A Preview of United Solo: The World’s Largest Solo Theatre Festival
David speaks with Omar Sangare, artistic director of United Solo, and three of the performers appearing in the festival this year: Richarda Abrams, Lillian Colón, and Noah Diamond.
First (0:26–11:46), Omar Sangare talks about how he developed United Solo into the world’s largest solo theater festival and why solo performance is worth celebrating.
Next, Ricahrda Abrams (11:47–20:03) tells us about her show, First by Faith: The Life of Mary McLeod Bethune, the true story of a remarkable woman whose grounding in her faith enabled her to become a leader in education, civil rights, and politics.
Then, (20:04–26:47) Lillian Colón recounts how she set out to write her memoir and ended up with a solo show about Lilly, an orphan girl from the Bronx who never found her Daddy Warbucks but did grow up to become the first Latina Rockette.
Next up (26:48–32:32) Noah Diamond gives us a peek at his show, 400 Years in Manhattan, a tour-guide’s look at the ever-changing history of New York City.
We conclude (32:33–56:52) with a round-table discussion with all our guests about how to get the most out of the festival as an audience member, a theater-maker, or someone who might be inspired to switch from one to the other.
Join Maxamoo on Twitter (@Maxamoo) in discussing today’s show. Follow our guests there too: @UnitedSolo, @OmarSangare, @dramasmith (Richarda Abrams), @NoahDiamond and his show @400Manhattan. And our host is @itsdlevy.
And if you haven’t already started reading Anna Deavere Smith’s Letters to a Young Artist, you still have lots of time before we discuss it on the Maxamoo Book Club, right here on this podcast feed on October 24th. Share with us your thoughts and questions inspired by the book on Twitter or by email to podcast@maxamoo.com – anything you send us before October 20th may become a part of our on-air discussion.
Thanks for listening!
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