Del Shores brings ‘6 Characters’ to Sonoma for one night only

The play is in town only on July 22 as part of Gay Wine Weekend.|

Gay Wine Weekend

Sonoma Arts Live is teaming up with Gary Saperstein and Mark Vogler of Out in The Vineyard to bring this hilarious, edgy, timely one-man show to Sonoma during the Gay Wine Weekend.

Gay Wine Weekend in Sonoma runs July 20-22 and benefits Face to Face, Sonoma County AIDS Network. The weekend includes music and dancing in a private estate vineyard, VIP receptions, wine tasting excursions, champagne brunch, wine auction and pool party in one of the most famous luxury wine destinations in the world.

Written and performed by Del Shores, 'Six Characters in Search of a Play' comes to Sonoma Arts Live theater company on July 22 in Andrews Hall at the Sonoma Community Center. In the production, Shores, an award-winning actor and director, brings to life six characters – many of them inspired by real life 'characters' including his mother and his aunt Sissy.

The one-man piece is a take on the 1921 Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, 'Six Characters in Search of an Author.'

In the play, Shores introduces the audience to Jimmy Del Watkins, a homophobic Mississippi redneck and Loraine, the drama teacher turned porn addict, just to name a few. The Sonoma audience is in for a wild ride from Shores, a small-town Texan with an ever-growing cult following.

An actor turned playwright, Shores, 60, wrote his first play, 'Cheatin',' in 1984.

'I came out to Hollywood fully anticipating being an actor,' he said when reached by phone in Los Angeles on Thursday. 'I did that for four years exclusively then I wrote my first play simply so that I could be in it.'

Shores never formally trained in playwriting, screenwriting or television writing. But, that did not stop the Spanish and journalism college graduate from teaching playwriting to students at Northwestern State University. He found success by following his passions and exploring new opportunities in the entertainment industry. Shores says that he also inherited some of his talent from his mother, who was a high school drama teacher.

At an early age, he says, she exposed him to theater life. When off stage, for every play or book her son read, she paid him a dollar. Mom quickly learned she could not support little Del's art habit.

Before striking paydirt with his play 'Daddy's Dyin' (Who's Got the Will?),' the self-taught entertainer made ends meet by doing voice-over work. Expanding his creative base by reading plays and watching television and film, Warner Brothers eventually signed him to a production deal. Propaganda Films and MGM took 'Daddy's Dyin'' to the big screen in 1990 – starring Beau Bridges and Beverly De'Angelo – leaving Shore's years of living on more meager means in the rear view mirror.

He now tours the country with 'Six Characters in Search of a Play' as both a performer and writer serving up uncensored adult content a la carte. The performance in Sonoma will be the 51st time he has performed the one-man show.

So how does he keep all of the characters straight in this play?

'A lot of rehearsal,' he said. 'Writing it is the easy part.' He uses some tricks to change characters.

'Muscle memory starts to happen so it's easier to go right into Marsha, the monkey hating lesbian,' he explained. 'I spread my legs a little bit and start pushing that oxygen tank.'

'When I teach acting, I always tell my actors just breath in the character and breath out yourself,' he said.

He demonstrates Marsha's speech patterns by taking long pauses and gasps in between the words with a abrasive deep women's voice.

Shore laughingly recounted that the woman on whom Marsha is based showed up to his show last weekend.

'It was crazy,' he said. 'My disclaimer is never let the truth get in the way of a good story.'

Laughing, he told the crew, ''You have to bring her to my dressing room.' She was thrilled to have inspired the character.'

Shores has taken the every day encounters in his own life to create his characters but it hasn't always been easy. Divorced after nine years of marriage, and two children, Shores found his true self. After a lot of therapy and, as he says, working through 'all that Baptist damage,' he wrote 'Sordid Lives,' what he calls his 'coming out' play. He wrote it as a gift to himself and as a conduit to tell his own story. And the crowds applauded.

'Six Characters' isn't for kids; it contains adult language and content. 'This definitely is for a more mature audience - 18 and up,' says Sonoma Arts Live Executive Director Jaime Love about the play. 'There is racy language and subjects. But, anybody can relate. He made this one-man show to bring these people to life in a different format.'

Tickets are on sale now.

'Six Characters in Search of a Play' is directed by Emerson Collins and presented in association with 'Out in the Vineyard.'

Visit www.sonomaartslive.org/delshores/ for more information.

Gay Wine Weekend

Sonoma Arts Live is teaming up with Gary Saperstein and Mark Vogler of Out in The Vineyard to bring this hilarious, edgy, timely one-man show to Sonoma during the Gay Wine Weekend.

Gay Wine Weekend in Sonoma runs July 20-22 and benefits Face to Face, Sonoma County AIDS Network. The weekend includes music and dancing in a private estate vineyard, VIP receptions, wine tasting excursions, champagne brunch, wine auction and pool party in one of the most famous luxury wine destinations in the world.

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