One Woman Show
My One-Woman Show "Miss Junior Overland Park" was my first creative endeavor after giving birth. I was no longer working with my friends, having lunch, or taking clients out for happy hour. The job I couldn't wait to get out of was gone and here I was sitting home alone, 58 pounds overweight, and breastfeeding a little blob who only slept, pooped, and ate. Quickly the feelings of "Is this it? Am I just going to sit around for months sleeping and breastfeeding?" Then I had a spark. I creative flicker and ran to the computer.
When David came home from work that night I was sitting at our computer typing away. He yelled for me to come and watch our show at 8 pm. I said, “No thanks. I am going to write every night from 8-9 pm after Charlie lays down for his big 4-hour sleep." Charlie was our newborn baby and his longest stretch of time he slept was as I was typing. I would committ to one of these 4 precious hours each night to let some big ideas in my head to come out.
When I told David I was writing a one-woman show he said, "Who are you? I thought you just wanted to get married and be a stay at home mom." I said "I did too until I became one. This project brings me joy."
I told David I was going to write a one-woman show and I was going to perform it for the Oxygen Network which was Oprah‘s brand new network back in the day about 22 years ago. I also told David I was going to get a development deal after. He laughed and was a bit red faced when he said, "It doesn't work that way. I have been in the business for 20 years. You don't just say what you're going to get, Hollywood doesn't work that way."
I notice how what he was saying made me feel and I told him he could either support me during that one hour a night or say nothing. I didn’t want any negativity creeping into my new creative flow.
At the end of a few months of writing, I brought David my 450-page document and asked if he would read it. He did! He told me it was a four-hour mini-series for Lifetime Network. He said I needed to find the purpose for writing the show, know the through-line, then only use stories that move it forward not sideways- and use the strongest story if there is more than one.
I took his notes and narrowed it down to about 45 pages. David introduced me to a director he knew in Chicago now living in LA. I did it in front of said director as he sat in a chair and looked at me. It was the most awkward experience. At the end he said, "I love it. I have a vision for it. Let me know what you think." He shared his vision. We worked on it for about 3 weeks then I put it up at the improv Olympic in Hollywood. After that a fellow named Gary Mann asked if I would like to put it up at the HBO Workspace! "Hell yes I do" was my reply.
I recorded my performance and submitted my VHS tape to The Oxygen Network.
Roughtly three months later, Scott Carter, a playwright and the Executive Producer of Real Time with Bill Maher was looking at hundreds of VHS tapes to direct a handful of show. He was going to pick about 20 tapes that day. As he skimmed through he saw a VHS tape with masking tape on the side that said, "Miss Junior Overland Park". Scott had lived in Kansas City for a stint and recognized the town. He picked up my tape.
Soon after I got a call from Scott Carter asking if he could executive produced my one-woman show for a network. I asked, "Which Network?" And he replied,
The Oxygen Network. A month later I shot "Miss Junior Overland Park" in front of a live studio audience with five cameras. After which I had a development meeting with, Lisa Harrison, at Fox. It all flowed with grace and ease. My first project. I was clear with what I wanted, what the outcome was, and removed the obstacles.
This experience gave me a deep knowing that all things are possible.