Solo Fest 2021 – Featuring Melissa Ortiz & Neiry Rojo!

It’s nigh time for the 4th Annual PlayGround Solo Performance Festival, celebrating the work of intrepid solo performers as they harness their immense imaginations to captivate our attention for close to an hour — no small feat for a solitary creative in front of an attentive audience. This year’s festival boasts an impressive roster of personal storytelling, free-wheeling fiction, and docudrama dives into histories public and private.  We encourage you to catch every show at least once for the full experience, but to help you sift through the embarrassment of riches and learn a little more about our creatives, we asked our performers (and writers!) a few questions about their relationships with Solo Performance and PlayGround!

Next up: PlayGround company member Melissa Ortiz (she/her) in Neiry Rojo’s (she/her) magical realism journey Flight!

PG: Why is Solo Performance important to you?
MO: Because it’s fun and challenging. 
NR: It is important to remember what we can achieve when we focus on the abilities of one performer and write specifically for that. It reminds us how potent “simple” storytelling can be.

PG: How is the PlayGround Solo Fest helping you reach your artistic goals?
MO: Their support is helping me reach a larger audience that I would never be able to tap into alone. It’s also forced me to meet a deadline and not give up.
NR: It is providing a lot of space for the artists to create, collaborate, explore. It is a wonderful (and sometimes scary) thing to be provided with so much space and trust.

PG: In one sentence, what should audiences expect from your show?
MO: Good story telling and a magical escape. It’s TEA TIME! 
NR: A magical realism ride built around a select few of Renee Magritte’s paintings, the ritual of tea, and the things we inherit.

You have two chances to catch Flight in the Solo Fest: second weekend 1/29/2021 @ 7PM PT, and closing weekend 2/6/2021 @7PM PT!
Click either date to purchase tickets for that event, and check out the full schedule of performances in this year’s festival!