Julie and Martha met in 2011 when Julie signed up for a class taught by Martha. (Solo Performance Workshop is an exploration of personal narrative that culminates in a 15-minute live stage performance). Julie proceeded to take the class ten more times. They have logged many hours together, working & playing. They share an appreciation for the transformative properties of solo performance (and a love of thrift shopping).
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While the Bay Area has many venues to see solo performance, Julie and Martha want to see a greater variety of perspective - and specifically they want to hear from queer writers & performers. Queer Solo 2019 is a way to showcase some of these voices.

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ABOUT JULIE GIESEKE
​(Writer/Performer):
Julie Gieseke is a writer who didn’t write until eight years ago. She took a solo performance workshop to get over her fear of being in front of groups, partly inspired by her job as a Visual Co-Creator (www.mapthemind.org).  Julie not only got over her fear, but discovered she actually loved performing her own writing. Since 2011 Julie has written and performed 16 short shows and is currently touring with her first full-length show Borderline A**hole.

ABOUT MARTHA RYNBERG
​(Teacher/Director & Writer/Performer):
Martha Rynberg is dedicated to developing socially relevant, politically conscious, and personally challenging solo performance. As Principal Director of Solo Performance Workshop, Martha has worked with over 150 performers to show, rather than tell, their stories. In Martha's work a writer and performer, her solo show, Lady Parts, explores the dark and hilarious corners of inheritance, parenting, and internalized misogyny.