“Accidental Overheards” presents the world as experienced by someone who never meant to listen in. (Really, he didn’t.) For twenty-five years, accidental encounters – in cafes, on buses, on the street – have revealed the unexpected humor, strangeness, and brilliance of everyday conversations, prompting the question: What does it all mean, if anything? Creative goals include developing a deadpan and subtly absurd performance style, weaving these fragments into a compelling narrative, and inviting the audience to reflect on the nature of listening and the fascinating, barely hidden stories all around us.
Oh Boy! – RYAN PATER
Oh Boy! is an experimental improvised clown show about dealing with the spotlight, the limelight, and ever diminishing light of life. Oh Boy has come to do a show. He’s had lots of ideas, maybe too many, but they were all created with you, his audience, in mind. He may need help at some points. He may lose track in others. Regardless of where he ends up he’ll be sure you’re on the ride with him. Developed weekly at the Idiots Hour Avant Clown Show, Oh Boy! is an extension of Ryan Pater’s exploration of clown improvisation with an audience towards the development of a full length show.
Dirty Presidents – HOPE CARY
Dirty Presidents is a half-hour puppet musical starring the most corrupt presidents and political figures of modern history, including Richard Nixon, Dick Cheney, Mitch McConnell, Bill Clinton, and the usual suspects. In a show that is equal parts whimsical and raunchy, the biggest ass-wipes of US history come together to teach an aspiring junior class president how to be the best figurehead he can be. Like the musical Six if it was all-American and villainous.
The Legend of Jellyfish Lad – JAMES ANDERSON
The Legend of Jellyfish Lad, tells my story through the larger-than-life character I created during my PhD (Punk, Porn & Politics)—a punk persona which which masked struggles with addiction, depression, and loneliness. Blending spoken word, comedy, music, and performance art, the show explores the chaotic journey of reinvention and self-destruction, reflecting on the absurdity of working-class life through the prism of self-deprecating humor. As Jellyfish Lad, I confront the limits of creative ambition, the ghosts of my blue-collar upbringing, and a rogue’s gallery of misfits I met on both sides of the Atlantic during my journey to NYC: Dagger, the burnout punk DJ; Jimmy Jesus, the self-proclaimed prophet; the Spectre, Zorro…a veritable dramatis personae of colorful characters awaits! Like Baby Reindeer meets The Mighty Boosh, it’s a high-energy, garage-punk explosion that revels in satire, absurdism, and self-destruction. But beneath the mayhem lurks a deeper question: is reinvention true freedom, or just another mask?
SOLOCOM NYC has launched over 400 new solo comedies that have gone on to longer runs, tours and festivals around the world (including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.) SOLOCOM NYC is a festival of new solo work. All shows presented are 75%- 100% new material, and are created specifically for the festival. SOLOCOMs goal is to push artists to create a show that is meaningful, personal and to follow the fear.
