The Buzz Intro Interview

Chase Brantley - Artistic Director of Moonlight Theater, Performer of Don Toberman: Ping-Pong Champ

If you want to experience masterful and sensitive audience interaction, this show is one of the best. It expertly walks audiences to the edge—so that by the end, even those who usually shy away from audience participation feel both safe and excited to join in.
It’s also a joyful, playful, and delightfully ridiculous experience that reminds you what it feels like to dream like a kid.

Fringes in their purest form are theater of/for the community. Altanta Fringe is right on that mark in terms of spirit, energy, and community. And, as a clown teacher in Atlanta and Southeastern theater creator, I'm grateful to have a thriving home town fringe. It's such an important part of building a strong theatrical community.

This show came about as I was testing material for a show in 2023. I was touring “Fruit Salad” with Nicholas Hemerling (a fellow Gaulier grad), and I needed a way to explore anger at open mics. Anger is a difficult emotion in comedy to keep light and fun. So, I built Don Toberman to do 8 minutes at an open mic playing invisible pingpong with the audience. He started the show by winning and then when he returned in the second half, he lost every point. And every time he lost, I could test out a new way of being angry.

When my tour of “Fruit Salad” finished its Edinburgh Fringe run, we decided to put it on the shelf. And as I was building a new show, I realized that I already had a strong character from Don Toberman. And then, I very quickly turned those 8 minutes into a 20 minutes set. And after a few work-in-progress shows, I had a full hour that was ready to tour. The show has gone on to win awards throughout the 2024 season and I am touring Australia in March 2025 after winning their Arts Unlimited grant.