Solo Fest 2025 Spotlight: Susan L. Jackson’s VERTIGO-BUT NOT THE MOVIE
Join us for PlayGround’s eighth annual Solo Performance Festival, a curation of the best in California solo performance! The festival runs until February 9, 2025 (Fri-Sun), presented live on our stage and also simulcast online. More…
Today we’re spotlighting Diana Brown in VERTIGO-BUT NOT THE MOVIE by Susan Lily Jackson (2/7 at 7pm, 2/8 at 7pm, & 2/9 at 4pm) Lily reveals her unexpected connection to Vertigo–but not the movie--the chronic condition. Is there humor after being diagnosed? Yes, because now she can’t clean the house: PPPD and all its variations are explored in this informative/amusing/eye opening exposure of what it’s like to be dizzy all the time.
Hear from the playwright and the performer:
What was the seed of this play? What inspired you to write it?
Susan Lily Jackson (playwright): I personally suffer from what I write about: and I know several theatre people (and others) who also deal with this medical issue. It’s not given much publicity, but supposedly 1 in 5 people have varying degrees of PPPD, etc. And, like many “ailments”, it’s dismissed, mis-diagnosed, and if you are a woman, told “it’s all in your head” .
Why is a solo show the ideal way to tell this story?
SLJ: It’s a personal journey to figure out how to deal with PPPD. It’s not a conflict with another character; It’s a conflict with the medical profession. Doing this solo is also a way to let others know how difficult (“challenging”) having this disease is—
Diana Brown (performer): This story is incredibly personal to the playwright. I’m honored she invited me to portray this role
What are your artistic influences for this show?
DB: I believe that the truth of the moment is the most compelling thing we can offer up on the stage. I always try to truth bring the truth of the moment to the characters I portray, whether they’re naturalistic or fantastical.
SLJ: Sarah Ruhl, Tennessee Williams, Sarah Kane, The Moth, The Ferryman, Stephen Adley Guirgis, Dominique Morisseau, GM, Doris Lessing, Mary Oliver, Julia Brothers, my mother–Dorothy Miriam Potter Jackson.
What surprised you during the creation of this piece?
SLJ: That it could be humorous
Is there anything audiences should know about you or your piece before they attend? And/or is there anything else you want to share about your piece?
SLJ: Be prepared for audience participation and triggers–If you are prone to PPPD.
Susan L. Jackson (Playwright, VERTIGO-BUT NOT THE MOVIE) received the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Original Play. LEAVING SIMONE: Semi-Finalist for the National Playwrights Conference—Eugene O’Neill Center : Staged- read/produced New York City, Bay Area, Eugene O’Neill Foundation, William Inge Festival, Sydney, London. DEATH BE NOT LOUD! –Best of Capital Fringe—Washington Post positive review. Published: Smith and Kraus, (2017-2024) Finalist: Creede Repertory Theatre; Henley Rose Competition for Female Playwrights; Fusion Theatre Company; Centre Stage; 3Girls Theatre Co. Alum-PlayGround; Mid-America Theatre Conference; Last Frontier Theatre Conference; Powerstories: Voices of Women Festival; Sparks Creative Works, Believability: Shiny Unicorns Productions: Part of the SF Young Playwrights Festival with Lauren Yee.
Diana Brown (Performer, VERTIGO-BUT NOT THE MOVIE) is excited to be a part of PlayGround’s Solo Fest, and delighted to continue her collaboration with Susan Jackson. She’s appeared in Jackson’s plays TAKEN, WHEN YOU ARE CALLED, IN SITU, BLESSING HER HEART for which she was nominated for a BATCC award. She appeared in San Francisco and New York in the long-running two-hander DEAD CERTAIN. Diana has performed at the Spoleto Festival and the Capital City Fringe and others She’s half of the touring comedy duo BINGEWATCH. A guest artist with Bay Area TheatreSports and a member of the acting pool with Killing My Lobster.