KICKSTARTER

You Only Shoot the Ones You Love is a solo piece by the author of Something Wonderful Right Away (me) in which I describe my adventures with Paul Sills, Del Close and other key figures behind the creation of such improv companies as the Compass and Second City.  But it's not just showbiz stories.  It's also about how the anti-Semitism in Europe drove Jews to America and how their children, raised with a suspicion of authority, created the subversive, anti-authoritarian comedy that began in the Fifties and Sixties with Nichols and May, Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, Mel Brooks and the like.

So, I want to finish creating this show and begin performing it.  I have been accepted at the Fillet of Solo festival in Chicago and the New York Fringe Festival, both terrific potential venues for this piece.  First comes Chicago, to get the piece into shape.  After that, New York, where I hope I can interest local press (most of my stuff has been reviewed by the NY TIMES in the past, so I'm optimistic), that I'll get useful reviews, and then I'll be able to interest other venues around the country in the performance.

The money is to support the production -- entrance fees, travel, production expenses, recording of material for further promotion.  Actually, pretty bare bones, since I need little more than a clean, well-lit space, a stool, and a music stand.