Hello Beautiful People,
Full disclosure here – I absolutely, positvely love Daisy Eagan. She’s one of the smartest women I know, and that intellgience is coupled with a ferocity and honesty and beauty that I admire, respect, and wish I had more of. Daisy was one of the first people to grace us with an interview in the Actors & Actresses Q&A Series, and I’m so pleased to feature here in the Backstage with The Write Teacher(s) Series, to talk about her upcoming tour, One For My Baby – What happens when a brash, cynical, inappropriate former child star finds out she’s pregnant with a kid she never planned on? She becomes a brash, cynical, inappropriate mother. Tony Award winner, Daisy Eagan, uses edgy humor and some of her favorite songs to tell the story of going from Broadway Baby to Hollywood Mama. (Adult content. May not be appropriate for children or the faint of heart.)
Now, as you all know, tours cost money. Musicians need to eat. Venues need to be paid. Ectera, ectera. So, there is an indiegogo campagin associated with the brilliance that is about to hit both coasts, (San Francisco at Society Cabaret: Friday and Saturday, March 28th and 29th, Los Angeles at Rockwell Table & Stage: Monday, April 21st, New York at 54 Below: Sunday, May 4th thus far) – and should you feel compelled to donate, click here for more information.
Now, ladies + gents, lets go behind the scenes with One For My Baby…
MM: What can audience members expect from One For My Baby?
DE: One For My Baby is about finding out I was two months pregnant with my ex-boyfriend’s baby and how that experience has changed my life. I also address ridiculous parenting trends like “introducing solids” and sleep training. And the near murderous rage some baby toys send me into. Hopefully my audience follows me on social media (my blog, Twitter, Facebook) so they know my brand of humor. The music is largely jazz standards (think Ella Fitzgerald, Blossom Dearie, Harold Arlen…), so most of the songs act as a kind of juxtaposition to the text.
The show is loosely scripted. I really like to feel out my audience and have the freedom to go where the mood takes me. If you’re sitting near the front be prepared to be included. And don’t wear anything I can easily make fun of…
MM: How much planning and organization goes into a one-woman show?
DE: A lot. A LOT. There are several stages. They include (but are not limited to):
- Losing your sanity and deciding to do another show.
- Listening to HOURS of music.
- Staring at a blank computer screen.
- Panic.
- Therapy.
- Crying.
- Drinking.
- Writing for 10 minutes.
- Playing Candy Crush for two hours.
- Crying.
- Staring into the open refrigerator and yelling, “WHY IS THERE NO PUDDING IN HERE???”.
- Suddenly writing a whole script.
- Rehearsing.
- Hating what you’ve written.
- Doubting your purpose on this earth.
- Considering faking your own death.
MM: The script for One For My Baby uses experiences from your own life – can you describe to our readers what your writing and editing process is like?
DE: I went back to my blog for some material, which was helpful because it meant that several of the stories were pretty much already written. With this show, I struggled with the opening for a couple months and then realized I just had to move on from it and go back to it later. I also had an original concept that was holding me back, so I scrapped that and then I was able to get to work on it. Usually my writing sessions alternate from writing in one session to basically deleting in the next. I have a small group of people I trust who read drafts and send notes and I hone and whittle. Then, once I start rehearsing I see what is missing and what can go. I figure out what works and what doesn’t when it’s up on its feet.
I also had to decide how much of the last show, “Daisy Eagan: F*@k Off. I Love You.” I wanted to tie in to this one. That show kind of ended with me talking about the roadblocks I’ve encountered in my career (My mother’s death, my depression, my pregnancy.) and I thought I might continue on with that theme, but I decided I’m no longer interested in looking backward. I am where I am in my life and I don’t need to explain any of it or apologize for any of it.
MM: How did you select the songs for One For My Baby?
DE: My musical director, the fabulously talented Brandon James Gwinn and I picked two songs from the last show that we thought were the most successful. He decided I need to be singing jazz standards, so I set out to find jazz standards that I love. Cady Huffman turned me on to Blossom Dearie and I was listening to her stuff one day while I was pregnant and it struck me how well some of the songs would work if they were re-framed to be about a relationship between a mother and her child. So, I chose a few of those and wrote stories to match the songs. Then for other songs, I looked for something that would match a story I knew I wanted to tell. So, for example, I have a story about introducing Monty to solid foods and I put the word out on Facebook that I was looking for a song about food. I got hundreds of replies and one of them was perfect.
MM: Describe your musical style in three words.
DE: I don’t riff.
MM: Describe your parenting style in three words.
DE: Always be adaptable.
MM: What’s one of the biggest surprises you’ve encountered about motherhood?
DE: You think you will not be the kind of person who discusses your child’s bowel movements in detail. You will be.
MM: When all is said and done, what do you hope people walk away from after they have seen One For My Baby?
DE: I just want people to have a good time. I want people to laugh. I want to surprise people. I want people who have a preconceived notion of me to maybe understand me better.
Thank you, Daisy!
Live, Love, Learn,