PART OF THE ARTSBEATLA ARTICLE; COMEDIENNES TAKE ON THE FRINGE

WINNER BEST SOLO PERFORMANCE & ENCORE: UNDER THE JELLO MOLD

Jennie Fahn – Under the Jello Mold

What’s your show about?

It’s a comedy about the dealing with my mom at the end of her life, and discovering that she had a secret hidden along with her post-mortem instructions.

What was the inspiration for it?

I did a one-woman show called YOU MUTHA! A ONE-MOTHER SHOW, 12 years ago, and people had been asking me to do it again. My mom was a featured character in that show. It wasn’t quite right to simply revive it; I considered a sequel, but it kind of morphed into this show solely about my mom.

Will this be the first time you are performing this show?

Yes.

What is it about the Fringe that is so conducive to presenting solo shows?

It’s an affordable way to produce a show in a supportive environment that offers a lot of platforms from which to launch your show. The Fringe Festival itself helps guide you along the production path so you aren’t a ship sailing on your own – you have assistance all the way through: workshops, town halls, people to turn to – it’s great! And the Fringe community itself becomes a wonderful network of friends and ultimately, a big part of your audience as well.

Solo shows can be a tricky undertaking — what makes them so challenging to develop and to perform?

You do need a compelling reason why a show should be a “solo” show and not a traditional format – so usually there needs to be something unique or compelling about your show that presents itself and screams – this is YOU. And since it can get boring to just watch one person on stage for a long period of time, it’s important to have an outside eye to guide the show to make sure you are not going to be boring to watch!

What’s great / remarkable / unique / special about your show?!

Even though this is a very personal story, it is extremely relate-able. Everyone has a mom (or someone important in their life) who has passed away. And everyone has a crazy story about someone who had a secret, or something they were hiding. There’s a universality to it that people are going to relate to – and there’s a lot of laughs in it, even though it may seem like it’s about something sad. It’s a comedy. My mom was a real character.

When shaping a solo show, do you think comedy is an essential element? Why?

In my show, comedy is definitely a must. But I suppose every show is unique – that’s why some people like vanilla and some people like chocolate. But some sprinkles never hurt on anything, so I think comedy injected into drama is usually a good thing, too.

What do you hope audiences to gain from your show?

I’d love for my audiences to have a wonderful time, laugh a lot, shed a few tears, and maybe pick up a piece of trash off the ground the next time they see it.

- See more at: http://www.artsbeatla.com/2017/06/hff17-5/#sthash.btRnSurS.dpuf