Chester playwright's tribute to friend, aiming for PBS
Bill Lohmann
Richmond TImes Dispatch
May 24, 2007
© Slash Coleman 2006
Two years ago, Chester playwright and performer Slash Coleman
launched "The Neon Man and Me," a one man theatrical tribute to a
friend who died while installing a neon sign.

The project began as a way for the eccentric Coleman - who as a kid
used his paper route and bar mitzvah money to legally change his
name to "Slashtipher" because he wanted to be a writer and he
believed a writer needed an exotic name - to tell his friend's young son
about his father.

It evolved into a production full of humor, poetry, and music in which he
tells the world about his buddy, Mark Jamison. Proceeds go to an
education fund for Jamison's son.

Coleman, 39, has traveled around America performing "Neon Man." He
estimated he's performed the show more than 500 times including in
New York, at an Off-Broadway theater.
He's raising money to finance a recording of the stage show to be
shown on PBS affiliates in Virginia and beyond. Details are available at
www.slashcoelman.com
Q. I heard you quit your job as an upholsterer in your family's furniture business, so now you're a performer
full time?
A. Yeah, five months ago I quit my day job. Definitely one of those goal on that piece of paper. It's awesome.

Q. So this is what you want to do when you grow up?
A. (Laugh) It's looking that way.
Q: How has the audience reception been?
A. The reception has been phenomenal. I did a month out at San Francisco,
and a couple of the shows sold out. When I did my show in new York, it was  
a pretty packed house. My lats show, the fans said," new York was so ready
for a show like this." They said, " it's so personal. It's theater, but it's more
than theater."

Q. I recall you saying in 2005 that you wanted to be on Broadway within two
years. That was pretty ambitious.
A. Man, wasn't that crazy? I wrote that goal on a random piece of paper.
Initially, I said I wanted to be on Broadway by 2007. I got a weird response
from a family member like "What are you talking about?" That's when I
changed it and said "Off-broadway." Wish I'd stuck to my guns. That's one of
my goals now.
Q: How has the audience reception been?
A. The reception has been phenomenal. I did a month out at San Francisco, and a couple of the shows sold out.
When I did my show in new York, it was  a pretty packed house. My lats show, the fans said," new York was so
ready for a show like this." They said, " it's so personal. It's theater, but it's more than theater."

Q. I recall you saying in 2005 that you wanted to be on Broadway within two years. That was pretty ambitious.
A. Man, wasn't that crazy? I wrote that goal on a random piece of paper. Initially, I said I wanted to be on Broadway
by 2007. I got a weird response from a family member like "What are you talking about?" That's when I changed it
and said "Off-broadway." Wish I'd stuck to my guns. That's one of my goals now.

Q. What's the current situation as far as the PBS show?
A. I'm raising the money. I created a documentary that I've taken into people's living rooms. They invite 10 to 15
friends. We watch the documentary. I play one of the songs from the show, then they take up money at the end of
the night.
I have to raise $10,000 and I'm about a quarter of the way.

Q. So you perform in theaters with 1,000 seats and in people's living rooms?
A. Yeah, it's really nice. In the living rooms, people really open up. I don't' prefer one over the other. I really like doing
both. I like the energy of doing it in front of 500 or 600 people, but I really like doing it in front of 10 people, as well.

Q. Has the show evolved over the last couple of years?
A. It's basically the same show. But I've become so comfortable with the script it's not even like I'm acting anymore.
It's like I'm going into his totally different dimension when I do it.
Q. Are you still in touch with Mark Jamison's family?
A. We stay in touch quite a bot. I just did a playwriting residency at mark's school and I
was staying out there (Roanoke) Mark Jr. is in the terrible 2's now, but he's quite the
lady's man. He's been wearing this leather jacket around.

Q. When you perform this in front of people who don't know  you or the story, do they
get it?
A. They really do.  I thought I'd do that run of show for his family and friends and people
who knew him. As far as getting to off-Broadway, that was a pipe dream at that time.
I really thought it would be a limited run, but after that first show a couple of people came
up to me and said they didn't even know who this guy was but they were really touched
by what I'd done. They said I was really able to nail some universal themes of friendship.
Photo: Tania Barricklo
Slash Coleman takes the stage
with The Neon Man and Me.
In 2007, his tour will
take him to CO, MN,
DC and New England.