Robert Will Show You the Door -Blog (read about all the tour ups and downs)

October 21,2024

I just returned from performing three shows in Provincetown for Women’s Week. It was amazing. I used to be a regular performer in Provincetown and have not been there in ten years. It was great to be back on commercial Street talking to people, seeing familiar faces and hanging with the other performers in town. The venue, The Red Room, is a funky cabaret with red curtains and sparkle ( disco ball) It was perfect for my show. Now that my tour is complete, all my energies are focused on my run at LaMaMa! show opens next month and I am psyched. The provincetown stage had a staircase on it. I used it for many of my characters it gave height to my performance and I am now considereing adding stairs to La MaMa Production.

September 2, 2024

Well I made it through the five city fringe tour. I did not write during the Edmonton Fringe because I was having too much fun. The show was well received in a beautiful theatre with super professional techs. I finally got to see other shows- about 14! Now that it is September and I am back in NY, I have a lot going on. I’m getting set for my Provicetown shows. Robert Will show you the Door will be at the Redroom on Commercial Street. I’m ready to rock Women’s Week . Tickets are now on sale. check the schedule for link. After Provincetown all hands on deck for - Drumroll please…. OFF Broadway run at LaMaMa ETC. November 21- Decembert 1. None shows- 2 sunday Matinees. Tickets on sale now, check schedule link. Wow ! What a year. I am also halfway through my next show, The Game of Bluff ( three generations of women and gambling) which will be set for readings in NY in January.

Monday July 28

And that’s a wrap! Seven Shows in Hamilton Fringe- last two shows, full house and standing ovation. I left on Saturday to celebrate a friend’s birthday in Toronto. I missed the awards on Sunday night but have been informed that my show won-“ Best Touring Show”- That is a nice recognition. Yes, this show has toured! One more fringe left this year, Edmonton- da big one. I’m psyched to bring the show back after two years. And Liam, my dog has proven to be a great travel buddy. He got so comfortable on the long drive back, that he was kicking back and eating a bone in the backseat.

Wednesday July 24, 2024

I’ve already had 4 shows at this tiny fringe. My audiences have rapidly grown from 20 to 50 each show in a small yet high ceiling theater. They get me here! My tech on the other hand is a 20 something year old stoner who doesn’t get the cues right nightly. I’ve stopped worrying because it is always fun not knowing when a cue will appear and I will have to ad-lib. The audience has loved that fringy feeling of tech disastor. One night the show was over and the lights never went dark. Another night the lights went dark while I was still speaking. My Air b N b is specatacular and very air conditioned! it has been 30-31 Celcius here - ( Americans do you calculation now to F.. mutiply by 9/5th and add 32)

I am have had fun exploring the city by bike. The bike share program here cost $22 a month! That’s 16 USd! As far as shows, I’ve seen a couple. The one that stood out is a local company doing a 2 person show called STATIONARY. The whole play takes place of two tread machines. The actors are on them during all scenes. Brilliant. Last night my show was truly the best reaction that I’ve had to this show in months. A group of Special Education teachers from Toronto drove the one hour to see my show because they saw me do P.S. 69 twenty years ago in Toronto! They found me on Instagram and showed up with flowers and big laughs! Wow ! talk about ego rush. I was honored that they loved Robert Will Show You the Door and want me to bring it to Toronto. Maybe, it’s not an easy fringe. The crowds and press support the locals and out of towners struggle to get an audience. But ,I have some good comedy peeps there which makes all the difference when you are on the road.

