A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman 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. In 1996, Rob Becker's '' Defending the Caveman'' became the longest running solo (one man) play in the history of Broadway.

Traits of solo performance

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 the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

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 is Eric Bogosian in the published version of his show ''Wake Up And Smell the Coffee'', by

Theatre Communications Group Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is a non-profit service organization headquartered in New York City that promotes professional non-profit theatre in the United States. The organization also publishes ''American Theatre'' magazine and ''ARTSEA ...

, New York City.

History

It is assumed that individuals have told stories in front of other members of their tribe or society for thousands of years. They would have orally passed down many of today's myths and

legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...

s in this manner. So it is a style of performance that has been with us for generations developing through theatrical people such as Greek Monologists, the strolling Minstrels of Medieval England and the French

Troubadors A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

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 of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

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. 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 the

Victorian period In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edward ...

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. 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 as ''Amadeus'', ''Equus'', and ''Evita'' among others, modeling a combination of representational theatricality and presentational, direct-address style. By the 1960s, the term performance art became popular and involved any number of performance acts or happenings, as they were known. Many performers, like Laurie Anderson, developed through these happenings and are still performing today.

Types and examples of solo performances

The backgrounds of solo performers over the decades range from

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

, comedy, poetry, music, the visual arts, magic,

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

, theatre and dance. Solo performers include Rob Becker,

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the varie ...

, Andy Kaufman, Rod Maxwell,

Lord Buckley Lord Richard Buckley (born Richard Myrle Buckley; April 5, 1906 – November 12, 1960) was an American stand-up comedian and recording artist, who in the 1940s and 1950s created a character that was, according to ''The New York Times'', "an unl ...

, Eric Bogosian, Whoopi Goldberg, Jade Esteban Estrada,

Eddie Izzard Edward John Izzard (; born 7 February 1962) is a British stand-up comedian, actor and activist. Her comedic style takes the form of what appears to the audience as rambling whimsical monologues and self-referential pantomime. Izzard's stand- ...

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (; ; born July 22, 196013:04) is an American actor, comedian, and film producer. He has appeared in over 100 films, produced over 20 films and documentaries, made over 30 television appearances, and has produced ...

, Marga Gomez, Anna Deavere Smith, Bill Hicks,

Brother Blue Hugh Morgan Hill (July 12, 1921 – November 3, 2009) who performed as Brother Blue, was an American educator, storyteller, actor, musician, and street performer based principally in the Boston area. After serving as First Lieutenant from 1 ...

and

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

. Several performers have presented solo shows in tribute to famous personalities. The blueprint for this type of show may have been drafted by

Hal Holbrook Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...

, who has performed as

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has pr ...

in his solo show, '' Mark Twain Tonight'', more than 2,000 times since 1954. Examples since that time include Julie Harris in the Emily Dickinson biography, '' The Belle of Amherst''; Tovah Feldshuh as Golda Meir in ''

Golda's Balcony ''Golda's Balcony'' is a play by William Gibson. It follows the trajectory of the life of Golda Meir from Russian immigrant to American schoolteacher to a leader of international politics as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel. Much of its fo ...

'';

Frank Gorshin Frank John Gorshin Jr. (April 5, 1933 – May 17, 2005) was an American actor, comedian and impressionist. He made many guest appearances on '' The Ed Sullivan Show'' and '' Tonight Starring Steve Allen''. As an actor, he played the Riddler on ...

as George Burns in '' Say Goodnight Gracie'' by Rupert 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 as Clarence Darrow in ''Darrow'', Ronald Rand as Harold Clurman in '' Let It Be Art!'' since 2001 in 25 countries, and Tom Dugan as

Simon Wiesenthal Simon Wiesenthal (31 December 190820 September 2005) was a Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor, Nazi hunter, and writer. He studied architecture and was living in Lwów at the outbreak of World War II. He survived the Janowska concentration ...

in ''Wiesenthal''. A few actors adapted entire novels for the stage including Patrick Stewart who played all 43 parts in his version of ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas ...

