Meet Megan Dolan | Writer/Performer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Megan Dolan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Megan, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’ve always loved this quote by Howard Thurman, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go and do it because the world needs people who have come alive.” As as young child, I loved around the living room to Neil Diamond songs or memorizing the lyrics from West Side Story. I have always had very big emotions and if I’m not actively using them to create something and bring it into the world, sometimes they become self-destructive.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
In the fall of 2015, after undergoing several months of observation and testing, our five year old son received an autism diagnosis.

My husband and I met with his child psychologist in her West LA office to hear her observations.

Although we had been seeing her weekly for family therapy and were well acquainted by this point, something
about her looked different and I found myself hyper-fixating on her face.

“Did she whiten her teeth?”

“Did she change her eye shadow?”

“Did she do something different with her hair?”

These were some of the thoughts running through my head as the doctor talked about my son’s severe anxiety, sensory issues and regulatory challenges.

I finally recognized that she had recently had plastic surgery and I was unexpectedly filled with feelings of rage and disbelief.

“How dare she get a facelift when our lives were being upended?!”

I later realized that my preoccupation with her altered appearance enabled me to disassociate from my immediate feelings of fear and uncertainty regarding my son.

Temporarily channeling my rage at the child psychologist allowed me not shut down after being flooded with so much emotion.

Of course, I didn’t realize any of this until I went home and wrote about it.

To quote the great Joan Didion, “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see, and what it means.”

This experience became the first scene I wrote for my solo show “Not the Right Mom” which is billed as “one mother’s misadventures in autism…a full spectrum comedy”.

My artistic practice relies on an acute attention to detail which allows me to intensely connect to my surroundings and explore emotionally charged moments.

I immerse myself in the writing– sensorially and viscerally–in a stream of consciousness free flow to create the “shitty first draft” a term coined by bestselling author, Anne Lamott.

I go wide and deep before narrowing down the story with re-write after re-write.

I know how to write to my strengths as a performer with dense, quick language and I lean hard into the humor.

By reading my stories in front of an audience, it’s easy to tell what resonates and what doesn’t and informs the ever evolving story I’m trying to tell.

One of the artists I most admire, comedian Mike Birbiglia once said, ““What I write is as emotionally honest and truthful as the human experience can be, to make people feel less alone, or at least that’s the hope.”

This is my goal as well. I am painfully inarticulate in my day to day life but by exploring and reframing my life experience in my writing, I allow myself to have agency and find profound existential relief when my words resonate with others.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There are so many fun things to do in the Long Beach/Lakewood area but sometimes when I am caught up in the daily chores of getting kids to and from school and activities, I forget to take advantage of them!

If I had a friend visiting, here are a few activities and hot spots I’d love to share with them.

Day 1–speaking of hot spots, one of the best workouts around is at The Hot Room in Lakewood Village. Their instructors are super knowledgeable and are excellent at guiding beginners as well as seasoned yogis. After an intense 90 minute class, we’d go home to shower and change (of course!) before hitting the Starling Diner on 3rd St. in Belmont Heights. Their freshly baked scones are to die for. We’d then stroll down 2nd St. Belmont Shore and visit the shops.

Day 2–I am a dog lover and love to take visitors to Rosie’s Dog Beach in Long Beach. It’s fun to watch the pups run around and play with each other in the water. After playing frisbee with our furry friends, we’d visit Zankou Chicken Zankou which is a small, family-owned chain of Armenian and Mediterranean fast casual restaurants located in the Los Angeles area. The restaurants are especially known for their spit-roasted chicken, shawarma, falafel, tahini, and a “secret” garlic sauce.

Day 3–There’s nothing like a rigorous hike on Signal Hill trail with our doggies. After we work up an appetite, we could head on over to Little India in Artesia for some Chicken Tikka Masala and Samosas.

Day 4–We’d visit the Earl Miller Japanese Garden on the campus of CSULB. The garden is small and beautiful with a bunch of inquisitive Koi fish who will gobble up the fish food provided at the entrance. In the evening, we’ll head over to the Carpenter Center (also on the CSULB campus) to see one of the lively productions of Musical Theatre West which aims to provide Broadway-quality musical productions to the Long Beach community.

Day 5–We’ll cap it off by visiting Sender One Lakewood–an expansive indoor climbing area that features state-of-the-art walls and world-class routes designed to cater to all skill levels. From beginner-friendly climbs to expert challenges, Sender One offers a diverse and exciting climbing experience. After we exhaust ourselves climbing, we’ll get cleaned up and visit Shenandoah at the Arbor for some fine southern cuisine and live music.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people who have helped bring my story into the world. One in particular is my dear friend and writing group member, Michael Shutt. Michael is one of the most supportive artists I’ve ever known. He gives strength-based, specific feedback in a way that inspires me to want to continue to make the work better. We’ve developed a short hand with each other in our writing which helps streamline the process and gives us both momentum and support which is essential in such an unpredictable artform.

Website: https://nottherightmom.com

Instagram: @megan_tells_stories

Facebook: https://facebook.com/nottherightmom

Image Credits
Cynthia Price