Saturday July 20, 2024

I’m in Hamilton, Ontario. My first time at this fringe. It is much smaller than I imagined. The beer tent/ Hub is empty in the day and 1/2 full at night. They do have events on a stage that brings people out. My theatre is in a big theatre complex but there is nothing around as far as food and drink for before and after shows. The other venues are all spread out. I went to a one man show today in a movie theatre in a section of town with shops and coffee and bars. Much different from the empty wall street on a Sunday feel where my venue is. Regardless. the people are very friendly and eager to support theatre. I only had one show so far and my Toronto performer friends made the 40 minute drive to be there. It was great fun seeing everyone and recountging our old fringe days. or recounting our fringe days before we were old!. My technition assigned by the fringe is a stoner. literally lights up right before my show then “ like wow I was watching your show and forgot the cue”. We will see if this continues. I have a 10:15 pm show tonight and I can only imagine stoner dude condition by then. I just ran into near the theater ( 4 pm and he was smoking a fat one)

The show I saw in the movie theatre was a guy recounting growing up in motels because his family owned a chain of them. I don’t agree with his theatrical choice of sitting behind a huge desk like cabinet which only showed his head talking into a microphone. He had a music set up on the desk and played songs for each era he discussed, I was not surprised when he told the audience he was a DJ

Sunday June 23, 2024

As predicted yesterday’s 5 pm show was really fun. There was a loud laughing, crowd, which helps the energy of the show. So far my crowds have loved the show but have been relatively quiet about it until the bows. Today is another rainy dismill day in Ottawa/Gataneu. I am not feeling down ike yesterday because last night I went out with a brilliant actor/artist Rich O’Hanna. We met ten years ago at the Calgary Fringe. We bonded then about our character work. He lives here now with his wife. I was a tourist in his city. We had a drink at the Fairmont hotel overlooking the water while we analyzed what it means to be an actor. Rich is the most talented artist. that I know, and I know a lot of artist. I have followed his painting and sculpting work online for the last decade. I am blown away by such talent. The fact that he came to my show ,even though he is not part of the fringe ,and wanted to take me out after, is proof that I have met some incredible people at fringe festivals. I am looking foward to performing my last show here in Ottawa. A Sunday matinee . There are some conflicts in the town that may sway people away from the finge. The Jazz festival and a World Cup game- Germany Vs. USA. Perhaps the theater crowd will not be swayed to do either of those things and will make it to my 2:00 show.. Tomorrow I will be driving back to NY to be greeted no doubt by a heatwave. I will try to suck up this cool Canadain air and remember it fondly.

**Saturday June 22, 2024.

I’ve reached the point in my fringe tour where I want to go home. I still have two more shows and I know when I’m backstage and ready to go on this afternoon at 5:00 I will be energized and psyched. I am grateful that the short heatwave here ( 3 days of 90+ ) passed. It is now a cool 70 and a little rainy. This dreary sky might be the cause of me wanting my familiar homey things like my comforter and bathtub. But the reality is it’s too hot in NY for the comforter or bath! I have come to the realization after Fresno, Orlando and now Ottawa that my show is not as universal as I first thought. Yes the ups and down of life and the constant resiliance needed in showbusiness does resonate with many, but, the refrences to my generation only reaches a certain population of fringers. I may have to re-think my future gigs and not focus so much on fringes. I seem to have out grown them and Female Solo shows do not usually get the same crowds as the musicals, clown shows, multi-cast shows. Notice I said “female” because after twenty years of fringing it is hard to not notice that female solo shows do not immediately pull the same audience numbers as male shows. Oh yes, there are many exceptions and I myself have sold out repeatedly with P.S. 69 ( 2000-2007) But, I have had conversations with my female solo show peers and most often the critics will review shows and find a fault in the female show but overlook it in the male show. This is just an observation. I am rethinking my future fringe tours and seeking more professional venues. I started fringing to accomadate my full time teaching schedules. Now that that my teaching no longer a limitation, I can go back to the theater community and pitch the show to Arts Theaters. The fringe has given me years of press and creativity and drive to keep writing and performing. If I abandon fringes all together, I probably will not have the opportunity to perform 5-7 shows. Instead, just a one nighter here and there or a weekend while waiting for the coveted run in a theater. I’ve reached the point where performing at 10:30 on a Wednesday night is not where I want to be. I do like seeing other shows in the same festival and I am looking forward to Edmonton this August . The show has already been there and did well. A second run usually means building even more buzz.

