Oversharer – My first solo show!

I still don’t quite know what possessed me to make a solo play. I had never written a play before, never done a solo show. But a moment of confidence, or perhaps madness, came over me and I signed up for the 2025 NZ Fringe Festival.

As I ride the high of having just wrapped up my Fringe fest run of Oversharer, I thought it might be cool cool cachoo to do a quick little reflection. So behold…

The concept

An improv teacher once told me that I’m mainly good at playing myself – flattering (sarcasm)... but also very very accurate (dammit). So, for my first foray into ‘theatre’, I thought I’d start by writing something a little bit closer to home. And although Oversharer is fictional, the character and the themes explored are very much drawn from my own life.

I wanted to explore some of the social anxiety I often feel – the feeling that social interactions are a house of cards – one wrong move and the whole thing could collapse. I’m also a chronic oversharer and have had it backfire – so I wanted to extrapolate this scenario out to see where it could take me. And finally, I love storytelling – so you know it had to pack it with tales of ridiculous antics.

I’m pretty stoked with how the concept landed. Not to toot my own honker – but I think I might have landed in the sweet spot of funny but with something to say. It was super cool to see the show land well with audiences (thank god!) – and I was chuffed to receive messages from peeps about how it made them think (and in some instances cry – whhhattt!!)

The process

Like many writers, I love having written but hate having to write. And writing my first solo play was a chunky writing task that I had to force myself through – under (self-imposed) duress! I also had the added challenge of having written the blurb way in advance of putting pen to paper – so I had to retrospectively write a show that fit the bill (a classic Fringe conundrum)!

When it came to pulling this shindig together, I was lucky enough to have a plethora of stand-up material to draw from and some more embarrassing/ intimate tales that fit the vibe. I also knew I liked an open ending and a show that is bookmarked (where the beginning relates to the ending so the show feels complete).

Once I forced myself to write a first draft, a second, and a third – my production team and I started to block this bad boy out and got to rehearsing (all your stock standard showbiz razzle dazzle).

And because I love to jump tits-first into the deep end, I also billed Oversharer as containing musical theatre elements – wild! I’ve never composed music before! And contain musical theatre elements it did – in a way…

After composing some janky backing tracks and trying to integrate them into the show, I made the decision to sing my three songs acapella – which worked well (phew!) and more appropriately worked with how the show ended up. It also gave me the chance to do some more raw singing (akin to a mōteatea) – which felt awesome to do.

One thing that was interesting about the whole process was oscillating between backing myself and feeling like a terrified imposter. It’s definitely too easy to barrel down the rabbit hole of not feeling worthy – and I spent half of the process loving what I had made and the other half detesting it. I’m just glad I stuck it out and did the thing – because now that it’s done, I know that I’m proud of what I’ve made.

And then it was show time!

It was a cool experience – performing the same play four nights in a row to different crowds. Some nights audiences were more interested in the lols, and other nights they were more keen on the serious stuff – and I relished the challenge of switching up the vibe ever so slightly to match viewers.

All in all – I’m thrilled with how the show panned out (and wasn’t panned)! I got laughs (in expected and unexpected places), had moments of intense focus, and even made some audience members emotional. From what I heard, people found the show fun and funny – but also provocative and thought provoking – which is more than I could have asked for.

My team and community

One of my biggest reflections is how lucky I am to have such a supportive team and wider community who has my back.

From my production team (the incredible Q and Aroha), to my whānau (especially my mum who read the first draft of my script), to my friends and comedy fam – knowing I have support has made all the difference in helping me put myself out there and try things.

They’ve sat through some good shows, and they’ve sat through some wacky clusterfucks – providing honest feedback and sincere support for the whole ride. So big ups to my crew for being amazing, driving me to push myself and bringing cake to the premier of my show!

The Fringe Festival

And a little shoutout needs to go to the Fringe festival – an incredible place for new and established artists to try out fresh ideas. The stakes are low, but the opportunity is high – a perfect melting pot for creative expression. I have been in the festival twice now – with wildly different shows – and have had a blast each time.

So what’s next for Oversharer?

All I know is that it has only been a week since the show and I am keen to do it all over again! With that in mind, I don’t think this will be my last showing of Oversharer – so my next step is thinking about where else I can take this fun little show!

But before then, I need to pivot to frantically writing my first stand-up comedy hour for the New Zealand International Comedy Festival. 2025 is shaking out to be anything but boring!

And finally – some reviewer quotes…

“Despite its comedic guise and generally entertaining nature, “Oversharer” is a thoughtful, provocative piece of theatre.” – Theatrereview

“The subject matter and performance is achingly relatable, her voice is gorgeous (so is she - inappropriate comment, sorry)… The theatre was packed and the audience gave a standing ovation; the show deserves both of these, every night of the run.” – Wellington Reviews

"This is a seriously strong first play. It makes the personal political, and examines our relationship with the form. It has something to say, and it not only says it, but examines it with nuance, perspective, and heart. Mo Munn, improviser, comedian, producer, and playwright - well-earned." - Artmurmurs