What is Solo Performance?
– In brief terms; Solo Performance is the showing of a piece of work performed by one person only. It can be a stand-up comedy, a short story, a full drama, etc.
What are the benefits and challenges of Solo Performance?
– Solo Performance allows the performer a chance to rely on his/herself and no-one else; it offers independence.
– Solo Performance also offers the opportunity and challenge to have no security blanket in the way of other actors. When a solo performer is on stage, he/she is alone and vulnerable, there are no other actors to fall back on if there is a mistake. This also offers the opportunity to ensure Improvisation skills are up to scratch, as the performer will have to be very quick at thinking on his/her feet.
When working on solo performances it is often clear to see the performers personality in the show; in our first lesson this was challenged. We was each asked to bring an object personal to ourselves into class, these objects were then exchanged so that we was left with an object that has no personal connection to ourselves, thus allowing us the opportunity to think of a performance from a more objective point of view, strictly based on the object itself and no personal links.