Q&A: EDINBURGH 2024: Naomi Grossman on AMERICAN WHORE STORY

BWW caught up with Naomi Grossman on bringing American Whore Story to the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

How did you first get involved in the world of theatre?

My parents constantly exposed me to live performance as a child. In my first solo show, I even did a bit about missing what would have been my very first date because we had tickets to the symphony instead. So I grew up seeing theatre, music, opera, ballet, cinema - and wishing I were up on stage myself! My folks even recount stories of me storming the aisles, so literally and physically moved by the performance that I simply couldn’t be contained in my seat! When I was old enough, I tried out for a local children’s theatre troupe and the rest is history. To this day, those same "Kidskits Kids” are still killing it in Hollywood, from headlining comedy clubs to green-lighting development deals.

Can you tell us about your show, American Whore Story?

It’s the meticulously curated AHS [American Horror Story] panel fans are pining for! But the AHS BTS notwithstanding, it’s also my own autobiographical ode to self-compromise, which chronicles my history of hustling - from the odd jobs I've held to my even odder love-life. I give it to you straight (with a slight, gay detour), recounting everything from my Red Bull car crash to my boyfriend in a coma. I take you on a transformative trip to Burning Man, an acid trip to a 1960’s Rat Pack-rager and along my own triumphant trip from a Spanish teacher to #1 on IMDb.  Winner of the 2023 BroadwayWorld Award for “Best Solo Production,” it enjoyed a sold-out run in Los Angeles last summer, followed by an Off-Broadway stint in New York, limited engagements in Boston, Denver, my hometown of Taos, New Mexico and now, the mack-daddy, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe!

What was the creative process like for American Whore Story?

While the world hunkered down in 2020, baking bread and watching Netflix, I lost my marbles! When I wasn’t sneaking out to my yoga speakeasy or plotting my HOA takeover for banning fun in our pool, I was writing this show. Keeping creative and my mind/heart occupied was the only thing deterring me from offing myself by way of some intricate arm balance and/or drowning. Early in the process, I brought on my co-producers, Kate Atkinson and Sarah Anthony, who frankly saw the vision before even I did, then director, Richard Israel, who shepherded me through the writing and rehearsals. Not to mention the years of bad boyfriends and other ripe material leading up. It took a village, and a while. Success is not overnight, which is actually a theme of this show.  

How does it feel to be telling your own story as a show?

It’s my happy place. Whether holding court at a cocktail party, or on stage, I’m a raconteur at heart - I can’t help it! When faced with a choice: turn right and live happily ever after or turn left and have a story to tell, I will always choose left. It’s not that I don’t choose happiness, I just value adventure more. And if that adventure ends happily, even better! It’s the risk I’(M) Willing to take to not be boring. So to answer your question, it feels . . . right, like what I’m meant to be doing.

What is it like performing for the stage versus the screen? Do you have a preference?

I like the process of performing on stage - experiencing the character’s full, beginning-to-end arc and feeling the audience’s reaction. But I like the byproducts of acting on screen, obviously. In all my years bearing my soul on stage, no one offered me a free Jamaican vacation! Ultimately, I’m a sucker for attention - theatre only provides a finite amount of that.  If only I could meld the two together . . . 

What is it like bringing American Whore Story to the Edinburgh Fringe?

I may not be a Scot, but it sure feels like a homecoming! When asked about my all-time career highlights, I tell people that bringing my last show, Carnival Knowledge, to Edinburgh back in 2010 tops the list! Because, it was all me. The success of American Horror Story, alternatively, is due to the hard work of thousands of people and millions of dollars. I have a tiny part in that, but the success of that summer I own all myself. I wept when the festival ended. I felt validated in a way I hadn’t yet in my career . . . I realised there, on stage, was where I needed to be, and felt the most alive.

What do you hope audiences take away from American Whore Story?

Ultimately, this is a love letter to American Horror Story and its fanbase. The opportunities AHS provided helped shape me into the person who wrote this show.  It wouldn’t exist without AHS or its fans. They made me, so I made this for them. That said, as much as they may love me, they don’t really know me. I still get fans telling me they thought Pepper was a real person! But anyone expecting some monosyllabic grunter there at the Gilded Balloon is in for a surprise. My comedic sensibility is probably my most obvious, defining characteristic, yet it’s something horror fans don’t necessarily know about me. This show promises to change that.  

How would you describe American Whore Story in one word?

Hmmm, “revelatory” feels presumptuous, but I think the show provides real insight to the up-and-down journey toward “overnight” success. They say it takes seven years . . . Took me 22. Audiences will see those 22 years play out over 75 minutes. They'll see the real me: the complex, sometimes serious, yet simultaneously ridiculous person beneath the Pepper prosthetics. Critics call it “profoundly revealing,” so yah, “revelatory” works . . . Or better yet, “vulnerable.”  

Naomi Grossman: American Whore Story runs from 31 July to 26 August at Gilded Balloon Patter House - Coorie at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Photo Credit: Devin Dygert

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