[NoHo Arts District, CA] – This month’s Soaring Solo blog is an interview with Jon Gentry the 2024 Soaring Solo Social Impact Award at the Hollywood Fringe Festival for his one-person show BLACK BASTARD.
This past June, the Soaring Solo Community celebrated tremendous solo theatre art being presented in the incredible Hollywood Fringe Festival. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this prestigious event, the Fringe basically takes over Hollywood every summer with hundreds of diverse theatrical performances.
For this month’s blog, I have the pleasure of interviewing the winner of the Soaring Solo Social Impact Award, Jon Gentry, for his outstanding work in his one-person show BLACK BASTARD.


Each year the Soaring Solo Award Committee sees multiple solo shows and we identify one very special solo artist who is making a social impact with their work while exemplifying excellent solo theatre technique.
BLACK BASTARD greatly impressed our committee and we were honored to give this award to him. Now that we are well into the month of July and the Hollywood Fringe Festival (HFF) is over, we are all able to catch our breath a little bit after the whirlwind of the festival is over. This moment to slow down enabled me to catch up with Jon and reflect upon his HFF experience, his inspiration for his show, his creative process and just get to know him a little bit better.
Let’s dive into my interview with this powerhouse playwright!
JESSICA: Congrats again Jon! So, tell our readers about your Solo Show BLACK BASTARD.
JON: Thank you Jessica! I’m grateful to have received this award. “Black Bastard” is my story of growing up without my biological father and always wanting to meet him, then finally meeting him when I was 15 and wishing I never had. It’s a story I thought I’d never tell but knew I needed to—a journey into the heart of identity that probes the questions “Who am I?” and “Where do I come from?” Set in my hometown of Houston, Texas, it’s a time capsule of the ’90s, complete with nostalgic nods to AOL and Blockbuster. There are several “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure” moments in the show when I invite audience participation because as much as the story is my own, there’s a universality to it. Along the way, I embody over 15 characters in a fully theatrical experience that invites audiences to reconnect with our collective upbringing. To that point, the soundtrack is rooted in nursery rhymes and I even attempt my hand at choreography, reconnecting with the unbridled joy of my inner child. This is more than a show—it’s a humorous, immersive journey that challenges people to reflect on their own path to selfhood. I used to think growing up without a father was hard, but growing up without a country was harder. At its core, “Black Bastard” explores the idea that we’re all wanderers in a land we can’t truly claim, collective bastards in a way. So why don’t we search together?

JESSICA: I find this to be very important work. Thank you for being so bold and so brave! So, tell us what inspired you to create this show and what was your process for creating and then staging it?
“Black Bastard” was born out of inspiration and frustration. For years, I’d been the vessel for others’ stories while my own narrative simmered beneath the surface, begging to be told. It wasn’t until GLAAD’s Inaugural Black Queer Creative Summit here in LA last September that I felt truly seen as an artist. That visibility, coupled with therapy (shout-out to mental health!), cracked open the floodgates of creativity.
The process? It was a journey of impulse and excavation. I started with a virtual journal where I could document ideas whenever they popped into my head. After a long-overdue conversation with my mother during Thanksgiving, I wrote out all the stories I knew I wanted to include in the show. I also dove into the literary influences that shaped my voice, from Virginia Hamilton’s folktales to Langston Hughes’ poetry. Each phase of the show mirrors a pivotal moment in my becoming, intertwined with the books that gave me language for my experiences. I spoke to writer friends who told me to outline, outline, outline. And whenever I found myself stuck, I read a book on creativity or hopped online to seek out resources, which is how I stumbled upon Soaring Solo Studios. Your online offerings, particularly the Free 1 Person Play Classes, were instrumental in jogging my memories and getting me into the physical act of writing. So thank you for maintaining your online presence and making your library of resources accessible to all.
And staging it? That’s where my director, Shinelle Azoroh, came in to take things to another level. From our first read-through via Zoom, she saw elements in the story that I was blind to and truly brought the words on the page to life. In May, we moved into a rehearsal studio (thank you Maura Vincent & Seydways Acting Studios) and walked and talked our way through the play. I wasn’t precious about any part of the show and if something didn’t work for either me or Shinelle, I changed it or cut it. After each rehearsal, I did rewrites and by the end of rehearsals, the script was about half of its original length. Establishing the atmosphere was key because I wanted the audience to feel the heat of a Houston summer, the weight of expectations, and the sweet release of self-discovery. Together, we created a jambalaya of memoir, character transformation, and socio-cultural commentary in which I didn’t overanalyze my creative impulses but simply said yes to them.

