Hit Serio-Comedy SHATTERED Continues in New York & L.A.

Diana Varco never intended to write a solo show. In fact,she worked for a long while trying to build a career in comedy. But, as a victim of a sexual assault, she struggled to laugh when the world around her joked about rape. "Often, I would leave therapy only to go to class where my peers were glorifying rape," she said. "But I stayed silent because I was too ashamed to share my story."

That ended this past January as Varco premiered her solo show Shattered as part of the Whitefire Theatre Solofest and went onto a successful run at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Varco is now bringing Shattered to three other festivals; Level Ground in L.A. on August 27, United Solo Fest in New York on September 19 and then back in L.A. for the Outdoor Voices Festival September 23 and 24.

Shattered starts off with Diana asking herself why she doesn't date and doesn't like sex? That question is the jumping off point for a whimsical and shocking journey through Diana's mind and past experiences that shaped her views of sex and relationships. Playing over 35 characters, Diana delivers a powerhouse performance that is heartbreaking, shocking and inspiring, all the while maintaining a great degree of wit, vulnerability and poignancy.

"Shattered takes a raw look at the variety of ways our sexual boundaries can be crossed and how that affects an individual," Varco said. "It goes to the darkest parts of my experience and doesn't shy away from the truth. It presents the very real aftermath of sexual assault and the long road to recovery I had to take to get better...a road I don't know if I'll ever be done walking."

Despite the weight of the topic, Varco does bring a significant degree of humor to her show, as well as a clever approach by giving voice to her emotions and states of mind. Audiences get to meet Shame, Truth, Denial and her personal favorite Mortified, along with characters from her past. Her show is being guided by acclaimed solo show artist and director Jessica Lynn Johnson, who Varco said was integral in getting her to share her story - "Once I met Jessica, I knew it was time to write.'

"Hollywood Fringe was my first run at a festival, but it was never my intention to have it be my last," Varco said. "I intend to have the show seen by as many audiences as possible, whether that be at a theatre or festival run, organization or college campus. I'm looking forward to performing at the upcoming festivals because it's an opportunity for growth on a variety of levels; for the show, for my own personal journey, and for audiences hear my story and possibly reflect on their own."

Shattered is a solo show about dating, frigidity and trauma recovery. All her life, Diana Varco hasn't really hit it off with the fellas. In third grade she kicked her crush in the crotch and her dating life didn't really improve from there. Shattered starts off with Diana asking herself why she doesn't date and doesn't like sex? That question is the jumping off point for a whimsical and shocking journey through Diana's mind and past experiences that shaped her views of sex and relationships. Playing over 35 characters, Diana delivers a powerhouse performance that is heartbreaking, shocking and inspiring, all the while maintaining a great degree of wit, vulnerability and poignancy.

DATES AND TIMES:

Level Ground performance

Sunday, Aug. 27 at 8 p.m.

Level Ground

638 E. Colorado St., #301

Pasadena, CA 91101

Tickets - $10

www.onlevelground.org

United Solo Festival performance

Tuesday, Sept. 19 at 9 p.m.

Theatre Row

410 West 42nd St.

New York, NY 10036

www.telecharge.com

Outdoor Voices Festival performances

Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 24 at 5 p.m.

Chromolume Theatre

5429 W. Washington Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90016

www.crtheatre.com

To post a comment, you must register and login.