Thanks to everyone who made the Get Joey to Fringe local fundraiser at Epilogue Books in Chapel Hill a smashing success on Saturday, June 17. I can’t believe I got to play for such an incredible audience of friends and loved ones (and local passersby) in a venue that is both gorgeous and comfortable. Kira and I moved to Chapel Hill in 2019, which means our ability to build community has sometimes felt difficult and fractured by the pandemic. Butseeing Epilogue filled with so many people who love and care about us made me realize that while the journey has been different than I expected, I’m surrounded by a community of incredible humans. I am so happy to share my life with you all.
Joey Cougar and the Starfish haven’t played in front of a live audience for almost 14 years! Thanks to Stephen “Long Cold” Winters (bass) and Harris “Chilly” Winters (drums) for learning the songs, making them their own, and adding some sweet grooves.
We raised almost $2,000 from the local fundraiser, which is overwhelming and appreciated deep in my heart. It puts me so much closer to my total fundraising goal and because of it, I now have the funds to fully cover my venue rental at Fringe!!
There’s still a little ways to go to get to my goal, and just a couple weeks before my June 30 deadline. Please donate if you can, share with friends and family who can donate (or who want to support some queer blasphemy across borders), or pass around a tip jar to random strangers and send the cash to North Carolina. Thanks for however you want to support.
I’m so close to having the funds I need to make the dream of taking Breaking Up With Jesus to Fringe a reality!! Check out some photos from the show on Instagram.
It’s happening! We’re throwing a local fundraiser Saturday, June 17, 4-6pm at Epilogue in Chapel Hill, NC to help raise money for Get Joey to Fringe! Featuring the music of me and my band Joey Cougar & The Starfish, with guest musicians, Stephen Winters and Harris Winters, on bass and drums. You marked your calendar, now grab your FREE ticket.
Why a ticket? So Epilogue has an idea of how many people to expect! The event is open to the public, so tell a friend, grab your tickets and get ready for a fundraiser with house party vibes at a kick-ass local venue. Think of it like The Eras Tour, but cheaper and with fewer stunts! If you forget or don’t have time to get a ticket, no worries, still showup.
I can’t tell you how excited I am that we’ll be at Epilogue. It’s this little LatinX-owned queer-friendly indie bookstore and coffee shop conveniently located across the street from the UNC Media Arts space where Breaking Up With Jesus premiered in December 2021 and where I teach my performance studies classes each semester. I go in nearly every day for coffee and often end up leaving with a great new book of poetry or graphic novel.
Back to the point of this post! The fundraiser is a chance to share another side of myself with you through original songs and a few covers (hello, Aquabats). And because my partner, Kira, is a stunning creative artist, we’ll have homemade BUWJ t-shirts you can purchase. Not only will you look sweet and hip wearing these shirts, you’ll help me raise funds to get to Fringe. As the saying goes, “Come for the music and cause, stay for the swag and Epilogue churros.” I’m pretty sure that’s somewhere in the Gospel of John. That John just loved a free beverage holder and delicious pastry.
Flip the page, open your app, add it to your bullet journal. Do what you gotta do to get it on your calendar.
We’re throwing a local fundraiser Saturday, June 17 to help raise funds for Get Joey to Fringe! Featuring the music of Joey Cougar & The Starfish, with guest musicians on bass and drums. More soon!
A dream of mine is coming true. I’m taking Breaking Up With Jesus to the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland this August!
It is both obvious and unreal to see this actually happening. But, here it is, actually on the Fringe website.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is this awesome celebration of arts and culture that runs for three weeks every August. Artists and performers from around the globe take to hundreds of stages all over the city of Edinburgh to present shows including theatre, comedy, dance, opera, spoken word poetry and more. It’s an incredible festival where big names in the world of entertainment and unknown artists looking to build their careers (like me!) get the chance to showcase their creative energy for an international audience.
The show I’m taking to Fringe is titled Breaking Up With Jesus. And it’s really what it sounds like from the title. It started as a terrible punchline I told at a local open mic in North Carolina. Thanks to the mentorship and direction of Joseph Megel the truth embodied in that punchline came into focus. And so a single punchline became an hour-long show.
For most of my youth, into my early adulthood, I was what could best be described as an “evangelical Christian.” I mean, technically I was Southern Baptist, but my undiagnosed anxiety and autism and search for meaning meant I leapt full bodied into what promised to be the comfort of a heavenly father and son and holy spirit. The problem with leaping full body though is that the god I wanted didn’t want my full body. Breaking Up With Jesus is about my realization that in order to be my full self, I had to end what wound up being a toxic relationship. The show blends stand-up comedy and first-person dramatic storytelling as I realize the ways in which Christianity betrayed my relationships with my family, friends, loved ones, and myself. It’s not an easy story to tell, but it is mine and I find a bit of personal and communal healing every time I share it.
Breaking Up With Jesus (BUWJ) debuted at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA in December 2020. Thanks to the loving support of Kira Jones (who I’m like married to now and stuff, woah) and encouragement from Joseph Megel, I’m taking the show to Edinburgh in August. I’m so grateful and excited.
At this point, two realities coexist and oppose one another. In one reality, let’s call it Festival Specifics World, getting to Edinburgh Fringe is costly. One must purchase plane tickets and rent housing and a venue and pay a music license and print flyers and secure liability insurance and, oh yeah, nibble on a bit of food while in Scotland. In the other reality, which somehow coexists and threatens the very existence of the other, I am a graduate student who makes about $14/hr for nine months of the year. In this reality, let’s call it Financially Strapped World, there is little to no university or foundational funding for graduate student international performances, which just happens to be my exact niche.
So really, this post has two purposes. The first is to share the news that I am a few months away from a huge dream of mine happening, and to thank you for all the love and support you’ve given me over the years along my journey to this moment.
For those of you who know me well, you know I hate asking for stuff. I always like to pretend I can do everything on my own, but that is not even remotely true. I would not have even gotten to the point where I could create, perform, and share a show like this without a lifetime of silly ass friends, mentors, and family who love and support me unconditionally.
Thanks to Kira, I have a crowdfunding website where you can learn more about me, the show, the Fringe, and donate to help me get this thing fully funded by June 2023!
My first one-person show, Breaking up with Jesus, is premiering December 9 – 12 as part of the Process Series through the Department of Communication at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
Image description: Performance poster. Burgundy background with the image of a hand-drawn apartment building in the center in white. Arms extend from an open window in the apartment building and toss a suitcase, bottle of wine, glass of wine, loaf of bread, small cross and bible from the window like a romantic comedy break-up scene. At the top of the poster above the apartment image in gold font are the words “The Department of Communication Presents.” Just below that text, in white Old English biblical block font are the words, “Breaking Up With Jesus.” Below the show title, in gold font, is the performer’s information with the words, “By Joseph Richards.” Below the performer information, in gold font are the event details, “December 9th through 12th, Media Arts Space, 108 Franklin Street.” At the bottom of the poster below the apartment image is the show description in white font.” Returning to the South after eight years away, Joey Richards is forced to confront and come to terms with a turbulent ex. In this autobiographical one-person show, Joey reveals the sometimes funny, sometimes heart breaking journey of getting out of a toxic relationship with Jesus Christ.” Below the show description, in yellow text is “Content Warning: Discussions of suicidal thoughts and self harm.” Below the content warning, in gold italic font is the ticket information with the words, “Reserve tickets now! Tinyurl.com/breakingupwith
The Joseph Richards Show 