Edinburgh Fringe Q&A: Mitch Hara

Tell us about Mutant Olive 2.0. What can audiences expect?

What they can expect is an emotional roller-coaster ride! You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll see God. It's hysterical and heartbreaking. I think everyone will be able to see themselves in my journey. How we elevate beyond our past, funny or soul sucking is universal. Granted, my parents were speed-freak alcoholics and in the mafia. So, my childhood was really colourful. My mom was banging everybody in the neighborhood and my father was shooting people in the head. And, you become what you see. So, I’m a little slutty and if you piss me off, I could hit you with my car. This is a personal journey. It all takes place in an audition for Hamilton 'Unplugged'.  I’m auditioning for Hamilton’s black best friend. There's no fourth wall so you are part of my show. I can't do it without you. It's all about how we rise above all the crapola from parents, peers, society telling you who you should be and saying, 'Fu*k you all. This is me' and celebrating whoever that is! I'm your designated drunk driver. Hop in babies. This is a ride you'll never forget.  

Can you talk about some of the creative team involved?

My director, Carlyle King, is my magic weapon. She speaks my language. We’re creative soulmates. She has my creative heart in her hands. What she does with it is not on TikTok. She directed the second season of my short form series SMOTHERED on Amazon Prime, that went viral in five days! Amazon called me, 'Comedy Gold!' Carlye just directed a pilot SONNY’S CLOSET and cast me as TayTay, the scheming, gaslighting assistant to a Sunset Blvd. inspired star. Then there’s my brilliant producers Fringe Management, Mike Blaha, Nigel Miles-Thomas, my genius PR man David Burns and my angle sponsor Purple Donut, John Metzner. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by these generous beings!

Where do you draw inspiration from for your work, both in terms of creation and performance?

People say I’m brave. I don’t see it that way. I just have this insatiable need to tell stories. Illuminate these roads that lead back to ourselves. Ya know, take care of your inner child or it will kill your adult. I’m inspired by my life and my ravenous appetite to push the envelope right off the flipping table. We all go through a waterfall of challenges and history and baggage. I just choose to use all my hideous and hysterical experiences as the spine of my art. It’s how I process them. The more I experience the more it informs my life and my work.

What are your thoughts on the festival in general and how do you feel about being a part of it this year?

Well, it's an artist’s Burning Man! Friends said, its life changing. And my producers came to my sold-out run in Hollywood and said, "Your show is a cross between FLEABAG & BABY REINDEER. You'd kill in Edinburgh. They'd love you." I said, "I love to be loved. I'm already packed." Boom baby, here I come. Love me. Touch me. Celebrate me. Talk about me. Plus, I'm single. So, if you see me on the street and you see anything you like? Feel free to touch it. I love you.

Looking at this new show, how would you say it links to your previous work both personally and thematically?

For me, it’s always the same, I’m totally committed to elevating the human spirit and condition. I use humour and drama and naked emotion to get there. I take a stand against anything that tries to diminish our soul. But ultimately, we have to be able to laugh at ourselves and our humanness. I love doing this show. It’s a twisted love letter to my parents and my hideous childhood. Because my parents 'the wolverines' were twisted and fabulous. They inspired my artistic expression. They say write what you know. So, the more I know myself the more I wanna share me in front of a group of strangers!! I was built for the public.

Why is this an important story to tell?

It's a battle cry to be genuinely yourself. Be brave. Be risky. Take chances. Jump off the cliff, and trust the net will appear. I laugh at my devastation. I put my insanely personal journey on stage for everyone to experience. Yes, my journey is unique, Yes, it’s extreme. Yes, my mother banged my fifth-grade science teacher. Yes, my father’s motto was: “If you shoot people in the head, they stop bothering you.” Yes, I flipped and crashed 17 cars. Yes, a teacher tried to drown me in gym class. Yes, I woke up tied to a chair in Italy and don’t remember how I got there. But the key has been for me to learn to celebrate myself with all my craziness. Which I’ve learned is my superpower.

