Hot Godzilla Summer: Reflections

Frequently asked questions about my Fringe experience.

Hello! Happy (almost) fall, y’all!

My pre-work-stop coffee shop switched from strawberry cream cheese muffins to pumpkin cream cheese muffins last week, so in my mind, it’s already autumn. I’ve been lighting my fall-scented candles pretty much every night, now.

I have returned to Kansas City officially after my 2024 Fringe run! I had so much fun debuting a new show at the KC Fringe and then touring my beloved Godzilla’s Not a Dinosaur to new cities!

Naturally, I’ve been chatting with people at home and away about the show and the experience, so I thought I’d share some answers to the questions I have been asked most frequently.

What is the show about?

One sentence: This show is a comedic and poetic exploration of my nonbinary identity via (or alongside) Godzilla.

Three sentences: Why did Godzilla have to be a dude? This show considers the stories we tell, how we tell them, and how we change them over time for better or worse. It explores the history of the Godzilla franchise alongside my personal narrative in a celebratory exploration of storytelling as a coping mechanism for the boxes society always tries to place us in.  

What is Godzilla if not a dinosaur?

Godzilla’s not a dinosaur, because Godzilla is so much more than that. First off yes, Godzilla is presumed to be some mutated dinosaur species in the first movie if you want to be technical. They actually think that Godzilla is kind of an in-between species, not quite a dinosaur and obviously RADIOACTIVE. (Cue Imagine Dragons.)

In the context of the art of filmmaking, Godzilla (Gojira 1954 specifically) is an obvious metaphor for the devastation of the nuclear bombs we dropped on Japan. 

My show explores how we got from that original metaphor to the giant pop culture icon that we know and love today. It also specifically explores Godzilla from the femme perspective: considering things like how women are depicted in the movies, how Godzilla didn’t originally have a specified gender, and more!

Are you a poet or a stand-up?

Both! What I love about doing shows with the Fringe, is I don’t have to do one or the other. Godzilla’s Not a Dinosaur is a steady 50/50 blend of poetry and comedy. Although, I don’t think it’s so clean cut, or binary, as that.

I wrote my show to be a fun time above all else and I also wanted to make sure you don’t have to know anything about Godzilla to enjoy it. I was successful based on the feedback I got from several audience members who hadn’t seen any of the movies before seeing my show.

What is a Fringe festival?

The Fringe festival tradition began with the first festival in Edinburgh. Legend has it (it was 1947, so we’re pretty sure), that 8 theatre groups showed up uninvited to perform in the Edinburg International Festival. Not being part of the official program didn’t stop them though, they just staged their show on the “fringe” boundaries of the Festival anyway.

Now the Fringe tradition spans internationally with festivals all over the world!

I went to the Minnesota Fringe and the Indy Fringe this year. I’m already looking at some other festivals for next year!

Are you going to keep touring this show?

Absolutely! Got a place I should bring it? Hit me up.

Meanwhile What’s Going Now:

I was nominated for Best Poet and/or Spoken Word Artist in The Pitch again! You can vote every day until the end of the month if you’d like to!

(You’ll have to log in. And vote for some other KC faves while you’re in there!)

I’ve also got two, count ‘em TWO, comedy spots next week!

The first is Thursday night at East Forty Brewing in Blue Springs.

The second is Friday Night at Lotawana Brewing in Lee’s Summit! There’s no tickets necessary, but it does fill up fast and it’s gonna be a good time. :)

That’s all for now folks! Thanks for reading.