Asolo performance, sometimes referred to as aone-man show,one-woman show, orone-person show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including autobiographical creations, comedy acts, novel adaptations, vaudeville, poetry, music and dance.[1] In 1996, Rob Becker'sDefending the Caveman became the longest-running one-person play in the history ofBroadway theatre.
Solo performance is used to encompass the broad term of a single person performing for an audience. Some key traits of solo performance can include the lack of thefourth wall and audience participation or involvement. Solo performance does not need to be written, performed and produced by a single person—a solo performance production may use directors, writers, designers and composers to bring the piece to life on a stage. An example of this collaboration isEric Bogosian in the published version of his showWake Up And Smell the Coffee, byTheatre Communications Group, New York City.[2]
Individuals have told stories in front of other members of their tribe or society for thousands of years, and haveorally passed down many of today'smyths andlegends in this manner.[1] The style of performance has developed through generations via theatrical people such asGreekMonologists, the strollingMinstrels ofMedieval England and the FrenchTroubadors.
Edgar Allan Poe both lectured and recited poetry as a platform performer between 1843 and 1849; his performances stand as a paradigm of the solo performance hybrid simply called "the lecture-recital". The reading tours ofCharles Dickens in Britain and America between 1858 and 1870 created a sensation. His American tour of 1867–68 was unparalleled until the arrival of the Beatles in the early 1960s.[3]
Solo performance enjoyed an unprecedented artistic and commercial vogue in the United States during the second half of the nineteenth century (John S. Gentile Calls it the golden age of platform performance). Literary historians often associate theVictorian period with the highest development of the dramatic monologue as a poetic form. There were several discussions about the importance and distinction between the literary monologue and the performance monologue during the nineteenth century, however, this discussions confirms a continuous interchange between literature and performance, which may at times appear competitive but is more often productive. By the time the United States entered the 20th century, the number and variety of professional solo performances presented throughout the country had grown large.[4] This renaissance of solo performance also created ripples in the larger sense of American theatre; after this "boom" of the one man show had passed, the presentational style seeped into popular theatre productions such asAmadeus,Equus, andEvita among others, modeling a combination of representational theatricality and presentational, direct-address style.[5]
By the 1960s, the term performance art became popular and involved any number of performance acts orhappenings, as they were known. Many performers, likeLaurie Anderson, developed through these happenings and are still performing today.
The backgrounds of solo performers over the decades range fromvaudeville, comedy, poetry, music, the visual arts,magic,cabaret, theatre and dance.[1]
Solo performers include Rob Becker,John Lennon,George Carlin,Bill Maher,Bill Burr,Louis C.K.,Lily Tomlin,Andy Kaufman,Billy Joel, Rod Maxwell,Lord Buckley,Eric Bogosian,Whoopi Goldberg,Jade Esteban Estrada,Eddie Izzard,John Leguizamo,Marga Gomez,Qurrat Ann Kadwani,Anna Deavere Smith,Bill Hicks,Brother Blue,Lenny Bruce,[1] andMel Blanc.
Several performers have presented solo shows in tribute to famous personalities. The blueprint for this type of show may have been drafted byHal Holbrook, who has performed asMark Twain in his solo show,Mark Twain Tonight, more than 2,000 times since 1954. Examples since that time includeJulie Harris in theEmily Dickinson biography,The Belle of Amherst;Tovah Feldshuh as Golda Meir inGolda's Balcony;Frank Gorshin asGeorge Burns inSay Goodnight Gracie[6] byRupert Holmes;Ed Metzger in his solo show, performing since 1978,Albert Einstein: The Practical Bohemian; Metzger in another solo performance,Hemingway: On the Edge;Henry Fonda asClarence Darrow inDarrow,Ronald Rand asHarold Clurman inLet It Be Art! since 2001 in 25 countries, andTom Dugan asSimon Wiesenthal inWiesenthal.[7]
A few actors adapted entire novels for the stage includingPatrick Stewart who played all 43 parts in his version ofA Christmas Carol, which played three times onBroadway and atThe Old Vic in London; actorGerald Charles Dickens played 26 characters in his performances from the same work; andJack Aranson starred in a solo, 13-character production ofMoby Dick.
Solo performance may be personal, autobiographical creations. This ranges from the intensely confessional but comedic work ofSpalding Gray, the semi-autobiographicalA Bronx Tale byChazz Palminteri, orHolly Hughes' solo pieceWorld without End, in which she attempts to make sense of her relationship with her mother, who had died. Another example of this isIn The Body of the World, written and performed byEve Ensler in 2018.
Still other shows may rally around a central theme, such as pop culture in Pat Hazel'sThe Wonderbread Years, relationships in Robert Dubac'sThe Male Intellect, the history of the New York City transit system inMike Daisey'sInvincible Summer, or fighting the system inPatrick Combs'Man 1, Bank 0. these themes could also be centered around a certain topic such as a political or social issue.[1]Tim Miller explores the topic of gay culture and society surrounding the LGBTQ community in his production ofMy Queer Body.[8]Karen Finley expressed her frustration with the standards women are held to and the issues surrounding them such as rape and abortion in her solo piece titledWe Keep Our Victims Ready.[9]
Sometimes, solo shows are simply traditional plays written by playwrights for a cast of one. Examples:Shirley Valentine byWilly Russell,I Am My Own Wife byDoug Wright,The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead by Robert Hewett andTopless byMiles Tredinnick. A performer of shows of this type isChris Harris, whose performances in the genre includeKemp's Jig,That's The Way To Do It!,Ally Sloper's Half Holiday,Beemaster, 'Arris Music 'All andA Night at the Pantomime.[10]
There have also been many British comedians who have moved away from performing pure stand-up comedy in recent years. The shows that appear annually at theEdinburgh Festival Fringe can involve stories ofpathos and the use of technological equipment such asprojectors. Examples includeHoward Read, who has performed with the animated characterLittle Howard which was projected with the aid of computers andDave Gorman, who has performed several shows described as "documentary comedy".[11]
The first full-length talking film which showed only a single character wasSofi, a 1968 film starringTom Troupe. The film was based on "Diary of a Madman" byGogol.
The 1964 Hindi movieYaadein also featured onlySunil Dutt, butNargis Dutt made a few appearancesas a silhouette. However, it still made it to the Guinness Book of World Records for the "fewest actors in a narrative film".[12]
Secret Honor is a 1984 film about Richard Nixon withPhilip Baker Hall as the disgraced President ruminating on his past.
In the 21st century, the "solo performance" had a rejuvenation period with films likeLocke,All Is Lost andBuried. The characteristics were different from the previous one-character films that were made – mainly by location and style. Sofi and works likeGive 'em Hell, Harry!, were still studio-filmed theater pieces. The 21st-century films were mostly shot on location and were much more stylized with their cinematic expression and camera usage.
R. Parthiban wrote, produced, directed, and was the only actor in the 2019 Tamil movieOththa Seruppu Size 7.
Merrick McCartha co-wrote and executive produced a short film that he portraysIra Aldridge.[13]
