In August of 2015, at the tender age of 23, I decided to pack up my car and drive across the country from New York to Oregon for an acting apprenticeship opportunity with a small theater company.
I had never been to Portland nor did I know anyone who lived there, but 10 months in a new city following my passion sounded like an adventure. Those 10 months proved to be much harder than I had realized. I was barely being compensated for working long hours, struggling to make friends, and, more than anything, I missed my life back in New York a lot more than I expected. On days when I felt sad or tired or lonely, I longed for the support of my family and friends who were thousands of miles away. This was the largest distance from home I had been for the longest amount of time and I realized just how important where I came from was to me.
They say home is where the heart is, but what if you are far away from your physical home? I had tried desperately to make Portland a home away from home, but it just didn’t seem to fit right. I couldn’t help but think I had left my heart in New York and I would always yearn to go back for it.
So when the time came to create a 10 minute solo piece at the end of the apprenticeship, I knew I wanted to share my story of homesickness. As I began developing my piece and sharing my concept with people, I realized how universal this feeling is and how many people could relate to my story. Thus, Home, Sweet, _____ was born.
Having studied clowning and commedia in Italy as well as having years of dance training, I wanted to communicate my message through physical comedy.
I found that trying to find home in a new place can be awkward and frustrating and I wanted to convey that experience on stage. So I created a clown character not unlike myself and I began thinking about the ways in which we try so hard to make something work but, sometimes, it falls apart anyway. My technical director had given a bunch of small cardboard mailing boxes and I thought, “What if I painted them to look like bricks and actually tried to BUILD home in a new place?” The fun challenge began to discover all the ways these tiny makeshift bricks could topple over and destroy this temporary home my clown was steadfast on building.
I then reached out to my friend and musician Sean Skahill who lives in New York and together we collaborated on a beautiful and heartwarming score to perfectly pair with my story. I asked him to imagine, “What if a Pixar movie came to life on stage?” Drawing influences from gypsy jazz music created by Jean “Django” Reinhardt, Sean wrote a fun and upbeat composition, recording himself on several instruments including guitar, banjo, and violin. Over the past few years Sean and I have developed this kernel of an idea into a 40 minute full length show with him by my side using looping technology to play multiple instruments live on stage. Together we performed a successful run at FringeNYC last year and are excited to now take it on the road for Capital Fringe 2019.
Creating home in a new place is scary and can feel very lonely and frustrating. Home, Sweet, _____ captures that journey through a poignant and funny performance that everyone can relate to. When home seems a million miles away, all you need is a simple reminder that it is still there in your heart and your memory.
Collette Campbell is a NYC based actress and singer. She has been performing this original piece since 2016 in cities and festivals around the country. She studied theater at Muhlenberg College and commedia dell’ arte in Arezzo, Italy. She is this lead singer of a classic rock cover band called Catfished.
The post Sleepless in Portland. Fringe show Home Sweet ____ appeared first on DC Theatre Scene.