Dayna Fallon finds comedy in the everyday pressures that rarely get a moment in the spotlight. Ahead of The Manager Is Me at Melbourne Fringe, we caught up with the performer to talk about creating a show alongside a busy home life, preparing to face an audience and finding moments of connection through laughter.
Meet The Performer – Dayna Fallon
What is this production or show about?
Itās a comedy about one woman trying to survive the morning before school drop-off. She has three children, a husband with complex health needs, work demands and a growing suspicion that her own life has become an unpaid administrative position.
It combines theatre and spoken word, and underneath all the chaos is a woman trying to remember what she wants beyond everyone putting their bloody shoes on.
How would you describe what you do to someone encountering your work for the first time?
I turn things that normally go unsaid into spoken word and theatre.
There are characters, thereās poetry, thereās a woman getting increasingly close to saying what she actually thinks. Itās funny and a bit feral, but thereās real tenderness underneath. I want you laughing before you realise Iāve said something that hurts.
What has been the biggest challenge in preparing for this role or performance?
TIME! As a mum of three, a carer and someone with a day job, finding uninterrupted time to make a show about never having uninterrupted time has been the biggest challenge. The material is very available. Chunks of free creative time are less forthcoming.
So Iāve learnt to use even fifteen-minute blocks. You canāt always wait until you feel inspired. Sometimes everyoneās briefly stopped needing you and you have to go NOW. You canāt wait for perfect conditions because they donāt exist.
What is your process for getting ready before you step on stage?
Secure the babysitter. Attempt nap. Watch Drag Race for confidence. Brush teeth. Do an actual warm-up. Brief existential crisis. Remind myself this is not an elimination episode. Breathe. Begin.
How do you look after your physical and emotional health during a demanding run?
Iām better at the physical side, I love the gym, mandarins, vitamin C! Sleep is key but challenging with kids. Emotional health, well thatās a work in progress. I think the key is to lower my standards at home. The washing can have its own demanding run.
What do you think makes a performance truly connect with an audience?
Specificity. āMotherhood is hardā is true, but it doesnāt tell you much. āIām having a micro-holiday eating leftover toast in the driveway gives you the whole person.
I think people connect when you say something theyāve thought privately and assumed made them a terrible person. Thereās a particular laugh that means, āOh, thank God. You too.ā
What strategies do you use to manage nerves before you go on?
Nerves and excitement feel very similar, so I tell myself Iām excited. I also remind myself the audience have chosen to be there, nobodyās been summoned for jury duty. And then I think, āRemember when you wanted what you currently have?ā Iām getting to do something Iāve dreamed of. I want to savour it, not just survive it
Is there anything else you would like to share?
You donāt have to earn a night out by getting everything done first. It will never all be done. Come with a friend, come on your own, leave the housework. Iāve made a whole show out of being overwhelmed, so technically this is a tax deductable work event for you.
Huge thanks to Dayna for sharing her journey of creating art in fifteen-minute blocks between the demands of motherhood and caregiving. Her honesty about finding the funny in feeling overwhelmed is exactly the kind of comedy we need more of. If you are ready for a night out that counts as a tax-deductible work event in overwhelm, grab your tickets to The Manager Is Me at Melbourne Fringe.
Thank you to Dayna for giving us a glimpse into the work behind The Manager Is Me. See her bring it to the stage at Melbourne Fringe; tickets are available now.
