BWW INTERVIEWS: Robyn Peterson Of CATWALK CONFIDENTIAL

Hi, Robyn, welcome to BWW:UK and welcome to London!

Thanks! We just got down here!

How was Edinburgh?

Very good. Edinburgh was good to us. It was pretty exciting, too - like working in the frying pan! There's no place else where hundreds of people stand in line to see three or four shows a day. It's fabulous. I got to see a few things, but I didn't get to see Faust, which I really wanted to. But it was my first time there, and I have to say I really enjoyed it.

So now you're in London - how do you think London audiences will receive your show?

We run from September 9 until October 3, and I hope London audiences will enjoy it too. We had a great time in Edinburgh, and the show was received well in LA before, so we're hoping that it'll go well here.

How did the show come about?

I was taking writing classes, and I was writing about working as a model in Paris. I ended up with eight characters in short stories, and then I put them together in a play. But producers would read it and tell me it was too expensive to stage with so many people. Then I was introduced to Tony Abatemarco, and I showed up with 800 pages of writing. He said to cut it down to one character, and do the show myself. So I went to LA, got a couple of grants, and we went on the road. Playing in Edinburgh meant I had to cut it down to 60 minutes, so I had to consider what was superfluous material and what wasn't. It's an interesting process.

So is everything in the show true?

Yes! It's all true! It just wasn't always me the stuff happened to.

Has anyone minded about you telling their stories?

No, nobody's minded. If they do mind, they should have behaved better!

Are you writing anything else at the moment?

I'm writing something about Pearl Harbour, a one-man show for a male actor. I've interviewed 35 sailors who were there so far, and it's emotionally tough, because of course it was such a tough time for them, but I think it helps them to tell me about it.

What are your plans after you finish your run here?

Go back to California. I'd like to keep the show going, and do a TV series. But I might have a sit down and a coffee on October 4!

Catwalk Confidential plays the Arts Theatre from September 9.

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