[NoHo Arts District, CA] – In this month’s Soaring Solo blog, Jessica Lynn Johnson talks about “Spring Cleaning for Your Solo Show.”
“Spring is far more than just a changing of seasons; it’s a rebirth of the spirit.” – Toni Sorenson
This time of year, flowers begin to bloom, trees regain their leaves, and people everywhere whip out the Windex to kickoff their spring cleaning!
I love the fresh start that this season offers, and I really enjoy decluttering my space to make room for new things to come in.
Spring cleaning can also be an effective activity for solo artists to do in order to refresh their creative lives. It provides an opportunity to evaluate the clutter that stands between us and our s show goals.
In this month’s blog, I’ll suggest four spring cleaning tools for your solo show that you can utilize to be a powerful and productive solo artist.
- Declutter Your Mind
One of the worst enemies of the creative process is a cluttered mind. This spring, I want you to start paying attention to the voices in your head that are causing clutter, confusion and chaos.
Do you hear fear pointing out all of the things that could go wrong along your solo journey? Is unworthiness whispering to you that you don’t have a story worth telling? Maybe your inner critic is convincing you that you don’t have the talent or work ethic to pull off a powerful solo show.
Whatever the inner voices are telling you, one thing is for sure, they are loud and taking up precious square footage. Most importantly, they are standing in the way of you being able to hear the voices of your creative intuition, your muses, your passions and your purpose.
So, how do you learn to disempower and quiet these damaging voices?
First, try meditating. I personally enjoy guided meditations to really help focus my mind in a more positive direction. However, silent meditation can be very impactful as well. Meditation enables you to be still enough to hear the harmful broken record playing in your head every day. Identifying the lies these voices are saying will empower you to discredit them.
Next, try journaling. Freewriting can be an awesome way to purge on the page. Sometimes all we need to do is dump the bad thoughts onto a piece of paper. Then we can proceed with more openness to our creative flow.
Lastly, play with personification. By this, I mean turn the voices into characters and write a monologue or a scene from their perspective. Let it rip! Not only is this exercise going to render great content for your solo show, but it will also allow you to delineate these toxic voices from your inner truth.
- Let Go of Narratives That No Longer Serve You
Have you ever heard yourself telling someone a story about your life and midway through telling them, you realize how bored you are by your own story? Perhaps this is a story you’ve told over and over again for years and it no longer has that same spark.
Or maybe you have been researching and sharing about a particular topic for many years and suddenly you become aware that you are no longer passionate about the subject matter.
Whether you are bored or have simply outgrown certain narratives and topics, it’s important to remember that YOU are the writer and performer of your solo show. Therefore, you get to decide when you edit out certain content, add new, more enticing storylines or simply retire one show and embark on another.
Don’t let your solo art become stale. Stay curious and take risks. Creativity is messy and it’s infinite. So, don’t hang on to something that no longer serves you because you are afraid that is the best you’ve got. I promise you, your creative well runs deep.
Sometimes a little experimentation is in order to shake things up and keep things interesting. Let yourself fall on your face. You’ll be able to get back up and keep going until you find your way.
- Release Resentments
When we store unforgiveness, bitterness and resentment inside, we block our creative flow, energetically speaking.
Sometimes that looks like portraying a character in your solo show with so much judgment that the character feels like a one-dimensional villain. Other times it looks like expelling so much negative energy toward a person or a situation that we simply don’t have the bandwidth to be creative, let alone write and perform a solo show.
So, do your forgiveness work. Let things go that are taking up space within you and make room for all of the creative downloads that are waiting to come in.
- Clear Your Calendar
Your solo show isn’t going to magically write and perform itself. You must make time for it. This spring, take a look at your to-do list, reflect upon your other commitments, examine your schedule closely and see what you can clear out in order to make time for your creative expression. Being creative is part of your overall health and wellbeing as a human, so don’t keep letting everything else take priority over it. You and your story are worthy of dates and times on your calendar that are claimed, protected and utilized.
I hope today’s “Spring Cleaning for Your Solo Show” blog helps you to dive into some serious “cleaning” as a solo artist so that your solo show goals can truly blossom.
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 Onlinbe 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.