“Thug Appeal” is probably my oldest story. I think there are definite advantages to performing something that’s very familiar to you. It takes away the anxiety of “OMG, am I going to forget crucial plot details?” For the stage, I framed the incident with details about my obsession with fictional criminals. I think that added framing grounds the story in my most common theme: fangirl expectations vs. reality.

“The International House of Mancakes”
Speakeasy DC Solo Performance Showcase
DC Improv | Washington, DC
November 2, 2011

For the past six weeks, I’ve been a student in Speakeasy DC’s Solo Story Performance Workshop. The Workshop is a class for people who want to have their own solo shows to perform in venues like the DC Fringe Festival or Wooly Mammoth. The class helped us figure out overall intentions and creative ambitions for our future shows. We had guest lecturers ranging from directors to solo performers to festival producers. For our showcase, I performed a selection from my show “Fangirl: the absolutely true story of how an obsession with fictional characters ruined my life.” This particular story is about the erotic fanfiction writing/roleplay group I created with my best friends from high school. Or, as my friend Kelly called it, “the sisterhood of the traveling porn.”

“Mackinac Island”
Story League Mini-Show and Mixer
Black Fox Lounge | Washington, DC
October 27, 2011

This story is definitely a work in progress! I told it for the first time at the mini-show/mixer, which is a much more casual environment similar to an open mic. This piece definitely has a long way to go, but I’m still happy about this “first draft” version. This story’s about the summer I interned at the (comically small) local paper on Mackinac Island, Michigan.