Do you tend to take inspiration from events happening in the world around you in terms of your work? Do you think artists have a responsibility to respond to what's happening?

I have an inexhaustible well of personal stories and insane history of my own. I work out my own demons and triumphs in my art. I think if it's highly personal and truthful, people can relate and it becomes universal. I think politics separate us and art brings us together. If I wanna be depressed I’ll watch the news. The creative arts, especially live theatre, moves us. Changes us. Lifts us. I'm driven to effect people with my heart and my humor. I've been told that my fearless, raw, honesty and my performance, gives people permission to be more of themselves. Isn't that amazing? No matter where we come from, how we are categorized, what we look like, how we identify, we all want the same things. We wanna be loved, comfortable in our own skin, be celebrated and more important celebrate ourselves! No matter what we've been through I’m here to prove that we can not only survive but thrive in brilliant ways. So put on your party shoes, my peeps. Let’s dance!

How do you feel about the current arts landscape in your country and your part in it? Does it excite you and inspire you to keep pushing the boat out? 

I'm thrilled at the shift in people’s perspective and the art community that keeps growing and exploding. I'm 5000% creative. I live in my right brain, and as long as i stay there, me and everyone else is way more happy! I have to create or my little soul dies. I have to question the status quo. I have to rebel against archaic rules that I had nothing to do with creating. I just share me. I bring me to the table. Directors have said, I ruffle feathers. That I move molecules when I walk in a room. That I disturb the peace. Isn't that cool? I love that.

Why are arts festivals such as the Fringe so important for international exchange?

The exchange is pure – pure insanity, pure joy, pure devastation, pure elation. It's an exchange of all the emotions. There's an energy and a mutual love of connection. Artists and humans coming together and sharing their most personal stories, challenges, disappointments, wins, no matter how funny or horrific – it binds us globally. Personal stories are universally relatable. We need this art form as a genuine link between international souls. 

What would you like audiences to take away from seeing this production at the Fringe?

Wow. I hope this is a ride and emotional experience that will stay with them. I hope they walk away emotionally drained and elevated. I want them to laugh, cry, laugh cry, laugh cry, be shocked, scream, cheer and feel better about themselves!! We are all unique. We all need to be seen and heard. And the best thing parents can do is support who their little unformed plasmas organically are. Not who they want them to be. And if you can't support them, get out of their way. But the most important aspect I hope they walk away thinking is: That was magical, inspiring, insanely funny, and if he can thrive so can I!

What show are you most looking forward to seeing in August, and why?

Well, reviewers say, I’m a cross between Robin Willams, Philiip Seymour Hoffman and Hannah Gadsby, if Hannah had a penis. So, I have to see Hannah. And I’ll be seeing one or two more shows a day after mine!! I was there for nine hours last year picking a venue to do my show and saw eight shows! I wanna see unique voices, drama, comedy, music, any art form that is a personal expression of who these artists are! I’m here to experience and support my fellow unicorns!

What’s next for you and how are you feeling about the future in general?

I'm so excited I’m vibrating!! I’m just living in a state of YES. Everything is YES. Even 'No' is a slow YES! This show keeps evolving! The buzz keeps growing. I’m gonna tour it around. Do NYC again. I wanna do a run at the Soho Theatre in the West End, Chicago, San Francisco, and make Mutant Olive 2.0 into a series. I’ve got two more solo shows I've been working on. A hysterical interactive play I’m Dead, Shut up! that takes place at my own funeral. I mean, I wanna be there and hear all the spectacular crap everyone has to say about me. And to make sure they say what I want, I’ll hand out monologues for them to come up and read. I’m also finishing two screenplays, IT WILL ALWAYS BE LUNCH a cross between Rain Man and Kramer Vs. Kramer (about my relationship with my autistic nephew) and IT’S PARTY TIME (about destiny, cancer and annoying angels). The future looks screamingly bright!

How can Edinburgh audiences keep up with you beyond the festival?

Stalk me everywhere. I find that really flattering: website, Instagram, TikTok, X, Smothered.