One-man show ‘Back to the Cult’ begins limited engagement in Sonoma

A loosely autobiographical one-man show in Sonoma.|

Ready for a Flashback?

What: “Back to the Cult,” Garen Patterson's one-man-show (with music)

When: Aug. 29, 30, Sept. 5, 6, 7 p.m. performances

Where: Andrews Hall, Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St.

How Much: $15

Presented by: Sonoma Arts Live

“Cult” is one of those words that immediately grabs one’s attention. Rarely, however, is it combined with the label, “A Musical,” or built around one-liners designed to make an audience laugh hard enough to cry.

In “Back at the Cult,” the latest one-man-show (with music) by Sonoma’s resident painter-turned-solo-theater-performer Garen Patterson, a whole lot of laughing – and yes, perhaps some tears, too – is exactly what an audience can expect to experience.

“Basically, I had a girlfriend who disappeared on me, and when I finally found her, she’d joined this cult, and then a lot of crazy things happened,” Patterson explains. “It’s taken me years to want to tell the story. And now I have, and I’ve added a few songs, too, so now it’s a musical. That’s pretty funny right there.”

The show will be performed four times over the next two weeks in Andrews Hall at the Sonoma Community Center. The majority of his performances, over the last few years, have taken place in living rooms, each presentation a kind of theatrical house concert.

“This is the first time I’ll be performing at an actual public venue, in my own community,” he says. “That’s kind of a big deal for me.”

Patterson, owner of Patterson Painting and Decorating, is well known in the area as a guitarist and singer-songwriter. Several years ago, having recognized that his occasionally unorthodox life was a treasure trove of stories, Patterson began looking for ways to tell the tales. From 2006 to 2011, Patterson took classes at the Marsh in San Francisco, an acclaimed theater specializing in the development and presentation of solo performance. Patterson likens his discovery of solo performance, as an art form, to its own kind of religious conversion, and his weekly treks to San Francisco to going to church on Sunday.

“Getting to know people through the stories they tell is a pretty incredible thing,” he says. “It’s the opposite of normal life, where you might see someone and know that they’re the owner of a hardware store, but you know very little else about that person’s life. With the people I encountered at the Marsh, it was like, ‘I don’t know what you do for a living, but I know your father was a serial killer.’ That’s just how you connect with people when you get to listen to these intimate, personal stories about their lives.”

While at the Marsh, Patterson worked with renowned teacher-director David Ford, who suggested that Patterson create a show based on the cult experiences he sometimes talked about. “Back at the Cult,” the show that Patterson developed from that suggestion, tells the story of a defining moment in his early life.

“I never know exactly how to tell people what ‘Back at the Cult’ is about,” laughs Patterson. “So I usually say something like, it’s a one-man-show show about determining how much influence you want to put yourself under, as opposed to just figuring things out for yourself.”

Adds Patterson: “That might not sound very funny, but trust me, what happened to me – during my own time in the cult – was actually pretty hilarious.”

Patterson has performed “Back at the Cult” six times over the last 17 months, including four performances last fall at the San Francisco Fringe Festival, where the show was well-received and earned critical praise. Though the show is based on a true story, Patterson says that names have been changed, and certain details have been altered.

“Let’s just say it’s ‘loosely autobiographical,’” he says. “It’s about how I left school at 18, joined a cult, came out the other end, and found myself an adult at the age of 21. It’s the story of dealing with imposed belief systems, and it’s also about coming to terms with having taken your nebulous dreams as a student and turning them into something that works in the real world.”

During the quartet of performances at the Community Center, Patterson’s musical will feature accompaniment by Deirdre Egan on keyboard. His 55-minute piece will be preceded by another solo performance, a short piece by Sheila Whitney Stanfield, titled “Connective Tissue.”

Patterson, who grew up on the Peninsula at the tail end of the 1960s, incorporates plenty of detail into his show, without ever naming the exact group he became entangled in.

“It was a Sonoma County cult,” he reveals. “When people see the show, they sometimes try to get me to name the group. But that’s not what I want to do. It’s not around anymore, though it is a part of Sonoma County history. It’s not my intention to blame or name anyone. I don’t think anyone would disagree with anything I say about the experience. It’s pretty clear by now that we were all off on what was not a very good trip.”

Patterson plans to continue creating solo shows, as long as he can find stories he’s passionate about telling.

“I like the way solo performance gives you an accessible, audience friendly way to tell deeply moving stories, with a sense of humor,” he says. “No other medium I’ve found is as successful at making an audience laugh and cry at the same exact moment.”

Contact David at david@sonomanews.com.  

Ready for a Flashback?

What: “Back to the Cult,” Garen Patterson's one-man-show (with music)

When: Aug. 29, 30, Sept. 5, 6, 7 p.m. performances

Where: Andrews Hall, Sonoma Community Center, 276 E. Napa St.

How Much: $15

Presented by: Sonoma Arts Live

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