personal memoir and part practical manual, The Solo Performer's Journey chronicles how Kearns collaborated with Precious Chong for two years to bring her vivid artistic vision to life in the various incarnations of The Porcelain Penelope Show. From the first phone calls to Chong's final curtain calls, Kearns gives you a front-row seat to watch the creative and theatrical processes at work. At the same time he uses the backdrop of the evolving show to illustrate important solo techniques, define the art of collaboration, share experience-honed wisdom, and pose questions that promote professional and artistic reflection.

Whether you're an actor, writer, dramaturg, or director who wants to better understand the dynamics of the one-person show or join the legion of solo folk, The Solo Performer's Journey is the perfect companion for what promises to be an expedition inside your artistic self.

Michael Kearns is a fixture in Los Angeles, combining a long career on stage as well as in television and film with writing and social activism. Among his numerous credits are the nationally and internationally produced one-person performance pieces The Truth Is Bad Enough, intimacies, more intimacies, Rock, Attachments, and Tell-Tale Kisses. His solo-show directing credits include Melanie DuPuy's Heroine, Syd Rushing's Brothers Talkin', and Precious Chong's The Porcelain Penelope Show. In addition to publishing hundreds of articles, he has authored several books with Heinemann, including the Lambda Award–nominated

T-Cells & Sympathy (1995) and Acting = Life (1996).
The Solo Performer's Journey
0-325-00752-7 / 2005 / 128pp / $12.95