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?
It’s 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, there’s poetry, there’s a woman getting increasingly close to saying what she actually thinks. It’s funny and a bit feral, but there’s real tenderness underneath. I want you laughing before you realise I’ve 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 I’ve learnt to use even fifteen-minute blocks. You can’t always wait until you feel inspired. Sometimes everyone’s briefly stopped needing you and you have to go NOW. You can’t wait for perfect conditions because they don’t 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?
I’m better at the physical side, I love the gym, mandarins, vitamin C! Sleep is key but challenging with kids. Emotional health, well that’s 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. “Motherhood is hard” is true, but it doesn’t tell you much. “I’m having a micro-holiday eating leftover toast in the driveway gives you the whole person.
I think people connect when you say something they’ve thought privately and assumed made them a terrible person. There’s a particular laugh that means, “Oh, thank God. You too.”
What strategies do you use to manage nerves before you go on?
Nerves and excitement feel very similar, so I tell myself I’m excited. I also remind myself the audience have chosen to be there, nobody’s been summoned for jury duty. And then I think, “Remember when you wanted what you currently have?” I’m getting to do something I’ve dreamed of. I want to savour it, not just survive it
Is there anything else you would like to share?
You don’t 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. I’ve 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.