If it wasn’t for fringes, I would have never met such incredible people that I still keep in touch with from performers to billeters, ( people who host performers). This Part three of my life is more complex than I have envisioned. I am still working it out. Taking on a five city fringe tour may have been a bit too much. Thankfully, I brought a little piece of home with me, Liam my Pug/Chihuahua who has proven to share my personality of exploring and experiencing new things constantly.

*Tuesday June 18,2024- Ottawa Fringe Continues with some downs followed by big ups.

After an amazing opening I spent the next day talking to many people and promoting my show for that eve. at 9:30. I also walked back and forth to fringe covering at least five miles. needless to say, come showtime I was feeling rather exhausted. But not a normal tired, an achey tired and congested ears. UH OH! At this point I need to disclose that I had Covid ( 3rd time’s the charm) early in the month and I sensed it was giving me some after effects even though I tested negative last week. The 9:30 show was very different from my 8 pm show the night before, the crowd was small and quiet. This did not help in giving me energy. During the show I felt more and more out of it. I couldn’t hear my microphone, my ears closed. I was getting disoriented and lost a line. But like a true professional, I forged on. I made it back to my place after the show, walked Liam and passed out. The following day as predicted I was full out fatigued and achey and had to spend the day in bed watching a movie. “ Tell Them You Love Me” a disturbing documentary on Netflix. I made it to my 7:00 show with more energy and a nice crowd. awaited me

Part of being on tour with performers from all over the world, is you get to see all types of shows, from clowns, to aerialist, to plays to musicals. I saw four shows all very different. “A one woman Titanic “( very funny wig swapping re-telling of the movie). “Southern Gothic Novel”- One man, ten southern characters telling a very funny mystery story. It was really fun to see another actor do the physicaliti’s and voices like I do on stage.

The next show I saw had two actors, each playing a couple of characters. “ Polygraph.” It is a drama about powerful men assaulting women. And lastly, the very funny ,’”One Man- No Show” hysterical , clown like ,existentialism weirdness.

The best part about the last couple of days was being interviewed by the CBC on a show about women and multicharacter shows. You can find it at CBC Ottawa- Alan Near show. It was so much fun to be in a radio studio again with 2 other female performers. And Justin Trudeau just happened to be in the newsroom when we were escorted in. He looks even younger in person. No ,I did not speak to him, but I did notice the security detail was four men in suits. If that was Biden in the room, they would have closed off the entire floor to visitors. and closed the street to traffic-Canada is so chill.

JUNE 15 WELCOME TO MY 2024 Fringe Tour

The tour actually started in March in Fresno, it was a small fringe with a very responsive audience. I hadn’t planned for the festival to stop during the week and pick up again on the second weekend. That was weird and left me dawling around Fresno for four days. I met some great people, made my expenses and drank some really good craft beer.
I’m currently In Ottawa. A fringe that I’ve never been able to perform at because of MY NY teaching schedule. The show has not opened yet. I open tomorrow night at 8:30 . I will be seeing a show tonight in the theater and scoping out the room. I’m happy to be here and far away from the Orlando Fringe. A fringe that is not like Canadian fringes being that it favors local artist and puts touring artist at a disadvantage. The whole festival has a cliquish feel to it and if you are not in with the mean girls, you miss out on press, sold out shows and all around Buzz. That being said, let’s come back to Canada.