'', which played three times on Broadway and at The Old Vic in London; actor Gerald Charles Dickens played 26 characters in his performances from the same work; and

Jack Aranson Jack Aranson (29 December 1924 – 3 January 2008) was an American actor, trained in Ireland and England, noted for acting in many Shakespeare plays and several one-man shows. He was one of the last actor/managers, creating and managing several sm ...

starred in a solo, 13-character production of '' Moby Dick''. Solo performance may be personal, autobiographical creations. This ranges from the intensely confessional but comedic work of

Spalding Gray Spalding Gray (June 5, 1941 – January 11, 2004) was an American actor, novelist, playwright, screenwriter and performance artist. He is best known for the autobiographical monologues that he wrote and performed for the theater in the 1980s a ...

, the semi-autobiographical ''

A Bronx Tale ''A Bronx Tale'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age crime film directed by and starring Robert De Niro in his directorial debut and produced by Jane Rosenthal, adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 play of the same name. It tells the coming of a ...

'' by Chaz Palminteri, or Holly Hughes' solo piece ''World without End,'' in which she attempts to make sense of her relationship with her mother, who had died. Another example of this is ''In The Body of the World,'' written and performed by

Eve Ensler V, formerly Eve Ensler (; born May 25, 1953), is an American playwright, performer, feminist, and activist. V is best known for her play ''The Vagina Monologues''.

in 2018. Still other shows may rally around a central theme, such as pop culture in Pat Hazel's ''The Wonderbread Years'', relationships in Robert Dubac's ''The Male Intellect'', the history of the New York City transit system in

Mike Daisey Mike Daisey (born January 21, 1976) is an American monologist, author, and actor. His monologue ''The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs'', about the labor conditions under which Apple devices are made, was used as the basis for a widely share ...

's ''Invincible Summer'', or fighting the system in Patrick Combs' ''Man 1, Bank 0''. these themes could also be centered around a certain topic such as a political or social issue. Tim Miller explores the topic of gay culture and society surrounding the LGBTQ community in his production of ''My Queer Body''.

Karen Finley Karen Finley (born 1956) is an American performance artist, musician and poet. Her performance art, recordings, and books are used as forms of activism. Her work frequently uses nudity and profanity. Finley incorporates depictions of sexuality, ...

expressed her frustration with the standards women are held to and the issues surrounding them such as rape and abortion in her solo piece titled ''We Keep Our Victims Ready''. Sometimes, solo shows are simply traditional plays written by playwrights for a cast of one. Examples: '' Shirley Valentine'' by Willy Russell, ''

I Am My Own Wife ''I Am My Own Wife'' is a play by Doug Wright based on his conversations with the German antiquarian Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. The one-man play premiered Off-Broadway in 2003 at Playwrights Horizons. It opened on Broadway later that year. The pla ...

'' by Doug Wright, '' The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead'' by Robert Hewett and '' Topless'' by

Miles Tredinnick Miles Tredinnick, also known as Riff Regan, (born Warrington 18 February 1955) is a rock musician, songwriter and a stage and screenwriter. In the 1970s, he was the lead singer with the British rock band London.Spicer, Al, (2006) ''The Rough Gui ...

. A performer of shows of this type is Chris Harris, whose performances in the genre include ''Kemp's Jig'', ''That's The Way To Do It!'', '' Ally Sloper's Half Holiday'', ''Beemaster'', Arris Music 'All'' and ''A Night at the Pantomime''. 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 the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

can involve stories of

pathos Pathos (, ; plural: ''pathea'' or ''pathê''; , for " suffering" or "experience") appeals to the emotions and ideals of the audience and elicits feelings that already reside in them. Pathos is a term used most often in rhetoric (in which it is ...

and the use of technological equipment such as

projector A projector or image projector is an optical device that projects an image (or moving images) onto a surface, commonly a projection screen. Most projectors create an image by shining a light through a small transparent lens, but some newer typ ...

s. Examples include Howard Read, who has performed with the animated character

Little Howard Howard Oliver Drinkwater Read is a British screenwriter, comedian, and animator best known for his work with his animated sidekick, Little Howard. His other creations include an angry manager with a conversational style and the worldview of Berna ...

which was projected with the aid of computers and

Dave Gorman David James Gorman (born 2 March 1971) is an English comedian, presenter, and writer. Gorman began his career writing for comedy series such as ''The Mrs Merton Show'' (1993–1998) and '' The Fast Show'' (1994–1997), and later garnered a ...

, who has performed several shows described as "documentary comedy".

