Meet Brooke McCarthy! Brooke is an actor currently based in Charlotte, NC. Today we’re learning about her process for her one-woman show: How to be an Ethical Slut.

 

 

How to be an Ethical Slut synopsis

“Experience the ride of your life as an unethical slut penetrates lies, STDs, triads, orgies, and love in her musical journey to becoming an Ethical Slut. Don’t miss this original one-woman cabaret-comedy show by and starring Brooke McCarthy.”

 

Brooke’s Theatre Background

Brooke sang as a kid and always loved performing arts. In undergrad, she majored in Accounting. However, she was involved in theatre so much that she was always mistaken for a theatre major. She ended up deciding to study the arts at a graduate level and went to the University of Georgia to pursue her MFA in Acting.

 

Thesis Project

In grad school, Covid hit before Brooke’s thesis year. Instead of doing a role in a production, she was asked to create her own project. She read a lot of solo and duo shows and didn’t find anything she wanted to work on. “Ultimately I didn’t like anything I was reading cause that was a really trying time. I felt like I couldn’t do a really dark piece in the era of Covid with so much depression and loss. I also felt like some of the more comedic pieces I was reading felt too surface level, not me enough, and not challenging enough for my thesis and for my artistic goals. And so I was like screw it, I’m gonna write my own show”. And she did!

Inspiration

Brooke wanted to do a story inspired by her own life because she had a story to tell. She loved her Queer Theatre and History class and the type of work that was explored there, and shares “I’m inspired by the queer theatre and filmmakers of history who worked on bold and groundbreaking pieces to inspire me to be brave and do something a little scary”. However, even in this space she did not see any poly representation. With further research, she could not find any pieces where polyamory was reflected in a positive way. “I really wanted to see someone more like me reflected in the stories”.

 

Writing

Brooke had never written a full length show. A lot of her initial process involved turning on a video camera and improvising scenes. She also made a point to watch and read all sorts of material related to the topics she would explore in her show. A play she drew inspiration from was Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. She also watched a lot of stand-up comedy and looked at how comedians structured their jokes. All of this fed into a first draft and helped her continue to improve with later drafts.

 

On the Road

Brooke had seen friends take shows to festivals and knew she wanted to take How to be an Ethical Slut on the road. She started researching Fringe Festivals and applying and has now been able to perform at festivals and events in cities across the country.

 

Audience Response

Brooke has had positive feedback throughout her time performing. The polyamorous community especially has appreciated the positive representation onstage with her story. She’s had people share that they were led to think about themselves and their own relationships. Her favorite thing that she’s been told is that the show has a lot of heart. “Yes the title is sexy and catchy but it goes so much deeper than that if you’re really paying attention to the story and the messages.”

 

Advice

Brooke’s advice for artists who want to write and create their own work is: “Go for it, because life is short. And you will learn so much about yourself and your artistry and what you’re already really good at and can showcase, as well as things that you need to work on to grow as an artist and grow as a person.”

 

Keep up with Brooke and How to be an Ethical Slut:

Website: http://www.howtobeanethicalslut.com/

Instagram: @howtobeanethicalslut

 

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Check out my recent blogs:

Nashville Theatre Events: November Edition

Malinda Morgan: Soon My Love Playwright & Director

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