DICKIN' AROUND, A Solo Show By Michael Lyons, to Debut at Hollywood Fringe Festival

Actor/writer Michael Lyons takes a cue from an emerging case tennis elbow to reflect on his experience during an unhealthy relationship, and the tumultuous journey of rediscovering sexuality and independence afterwards in his solo show Dickin' Around.

Development of the show began in summer of 2020. With the pre-vaccine pandemic impeding typical summertime events, and in-person classes and shows still canceled, Michael immersed himself in online classes, including solo storytelling class taught by celebrated Los Angeles actress/director/playwright Ann Noble through Berg Studios. It was there that Michael met his fellow artists which later become the solo collective, Unmuted Participants. In the new creative playground that was Zoom, Michael flipped his pandemic-induced celibacy on its head and began writing Dickin' Around. Michael on the inspiration for his piece: "While social activities were extremely limited in early lockdown, I got this comical but quite bothersome case of tennis elbow. I figured it would be amusing and perhaps relatable to write about it, but I didn't anticipate connecting it to so many parts of myself and past deeply emotional experiences." On working with Ann Noble: "Ann taught me how to let the creativity find me by writing as honestly as possible, digging deeper, and respecting my piece, letting it tell me what it wants to be. The year-plus I spent practicing my craft over Zoom became a masterclass on film acting. Getting to watch myself in extreme close-ups helped me guide the writing, and most often, figure out when and how to say less or say nothing at all." Michael is now excited to bring the intimacy and tact of his virtual-born piece to a live in-person audience.

How many dicks does it take to satiate a heartbroken 20-something homosexual with a penchant for deep diving into the sensory stimuli he finds along the way? In this 50ish minute piece, Michael lets us into his private world and invites us to confront and ruminate on the beautiful, the icky, and the confusing together. This show is about sex. This show is not about sex. This show is for anyone who's ever felt lost at sea and exhausted themselves swimming to shore. Especially swimming through a sea of cum. Dive underneath the raunch of this show and you'll find a universally relatable, tender underbelly.

A preview performance is set for Thursday, June 2 at 8pm. Regular performances are set for Saturday, June 11 at 4pm, Friday, June 17 at 10:30pm, Saturday, June 18 at 2:30pm, and Friday, June 23 at 8pm. The Broadwater Black Box is located at 6322 Santa Monica Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90038. Tickets are pay-what-you-can to $10.00 and can be purchased at https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7341. The shows runs just under 55 minutes is suggested for audiences 18+ due to strong language and sexual situations.

Watch and Share the trailer for Dickin' Around: https://vimeo.com/706632740

Michael Lyons is a Los Angeles-based actor, originally from Staten Island, NY. He's studied acting, writing, clown, singing, and musical theater at Berg Studios, Singing Lessons LA (Greg Safel), The Clown School, and the University of Southern California (USC). He's appeared in plays at USC and a variety of short films, student and independent, including the festival award winning "You Missed a Spot" in which he portrayed a mime in a clown universe, saving the girl of his dreams. Michael is also an occupational therapist and cleverly uses his career in healthcare to inform and inspire his creative work.

For more information, visit: https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/7341

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