Workshop with lumberob

“I really like broken things.” ~lumberob

This afternoon, Rob Erickson (aka lumberob) gave a workshop of sorts in the Staller Center Cabaret about his unique storytelling aesthetic in preparation for his show this evening at Staller [Off] Center. More than a workshop, he monologued about his varied influence and how he likes to create tension by challenging himself and the audience. He eschews the well-made play as “predictable” and “tedious” and opts instead for a style that switches between genres, creates confusion in terms of who’s in charge of the show, and uses exhaustion as an element, among other things.

What all that means, I’m not sure.

I got the most from watching and listening to how he told his stories. You know how sometimes you tell a story to a friend, and it’s unrehearsed so you’re thinking about it as you tell it? Sometimes you repeat yourself, sometimes you backtrack, sometimes you may even contradict yourself. lumberob tells his story like that, except it’s clear that it’s deliberate. To add an extra layer of tension, he listens to himself tell the story on his smartphone while he tells it. It’ll be interesting to see him go for a longer set tonight.

Of particular interest to me is the way he writes. He, like me, works between audio recording and text. But, for him, the audio is the (semi) final script. For me, at this point in my artistic development, it can be either/or depending on the show.