60 Seconds With… Boundary-Breaker Nathan of ‘Nathan Mosher is Injured’

Briefly introduce yourself/your company…
My name is Nathanael Philip Mosher. I am a comedian, poet, singer-songwriter, and aspiring human being. I say that last part because as Leonard Cohen said, and I’m paraphrasing here because I can’t find the exact quote but I read it in an interview, “People ask me if I’m a poet or a painter or a singer, which one am I? I say that I’m a man first and foremost, because that is the hardest business of them all.

What is it that makes your work/company unique
I started out just doing straight stand-up, but I found it to be limiting in terms of my expression, and after leaving the art form due to a depressive episode, which is described heavily in the show, I returned but decided to also explore songwriting, and my first love, poetry. I’d always written poetry, but hadn’t known about performing it, and when I was exposed to it, fell in love with it. Songwriting came easy in terms of lyrics and I had also taken ten years of classical training on the piano. Eventually I put two and two together and started writing songs too. My songs and poems aren’t particularly funny, even if they contain some tongue and cheek lines, and to me all of the art forms are different ways of storytelling. To me, they say comedy = tragedy + time, poetry = tragedy – time, and songwriting = tragedy + rhythm + rhyme. They’re all different phases emotionally of something that I’m processing. And I think the show depicts that quite well.

What kind of experience do you hope audiences will have during your show?
Laughter, sorrow, reflection, hope, and everything in between.

Without spoilers, tell us what you think audiences will remember most about your show?

I was watching a circus show and one of the performers was high up in the air doing all sorts of acrobatics while tethered to a ribbon. He was majestically dancing in the air and at a certain point I started gazing at his shadow. I realized in that moment that I’m not the person anymore in the show and that the best I can give the audience is a shadow of what I once was. I hope that you see my shadow and it points you towards the light.

What do you think is the best thing about the Fringe?
Seeing other shows and being inspired! Growing in a community of those trying to be different!

What is the most important thing you hope audiences will take away from your show?
Gratitude. Gratitude. Gratitude. I want people to be grateful for life and everything it brings.