[NoHo Arts District, CA] – In this month’s Soaring Solo blog, Jessica Lynn Johnson talks about “Date Yourself to Create Your Solo Show.”
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” -Buddha
If you are not where you want to be in your solo theatre journey, it is likely because you do not currently value time to be with yourself and solely focus on you.
You may give your time to your job, your kids, your spouse, your pets, your friends and literally everyone and everything else that needs you…except for you.
Somehow, you are the only one who doesn’t seem to be worthy of your own time and attention.
But let me tell you something. Carving out time for yourself, whether it is acts of self love or self care, or pursuing your creative ambitions, dreams, goals, and artistic expression, is perhaps the most important use of your time.
It’s kind of like when they tell you that if the airplane is going down, you must put your own oxygen mask on first before you can attempt to help anyone else put theirs on. If you are unwell, you cannot be of service to yourself, let alone anyone else.
If you are not operating from a full cup, then you are giving from a deficit rather than a surplus. Giving what you do not have to give helps no one and leads to burnout, unwellness, resentment, and a slew of other devastating results.
Not to mention, if you are not spending quality time with yourself, how can you truly know yourself well enough to create an authentic solo show?
Missing out on authentic creative expression is a painful loss. Writing about your raw and real emotions, or telling your story from stage, enables you to be a whole, happy, and healthy human. So, by contrast, not taking the time to explore and express your true nature, creativity, ideas and feelings may cause you to remain stuck and disconnected. It also keeps your truth buried deep inside of you. As Maya Angelou once said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
All of that said, in today’s blog, “Date Yourself to Create Your Solo Show,” I am going to encourage you to start taking yourself on Solo Dates.
A Solo Date is time that you dedicate to being alone with yourself to get to know yourself better, do acts of loving self care, or work on your solo theatre goals.
Here are four tips to help you date yourself well to create your solo show.
Tip # 1: Schedule and protect your Solo Date time on your calendar.
Don’t make the mistake of believing that time will magically just manifest in your life. Like all of your important commitments and appointments, your Solo Dates deserve space on your calendar. Be intentional about scheduling Solo Dates.
Your life will always be busy and demanding, and this dream of yours is far too important to let fall by the wayside due to poor planning, lack of intentionality, and worst of all, a false belief that you are not worthy of your own time.
Be willing to cut other obligations out of your calendar, even momentarily, in order to make room for alone time that is fulfilling, rewarding, and empowering.
Say no to some of your other responsibilities, even temporarily, so that you can say yes to taking great care of yourself and paving the way for an excellent solo show to emerge.
Start small if you have to. Make the Solo Dates short and manageable at first. Over time, treat yourself to bigger, bolder acts of self love and creative expression.
Your Solo Dates are as valuable as anything else on your calendar, so treat them that way. You are worth it and so is your solo show.
Tip #2: Select Solo Dates that help you reach your Solo Show goals.
In the beginning, your Solo Dates may look like going to see other artists’ solo shows in order for you to learn about the genre of solo theatre and become inspired by the artistry of others.
A Solo Date could also be sitting down at your desk to work on writing your solo show script for 30 minutes. It could be you surfing the internet for an hour as you research various theatre festivals and performance opportunities that you can pursue to get your show in front of audiences.
There are many hats to wear as a solo artist, so as you plan your Solo Date, just ask yourself what aspect of your artistic ambitions you want to focus on in that particular moment and go for it.
Tip #3: Select Solo Dates that enable you to practice self care and self love.
Not every Solo Date will initially appear to be solo theatre related. However, any act that builds up your self esteem, nourishes your mind, body and spirit, and allows you to get to know yourself better is absolutely contributing to your solo theatre endeavors in the long run.
Taking a dance class, visiting a museum, practicing meditation, cooking a nutritious meal, or enjoying a candlelit bath to relax after a jam packed day could all be Solo Dates.
If you are in the financial position to hire a babysitter to watch your kids for an afternoon, use that time to take yourself to a captivating art exhibit that gets your creative juices flowing!
All of these loving actions will help to foster the mental, emotional, and physical stimulation and stamina that writing and performing a solo show often requires.
There are endless ways to experience a Solo Date, but the point is that you will want to start incorporating them into your life regularly.
Tip #4: Remember that Solo Dates are not selfish.
As you are reading this, you may be struggling with the notion that this level of investment in yourself is selfish. If that is coming up for you, then please hear me out.
The fact is, as you date yourself, you will become a better version of yourself.
