Miriam Cummings Finds Freedom Through Solo Performance and Teaching
About this episode
Miriam Cummings discusses her journey in solo performance and teaching, exploring themes of vulnerability and creativity.
About This Episode: In this episode, Phil sits down with Miriam Cummings, a playwright, performer, and educator who creates deeply personal solo theatre. Miriam shares how a tongue-in-cheek suggestion at Canada's National Voice Institute led her to write and perform her first solo show, The One, and how that experience opened up new ways of being vulnerable on stage. She reflects on the protective barriers she built as a young actor after experiencing profound loss, and how solo performance helped her dismantle those walls and get closer to herself as an artist. Miriam also discusses her second solo show, Wide, which pushed the boundaries of audience participation and co-creation, and how moving from Montreal to BC transformed both her body and her art. As an educator, she believes everyone has inherent presence and that actor training is about uncovering the joy of play we all had as children. This conversation explores grief, presence, the writing process, and the courage it takes to be honest on stage. This episode explores: How a casual suggestion led Miriam to create her first solo show The terrifying vulnerability of hearing your own writing read aloud for the first time…
People in this episode
Host: Phil
Guest: Miriam Cummings
Topics covered
- solo performance
- vulnerability
- grief
- audience participation
- actor training
- creativity
Keywords
- solo theatre
- playwright
- performer
- educator
- audience co-creation
- movement in writing
- presence
- play
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Canada's National Voice Institute
Books & works: The One, Wide
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