History of Solo Performance &

Solo Broadway Catalog

Solo performance has existed in some form or another for thousands of years, and is perhaps the oldest form of storytelling. In the time before written history existed, oral storytelling was the main way that people passed information from one generation to the next. As such, the storytelling needed to be both educational and engaging, so that audiences would pay close attention.

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Over time, early human tribes saw the rise of shamans whose job it was to retell oral histories. These shamans were often given special status, even mystical status, as the sacred holders of knowledge. And because so much primitive culture revolved around myths, the stories often included supernatural elements. In many cases, these myths were also allegorical or in some other way symbolic, so that they could teach important lessons while also entertaining younger listeners.

As human civilizations became more organized, so too did storytelling. Mystic shamans slowly gave way to professional bards. These bards continued to blend education with entertainment, often incorporating music and character acting when they retold ancient stories.

Eventually, society progressed to the point where history became regularly written down. When this era arrived, storytelling developed more creative elements, because it was no longer a necessary way of passing down tribal histories. Stories still sought to educate the audience, but there was more room for symbolism and showmanship: The tales served more to remind people about key lessons than to pass along an exact account of what had actually happened long ago. Hence, storytelling became more of a form of art and entertainment, and so theater began in earnest.

The Greeks and Romans pioneered many aspects of the theater that we are familiar with today. With particular regard to solo theater, they pioneered dramatic monologues. These monologues were again a combination of education and entertainment: They told citizens the mythical history of the civilization, but also used dramatic elements like fast-paced action and dynamic delivery to keep audiences engaged. In some cases, playwrights in antiquity even gave their plays very different endings from the traditional myths, perhaps for added dramatic effect. The trend in storytelling moved more and more toward putting on an engaging performance that conveyed a message, rather than staying entirely true to the original historical account.

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Between the fall of the Greek and Roman civilizations and the burgeoning of the European ones, there was apparently a lull in solo performance. Greeks and Romans had found a religious catharsis in theater, which took a while to catch on in Christianity. Also, during the Dark Ages there simply hadn’t been a European society stable enough to organize theater in any substantial way. Other civilizations flourished in the Middle East during this time period, but very little is documented about theatrical performance. (These civilizations were driven by the rise of Islam, and so most historical documentation concerns religious doctrine and military conquests.)

In later eras, Medieval England and France saw a healthy presence of solo performers. In England these performers were minstrels, and France they were Troubadours. Both countries’ solo performers were essentially bards who told narrative stories or lyric poetry, often accompanied by music. Again, the stories combined educational and entertaining elements, by conveying important lessons in engaging ways.

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The printing press rose to prominence in Europe in the 1450s. This invention allowed plays to flourish for two reasons. First, the plays themselves could be recorded in writing, and so they could be revived and readapted any number of times. And second, history could be recorded much more easily, meaning that oral storytelling was even less crucial in preserving past tales. As such, theater became even more concerned with entertainment: While plays still sought to tell meaningful stories and convey important messages, performers had more freedom to write creative tales, and/or tell personal stories instead of society-wide histories.

By the 1800s, solo performance had more commonly become an outlet for playwrights and performers to tell deeply personal stories that mattered to them. Families would often gather around a fireplace and read popular stories aloud, such as tales by Charles Dickens or Edgar Allan Poe. They also read from the Bible or from older writers like Shakespeare. So again, the readings were often educational, using performance as an engaging way of conveying information. Without TV or movies, people depended on engaging storytelling for entertainment; so, even these fireplace storytelling sessions could get quite elaborate.

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Charles Dickens and Mark Twain were both prolific solo performers. Dickens was an immensely popular actor who would often read his own work aloud for audiences (though he is mostly known now for his writing by itself). His performances drew an incredibly fervent crowd, almost like rock concerts today: Spectators often fought tooth and nail for a chance to see him perform. Similarly, Mark Twain was a very popular lecturer/monologist. Sometimes his performances were straightforward speeches, and other times he delivered his monologues as a character or incorporated other dramatic elements. These two writers further popularized the genre of one-person storytelling, in their respective societies.

By the early 20th century, solo theater had come very close to its present form. Multiple socioeconomic factors made theater more popular: First, society was stable and wealthy enough to afford widespread providers of commercial theater; second, the increased ease of printing made stories more widely diffused; and third, theater had a kind of elite status among forms of entertainment because it was the most interactive and cutting-edge technology available. (Films and TV were available in crude forms, but early films were silent and in black and white, so theater provided a more realistic and engrossing medium.) In regard to solo theater specifically, reenactments of Mark Twain’s monologues and other popular stories remained reasonably popular. Then in the late 20th century, major solo theater figureheads like Spalding Gray spearheaded the one-person art form.

Modern solo theater comes in many different forms. Some shows are autobiographical, since the solo medium is a very intimate opportunity for the performer to tell a personal story. Other shows are biographical tributes to famous figures, living or dead. In other cases, performers adapt pre-existing novels or non-solo plays to work with one actor. Modern solo theater has also historically been popular among comedians and poets, due to similarities with stand-up comedy and slam poetry. However, solo theater differentiates itself from stand-up comedy and slam poetry because it incorporates a plot or other type of storyline. Moreover, all of the above types of shows can incorporate multimedia, such as projections of still images or video clips.

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There are several well-known educators who specialize in teaching one-person theater performance. These educators include Deb Margolin and Matt Hoverman, both of whom serve on AFO’s Advisory Board. Deb Margolin is an Associate Professor in Yale University’s undergraduate Theater Studies program, a founding member of Split Britches Theater Company, and a playwright and performer of solo work. Matt Hoverman is an award-winning playwright, actor, and extremely prominent solo show coach in NYC; his immensely popular “Create Your Own Solo Show” workshops have helped develop over 100 solo shows that have been produced all over the world. Several prestigious universities also offer classes on solo performance, including Brown, University of Chicago, and of course Deb Margolin’s class at Yale.

