Paul || Bridging Dualities in the World of Performing
First off friends, you HAVE to meet Paul. He is a kind, fun, creative soul who brings joy to the world. That being said, I met him through Creative Wellness Chicago in a contact improv class. I run into him in the wildest of places: the redline for instance two years after I moved away from Chicago. AND he brightens my day with instagram/facebook character videos and flute videos. But his story is far more complex...
Right off the bat, he gets into the core of why he performs
“The bottom-line is, there is this urge for expression,
It is this feeling that I must get out. ”
He often wonders "what am I doing?" "where is this coming from?" and thus, his entire journey has been a trust fall in the "weird process" And he states,
“I think that’s what art is”
He has been a creative his whole life... playing piano as a child, performing in community theatre, and going to college for theatre. It was his first play, a christmas play where he played an elf with one line that really started the whole thing
“I screwed up the line, but no one noticed. It was this energy. I wanted to perform more, this initial excitement sparked this desire to perform.”
However, as he learned about new elements of performance, Paul noticed that there seemed to be a duality between music and acting. He was under the impression from others that he had to pick on or the other. "It always bothered me" Paul said. Rather than choosing, Paul decided to embrace this duality.
“Knowing I can have a couple different venues of expression was so important to me. I always have say, music, in my back pocket. The world of theatre was more challenging to me for some reason. But I have been afforded the chance to do both. I’m lucky to express myself, and build my artistry. Everything is a duality, so I try to hone into my art.
”
There has been a sense of bravery that Paul had to develop as he embraced these various waves of creativity pulsating through his soul. Whether it was the courage to get into character with the comdey Shakespeare Theater in front of 1,000 people; or the bravery to do drag and learn about make-up and that culture; the bravery to write his own works and perform solo sketches. It is not easy to do and it takes a great deal of focus, training, and hard work.
Paul says that one of the sweetest parts of trying new things is that he always has the option. And that if one doesn't go super well there are other areas for him to explore and build his artistry.
“My teacher would always say, ‘practice is progression.’ Its not perfection. The way I see it, I am an artist here to explore my own artistry”
Currently he is doing a program through the Playground Theater in Chicago, as well as working on his own solo sketches, and creating funny videos on social media.
With all of this writing and creating, I asked Paul what inspires him.
“I am pretty whismsicle. And I do alot of observation, like watching people in a park. Someone will just trigger some thought or a play on words. I also use political sketches, I’m a political junkie by nature....like I play with classism and personalities. Like how much our personality is impacted by environment. I love exaggeration. ”
In his most recent solo sketch he plays a rich patron who has a personal vendetta against Williams Sonoma...he is literally just calling Williams Sonoma and exaggerating this strange relationship. An underlining aspect to all of this be it solo sketches or posts online, is a sense of silliness and observation.
The city of Chicago itself also provides a place for inspiration for Paul. The city offers many options, nurturing training, and kind audiences. He had an experience peforming in NYC and says that the audience was "rough." And though he likes the idea of filming and would like to do some more, Chicago is the place to be if you want to perform. Its also a good place to be to build a performance resume, dabble in other genres or mediums, and perform your own work.
So where does an artist like Paul, who plays Jurassic Park on his flute under bridges, books solo sketches, trains at comedy theaters like IO and Annoyance, and teaches yoga go from here?
“I really want to just keep truckin.’ Being a performer is hard, even in Chicago it is competetive and contentious. I want to just keep growing, exploring, booking more solo sketches, and performing. Someday I’d like to do something more commerical. Chicago is probably not the final destination.”
Despite Paul's journey in performance being perhaps less traditional than those who go right into performing or filming more commercial works...Paul finds peace in his journey.
In the end,
“I love being my own free agent”
Check out Paul's instagram for some of his works in Chicago and on his travels. And if you live in Chicago---check him out on the stage sometime!
