EDINBURGH 2023: Dominique Salerno Q&A

BWW catches up with  Dominique Salerno to chat about bringing The Box Show to the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about The Box Show.

The Box Show is a solo show where I play 25 characters while trapped inside of a small box. And yes-  before you ask- it's as bizarre as it sounds! I never leave "the box" (which is roughly the size of a kitchen cupboard and is propped up on a steel frame), but every time the doors swing open, I dive into a completely new reality with new characters. Some of these characters include: a ravenous spy, a frustrated painter and her abysmal paintings, and the entire Greek army inside the Trojan Horse. It's wacky, physical, dark, hilarious, and heartfelt. Some people describe it as a great night of SNL performed by one woman inside of a box!  Other people describe it as a fever dream of terror and delight! Come see and find out for yourself... 

What physical preparation is involved for the performance? It looks painful.

I do get some unique bruises from doing this show, but I love each and every one of them. I need to be in a specific kind of shape to pull off some of the moves the show requires, and this "box body" mostly comes from exercise, core work, and getting into a good rehearsal schedule where I can run the show multiple times a week. Even more important is a good vocal warm up because of the many character voices! As you can imagine, being in a small box and performing non-stop for the whole show requires physical and vocal endurance. Doing this show everyday at the Fringe will be a new challenge for me... so pray for me and my bruised body! 

Where has The Box Show been performed so far and how has it been received?

The first venue The Box Show was performed in was a literal cupboard! I crawled inside a small AV cabinet in a rehearsal studio at my MFA program and created the show under the mentorship of the incredibly talented Stephen Buescher. (Pictures of the original cupboard below!)

After creating that first draft, I rewrote and reworked the show multiple times, performing different iterations of it all over New York at Dixon Place, The United Solo Theatre Festival (where I won awards for "Best Comedic Script" and "Best Set Design"), and FringeNYC (where I was won the "Overall Excellence for Solo Performance" and "The Fringe Encore Series" awards). After these festivals, I performed the show at venues like Soho Playhouse, The PIT, and Art House Productions. Then I took the show on the road to iO Chicago and La Jolla Playhouse!

I have been so blessed to have incredible audiences attend each iteration of this piece. There are wonderful humans who have seen the show multiple times and have brought new friends with them each time. The New York Times called the show: ""The most purely delicious production... relentlessly inventive...a paragon of Fringe form." I remember reading that review at a starbucks near my dingy New York City apartment where I was sleeping on the floor (because I couldn't fit both a bed and my Box set in my tiny room).

My jaw dropped open when I read those kind words and saw the huge picture of me in the Arts section. It meant the absolute world that my little cupboard show seems to have touched audiences and made people laugh, because it means so much to me. My Edinburgh show will be a shorter 60 minute Box Show, so it will be the first time I have performed this particular version of the piece! I hope that it will speak to people and keep them laughing! 

What sets it apart from other performances at the festival?

I hope I'm the only curvy millennial woman who will be crammed inside of a cupboard playing a bunch of different ridiculous characters this summer. Other than that, I think what sets the show apart is how it's constantly surprising you with what comes next, and playing with an irreverent sense of: "Why Not?" 

Who would you recommend come to see The Box Show?
 

Everyone! Good things come in small packages! If you want to shake off the stresses of the day, and dive into your imagination for an hour, this might be the show for you! My show doesn't take itself too seriously, but thematically it does play with the concept of constraints which I think can speak to everyone. Too often, the world tells us: "You can't. Don't. Stop. These are your limits." To that I say: "Watch what I can do with these limitations." 

https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/dominique-salerno-box-show 

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