OH CANADA I love you so. For those of you who do not know, I am half Canadain. My father was born in Montreal. The second I arrive on Canadian soil, I start to relax. I drove in, which is a first for me. My dog, Liam sat in the back seat as we pulled up to the Border. The agent asked me some questions, “ purpose of trip, where I’m going ..” When I told him I was half Canadain, his whole attitude changed. He didnt’ even ask for Vet Papers for Liam. He welcomed me to “ my people” and I was on my way without a search or intrusive personal questions. Maybe the guy was lonely, it was pretty desolote way upstate in Watertown. I had been driving for hours on a boring highway, so I was open to a border agent chatting me up. I’m staying in a nice area about a twenty minute walk from the fringe. There is a beautiful park a block away. Liam and I take morning walks along the river where there is a shared pedestian/ bike path. I noticed that everyone is chill here. There are no intense joggers, dog walkers, moms with double wide strollers, motorized delivery guys etc, instead just a calmness with the people. Even the bikers mind the pedestians. In NY I feel like the intense bikers try to hit me when I’m crossing their way. My American ways are constantly on display here. I’m used to going into a store and asking for something, paying for it and leaving. That is not the Candaian way. You must first go through the greeting “ How are you today,?” It is asked sincerly and they actually wait for an answer. I tend to be abrupt and say things like “ Fine, where is the soap?’. This usually results in the employee getting quiet and pointing to an aisle. I did it again today at Walmart ( buying dog treats) I felt like a jerk and apologized to the employee. “ I’m sorry I was rude, I’m half American.”

***2024- Happy New Year. This is a very exciting year for me. I have quit my day job to focus solely on my art. There will be a new play written this year, I promise. As planned Robert will be touring to numerous cities this year. I can finally apply to any festival in any part of the world in any given month! Afer 24 years of teachng and trying to balance that wih performing I can honestly say- it’s time! Starting with the Fresno Rogue Festival in March. I am very excited to bring my work to California it has been awhile since I’ve perofrmed there. I will be keeping this blog up to date once I’m on the road, so check back again.

After a successful run in Fresno at the Rogue Festival, I am now in Orlando. This is the largest American Fringe Festival. I brought my dog with me. So far he is adapting to road life. My show opens tomorrow May 16. I already performed a nerve racking preview show for fringe volunteers and the press. That was new and different- at the end of my first tech rehearsal , performing to be reviewed. The review hasn’t come out yet. Aside from throwing a couple of lines, it was a good show.

2023

June 25th-It’s very exciting to be planning my Canadian Tour again. The last two years with the pandemic restrictions have affected my mood, creativity, and hopefulness. But, as I find a new life after all that binge-watching and zooming, things are looking good.  Robert Will Show You the Door is making its Canadian Debut in Winnipeg and then going on to Edmonton. This new website will be very much alive with stand-up dates and news of theatrical runs all over the country and Europe. Happy Summer to all and I hope to see you in my audience soon. Big thank You to Laz Viciedo for designing this new website

*******NEWS FROM WINNIPEG 2022************

JULY 14-AND TWO SHOWS DONE!- All I can say is wow! I totally forgot how wonderful Winnipeg Audiences are. I had an opening show at 8pm to 50 very attentive people. They hung on my every word and did not laugh very much, which made me think that they did not like the show. But to my surprise they laughed loud at the end and all stood up to applaud? Wow and Wow.

Following that show, I had to go to bed early and perform a 11:15 Am show! Not my favorite time for many reasons but mostly it’s a food issue. I cannot perform without a meal at least 2 hours before. and oatmeal is not enough ( my breakfast) So, 30 minutes before show time I was scarfing done a frozen un-chicken meal that I took with me from my air B N B. Don’t worry it was still hot in my little tupperware. I am definately a veteren fringer cause I knew to bring my own tupperware! Well the morning show was a winner! Laughs, applause, happy people and happy performer. I had a lot more fun on stage but ran 5 min over! ooops, have to find somewhere to cut.- I have a day off tomorrow to see shows and to find those cuts!

Sunday, July 17th

Well the theme of the blog is “ hot’. Winnipeg got steamy, heatwave, hot. I swear me and heat are no longer friends . So much so, that on Friday, I had to move from an un-airconditioned air B N B to a very cold basement room that the wonderful Fringe offered me for free. They have patrons who offer billets to artist. Because I usually tour with Fred my dog, I never qualify for them. But now that Fred is in doggy heaven, I can take advantage of the free lodging. That is why I love Canadians. They treat artist with dignity. My Friday afternoon performance was better than all my shows so far because I forgot lines, got back on track and adlibed . This means that the show is starting to take shape. I was off today and i’m off tomorrow and plan to go swimming in the largest pool in Winnipeg! A review came out today in the main paper here and it was a steller review but it had a hint of ageism. Feel free to read it and tell me if you feel the same.

