A semifinalist in the reality TV series Alter Ego will be performing in Nanaimo later this month.
Chase Padgett will deliver his one-man performance ‘Six Guitars’ for three nights May 9-11 at the Malaspina Theatre.
In Alter Ego, a talent competition show that aired on Fox in 2021, performers had to create an avatar persona then perform backstage with motion capture technology.
Creating a persona is something Padgett is well accustomed to in his performances.
For Six Guitars, Padgett takes on the role of six characters, each representing a different musical genre. These include snobbish jazz master Wes Tankerfield, rock prodigy Michael Marsh, sensitive folk musician Peter Winter-Jones, charming country songwriter Rupert Colt, weary blues picking octogenarian Tyrone Gibbons and eccentric classical wizard Emmanuel Ortega.
“It’s a really unique experience because it’s not quite a concert, but there’s music. It’s not really a comedy special, but there’s tons of laughs. It’s not really a play, but there’s plenty of storytelling,” Padgett said. “They’re going to get something that they really haven’t seen before and won’t see again.”
Originally from Florida, Padgett first premiered Six Guitars in 2010. Since then, he’s performed it nearly 700 times across North America.
In an interview with the News Bulletin, Padgett said he became enamoured with the idea of one-man shows after he watched a friend’s one-woman monologue while studying music at the University of Central Florida and improv at the Sak Comedy Lab.
“It just seemed so hard and so scary but at the same time it was like a mountain I knew I wanted to climb,” he said. “So I thought, ‘what are the strengths I should play to?’ Music was one of them, and characters because of the improv background. It was really just a natural fit.”
As a result, Padgett created characters loosely based on people who influenced him, such as his high school band director who became the basis for the jazz master.
“The character itself doesn’t look or sound like that man but a lot of his goodness of spirit comes from him and he was very flattered when I let him know that,” Padgett said.
He doesn’t have a consistent favourite character, but does have moods during which he relates to one more than the others.
“If I’m feeling more artsy then I’ll be more jazz and if I’m just feeling worldly and wise I’ll be feeling more like the blues character is my favourite,” he said.
Padgett said the show will appeal to anyone who loves music.
“There’s standard jokes from the characters’ perspective, but there’s also a whole improv element to the show where sometimes my characters will banter back-and-forth with people in the first few rows, and in fact the first act closes with an improv song based on somebody’s life.”
Three shows are scheduled at Malaspina Theatre. The first performance is pay-what-you-feel on Thursday, May 9, at 7:30 p.m. For the other two shows, May 10 at 7:30 p.m, and May 11 at 2 p.m., admission is $33 for adults and $20 for students. Tickets can be purchased online through http://theatreone.ca.