Synopsis:

Tall Girl is a semi-autobiographical solo show about a young girl named Jennifer who grapples with her long legs, as they thoroughly interfere with her desire to fit in.

I’m 5’10 ½” and much of Tall Girl’s humor stemmed from my own awkwardness growing up and dating boys whom I towered over.  I played a variety of characters in addition to Jennifer such as:
• A fictionalized version of my mother, who relentlessly pushes her daughter to embrace her stature.
• A height doctor who, upon predicting that Jennifer will grow up to be seven feet tall, consoles her by saying, “Height is nothing to be ashamed of.  We all have a height.”
• A French charm school instructor who teaches Jennifer to stand up straight by sashaying with a book on her head.

Only after Jennifer stumbles upon the existence of a tall club and actually wins the Tall Clubs International college scholarship does she begin to ponder the possibility that perhaps height is an asset.  After all, she’s the go-to person when it comes to reaching for things on high shelves.  When Jennifer attends her local chapter’s Moonriver Tall Ball, she runs into the boy she had a crush on in junior high, except now he’s a whopping 6’10″.  With her newfound tall confidence, Jennifer musters up the courage to speak on behalf of tall-friendly design, envisioning a world in which tall people are no longer scalped by ceiling fans.

History:

I was always the tallest kid in my class.  By the time I turned thirteen, I was practically my current height of 5’10 ½.” I created my solo show to explore the pain, awkwardness, and underlying comedy of growing up tall.

During the writing process, I periodically performed in Works-in-Progress, an evening of theatre (directed by Groundlings’ creator, Gary Austin) in which actors test out original material in front of an audience.  Based on the audience’s response, I assessed in collaboration with Gary, who swiftly took on the role of Tall Girl’s director, what worked and what needed more work, and then rewrote accordingly.  Once I developed enough material for my own evening, I workshopped Tall Girl at various theaters in Los Angeles.  When I had a five-week run at the National Comedy Theater (formerly the HBO Workspace), Tall Clubs International came on board, providing financial support toward the debut production of the show.  Tall Girl premiered at THE GROUNDLINGS THEATER and received LA Weekly’s Comedy Pick of the Week as well as a great write-up in the Jewish Journal and LA.com.