You might start to notice that you no longer carry around bitterness about all of the things you previously put ahead of yourself. You may start to become a more balanced and happy person because your pent up emotions now have a healthy outlet. I am sure that everyone in your life would enjoy a more balanced, happier version of you.
Not to mention, you have countless valuable insights, inspiring stories, educational content, and imaginative ideas that you will begin to cultivate and share as a result of taking this sacred time to yourself.
As you discover who you are at the deepest level, your creative expression will deepen as well. Your deepened creative expression will lead to more compelling art, and this unique art will be an important contribution to this broken world.
Therefore, dating yourself ends up benefiting others and is a very worthy use of your time, talents and resources.
Of course, you can read all of this and choose to opt out and continue to fill all of your days with other distractions and responsibilities. You can continue to put everyone and everything else ahead of you on the priority list. Yet, this continued abandonment of self, leads to your creative voice shriveling up inside. You risk losing touch with your voice as a solo artist, harming your overall health and possibly missing the opportunity to give your audience the gift of your story. It may sound dramatic, but it truly is that important to make time for your creative expression and take yourself out on Solo Dates.
Hopefully today’s blog has helped you reflect upon ways that you can spend more time getting to know the incredible, inspiring human being that you are because that is who the world wants to see on stage and in life.
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
www.SoaringSoloStudios.com
Enjoy these Solo Theatre Resources to Further Guide You on Your Solo Journey!
Tune in and support the Soaring Solo Community as we share our stories from stage!
Award-winning director and developer Jessica Lynn Johnson hosts a slew of powerful solo show script readings and full staged productions addressing various impactful and inspiring topics.
This enticing lineup can be found by CLICKING HERE FOR MORE INFO.
Start Writing Your Own Solo Show One Freewrite at a Time With “FREEWrite Friday”!
Join BEST NATIONAL SOLO ARTIST WINNER Jessica Lynn Johnson for FREEWrite Friday!
Utilizing thought-provoking writing prompts, Jessica will lead you in writing exercises that are sure to assist you in the development of your solo show.
A one-person play is not typically written in one fell swoop. Rather, the Soaring Solo Methodology teaches that the creation of solo art is much like that of creating a Mosaic…one beautiful piece at a time.
All that is required to attend this inspiring event is a willingness to explore, having a pen, paper, or some other means of capturing your thoughts, the ability to access Zoom, and signing up on this page as your official RSVP.
We look forward to having you join the Soaring Solo Community in this event because your story matters!
CLICK HERE TO RSVP and obtain the Zoom link and password.
Attend the Soaring Solo FREE One-Person Play Development Class ONLINE!
No matter where you are in the creation of your solo show, idea phase, curiosity phase, full draft written, touring the festival and college market, BEST NATIONAL SOLO ARTIST and founder of Soaring Solo, Jessica Lynn Johnson, will meet you where you are at and take you to the next level! All that is required to attend is a willingness to explore, a pen, and some paper. No previous writing or performance experience necessary, and no need to have written anything to bring to class. Each week Jessica will guide you in exercises to help generate and stage NEW material! So come and meet other creatives in a supportive space for expression and exploration! The class is ongoing and so you may pop in and out as you please as long as you RSVP BY CLICKING HERE for this FREE ONE-PERSON PLAY CLASS.
Schedule an Online Coaching Consultation
Schedule an Online Coaching Consultation with Jessica Lynn Johnson to discuss the possibilities for your solo show!
Jessica brings her 15+ years of solo theatre expertise to work privately with solo artists from all over the world on an as needed basis.
A 1 on 1 Consultation is for you if…
-You are curious about creating a solo show, but you need writing prompts to help you generate material.
– You are tossing around ideas for your solo show, but you need some accountability and encouragement to commit those ideas to the page.
-You have already written some material, but you need expert feedback on editing, story structure and play formatting.
-You have a great first draft, but need guidance on how to utilize multimedia and solo theatre technique in order to make your show a dynamic piece of solo theatre.
-You already premiered your solo show and now you want some tips on how to tour colleges and festivals, and garner accolades and great reviews!
-You have heard great things about Jessica’s work and you’re curious about hiring her as a Director & Developer for your solo show, but first, you want to feel her out and see if she is the right fit for you and your project.
Wherever you may find yourself on your solo journey, Jessica will help you overcome whatever immediate obstacle stands between you and your solo success.
If you resonate with many of the things on this list, then take the next step by emailing SoaringSoloArtist@gmail.com for more information.