- Erin Molson
We are very excited to announce that Gnap! superstar Erin Molson will be reprising her one-woman show Am I Freaking JOB? twice this month at Salvage Vanguard Theater. We’re also excited about this, our inaugural interview in what we anticipate being an ongoing series talking improv and theater with our artists. We’re NOT excited that Erin will be leaving our fair city this fall, but we wish her well in all her endeavors.
Shannon McCormick: So you had a pretty miserable 2008. How did you come to make a one woman comedy show out of it?
Erin Molson: It got to be ridiculous the stuff that was happening to me right after the other. People were stunned when they heard the timeline of events so I thought hmm this isn’t normal. So I kept reliving the events and trying to make sense of them . And the way I deal with anything is through humor. I’ve been making fun of myself my entire life so it became this challenge like how do you make suicide and losing all your material possessions funny?? And that’s how the show came to be.
SMc: And you did it at FronteraFest in 2009, right? What was the reception like?
EM: well there were only 6 people in the audience-it was a wednesday night-so it was hard to tell… although one guy wrote his reaction : http://www.austin.com/content/view/1282/1/ and i loved his take because that’s exactly what i was going for! having a conversation with your best friend! i didn’t want to do the stereotypical one woman show where i’m moaning about my period and being a woman in a man’s world and I don’t want to come across as bitter or angry. Everyone experiences loss and heartache and I don’t think mine is any harder or more profound. I just happen to love telling stories and the more black humor in it-the better.
SMc: Wow, that’s a pretty low turnout for a FronteraFest show. Are you sure you’re not confusing it with the late night Gnap! show you did a while back? Ha!
So, you are pretty active as both an improviser (with Girls Girls Girls
We love women willing to dork out!
) and with scripted theater, and now you’ve written this show. Is there any of these three approaches to theater that speaks to you most, or do you like having variety? On a related note, you’ve done a few shows that were devised by the performing ensemble, like Yellow Tapes’s shows and Gnap!’s Tha Family. Any thoughts on making theater that way?
EM: I definitely need a variety in the type of performance. I get sick of improv pretty quick and go running to scripted work. Then I long for the days of making my own dialogue and come crawling back… I did love writing my own show because I felt so passionately on the subject and it was very cathartic to address these issues. My puppy dying at only 4 months was one of the worst things that ever happened to me and understandably people don’t talk about it. But I get worried I’m going to forget about him so this made me revisit some of the happiest times in my life without bringing it up at a party and making people uncomfortable.
I was very lucky both with Yellow Tape Construction Company and Gnap’s The Family because those were incredibly talented and versatile ensembles. I’m not always the best at playing well with others because I have incredibly high standards for myself and others. However, my experiences were so positive because of the wealth of talent and how willing people were to work together. I’d like to take this opportunity to mention Michael Joplin is a god.
SMc: Yeah, Joplin’s all kinds of awesome. We’re going to miss him if and when he goes. Speaking of which, you’re leaving soon, too. Boo. What’s next for you?
EM: I’m headed to Chicago to try and worm my way into Second City. I want to keep doing improv and jump into the wonderful world of sketch! i’m hoping to continue doing theater too. Gotta stay warm somehow….
SMc: What will you most miss about Austin?
Do not mess with the sultry.
EM: Oh, definitely the queso at Polvos and my friends. I’ve been here for 5 years and i have a great community of friends and fellow performers. It’s going to be hard to start over but I think it will help to challenge me so I’ll grow as an actor and improviser. I hope. If not–I’m running back here as fast as I can.
SMc: Any final thoughts before we wrap up this interview?
EM: I just want to say thanks to Gnap for giving me the opportunity to do my show and that as much as I enjoy doing this show–I hope my next one woman show is about how freaking awesome it is to be me.
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