Flying Solo! Presents is taking Justin Maxwell’s, Exhausted Paint: The Death of Van Gogh to East to Edinburgh Festival (59e59) in NYC and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Summer of 2025

Spin the wheel, grab a prop, tell a story. In this tilt-a-whirl, unrelenting dash through the life of Vincent van Gogh, a terrible spinning wheel controls the manic, blissful, bitter artist in a disorienting, chaotic journey through the randomness of creation, indeed of life.

The solo performance piece, Exhausted Paint: The Death of Van Gogh, delves into the chaotic world of creation through an imaginative interpretation of scenes from the life of Vincent van Gogh.  Performed in random order as determined by the spinning of a wheel, the artist’s inability to control their personal narrative is underscored. 

In a time that is out-of-control, we are more connected to the emotional world of Van Gogh than ever before. In a time of dwindling resources, social chaos, and multifaceted crises we have more connection with the artist behind the paintings than ever. Of course, it’s not really about him, it’s about us. The show is about the art makers struggling with craft, with themselves, with the brutality of indifference. The chance of it all is more obvious and more capricious than ever. This play is about how to do what Van Gogh never could, make peace with the brutal chance of life.

 

The costs of touring a show are tremendous, more so this year in light of the uncertainty that surrounds us. Our budget includes our production costs as well as travel, accommodation and personal costs associated with a three week run in Edinburgh, with a short stop in New York City on the way. 

Drew Stroud holds his MFA from the University of New Orleans. His training is focused and built on improvisational theatre and Meisner with particular focus on being present and accepting the reality of the world. NOLA credits: Born with Teeth, Exhausted Paint, Fully Committed, Broken Codes, The Cuck. Regional credits: Newsies, The Lion in Winter. Others: The Last Five Years, Barefoot in the Park, Richard III, Midsummer Night’s Dream. Drew is also a founding member of Illinois based Capital City Improv. Love to Carly. IG@drew_be-told. 

 
Justin Maxwell is a professor, teaching playwriting in the Creative Writing Workshop at the University of New Orleans and this year’s judge for the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. His playwriting book The Playwright’s Toolbox was recently published by Applause Books. Currently, he’s adapting the Tennessee Williams novel Moise and the World of Reason. His play An Outopia for Pigeons is out from Original Works Publishing, and Your Lithopedion is out from Next Stage Press. His prose appears in numerous journals, including Theatre/Practice, Contemporary Theatre Review, American Theatre Magazine, and others. He is a former Co-Chair of the Playwriting Symposium at the Mid-America Theatre Conference.

Penny Cole is a lifelong theatre maker, educator, and award-winning director. She has directed in multiple theatres and universities in the US. Favorite shows include, The Tempest, The Cradle Will Rock, Mary Queen of Scots got her head chopped off, and Hamlet. She has 20 years of experience in developing new work, directing staged readings and workshop productions and serving as the former chair of the Playwrighting Symposium of the Mid America Theatre Conference. In 2018, she founded Flying Solo! Presents with the expressed purpose of fostering new work by American artists on the international stage. Since the premiere season in Edinburgh in 2019, Flying Solo! Presents has supported more than 47 artists in 28 productions in Edinburgh, Denver, and New York City. Productions, live and online, include four concerts by American based musicians, a dance production, multiple solo shows, new musicals, and audio plays in collaboration with This is Not a Theatre Company. At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2022 and 2023, Flying Solo! Presents produced a showcase of new American work and emerging American artists featuring 25+ artists. Follies, A Showcase of Bits and Bobs.