11 Days, 24 Characters
Tips, tricks, inspiration, and encouragement for storytellers of all stripes
Greetings from Ybor City—
So I’m daily zipping up and down I-75 from Sarasota to Ybor City. Specifically to the Hillsbourough Community College Performing Arts Building.
Because it’s time to tech and open a world premiere show!
I’ve been working with my Green Beret buddy Scott on this for, geez, almost a year. I was his storycoach as he adapted his book into a play, and now I’m his director. We jammed together in rehearsal for the last three or so months, and yesterday we got into the theater itself.
TICKETS
I’m gonna make it even easier for you to track down info and tickets. Just mash this purple button—
SCRIPT
And heck, if you’re one of those folks who like to read, the script has been published by Ibis Books. Time for another mashable purple button—
BLURB
How about a blurb? Everybody loves a good blurb—
ONE LAST MISSION. 1000 LIVES SAVED. A PROMISE KEPT.
When America withdrew from Afghanistan, the world watched chaos unfold. Active duty and retired special operators watched something else: brothers and sisters in danger.
In April 2021, a plea for help came from Nezam—a legendary Afghan commando trained alongside U.S. Special Forces—now marked for death by the Taliban. His former commander, Lt. Col. Scott Mann, rallied a volunteer team of special operations veterans who refused to leave an ally behind.
What began as a desperate attempt to save one man became a covert, round-the-clock effort to shepherd 1000 Afghans through Taliban checkpoints and into the Kabul airport before the gates slammed shut.
11 DAYS is a gripping one-man stage performance by retired Green Beret Lt. Col. Scott Mann, based on his New York Times bestseller, Operation Pineapple Express. This true story of courage, duty, and the unshakeable bonds forged in war takes audiences inside the harrowing story of the Pineapple Express mission during the fall of Kabul.
24 CHARACTERS
Even though it’s a one-man show, there are 24 characters who physically appear on stage. Scott plays all of ‘em.
Rehearsal has been fuuuuuun.
He also plays another bunch of characters who auditorially appear. The magic of pre-recording!
Playing two dozen characters isn’t as difficult as it sounds. Well, Scott may not agree. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say it’s not as complicated as it sounds.
Ways to transform characters:
Put on glasses. (Hello, Clark Kent!)
Take off glasses. (Hello, Superman!)
Put on a backback.
Wind a scarf around your neck.
Put on a bathrobe.
Slow down your voice.
Speed up your voice.
Raise the pitch of your voice.
Lower the pitch of your voice.
Shift your weight from right foot to left. From left foot to right.
Adjust your gaze five degrees.
Put on a hat.
Put on a jacket.
But mostly… adjust your emotional point of view. You can channel change immediately. Turn on the proverbial dime. Character 1 wants X. Character 2 wants Y. Just play both wants for real. The audience will gasp at your transformation and see you as two completely distinct characters, even if you didn’t alter your appearance at all.
You don’t need full costume changes or gigantic accents.
Simplicity + grace + ease = MAGIC.
We love to over-complicate things. We think big questions need equally big answers.
Not true.
For example: in the equation above, the secret to ease is reps. That’s it.
One of the most potent questions you can ask yourself as you are creating your story…
What is the least I need? What is essential?
Start from there. Keep circling back to there.
The essential will remind you to keep it simple. Because twenty-four characters is complicated enough on its own.
Don’t take my word for it. Come see Scott’s performance. Believe me, he has put in the dang reps!
The Page&Stage Podcast: PREDICTOR
In case you missed it Monday, here’s the most recent episode!
In this episode, I sit down with Jennifer Blackmer and Meg Crane to discuss the fascinating story behind the invention of the home pregnancy test. Meg shares her journey from working as a graphic designer and illustrator to developing a prototype that would empower women with the ability to test for pregnancy at home. Despite initial resistance and skepticism from (all male) executives, Meg’s determination and innovative thinking led to a groundbreaking product that changed the landscape of women’s health. Jennifer, the playwright of PREDICTOR, adds depth to the conversation by exploring how she adapted Meg’s story into a stage production, highlighting the intersection of art and science.
You can listen on the Substack App, and all episodes are also available on Apple or Spotify.
And if you want to put faces with voices, the video version is available over on YouTube.
Be sure to comment or hit me up with any questions/comments/complaints, thanks as always for reading, and have a great weekend—
Jason “Essentially” Cannon