Sunday, July 24th 2022

And that’s a wrap! The show has found its legs. So many new jokes and beats. It has definitely morphed into a tight 60 minutes. Last night was my 8th show. It was a late show, 10 PM which did not draw a walk up crowd. But the two dozen that showed were there because they wanted to be. I cancelled my ninth show which would have been tonight at 8 pm because my body said , NO.! This is my first tour in four years and I feel like I ran two marathons. I am forever grateful to the most professional sound technician, Steve, who really made my show a professional production. Last night I had two seeing impaired people at my show with there service dogs. They sat in the first row and the dogs at their feet. My stage is floor level, so the dogs were on part of the stage. When I entered the stage, both dogs stood up with large brown eyes to greet me. I wanted so much to go and say hello but stayed in my script. Midway through the show, my character screams. Both dogs stood up as if to intervene! How wonderful that their humans chose my show to listen to. I put in the program that it was good for vision impaired but never imagined that it would draw people with limited sight. Now I get to rest for ten whole days before heading to Edmonton where I will be in a large beautiful theatre that seats almost 200! I performed P.S. 69 in that theatre and am eager to experience the magic of that stage again. Oh send me some good travel vibes- I am flying on Air Canada tomorrow!

FIRST REVIEW EVER OF THIS BRAND NEW SHOW……..

Winnipeg Free Press- 7/16/22

ROBERT WILL SHOW YOU THE DOOR (TALES OF BEING FIRED)

Jeremy Productions

The Clock Tower (Venue 3)

In the course of searching for God’s plan for her life, New York comedy veteran Susan Jeremy got fired from almost every job she ever had. She got fired from a fish’n’chip stand; fired from a gig as a birthday party clown; she even ran into trouble doling out celebrity impressions on the street. Hey, at least it left her with lots of material for this 60-minute whirl through the indignities faced by an aspiring comic, waiting for her big break.

Along the way, Jeremy discovered not just one, but a few purposes in life. One of them is to amuse audiences with shows like these. She’s a natural onstage, bold and engaging, never better than when she’s slyly poking fun at herself. Throw in a little ‘70s and ‘80s nostalgia that will entertain the right generation, and the hour rolls by easy.

— Melissa Martin

AUGUST 8th , 2022

I’m in NY after couple of days with friends in the Berkshires and the Poconos. I love swimming in lakes and spending time with good friends. I had both! Kind of weird to have a vacay between 16 shows! I am so relaxed that now I have to get my show mojo back. My show opens in one week in Edmonton and I already sold 60 tickets! I so love the Canadian fringes because people remember you and support your work year after year. This will be my sixth time in Edmonton. I am thrilled that I will playing the same theatre that I rocked P.S. 69 in way back in 2007. The Walterdale. Flying away from the NY heat next week and then I am immediately in show promo mood. Still searching for a bicycle inn Edmonton. Renting one is the same $ as renting a car- out of the question. So, that leaves me with craig’s list, Good Will and the kindness of strangers! Oh, I almost forgot! My show is being sponsored by a Gay Entertainment site!! Check it out- Fruitloop.ca

