Fine Then, I'll Do It On My Own

Solo work now – the hows, whys and let’s gos of making a solo show. Are you thinking about making your first/second/seventh solo work?

Over these two days we’ll look at why making solo work might be a good idea, and how to go about it through practical exercises and discussion. We’ll examine some pre-existing solo show texts to analyse how they work. We’ll experiment with exercises to create and develop our own material, think about theme, structure, form, audience relationships. We’ll work both on our own and collaboratively to explode each other’s processes.

What do you get for free as a solo performer that you aren’t even aware of? And how can

we teach an audience to eat our shows?

In this workshop we’ll read, write, devise, share material and talk about it in a playful, supportive and judgement free space. Come with some – really early stage -ideas of areas you are interested in and we’ll get stuck in.

Feedback from participants

"So motivating to be given a set of tools and then put them immediately into action in such a safe, supportive space. The workshop was demanding and pulled ideas out of me that I had no idea were there. Lots of problems posed, solutions found - an inspiring couple of days"

"This workshop was an inspiring space, it was brilliant to meet other people and see the ideas they were working on. Rachel Mars led an inclusive, creative and open minded space, thank you for putting on this workshop"

"Rachel was a brilliant workshop leader. She kept us engaged with a combination of thought provoking debate, group exercises and solo writing tasks"

About Rachel Mars

Rachel Mars is an award-winning writer and performer based in the London. She has been working at the cross-over of performance art and theatre for 15 years.

Her solo shows The Way You Tell Them and Your Sexts Are Shit: Older Better Letters have toured the UK and Internationally. Her collaborative works Our Carnal Hearts; Forge; Roller; and Story 1/3 have been performed around in the UK, US, Europe and Australia (incl. The Barbican, Mayfest, Transform Festival and The Yard). She is a recipient of a MGC Bursary and is currently under commission at Soho Theatre, and a member of the TV Foundation New Writers Collective 2025. You can check out more of her work on www.rachelmars.org 

Main photo credit: Claire Haigh