Solo performance in film

The first full-length talking film which showed only a single character was ''Sofi'', a 1968 film starring Tom Troupe. The film was based on " Diary of a Madman" by Gogol. The 1964 Hindi movie Yaadein also featured only

Sunil Dutt Sunil Dutt (born Balraj Dutt; 6 June 1929 — 25 May 2005) was an Indian actor, film producer, director and politician. Dutt was one of the major stars of Hindi cinema in the late 1950s and 1960s and continued to star in many successful film ...

, but

Nargis Dutt Nargis Dutt (born Fatima Rashid; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she made her screen debut in a minor role ...

made a few appearances ''as a silhouette''. However, it still made it to the Guinness Book of World Records for the "fewest actors in a narrative film".

Secret Honor ''Secret Honor'' is a 1984 American historical drama film directed by Robert Altman, written by Donald Freed and Arnold M. Stone, and starring Philip Baker Hall. It is based on the play, and follows Richard Nixon as a fictional account attempti ...

, a 1984 film about Richard Nixon with

Philip Baker Hall Philip Baker Hall (September 10, 1931 – June 12, 2022) was an American character actor. Hall is known for his collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson, including '' Hard Eight'' (1996), '' Boogie Nights'' (1997) and ''Magnolia'' (1999). He al ...

as the disgraced President ruminating on his past. In the 21st century the "solo performance" had a rejuvenation period with films like '' Locke'', ''

All Is Lost ''All Is Lost'' is a 2013 survival drama film written and directed by J. C. Chandor. The film stars Robert Redford as a man lost at sea. Redford is the only cast member, and the film has 51 spoken English words. ''All Is Lost'' is Chandor's sec ...

'' and '' Buried''. The characteristics were different from the previous one-character films that were made – mainly by location and style. Sofi and works like '' Give '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. Most recently films by Marcus Tell showed ongoing characteristics of one-character films.

Productions and solo performers/writers

Chazz Palminteri Calogero Lorenzo "Chazz" Palminteri (born May 15, 1952)
Chazzpalminteri.net. Retrieved on November 19, 2013. is an American ...

*Rob Becker: Defending the Caveman * Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol: ''Diary of a Madman'' *

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

: '' On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco'' *Rebecca Clarke: '' Unspoken'' *

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

: '' Erwartung'' *

: ''Freak; Latin History for Morons'' * David Serero: ''Christmas for Jews; I, Napoleon'' *

Eve Ensler V, formerly Eve Ensler (; born May 25, 1953), is an American playwright, performer, feminist, and activist. V is best known for her play ''The Vagina Monologues''.

: ''In the Body of the World'' *Daniel Beaty: ''Emergency'' * Ronald Rand: ''Let It Be Art!''

References

Resources

"Latin History for Morons." Broadway.com, www.broadway.com/shows/latin-history-moron/. "In the Body of the world." In the Body of the World, Manhattan Theatre Club, bodyoftheworldplay.com/ Rand, Ronald. "Solo Transformation on Stage: A Journey into the Organic Process of the Art of Transformation" Brown Posey Press, 2021. Isherwood, Charles. "'Emergence-SEE!' – Theater – Review." ''The New York Times'', The New York Times, 23 October 2006, www.nytimes.com/2006/10/23/theater/reviews/23emer.html. Rimalower, Ben. "'On My Own': The Top 10 Solo Shows on Broadway." ''Playbill'', PLAYBILL INC., 6 September 2014, www.playbill.com/article/on-my-own-the-top-10-solo-shows-on-broadway-com-328659. "History of Solo Performance." ''Allforone'', www.afo.nyc/history-of-solo-performance. Catron, Louis E. ''The power of one: the solo play for playwrights, actors, and directors''. Waveland Press, Inc., 2009. David, Cara Joy. "Theater Companies Learn the Value of Flying Solo." ''The New York Times'', The New York Times, 2 May 2007, www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/theater/03solo.html. Young, Jordan R. ''Acting solo: the art of one-Man shows''. Moonstone Press, 1989. Miller, Bruce J. ''Acting solo: roadmap to success''. Limelight Editions, 2010. Carlson, Marvin. ''Performance: a Critical Introduction''. Routledge, an Imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Solo performance Vaudeville Comedy theatre Plays for one performer