Sunday August 14th, 2022

I am thrilled to be back in Edmonton. This is the largest fringe festival in North America, usually about 300 shows from all over the world. This year, post pandemic it is half of that. There is a big party feel here. The main hub is a park converted into a stage with outdoor performances, rows and rows of vendors with all kinds of food from pizza to Indian to fried dough. There are also vendors selling crafts, clothes and jewlery. And most of all there is two huge beer gardens and a wine tent( always empty!). It’s like if you could take EDINBRUGH and condense the fringe into one park, this would be it. I have had two shows so far in a beautiful theatre that seats 145. The first show as always was a little stiff on my part as I have to feel the stage and audience. But, to my surprise I had many fans there and they thanked me for coming back. The second show on the following afternoon was the BEST, over 100 people who were with me from beginning to end. It brought me back to pre-pandemic touring. I was so happy after the show, I wandered out into the 85 degrees, bright sunlight and ended up at the far beer tent ( with grass instead of cement). I met a wonderful couple from Bosnia. We drank cold Canadian beer together and discussed the shows to see. They were very interested in knowing about my show and what it was like to be a traveling artist ( a summer one). This is what I live for, making connections with people from all walks of life and sharing a beer. A reviewer from the top paper was at my first show and though it was a good review , he ended it with a negative? I guess this is the job of a critic. At first I was angry but then I realized the positive was so strong that it rules out the one negative. Here is the full review:

https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/local-arts/fringe-review-robert-will-show-you-to-the-door-tales-of-being-fired

ALSO, I had the great pleasure of seeing a fringe buddy’s show- The Potato King. Jimmy Hogg is a fast talking, British comic who tells a story with high end energy and enthusiasm. It made my week! Today I am off. I am lounging in my over the top luxurious air B N B, doing laundry and then heading out to catch a show about a pilot in WW2, A show about Juliet revenging Romeo and Cuban dance show! Happy Fringing

Thursday August 18,2022

Tonight I have a show at 9 Pm, my latest show in this fringe. It’s a whole different crowd after 8 pm. ( a bit younger) This fringe is so well attended that I know it will be rocking. The fact that my theater is located right in the center of it all is a great benefit. I have been here before and know how challenging it is to get an audience when your theater is a hike from the main site. Yesterday, on my day off, I did something that I haven’t done in over twenty years, got a facial!: wearing so much show makeup has made my skin break out a bit. Wow! someone messaging your face for one hour with all kinds of wonderful creams. I highly recommend it. I know there is a joke here but I’m going to skip it for now. After the facial, I saw a couple of one man shows that blew me away. One was called- Half the Battle. an actor from Vancouver, Owen Bishop, played two characters in WW2 that supposedly died in a plane crash and are just discovering it. Unlike the way I do characters, he had them on half of his body. ( one side of his face with a mustache) he turned his head side to side when presenting each who argued and struggled physically and emotionally. WOW! I have tons of respect for the great writing and intense focus he endured for 60 minutes. The audience held on to his every word and the ending gave me chills.

The next show that was as equally as entertaining but more comedic was, In Search of Cruise Control by James Gangli. I wandered in with a free ticket ( artist here see things free) expecting a silly comedy about a guy on a cruise. Instead I was moved by a story about a man’s struggle with being a good catholic an abstaining from sex and being a bad catholic and going to hell. I can relate to this with my upbringing. I thought if I had sex before marriage I would go to hell. I believed this unil I was 19 then I started to question it. It wasn’t until I was 20 that I said Fuck it! James Gangli is really funny and really honest on stage. The story is compelling because aside from his relationship with Catholicism, he faces his disdain for his mother and why. Look for the show .

The next show that I saw also stayed with me. Jon Patersons’s, How I Met My Mother.

I was resistant to seeing this show in Winnipeg because it is about his relationship with his mother who has dementia. My mom has that now. Though I don’t publicly present her that way. I knew it would be challenging to see this show but I’m glad I did. Jon did a great job in presenting his two sides of dealing with his mother, rebellious youth and dedicated adult care taker. My sister has taken on that role now with my mom and I am forever grateful for her. And finally, last night I took in my fringe pal, Jem Rolls’ show. I first met Jem in Winnipeg 2004. He is a fast talking poet. His show this time, The Walk in the Snow , is about the German female Physicist, Lise Meitner, who did not get the recognition she deserved. I learned a lot and am blown away by Jem’s ability to take complex history and present it in an interesting way which not only educated his audience but made us empathetic for yet another unforgotten woman in history. Okay, off to see an afternoon show. And then it’s all promo mood for my 9 Pm show.