By CRAIG BRIDGER
NEW YORK - The self-written solo performance has reached such ubiquity in New York that it’s easy to forget how recently the genre became, well, a genre. Five years ago “solo show” wasn’t even marketed as a separate category at the summer New York International Fringe, the city’s biggest theater festival. But now even without a festival there were at least 15 solo shows in New York in one recent week.
And as these pieces have proliferated, a small industry of classes, workshops and teachers has sprung up to provide support - for a fee, of course .
Inside a typically grim rental studio in Midtown, white walls scuffed and dented, Matt Hoverman introduced himself to a new class: six women (an extreme example of the trend in solo work) ranging from their mid-20s to spry 60s. Mr. Hoverman, 41, with an intense brow that belies his gentle manner, told the students that he started his Create Your Own Solo Show Workshop in 2001, when he was unable to find a class for himself. (Disclosure: A former actor, I took his class in 2004).
The three-hour class meets once a week for a month, helping students mine material for their infant shows; an advanced class concentrates on polishing and performing. “Your perfect solo show already exists in you,” he told the students. “It’s not about coming up with something. It’s about listening to what wants to come out.”
Mr. Hoverman said he thought “people get overwhelmed because they don’t have someone to be a supportive, believing mirror for them.” That becomes his function, he said, adding, “I’m the audience until the audience gets there.”
For many hopefuls, the next step is the city’s growing theater festival circuit . Emerging Artists Theater, with its One Woman Standing festival, offers performers a chance to test out new pieces (some as short as five minutes) and participate in an audience talk-back afterward. Stacy Mayer, a company member responsible for selecting submissions, explained that the festival was intended to be part of a performer’s process. “You can’t create a solo show in a box,” she said. “You need to get up and do it.”
And then there are the traditional risks of theater. After performing “Manigma” (a six-character solo piece that celebrates different facets of his personality) at the 78th Street Theatre Lab in 2005, the actor Michael Aronov was approached by producers about an off-Broadway revival this winter. Overjoyed, Mr. Aronov had a hand in every aspect of the new production .
Despite an acclaimed performance and strong ticket sales, “Manigma” closed four weeks early when promised investor funds never arrived. “The only smile on my face these days is when I’m up there,” Mr. Aronov said, heading into what was suddenly his closing week. Small consolation, but the ordeal has the makings of a great solo show.
