Don’t Let Go of the Potato

Created and performed by emerging Bay Area monologist Todd LeJeune, Don’t Let Go of the Potato is a darkly humorous autobiographical piece that offers a vivid portrayal of growing up in the cultural backwaters of rural Louisiana, exploring – through a very personal lens – a complicated landscape of racism, class tension, and domestic conflict. With adroit comic instinct and unflinching social observation, LeJeune reveals the disturbing truth, hidden beauty, and profound lessons behind the cloak of misguided religion, familial alcoholism, loyal friendship, and the transformative power of being average.

Ranging from the serious to slapstick, the performance surveys the landscape of LeJeune’s childhood in the heart of Cajun country. At 11, he was hiding in the sugar cane fields, praying his father wouldn’t discover he’s failing school and refusing to wear the pink shirts his mother bought him. By 17, he was drinking hard, fighting grown men, and practically shacked-up with his true love, Kelly, in a trailer home. Don’t Let Go of the Potato is directed by David Ford.

Don’t Let Go of the Potato was developed at The Marsh’s 2005/2006 Performance Initiative and given an exploratory run during The Marsh’s Festival of New Voices in June of 2006.