The beginning of the show hasn’t changed much in the five years since I wrote it.  The rest of the show has changed a lot, but this foundation remains the best introduction to the play.  The whole story is there, in [...]]]> I’ve posted the first scene of my show as a page. (click here or above)

The beginning of the show hasn’t changed much in the five years since I wrote it.  The rest of the show has changed a lot, but this foundation remains the best introduction to the play.  The whole story is there, in a way, in that first scene.

Today at work (at a cool downtown Tulsa restaurant) I was making my way through the place, making sure things were fine, when I heard my name. I turned and there was a woman a few years older than I am looking at me.

She said, “Justin, I don’t know if you remember me, but I’ve seen your show twice.”

I said thanks, and once she said that I did remember we’d talked after one of my shows.

She turned to her friends there and told them how profound my show was, how powerful, and asked me when I was doing it again. She kept saying such good things about it.

It made me smile, you know?

Every time I do my show I have a pre-show ritual where I sit backstage and wonder why the hell anyone would want to see my show, why I’d expect them to sit through it, why they would not ask for thier money back.

Then I do the show.  The audience – every single time – comes to me after and tell me how touched, moved, encouraged, empowered and uplifted they were by my performance. Sometimes months after. And then the best part comes.

Then they tell me their stories.

And I am humbled. And I am in awe, not of my skills, which, I’m not gonna lie, are formidable, but rather the power of the art form itself.

Turns out, we’re family, all of us, and we often don’t realize it. Stories help us to see.

Stories are the most powerful force in the world. They are the vehicle through which all other things pass. Love. Hate. Joy. Compassion. Fear. Wonder. All of it must travel through some kind of story to get to our hearts. Maybe it’s a made-up story or maybe it’s our own.

I’m so glad, so happy, so very very thrilled that I get to share my stories with others. I’m glad, amazed and excited that they contribute positively to the world.

And hey, the show is funny, man.

So take a gander. And if you can get to Shawnee, Oklahoma on 25 October, come to the Ritz Theater and see the whole thing.

Booking info is here.

Talk to you later.