Fringe-favourite artists Amanda Grace and Bethany McHugh present their experimental variations on the solo show... and teach you to create your own!
Doors: 6pm
Don't Use It Against Me by Bethany McHugh
December 31, 2020. Bethany moves from Minnesota to London. A few days later, a notification; her mentor, 'Michael,' whom she hasn’t spoken to in several years, is terminally ill. In her journal, she scribbles 'How to write to my borderline abusive estranged mentor.' Don't Use It Against Me is an autobiographical multimedia exploration that asks how to mourn a problematic person, playing with existing power dynamics and structures: between teacher vs. student, past vs. present self, and storyteller vs. audience.
[CW: death]
[Globally] Talented by Amanda Grace
Developed at LONDON/LONDRA and The Glitch, [Globally] Talented recruits the audience to write an internationally relevant, universally marketable migration story that will help supplement a real-life visa application. This hour-long performance of care offers audience-participants the opportunity to hold the artist and share their stories within their own boundaries. There will be coloured pencils, multi-media polls, and lots of laughter.
[CW: migration-related trauma]
Solo Show Workshop facilitated by the Artists
Bethany and Amanda will share with you the process of devising your own show in this gentle introduction to solo performance from two experts. You will leave this beginner-friendly workshop will exercises to kick-start your creativity and tools to keep the process kind on you.
About the Artists
Amanda Grace is a neurodivergent, trans-Atlantic, bisexual dream child whose storytelling work traipses across fringe venues, communes & collectives, pop- up prohibition bars, shipping containers, festival tents, and storied stages & screens. She is currently preparing a European tour of her one-woman show, Trephination for the Twenty-First Century, reclaiming former operating theatres and lunatic asylums for the mad.
Integrating expertise theatrical framework & psychological theory, Amanda specialises in the safe and sustainable performance of care, holding an MFA with distinction in Actor & Performer Training from Rose Bruford College. Amanda creates one-on-one audience-participant experiences and works with companies, drama schools, & community centres to ensure the long-term wellness of all care performers in line with Equity UK’s mental health charter & resources curated by ArtsMinds, and represents the Disability Network at the National Theatre.
Amanda appears courtesy of LP Artist Management. thatamandagrace.com
Bethany McHugh is a London-based, British-American theatremaker. She works professionally as a maker, actor, singer, improviser, director, facilitator, and collaborator. Bethany is drawn to new work and adaptations that center female stories, aiming to make art that inspires meaningful dialogue around important issues and underrepresented narratives. She works with artists of all disciplines, fusing her love of music, storytelling, movement, and language to create emotionally resonant stories. She believes deeply that theatre can inspire radical empathy and change in audiences, participants, and makers alike.
Bethany holds a dual degree in English and Theatre with distinction in her theatre thesis from Carleton College. She is also a proud alumna of the Tony Award-winning Eugene O’Neill Theater’s NTI program. In January 2021, Bethany moved to the UK to pursue a post-graduate degree at Rose Bruford College. In October 2022, she received an MFA with distinction in Collaborative Theatremaking.