Responder: Errol McLendon, Director of Memories
Name of Company: Errol McLendon
Name of Show: Inner State Stories

“My mother dealt with Alzheimer’s the last 27 months of her life. When she passed away, I took a month long road trip in her memory. The thoughts that travelled with me became this piece.”

  1. Why should people see your show?

Loading the car, calling “shotgun”, road snacks and license plate games – all the ingredients for the perfect road trip. My show recalls a simpler time when this American tradition was an annual ritual. Whether its trips home from college, travel for work or weekend getaways, we all still have fond memories of time in the car. And many of us will deal with memory loss with loved ones. These memories are still hidden in there,

  1. What about festivals intrigues you? And why the Atlanta Fringe?

I went to Edinburgh years ago, an international storytelling festival last October and did a mini-festival in Chicago this winter. Being surrounded by the creativity and people who understand that the arts are critical to survival revitalizes me and strengthens my resolve to create until I die. And I lived in Atlanta for three years straight out of college and did workshops several years ago at Southern Comfort when it was there. I have always loved the city. I couldn’t wait to fill out the application

  1. What inspired you to create this?

My mother dealt with Alzheimer’s the last 27 months of her life. I made monthly trips home to Mississippi from Chicago to be with her. She introduced me to roadside attractions as we did three trips a year from Mississippi to Dallas. When she passed away, I took a month long road trip in her memory. The thoughts that travelled with me became this piece. My mother’s happiest moments during her months of Alzheimer’s were reliving memories of our road trips together. That is what this show is about.

  1. Life has been weird the last few years, to say the least. How has the “real world” affected the art you’re creating?

I was in a theatre company that broke up before Covid. It was an ugly breakup. I wanted to still perform, but didn’t want to rely on other people so I started storytelling. Then Covid hit and storytelling went virtual and I didn’t like doing it over Zoom, so I shifted to taking many of my stories and building them into a solo show. When we all started meeting in person again, I had both my stories and a new solo show.

  1. What have you learned from working on your show so far?

I’ve learned that there may be three versions of this show in the future – one for general audiences, one to be done at roadside attraction for road trippers and one to be done at retirement homes and communities. I also added the audience chat at the end because people want to tell their road trip and/or Alzheimer’s experiences. I learned this early on doing small segments of my show at open mics. People always came up to me at the end and wanted to talk, so now it is a part of the show

  1. There’s a mysterious stranger in the back row of your show, wearing a big ol’ N95 mask and a baseball cap and there’s something weirdly familiar about them, and then they come up afterwards to tell you they loved your show. In your WILDEST DREAMS, who is this mysterious stranger? (Bonus points if your mysterious stranger is an Atlanta celeb.)

Mike Wise or someone else – actor or staff – from the old Barn Dinner Theatre days. We had a blast floating down the Chattahoochee, playing football, smoking dope in the cast living quarters out back – I think the statute of limitations has passed.

  1. Fringes are the place to really push the boundaries so we gotta ask: are you inviting your family to this show are “Hey, maybe sit this one out you guys…”

My family is definitely invited. Maybe not the people from my hometown. I speak honestly about the racism that existed and still exists there. The reason I “escaped” to Atlanta was I couldn’t remain in that environment. Atlanta had a new mayor, Maynard Jackson, and it looked like a city I wanted to live in. I fully intended to return, but graduate school in Dallas took me another direction.

[Above: Errol on the Moth’s podcast in March of this year.]

  1. Will your show change the world?

I hope it will give ideas and tools to people on how to communicate with loved ones dealing with Alzheimer’s. So, yes. One relationship at a time.

  1. Zoom meetings: dress up head to toe or Donald Duck it?

Dress shirt on top, pajama bottoms (or less) on the bottom and always fuzzy penguin socks.

  1. We’re making an excellent Fringey Feelings playlist. Describe your show in two or three songs we can add to keep the jams flowing.

On the Road Again – Willie Nelson

(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66 – Nat King Cole

Holiday Road – Lindsey Buckingham

Sounds amazing, right? Click here to learn more and get your tickets to this show today.