WHAT THE BUTLER SAW

Small But Aggressive

A Conversation with Denise Moses, “Small But Aggressive,” Greenway Court Theatre, Hollywood Fringe Festival, by James Scarborough
Denise Moses on giving grief a cigarette, a suitcase, and a chair in her own living room

Grief makes a terrible houseguest. It smokes indoors, refuses to leave, and insists on being acknowledged at the worst possible moments. In Small But Aggressive, written and performed by Denise Moses, that uninvited presence takes literal form: a chain-smoking personification of Grief who moves in after Moses’s ballet dancer husband, Craig, is diagnosed with a brain tumor bearing the show’s title. The result is a multi-character, “one-widow” dark comedy that mines the space where devastation and absurdity coexist.

Moses brings formidable credentials to the material. The New York Post has likened her solo work to that of Lily Tomlin, and her credits span the Off-Broadway groundbreaker Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, an award-winning turn in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They at this same Greenway Court Theatre, and the nationally toured I Love Lucy Live On Stage. She has also taken her one-woman, multi-character shows to more than 100 venues across the country, most recently an eight-week Los Angeles run of Growing Up and Liking It in 2018. A trained dancer as well as an actress, she brings a performer’s physical intelligence to a form that demands total command of the room.

Ross Clark directs. His career began on Broadway at age ten, opposite Jackie Gleason, and he holds an MFA in directing from USC. This Hollywood Fringe Festival selection, presented by Greenway Arts Alliance, promises a study in resilience and, as Moses puts it, hilarity inside grief. Moses answered questions by email.

JS: The show’s title names Craig’s diagnosis and ends up describing you, too. Did that double meaning come to you early, or did it emerge as you were building the piece?

DM: That double meaning did NOT come to me early. I had a completely different title at the first staged reading of the piece. Whitney Weston, one of the Artistic Directors of Greenway Court Theatre, very diplomatically suggested that I dig deeper for the title So, I combed through the script looking for something that would really embody the piece, and the phrase that the neurosurgeon used in describing Craig’s diagnosis jumped out – “a small but aggressive, malignant, inoperable, but treatable tumor in the brain.” And “Small but Aggressive” seemed the perfect answer.

JS: Making Grief a chain-smoking character who moves into your house is a bold comic choice. How did you arrive at giving grief that kind of physical, pestering presence rather than keeping it internal?

DM: The character kind of spontaneously emerged. There is a section where I talk about the stages of grief, and I was just playing with it out-loud, standing in front of the bathroom mirror on day, putting in my contacts or something. And I found myself personifying grief as this intrusive character with a cigarette between their fingers enlightening the audience about “the stages of ME, Grief.” It felt really fun and at the same time, true to my personal view of grief – whom I’ve described in my own life as “that squatter who has sucker punched me in the heart and taken up residence.”

JS: You’ve taken one-woman shows to more than 100 venues. What does performing material this personal — about your own husband, your own loss — feel like night after night, and how do you protect yourself while staying open to it?

DM: Well, this show will premiere as a part of Fringe in June, so I haven’t actually performed it night after night in front of an audience just yet. Though I did do 2 staged readings at Greenway Court Theatre last year with an invited audience. It IS so very personal and different from my other solo shows. Doing the first reading in front of people was probably the scariest thing I’ve ever done onstage. I liken that experience to being shot naked out of a canon! But I got such positive feedback from the reading, that I felt there was definitely an appreciative audience for the piece. And as for protecting myself –. It does help that I use a lot of comedy in the piece – it helps me balance the more serious parts.

JS: Ross Clark’s background is unusually wide: Broadway as a child performer, amusement parks, musical theatre ensemble work. What did he bring to this piece specifically?

DM: I totally trust Ross with this piece. We’ve worked together as performers a number of times, and we already collaborate very well. Also, he knew Craig. So, he brings that insight to this piece.

Ross is no stranger to grief. He lost both his parents, a sibling and his wife Eileen in the space of three years. And luckily, he “gets” the humor in grief that I’m trying to bring out.

Plus, he has a wealth of knowledge about ballet and music, which are both integral to the show.

I have strong ideas about what I want to do as the performer – since it’s based on my own experience – but Ross is able to help me go beyond what I might initially see as the right approach. Still, he doesn’t impose a vision – we collaborate.

JS: Comedy and grief are usually kept in separate rooms. What surprised you most about what happens when you put them together?

DM: That it does works! That the two can absolutely coexist in the same space. And that Grief can be entertaining.

There were so many whacky things that happened during Craig’s illness, that comedy was already naturally becoming a part of the grief. But what an audience’s reaction would be, to seeing this combination onstage, was still a question. I got great supportive feedback after the two staged readings, and that let me know I’m not the only person who can find laughs in grief.

JS: You’re also a dancer, and Craig was a ballet dancer. Does that shared physical life between you two find its way into the show?

DM: Without giving too much away, I will say there is a homage to his ballet legacy. And though I’m the only one onstage, there is a definite connection between the two of us in the presentation.

Performances are Friday, June 19, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 20 at 2 p.m.; Saturday, June 27 at 2 p.m.; and Sunday, June 28 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20. The Greenway Court Theatre is located at 544 North Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036.

Link: https://what-the-butler-saw.com/2026/04/26/a-conversation-with-denise-moses-small-but-aggressive-greenway-court-theatre-hollywood-fringe-festival-by-james-scarborough/