Review: Hand2Mouth Gives Us a PEP TALK We All Really Need, at CoHo Theatre

Remember pep talks? Those inspiring speeches your [insert sport here] coach gave to pump up your team before you hit the field. Remember how they made you feel like you could do anything? Could you use one of those right about now?

As luck would have it, you can get one, personalized just for you, at Hand2Mouth's homecoming performance of PEP TALK, a show they've shared with audiences across the country (including at colleges and a women's correctional facility) and are now performing at CoHo Theatre, for two weekends only.

This semi-improvisational show, created by performers Julie Hammond, Liz Hayden, Erin Leddy, and Maesie Speer, starts as an homage to some of sports history's most memorable pep talks (like those given by Oakland Raiders coach Al Davis and Rocky). It then turns the tables to demonstrate that you don't need to be on a sports team to get a pep talk and you don't need to be a great orator to give one. We can all encourage one another to get out there and be awesome!

Heads up: As an audience member, you will participate in this show. Before going into the theatre, you're given a nametag and asked to fill out a survey about who you consider a hero as well as some things in your life you feel proud (and not-so-proud) of. Your answers will show up later (in a totally anonymous way) in some of the improvised pep talks. If you raise your hand high enough, you might also get to participate more actively in creating a pep talk of your very own.

I don't know about you, but I've been feeling a lot of anxiety lately about what's happening in our country. It's been easy to get into a funk of feeling down and powerless. I had no idea when I walked into the theatre on Thursday that what I needed was a good old-fashioned pep talk. I left feeling pumped up, powerful, and ready to take on anything.

On a scale of 1-10, I give this show a 12. Portland, go get your PEP TALK! The show runs through February 26. More info and details here.

Photo credit: Anna M. Campbell

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