Interview: Joanna Parson, ‘A Transcriber’s Tale’

Ahead of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024, we’re chatting with a range of creatives who will be heading to the city over August to find out more about their shows. Today we’re chatting with Joanna Parson about A Transcriber’s Tale.

Can you tell us a bit about you and your career so far..

I am an actor and performer out of New York City. I've spent many years in the downtown comedy and cabaret trenches, but I'm also a union actor and have popped up on your TV screens (Law and Order:SVU; Red Oaks; Marvelous Mrs. Maisel). I've supported myself over the years by working as a transcriber, and now I own my own transcription company called Letter Perfect Transcription. 

What is your show about?

My show is about my years spent as a transcriber for the mass media in NYC in the late '90s, through the time of 9/11.  

What was the inspiration for A Transcriber’s Tale and what’s the development process been to get to this stage?

I knew I had something to say about what it does to people when we listen to people's voices tell stories. It affects our hearts and minds in a way that can be positive or negative. I started writing A Transcriber's Tale back in 2012, and at the time, people were a bit skeptical about listening to a comedienne talk about 9/11. I started redeveloping it in 2021 at the Emerging Artists Theatre Festival and it got a very different response. After Covid, people seemed ready to hear a story of one person survived another time of collective trauma. 

What made you want to take A Transcriber’s Tale to the Fringe?

I love the way the Fringe embraces different kinds of storytelling. My piece is essentially a solo show with music, and I call it a guitar monologue. The songs propel the story, and I underscore a lot of my text with music or other sounds (like the sound of a keyboard tapping). I feel like there's no better place to find audiences that really want to be taken on a journey by any means possible; and of course, I'm really interested to hear what an international audience makes of a very New York story from a very particular time.   

Apart from seeing your show, what’s your top tip for anybody heading for Edinburgh this summer?

I'm planning to embrace all different kinds of theater! I want to see it all, from puppetry to ensemble casts to solo performances. Where better to do that? 

Why should people book A Transcriber’s Tale?

My show is entertaining from start to finish, but I also want to get people thinking about how they take in media and other people's stories. Can we do it in a way that makes our lives better, while at the same time learning about the world? More than anything, I want people to feel better when they leave than they did coming in. It's also a deeply portable show; it's meant to be just me and a guitar, and I'm ready to travel!  

 When and where can people see A Transcriber’s Tale?

I'm at the Gilded Balloon Patter House, at the Bothie Theatre, every day at noon with only a few dark Mondays. I'll be there!