JESSICA: That is quite a journey! Why did you decide to do this show as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival?
My Fringe journey began back in 2016 when a friend, Allison Youngberg, invited me to act in a 10-minute play as part of “The Gentrification Cycle.” Flipping through that year’s festival guide, I was struck by the sheer diversity of work. The idea that anyone, anywhere could bring their vision to life through Fringe? That stuck with me.
Fast forward to 2023, and I’m applying for a Fringe Scholarship, putting my solo show ideas on paper for the first time. I didn’t get it then, but I reapplied this year with a promise to myself: scholarship or not, “Black Bastard” was going to breathe in this year’s festival air.
We all know “Hollywood” can be an exclusive club, but Fringe stands as a beacon of inclusivity. It’s a space where voices like mine—Black, queer, Southern, nerdy—can carve out room to exist, to grow. The festival’s spirit of artistic freedom aligned perfectly with the raw, unfiltered truth I needed to tell.
Moreover, Fringe offers this unique blend of community and creativity. It’s a place where the literal black sheep can run with the herd. The energy—electric, unpredictable, deeply supportive—felt like the perfect incubator for a show all about becoming one’s true self.
JESSICA: Well, I am so grateful you had all of those purposeful stepping stones along the way to help you bring your solo show to life. What did you learn as a result of doing this solo show and sharing this story with an audience?
Whew, I am still in the process of unpacking all that I learned as a first-time solo performer. What I can say is that stepping onto that stage each performance, I learned that vulnerability is a superpower. I’d known it intellectually, but feeling it? That was a whole different ball game. During my first performance, I was more nervous than I’ve ever been onstage. Am I really about to share my shame with all of these people? I wanted to quit three times during that show. However, each performance became an act of reclaiming my narrative, my identity, and my voice. I discovered that the very things I once thought made me an outsider were the bridges connecting me to my audience. And once I released the focus on self and remembered this story is now for others to receive, I found freedom in it. Giving myself permission to just be in the moment and breathe opened up more possibilities for the audience to engage in the work. I still get nervous, but I also find new ways to play.
Storytelling is more than art. It transforms personal pain into collective healing, individual experience into universal truth. The power of representation became tangible in the tears, the laughter, and the silent nods of recognition from audience members who saw themselves reflected on stage. Most profoundly, I learned that we’re all searching for something, somewhere, someone to call home. In sharing my story, I found a home in the community that rallied around this show, and ultimately, in myself.

