Ever wanted to write your own Solo Show? These courses focus on crafting your story, writing, and performance components. Taught by Seth Barrish (director of solo shows including Mike Birbiglia’s The New One (Broadway) and The Old Man and the Pool (Broadway), Thank God For Jokes (off-Broadway, Lucille Lortel nomination), My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend (Lucille Lortel Award, Drama Desk & Outer Critics Circle nominations — final performance at Carnegie Hall), and Sleepwalk with Me, as well as Martin Moran’s The Tricky Part (OBIE award winner) and All The Rage.
Solo Show I: Writing
Prerequisite: By invite only. Students must submit a resume and description of project. Click here to submit.
In this 4-week class, students will begin crafting and writing their own solo show. The class begins with an overview of script analysis and story structure. Then, students will share an outline of their show for review and dramaturgy. During the last session, students will share a fully formed draft of an excerpt of their show. Please bring in your solo show (or ideas for a solo show), in whatever shape it is in, to the first class.
This class is designed for students who have an idea and are ready to get serious about their piece, or who already have a show written and need to fine tune and work on performance components. If you do not yet have an idea for your show, consider one of our other classes: Personal Narrative for the Actor, Storytelling Workshop, Finding Your True Subject.
Solo Show II: Performance
Prerequisite: Students must have completed Solo Show I: Writing.
In this 6-week class, students will continue to draft their solo show while focusing on performance, using The Barrow Group acting tools. The class culminates in a sharing of 5-10 minute excerpts of their pieces.
“I’m constantly recommending Seth Barrish to friends who are developing one person shows. Seth has an extraordinary understanding of the form. As far as I can tell, he’s the best.”
—Mike Birbiglia, Lucille Lortel Award Winner
“Without Seth, my one-woman show wouldn’t be half as rich in depth or half as funny. Seth seems to know that until you go deep, you can’t truly get to the humor, and working with him has helped my show take on a whole other dimension.” –Lisa Lampanelli