Joanna Rush chronicles her quest to become a Rockette. (John Ricard)
Joanna Rush chronicles her quest to become a Rockette (left). Carlo D’Amore and a finger puppet star in “No Parole” (right). (
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You can’t throw a rock in this town without hitting a solo performer.
But this hasn’t stopped the All for One Theater Festival from showcasing even more. Kicking off tomorrow, the festival’s second annual edition boasts 10 pieces by John Leguizamo- and Whoopi Goldberg-wannabes.
Yes, concedes Michael Wolk, the festival’s executive producer, there are plenty of one-person shows out there — this summer’s Fringe Festival had more than 40 — but many simply aren’t very good.
“We’re inundated with bad solo shows,” he says. “Many of them descend into a self-therapy kind of place that is uncomfortable for everybody . . . Our matrix is that our shows have to inform, they have to inspire, they have to move and they have to matter. They should be more about ‘we’ than about ‘me.’ ”
Speaking of “we,” this is another important element of the festival — community. By its very nature, solo theater can be a lonely experience. This solo festival features workshops, panels and audience talk-backs.
“We’re trying to grow the solo world and keep it in touch with itself,” says Wolk, who’s worked as a writer, director and producer. “Solo performers are not really known for being that sociable. But it turns out that once they get together, they really enjoy it.”
That’s true of Joanna Rush, who admits to “getting lonely” while performing her show, “Asking for It,” her tale of being sexually assaulted — twice — after running away from home to become a Rockette.
“I guess I had a lot of issues to deal with that I hadn’t faced yet,” she admits. “The big challenge was finding the balance between the comedy and more serious parts. We’ve done a lot of workshops.”
Hers isn’t the only show dealing with hot-button themes. Debra Barsha’s “A Womb With a View” concerns a lesbian’s experiences during the tortuous process of alternative insemination, while Alice Eve Cohen’s “What I Thought I Knew” depicts the complications that ensued when she unexpectedly became pregnant at age 44.
Other provocative offerings include Carlo D’Amore’s “No Parole,” chronicling the misadventures of his con-artist mother, and Aizzah Fatima’s “Dirty Paki Lingerie,” which aims to clear up misconceptions about Muslim women, sex and politics.
The festival’s advisory board includes some of the most prominent figures of the genre, including Lily Tomlin and Patrick Stewart, though most have contributed little more than tag lines, like Carrie Fisher’s “I love solo performances because my co-stars are so affordable and easy to work with.”
Other board members, such as BD Wong (“Law & Order: SVU”) and Colman Domingo (“Passing Strange”), are far more involved. Both are directing shows in this year’s edition, as is Lynne Taylor-Corbett (the Tony-nominated director/choreographer of “Swing!”), who’s staging “Asking for It,” which features music and dance. And Leslie Jordan — whose last off-Broadway show, “My Trip Down the Pink Carpet,” Tomlin produced — will teach a master class as well as perform his new piece, “Fruit Fly.”
One of the festival’s goals is to help the shows go on to future incarnations. Two of last year’s offerings, “RASH” and “Truth Values: One Girl’s Romp Through M.I.T.’s Male Math Maze,” have toured the country, stopping often on college campuses.
“We activate people to tell their own stories and to tell them well,” says producer Wolk. “When the performers are animated purely by the desire to share the most important thing they know, with the full force of their talent and humanity . . . that’s a great solo show.”
The All for One Theater Festival runs tomorrow through Sept. 30 at the Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce St. Information and tickets ($25, discounts for seniors and students) at 212-352-3101 and afofest.org.