We all have our journeys, our own terrors and regrets, victories and failures, accomplishments and lessons learned. Nine times out of ten this makes up the substance of nearly any one person show, so the question comes up--how akin to our own lives does this person's story feel? Sink or Swim accomplishes this very well in the most straightforward way--by sharing what happened, how he felt, and in an engaging manner let us in on his life. His methods proved clever, even interactive (btw the man can bake!!!). Mostly though, he himself did that which so many of us reflexively avoid--he bled a little bit of his soul in front of us. In this case, he used his own efforts to finally learn how to swim as a guide to a more fundamental issue--feelings about his father's death. Powerful stuff. His father had some issues, not the stuff of Eugene O'Neill to be sure, but enough. Pain and regret remain real, even without the level of a Holocaust or dive into some kind of madness. This story felt real, about trying (and ultimately succeeding) when it comes to healing a wound and living with the scar. It left me wanting more, so ultimately interested did this man's life prove and his seemingly simple journey echoed my own. From the reactions of others, they seemed to have the same reaction.
Sink or Swim was part of the 2018 Hollywood Fringe Festival and has now closed (although of course the story it told, continues).
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