HOW TO BE A FRIEND TO A SELF-PRODUCING FRIEND

Hello! As you probably know, Amie Cazel and I just self-produced Pregnant Pause at the United Solo Festival. It was amazing and also eye-opening. I’ve never had a kid, but I imagine it’s maybe slightly like a sliver of what having a kid is like. I remember once I had a free ten minutes in between jobs during production and I sent Amie this frantic text: “I have a free ten minutes! Isn’t there something I should be doing for Pregnant Pause? If there is I forget tell me!!!!”

The answer was, of course, send a million more emails.

So yes, I learned a lot about how incredibly hard producing is. But I also had a lot of friends show up and be amazing. So in addition to producing, I also learned even more about how awesome my friends are. Here’s how to be a good friend to a friend who is self-producing, according to me.

5. SHARE THEIR STUFF ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

Share it! Even if you can’t go, share their post. I can’t tell you how good it felt to see that someone had shared my fifth-post-in-a-day.

4. SEND OTHER GOOD PEOPLE THEIR WAY.

There were a few times when we were looking for collaborators (stage manager, sound designer) and it meant a lot to me when people would recommend friends to work with us.

3. GIVE THEM MONEY.

I know, I know. Nobody has any money. This one is hard. I had a friend who said, I get paid in two weeks is your Indiegogo open then? And I was like, BLESS YOU. I have some friends who gave from across the country. Who gave us $5, and I know what that $5 means. (THANKS).

2. BUY TICKETS TO THEIR SHOW EARLY.

We only got a second show with United Solo if we were able to sell our first one out; so we were trying to sell tickets to a September show in July! Not easy.

If you don’t end up going, then your friend has a comp they can give out. Either way, it’s a win-win. You are helping your friend’s career. And trust me, when the shoe is on the other foot, they’ll remember you.

1. GO TO THE SHOW! AND TELL PEOPLE YOU’RE GOING! AND BRING A FRIEND WITH YOU!

This one is the golden ticket. To our final show night of Pregnant Pause, my friend Kenny came and brought three other friends with him! Kenny, you win.

The moral of the story is, be a friend. Like Kenny. And kids, if you’re ever self-producing your passion project, HIT ME UP.