PAST PROJECT:

SHORT SOLO PLAYS

 

On June 22 & 23, 2018, the Norwich-based comedy troupe The Second Step Players launched a new performance venture: “The Second Step Players Go Solo!,” an evening of original, short one-person-shows. These works-in-progress were presented at the Chestnut Street Playhouse, 24 Chestnut Street in Norwich.

 

The project was directed by Emma Palzere-Rae, a professional solo-performance artist, and theater director and playwright Kato McNickle, a longtime supporter and former employee of Artreach. Starting from scratch, each group member crafted a piece for presentation. Some are drawn from real-life experiences, some are imaginative fictions, and others blur the line between real-life and dramatic metaphor.

 

The Second Step Players is the signature program of Artreach, Inc., a nonprofit arts agency in Norwich. This project served members of Artreach’s DMHAS-funded program, Arts for Mental Wellness. This program offers theater, music, writing classes, and visual arts to enhance the quality of the program members lives by reducing loneliness, increasing confidence in creativity, and providing a sense of belonging. Our public performance are designed to reduce negative stereotyping about people who have mental illnesses, while also providing an educational, entertaining, feel-good experiences for our audiences.

 

“The Second Step Players Go Solo!” was Emma Palzere-Rae’s first experience with Artreach. Emma is an experienced solo-performance artist. She was invited to work with members of the Second Step Players as a way to share her skill with a diverse group. Says Emma, “It is amazing to be a part of these performers’ discovery of their voices and to be a part of their process in bringing these stories to life. This project really shows how important storytelling is to the human experience. I can’t wait until we share these works. Some are very personal, and some wildly imaginative.”

 

Long-time Artreach collaborator and Solo Project co-director Kato McNickle considers this work an extension of the theatrical projects that the Second Step Players have performed since 1985. “This is another step that builds on earlier projects that the members of Artreach have honed over the years. We are taking the theatrical skills from the sketch comedy, the solo aspects of singing and stand-up, and creating a laboratory for theatrical expression that can be funny, sad, dramatic, or a combination of all of these.”