If you love solo performance, and really want to experience an awe-inspiring collection of immortalized masterpieces, the New York Public Library has a special archive called TOFT, or “Theater On Film and Tape.” Established in 1970, TOFT was the first archive of its kind in the world, and remains the largest, with over 7,700 recordings comprising live performance, interviews, documentary films, television programs, and other theater-related video recordings. The National Video Archive of Performance in London, as well as the Washington Area Performing Arts Video Archive in Washington, D.C., were both modeled specifically on TOFT. The Archive maintains an active original documentation program, recording between 50 – 60 productions each year. Thousands of theater pieces are currently recorded there, where students, theater professionals, or researchers can watch them for free. So many solo actor legends reside there, such as Lynn Redgrave and Julie Harris. For no trouble at all, they’ll give a one-on-one special presentation just for you.

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The New York Public Library has several different building locations. The TOFT archive is in the building at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, at the corner of 65th and Amsterdam, near the Lincoln Center 1 Train stop. It’s on the third floor, in back right area relative to the elevators. To start viewing shows, you call in advance to make an appointment, and tell the librarian which shows you’d like to see. Then, when you arrive for your appointment, the librarian assigns you to a TV screen where your shows have been pre-loaded. Somewhere else in the library, another librarian is physically putting the DVDs into a player for you, and you’re watching them remotely on your screen. You can communicate with the DVD-loading librarian by using a small computer screen next to your TV, sending simple messages like, “Load next selection please” or “Wrong video” or “Thanks, I’m finished for today.” You can also use the computer screen to play, pause, rewind, or fast-forward your selection. The viewing room has dozens of screens arranged like carrels, so you’ll likely see some other people nearby watching different shows.

On my venture into the archive, I decided to watch three different solo shows: The Belle of Amherst, Shakespeare for My Father, and Rob Becker’s Defending the Caveman. The Bell of Amherst was on DVD, or at least I deduced that by the way that I could fast-forward and rewind by chapter or go back to a menu screen. Shakespeare for My Father, on the other hand, was on VHS, judging from the way it fast-forwarded and rewound like a tape. Defending the Caveman was on DVD as well. I chose these three pieces because they were all popular and critically acclaimed pieces, and they offered a range of styles of solo performance. The Belle of Amherst is a biographical play about the poet Emily Dickinson, where the actress portrays Emily for the entire show. By contrast, in Shakespeare for My Father, the actress is playing herself, describing her own life and her relationship with her family; this second play also incorporates singing. Lastly, Defending the Caveman is close to stand-up comedy: It has a loose narrative, largely consisting of jokes that all fit along a common theme.

The Belle of Amherst came on first. It was definitely my favorite of the 3 shows that I watched. I personally love Emily Dickinson’s poetry, and I enjoyed peeking into the life of the poem. Julie Harris gave a great performance, provoking lots of laughs from her audience. The Belle of Amherst was also the most immersive show that I watched: It had an elaborate set that really made me feel like I was in an old house, with tables and desks and dressers covered in everyday items like books and silverware. Moreover, Harris interacted with the set a lot, such as by putting on clothes that were hanging from various hooks or sitting down in different chairs. She played no other characters besides Dickinson–instead, she acknowledged the presence of other characters by having conversations with them. While we could only hear her side of the conversations, her replies made it clear with that other person had said. She spoke to the audience like an intimate confidant, a trusted guest visiting her home. Dickinson’s poetry was also woven into the story, sometimes through a passing reference and sometimes through a direct reading or recitation. The use of lighting was also excellent: At times when Dickinson’s life was sad or waning, the set would grow dark, so that only a thin beam of light meagerly illuminated the actress. This play did a great job of drawing me in and holding my attention.

Next came Shakespeare for My Father. This particular recording was actually from a workshop. (With so many shows getting converted to DVD, the selection of solo theater pieces was temporarily slim.) The set was very minimal, as I would have expected from a workshop: There was just Lynn Redgrave speaking directly to the audience, with a few items in the background. The play consisted of numerous Shakespearean or Shakespearean-style monologues, intercut with autobiographical information from Redgrave’s life. Redgrave went through many shifts in tone during the play, ranging from comedic to austere.

Finally, Rob Becker’s Defending the Caveman was just a few minutes of funny clips, all of which were quite enjoyable. At first the librarian loaded the wrong DVD, so I got to use the “Wrong Video” button that I’d been so curious about. The librarian who was loading the DVDs had to call the librarian who supervised the viewing room, to check which shows I’d reserved and correct the mistake. After a couple minutes, I was back on track. Rob Becker’s piece had a fairly elaborate set, laid out like the living room of a caveman’s house: There was a TV made out of a giant rock, some furniture made out of even more rocks, and so on. His performance was less about a narrative and more about interrelated jokes, but it offered quite a lot of social commentary.

Overall, I left the library feeling happy that there is a massive reservoir of past theater pieces preserved there. Solo artists (and other people interested in exploring solo work) can immerse themselves in any manner of excellent one-person pieces. There is so much opportunity to learn from great artists, or simply admire them. In the end, the TOFT archive is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in solo theater, whether you’re an actor, director, producer, or theatergoer. All For One highly recommends exploring this resource, as a great way to experience superb one-person theater pieces. As All For One continues to grow, it is important to preserve the past so that we can look at the entire history of solo performance: Its mythical origins, its Broadway triumphs, and its golden future.

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-Michael Wolk

Artistic Director

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Sources

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