by Marc Gonzalez

It is almost time for Rogue Festival again–it will be taking place March 6-14 in the Tower District of Fresno. Throughout the month of February we will be publishing many Rogue Festival performer preview articles, and this the second one so far. This year we have added a special category where you will be able to find all of our Rogue Festival articles. During Rogue we will be reviewing shows as usual, and we also have a Rogue Festival event page with more information!

About three years ago I got the idea to write a one-man show. I had been reviewing and attending Rogue Festival performances for a few years, and since I also did theatre, I figured why not give it a try? It wasn’t until a year or so later I started formulating the structure and content of what a one-man show about me would look like. I became engaged to my now-wife, Allison, and that’s when I really started sitting down at the laptop and hammering out the details. After a year-and-a-half of work, I now have it at a place where I am ready for people to see it and, hopefully, be entertained and perhaps feel a few emotions.

The play is comprised of five monologues, all of which show various parts of my growing up through my 20’s into maturity, culminating in all of them influencing who I end up being at the end. I believe humans aren’t just one thing. You can’t just paint one adjective on a person and call it a day. I mean, you can, but you would be doing a disservice to that person’s life. Experiences—those which we choose to have and those which are thrust upon us—shape and mold us, dent us and lift us up, resulting in our day-to-day life. This play shows those triumphs and dents.

I have worked closely with the director, Walter M. Mayes, having known him since 2010. He knows me personally as well as theatrically, so he has been an invaluable help in editing and focusing the script and my thoughts, as well staging and helping me find the beats of the show. I was able to have Julie Lucido choreograph the tap portion in one of the later monologues. Julie has choreographed and/or directed me in several shows at Good Company Players, so she knows me as an actor, dancer, and choreographer, better than most. Her expertise in how words sound through tap dance and knowing what I am capable of, tap-wise, have added a great dose theatricality and musicality to the play.

I am so excited to share this play with all who attend, and I am certain there will be at least one monologue that relates to everyone. If it’s not you up there, it is certainly somebody you know or will know soon. Hope to see you at the show!

Merely a Player will be performed at The Revue – Coffee Shop, 620 E Olive Ave. on March 6 at 8:30 PM, March 7 at 8 PM, March 8 at 6:30 PM, March 13 at 10 PM, and March 15 at 3:30 PM. Admission is $10. Tickets are available at the venue 30 minutes before performances or can be purchased online at roguefestival.ticketleap.com

If you love local theatre, be sure to check out Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, which features mysteries read by local actors. You can find the podcast on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Play, and also on Podbean.

Check out more theatre reviews & other local entertainment articles in our Arts & Entertainment section.