Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Axon.
Alex, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started doing comedy shortly after I moved to Dallas in 2013. It was something I had always wanted to try. I guess I’ve always been a bit of a clown. I love to laugh and to make people laugh. I started with stand up and dabbled in improv, I wrote a few spec scripts and worked on some theater productions, and I started making a lot of friends. Dallas is the biggest small town in the world. If you hang out with your theater friends, they will introduce you to their musician friends, who will introduce you to poets, who will introduce you to visual artists, who will introduce you to designers, and before you know it, you will be surrounded by the most talented and inspiring folks you have ever met. I think that because Dallas is relatively small, it’s very easy to cross-pollinate ideas and talent, and that creates so much potential for something special.
So anyway, back in 2017, I experienced some inappropriate behavior from a booker at a comedy club and after speaking to other women in the scene, it was apparent that there was a pattern of problematic behaviors from this person. I brought this to the attention of the club owner and she handled the situation less than admirably. At the time, I felt like my two options were to quit performing or to move. I have an artist’s heart, so quitting was never a viable option, and I adore all of my friends here in Dallas, so moving would be difficult. I found myself in this liminal space of having a creative outlet when my friend, Mac, who was bartending at Tradewinds, asked if I could host a comedy night on Sundays to help boost business. I told her that I felt disillusioned by comedy, so she told me that I could do anything I want. I realized that my third option after quitting or moving would be to nurture the environment that I wish existed, so I built this 6-foot sequin vagina and half-told jokes and half yelled about my frustrations. I had this idea to have a night that would share vignettes of what people are working on, so for that first show, we had some people sharing poetry, half baked scripts, and Atom and EV played music at the end to tie it all together.
There were maybe seven people in the audience who weren’t performing and they were all kind of confused as to what was going on. Mac had a great time bartending that night with all the absurdities, so she asked us to do it again. After the second or third show, EV Borman offered to help with sound and to DJ between sets, so that leveled the night up to a point where it had some flow. Over time, the format organically shifted from a workshop environment to a proper variety show. When I book talent, I tell people to do whatever they want- so there’s a lot of freedom for vulnerability and experimentation. For example, if I book a musician, they might perform a brand new song, or they might do some improv, or they might play the drums instead of the synth, or they might dress as their grandmother and tell jokes because that’s something they’ve always wanted to try.
I’ve definitely remained grounded on the principles of nurturing the environment that I wished existed. I do my best to highlight as many black, brown, and LGBTQ+ artists as I can and I always hold space for someone to perform for the very first time. I hate the gatekeeping mentality- I have seen so many strokes of pure brilliance from peoples first sets, and there is so much raw vulnerability, it inspires me so much. Avant to Leave This Planet is upon its third year of existence, we have increased our audience of 7 by tenfold, and our viewers continue to expect to not know what to expect.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think any time you work with a large group of artists, you will be bound to run into obstacles. You’ll always have to navigate through people’s egos, feelings, and feuds when you book that many people. Heck, there have been times when I’ve had to check my own ego, feelings, and feuds. EV has been a very good friend and co-producer. She has a lot of wisdom in compartmentalizing friendships and professional relationships. That can be difficult because those lines get so blurred in this environment. I used to try to make everyone happy, but you lose yourself when you act as a people pleaser, and it’s emotionally exhausting. I learned how to put up boundaries when people ask for too much from me, and I discovered that by doing that, you don’t lose friends- you lose control freaks and egomaniacs.
Aside from that, Avant to Leave This Planet is very DIY and shoestring budgeted. I don’t think it would be a proper Avant show without some sort of technical difficulties. We’re very good at rolling with punches. When things don’t work right, we eat up time by asking the audience to share their dreams or a funny story, and it’s often hilarious. Que in Yakety Sax.
Avant to Leave This Planet – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Avant to Leave This Planet is a performance art collective and a monthly variety show. We are a celebration of the diverse talent pool of DFW. We showcase music, spoken word, performance art, dance, comedy, theater, drag, clowns, anything that can be performed in front of an audience. We are an outlet for creative professionals to try something different and for amateurs to find their voice. Each show consists of 6-9 sets, and within our sets, we often cross-pollinate with different creative backgrounds to offer something truly unique. Every month we try to get gayer, witchier, and stronger. We have grown our platform a lot over the last three years and we have a lot of fun things planned as soon as Ms. Rona parts her way.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I used to think that success is marked by our accomplishments, a city grant, an offer to perform at more prestigious theaters, but it really is the strengthened friendships forged along the way. Someone told me that they were very happy that they found their way to our community. They said that their usual peer group gets together and gossips, but with us, it’s all love and if we talk about someone its to say how wonderful they are. Being seen as a source of positivity and having so many people feel like they have really found their tribe within your community is success. I watch my creative peers try to do their last performance out, and over time they start getting booked all over the city- that is success, Avant is a creative womb. I started this project three years ago under the founding principle to nurture the environment that I wish existed, and our environment really has become a bit of an institution of love, support, and creative vision. That is success.
Pricing:
- The shows are pay what you can, suggested donation $5, no one turned down for lack of funds.
Contact Info:
- Email: avanttoleavethisplanet@gmail.com
- Instagram: (professional) @avanttoleavethisplanet (personal) @minabonterre
Image Credit:
@Uraenia (professional headshot) @beez.photos (event shots)
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