by Ken Grobe

It is almost time for the Rogue Festival again–it will be taking place March 1-9 in the Tower District of Fresno. Here is one more bonus performer preview articles! Don’t miss our article about Rogue 2024 as well. We will also be posting several show reviews once the festival begins!

You will be able to see ALL of our Rogue Festival coverage in our special Rogue category and you can find more Rogue Festival information on our Rogue event page over on KRL News! There you will find press releases and extra info! You can also go to the Rogue Festival website for more info and to purchase tickets.

What drives Natacha Ruck to perform her solo show everywhere from community gardens, to University amphitheaters to black box theaters across the state? It’s her desire to share “The gift of my mother’s wisdom.” The show, YOU’RE GOOD FOR NOTHING… I’LL MILK THE COW MYSELF, spans two continents and nearly a century with its family story of love, tragedy, triumph, and chocolate hoarding. Before it begins its six-show run at the Fresno Rogue Festival at 7 p.m. on March 1st, I sat down with the writer/performer to talk about her inspirations, her process, and the healing power of singing.

Can you describe your show in one sentence?

Well, I have several taglines I use at parties. One of them is that I go on stage and I complain about my family. Or that it’s about three generations of women who face three world wars and a crippling addiction to chocolate.

You do 12 different characters in the show?

Only if you count each version of me! I play me as the narrator, as a young version of myself growing up in France, and as a young woman in New York. If you count me as one, then it’s more like nine.

Who else do you do?

Let’s see…four family members – no, five. I also do a school bully, my lovely husband, Katharine Hepburn, and a dumb guy who tried to block my mom with his car. He does not fare well. I’m sure I’m missing someone.

What does your show offer that other shows don’t offer?

I think every Fringe show offers an opportunity for escape and discovery. With YOU’RE GOOD FOR NOTHING…I’LL MILK THE COW MYSELF, you’ll go on a trip through time and through space. We’ll head to France in the ’80s. To New York right after 9-11. We’ll taste the horror of French schoolyards, and the delights of the best Jewish Romanian karaoke steakhouse on the Lower East Side. And, you know, hang out in the best little store that ever was, which was my mom’s store in the 60s in France.

Who will most enjoy your show?

Anyone who’s worked really hard to create a sense of belonging and has had to lose part of themselves to belong would relate to it. And people who like chocolate, chopped liver and vodka. And Edith Piaf and French culture. People who like (or hate!) French culture will really get a kick out of that. I mean, anyone who can afford the ticket should come and see it, really, basically. If they can’t afford the ticket, they should reach out to me.

What you just mentioned — that it’s for anyone who’s given a part of themselves to belong. Can you speak a little bit more about that?

Well, I left France, right? And I went to America. And there’s a lot of stuff I had to shed and I had to give up on to be here and belong here. My accent, a certain fluency in my language. And, you know, my mom. I moved away from the people I loved and I moved away from the things that were familiar to me. But I gained things too. My lovely husband, who is a fantastic writer and interviewer, for one.

That’s what life is. You start somewhere and then whether you move somewhere else or you age out of the things you were or other people move. We all lose things as we go forward.

What’s a part of the show that most audiences talk to you about?

People ask, did this really happen? And I’m like, yes, all of it really happened. I fiddled with a few things to make it clearer and easier to understand, but it’s all based on true stories.

What does solo performance do better than other formats of theater?

I think solo shows are more intimate. I’ve created media and stories my entire career. I’ve been a film producer, I produced a show that won a Daytime Emmy, and I’ve produced almost a hundred episodes of a really awesome, successful podcast for Duolingo. But when you’re performing solo, you’re really sharing a story with someone, almost one person at a time.

Anything else about YOU’RE GOOD FOR NOTHING… that you’d like people to know?

I guess that it’s a sweet rollercoaster that allows you to travel from France to America from World War II to the early aughts to present-day San Francisco. And it lets you know that wherever you are, you’ll be okay. As long as you have some chocolate. And as long as David Ford and Kenny Yun are on your team.

YOU’RE GOOD FOR NOTHING…I’LL MILK THE COW MYSELF
Created & performed by Natacha Ruck
Developed with David Ford
Directed by Kenny Yun
Length: 55 minutes, no intermission.
Venue: The Lotus Room, 626 E. Olive Avenue, Fresno, CA

Performance Dates & Times:
– Friday March 1, at 7 p.m.
– Saturday, March 2, at 3:30 p.m.
– Sunday March 3, at 12:30 p.m.
– Saturday March 8 at 10 p.m.
– Sunday March 9 at 6:30 p.m.

$15 tickets available at:
roguefestival.ticketleap.com
Website: fresnoroguefestival.org
Facebook: facebook.com/rogue.fresno

Hope to see you all at Rogue!

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

Check out more theatre reviews & other local entertainment articles in our Arts & Entertainment section. You can also find more theatre coming up on KRL’s Local Theatre event page.