Where else in Atlanta can you see up-and-coming, local theater artists showcase their work? Nowhere else but Theatrical Outfit’s Launchpad 2.0: A “Made in Atlanta” Festival.
This year, local actor and playwright Valeka Jessica is taking the festival by storm with “I’m a Motherf*cking Superstar,” a one-woman show that combines Jessica’s talents for both theatrical storytelling and stand-up comedy. The show first plays on July 17, with three other performances on July 19, 24, and 26.
Jessica’s show grew out of personal experience. “I’m a Motherf*cking Superstar” shares DNA with her book, “Blossoming After Divorce,” and chronicles her struggles with divorce, IVF, sexual assault, and more. It’s a story about learning how to come into your own power, which is fitting, as Jessica’s initial foray into one-woman shows was part of an attempt to take control of her career.
“I just don’t actually have to be an actress. I can write my own material,” she said. “If I’m not booking the way that I want, I can go into a comedy club and do an open mic.”
The first time Jessica did a one-woman show, she was in grad school. She told the story of a pregnant woman lost in the woods who then had to give birth to her baby. She didn’t speak during the performance, instead using the song “Agnes Dei” by Rufus Wainwright to soundtrack the show.
That’s where Jessica first realized that, as an actor, she could write her own material. But producing one-person shows proved to be difficult and expensive. A comedian friend suggested she try stand-up, and a new passion was born.
“I think comedians are amazing because they have a platform where they can go somewhere weekly, everyday if they want, and try material out. There’s not that same platform for an actor to try out material,” she said. “I started to think about, well how can I merge this for myself?”
Jessica is originally from Washington D.C., but came to Georgia with her now ex-husband a little over a decade ago to put down roots and start a family. She said that while she and her partner were going through in vitro fertilization (IVF), she began writing a one-woman show called “Did You Take Your Clomid?” – a fertility drug that helps induce ovulation. Post-divorce, she began writing her book, and then eventually evolving that one-woman show into “I’m a Motherf*cking Superstar.”
When writing her book, Jessica said she wanted to focus on the positive over the negative.
“It’s not about hating him or her, whatever that is,” she said. “It’s about pouring into yourself so that you can become the most fabulous version of yourself.”
For Jessica, that fabulous version has a name. In the earlier rendition of her show, Jessica’s character met a woman named Keysha at a fertility clinic. Jessica started to view Keysha as the idealized version of who she wanted to become. The show became about the duality of these two versions of herself.
“Keysha turned into, not even my alter ego – she turned into my higher self,” Jessica said. “This show is really Valeka and Keysha battling each other. And Keysha is really pushing Velaka to become her most amazing self.”
Even though this show is personal for Jessica, collaboration has been essential to making it work. The show is directed by Emory University’s Lydia Fort, choreographed by Jonathan Bryant, features costumes from Dr. L. Nyrobi N. Moss, and is stage-managed by Nicole Davis. Jessica gave a special shout out to Davis.
“In rehearsals, it’s me, it’s Lydia, and it’s our stage manager, Nicole. The stage manager is such a huge, integral part, because that’s who’s calling the lights. He or she is calling the show,” Jessica said. “So the stage manager has to know the show the same way the actor and the director do.”
Jessica loves so many things about one-woman shows – the collaboration, the transitions, training audiences how to watch the performance and what to look for – but one of her favorite things about this particular show is that it gives her the chance to show off some of her other talents, like singing and dancing. She hopes audiences will enjoy seeing the breadth of what she can do.
“You gonna laugh, you gonna cry. I’m singing, I’m dancing, I’m doing all the f*cking things,” Jessica said. “I’m betting on myself. I’m a motherf*cking superstar, and guess what? So are you.”
