The following is an interview with Diana Varco regarding the production, Rise, at the 2026 Hollywood Fringe Festival. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Varco about the genesis behind the production, what she hopes that audiences may take away from the show’s themes, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Your solo production, Rise, will be appearing at the Hollywood Fringe Festival this summer. What can you tell us about the genesis behind the production, and how would you describe its premise?
Diana Varco: Rise is a dynamic, hard-hitting, dark (dark) comedy solo play set upon a metaphorical moon.
It’s written in rhyme, led by the character of Truth, and sheds light on several topics related to mental health and healing – including how childhood trauma can affect an individual well into adulthood.
Ultimately, Rise is a story about honoring the silenced, most hurt parts of ourselves and discovering resilience through the creative arts.
Rise began when I sat down to write a journal entry during the COVID 19 lockdown of 2020 and kept writing! It has grown over time into the multi-character solo play that I’m performing at the Hollywood Fringe and I have a lot of material yet to be developed. The audience at Hollywood Fringe will experience the first chapter – a pilot episode of sorts – that I intend to develop into Rise the series.
BD: What can you tell us about your shared creative process in bringing this story to life on the stage?
DV: I can talk a lot on this topic for Rise! I will try to keep it short. The creative process for Rise has taken place over the past 6 years and has been one of evolution, creative experimentation and discovery.
During the creative process, I wasn’t in the same state as my Director and Producer, so often rehearsals were on zoom. I faced many challenges with distance, time schedules, budget – and life – so we had to figure out solutions that somehow made Rise grow in unexpected and wonderful ways.
The show and creative team continue to push me to think bigger; I believe that in many ways, I had to mature into being able to do justice to the story.
Part of the beauty of the creative process is how I’ve changed as a result.
The story in Rise used to be my greatest shame and, now, I have to pause to remember that I actually lived it! Shame is a character in the show – but I don’t see Shame. I see strength and value the person I’ve become in the process.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that this story may connect with audiences, and what, if any, conversations do you hope that it may inspire?
DV: People often find meaning in different parts of the story – sometimes it’s a certain character or storyline. So, I’m always interested in what resonates and am often surprised!
People may not have gone through the experiences I talk about in my show, but I hope that Rise helps audiences to discover a deeper level of understanding and compassion for themselves.
I also hope my show will spark conversations on the importance of the creative arts for healing and help audiences to re-think critical self-talk, question unhealthy coping mechanisms, and/or listen to a silenced creative voice inside that deserves attention.
BD: What makes the Hollywood Fringe Festival the best venue for Rise?
DV: I love my venue – The Other Space at the Actor’s Company – it’s spacious and really works to highlight the existential quality of the show. I also used to intern there before I wrote my plays, so it’s fun to be back! It’s important for me to perform Rise at Hollywood Fringe 2026 because it’s the 10th year since I started the process of speaking my Truth through solo theatre.
It was at Hollywood Fringe 2016 that I saw my dear friend Carla Delaney’s solo show, VOICES, met my soon-to-become-director Jessica Lynn Johnson and started writing my first solo show, Shattered (premiered at Whitefire Theatre 2017, Performed Hollywood Fringe 2017).
I say Rise is a prequel/sequel to Shattered because they share many of the same characters and there are several callbacks to Shattered in Rise.
This Hollywood Fringe is also meaningful to me because I’m reconnecting with comedy friends at Fringe – there are too many to list, but here are a few: Stephanie Bentley in Lustily Ever After the Musical, Jasmine Elist in Anxiety the Musical, Kim Prentice in UNSEEN which is helping me to rediscover my improv self from my days at UCB and Groundlings (many moons ago). As a result, I’m finding a really exciting sense of play in my performance!
BD: The show will be appearing at The Actor’s Company from June 9-14, 2026. Are there any future plans to perform the show at other venues?
DV: I don’t currently have additional performances booked; however, I am open to opportunities to perform Rise or Shattered, speak on themes of the shows, and/or host workshops on improv and solo theatre. I’m looking forward to developing the series of Rise, so that will be my next creative pursuit with the project!
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell readers who want to learn more about and purchase tickets for Rise?
DV: Please come see the show!
You can visit the ticketing link to learn more about Rise here.
Use the code fanbasepress for a discount
Here’s my website: https://www.dianavarco.com/ and Instagram, where I’ll be posting updates on my work and Rise.
*Photo by Patrik Ontkovic