JESSICA: That’s beautiful. Thank you for eloquently speaking to the importance of sharing one’s story. Can you tell me more about how you put together your creative team and why you made the decision to not do your solo show alone?
“Solo show” is a bit of a misnomer. Every theatrical endeavor is stitched together by many hands, some seen, many unseen. The moment “Black Bastard” crystallized as a title in my mind, I knew exactly whose directorial voice I needed to bring it to life. Shinelle and I come from the same artistic lineage at the American Conservatory Theater, so I knew we shared a vocabulary that would serve as a strong foundation.
Now, as the Capricorn that I am (yes, astrology is part of this journey too), I decided to don as many hats as possible for my first solo rodeo. Partly out of necessity—I believe in paying artists, and my pockets weren’t exactly overflowing—and partly to preserve the purity of my vision. So there I was: writer, performer, lighting designer, sound engineer, wardrobe supervisor, prop wizard, make-up artist, choreographer, dialect coach, and dramaturg all rolled into one. Did I nail every role? Absolutely not. But I needed to give myself permission to fail and grow.
The one area where I knew my limits was graphic design. That is not my forte, but I had a vision in mind. My friend Gersson Romero heard my ideas and, after a few iterations, created a flyer that captured the very essence of the show. So ultimately, it all boils down to community. Who do you know that knows you? Whose artistic hands can you trust to hold your heart of a show? If you don’t have that community yet, go out and build it. Create the spaces you need. Because in the end, even a solo show is a communal act of creation.
JESSICA: I couldn’t agree more. It may be a one person play, but it absolutely takes a community to bring it to fruition! Having had so much success with this show in this year’s Fringe with various nominations and wins, what tips do you have for other aspiring solo artists?
You are enough. Even saying it now sounds trite because for the longest time, I had no idea what that meant. But it’s true. Don’t discount the natural gifts you wake up with each day. Write the story you think no one wants to hear—trust me, someone needs it. Write microscopically and dive deep into the details that make your experience uniquely yours.
Immerse yourself in art. See other solo shows—learn from them, be inspired by them, let them challenge you. Between my first and second performances, I saw a handful of solo shows as part of Fringe and picked up something from each one that I could incorporate into my own. From Rahvaunia Johnson, I learned that clarity and precision are vital storytelling ingredients. From Christopher Moncayo-Torres, I learned that perfection is an illusion; make your own order out of chaos.
Go for long walks, letting your mind wander and your creativity bubble up from unexpected places. I found the physical life for multiple characters in my show while hiking. As a daily practice, journal, meditate, stretch, and hydrate—nourish your body and soul, because they’re the instruments through which your art will flow.
And get out of your comfort zone! I’m actually saying that as a reminder to myself. That’s where the magic happens, where truth shines brightest (it has no other choice). Remember, your story is a gift. Share it boldly.

JESSICA: That is awesome advice. Thank you! I am sure the readers will be so gifted by what you have shared. So, what is next for your solo show?
“Black Bastard” is evolving, y’all. I’m in the thick of rewrites, adding fresh pages based on revelations from my Hollywood Fringe run. I’m specifically deepening the collective element to the show. Come early August, I’ll preview this new material at the Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre.
Then, we hit the road. First stop: San Francisco, August 16th-18th, for a three-show run at the PlayGround Free Play Festival. It’s a homecoming of sorts—the Bay Area is where I cut my teeth as an actor, so returning with my own show feels like completing a circle.
November 9th sees us at the Santa Monica Playhouse for the Binge Fringe Festival. And you best believe I’m working on bringing this show to my hometown, Houston. That Texas heat forged this story, and it’s time to bring it home.
But why stop there? My dream—and I’m putting this out into the universe—is to tour this show far and wide. From coast to coast, across oceans, and yes, all the way to the bright lights of Broadway. Because this story, this journey of becoming, deserves to be heard on the biggest stages.
This is just the beginning, folks. “Black Bastard” is ready to roam.
JESSICA: Did I miss anything? Please share anything that you feel is important to share with our readers.
Thank you again for the honor. My hope is that everyone recognizes the “Social Impact” in the show. When I say “Embrace your multitudes,” I really mean it. Follow @theeblackbastard on Instagram for future developments.
JESSICA: Thank you so much Jon! You are such an inspiration and I really appreciate all of your time, talent, and insights to share with the NoHo Arts community and beyond.
And as for you solo artists reading this incredible interview, I hope you have received all of this rich information and that it assists you on your own trajectory. Please continue to persist along on your solo journey. It may not be easy, but it is so worth it!
Jessica Lynn Johnson
Founder & CEO of Soaring Solo LLC
SoaringSoloArtist@gmail.com
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