Pittsburgh Fringe 2026
Finding Oneself (Not) in Paris
Liv Rocklin
Genre: Comedy, One Person Show, True-life
Venue: Mr. Roboto Project
Festival: Pittsburgh Fringe
Low Down
Chicago native and one of 2025 Orlando Fringe’s Best of Fringe, Liv Rocklin is truly a professional. Her command of the crowd, responding with a contextual joke that furthers her story, for example, rather than breaking her autobiographical character no matter the — ahem — technical interruptions that are a natural part of fringe theatre, makes one feel they are watching a Netflix comedy special.
Through 7 original songs and humorous tales of her goal to get to and then stay away from Paris, Rocklin’s An American (not) in Paris reminds me of a tightly crafted comedy special. The performance resembles a straight comedy in the first twenty minutes but shifts seamlessly into serious, thoughtful topics by the second half. Rocklin’s lyrics and monologues are extremely witty and often LOL-hilarious, and they all tie back into Rocklin’s coming of age tale.
Review
We may not all be theatre creators from Chicago, like Liv Rocklin, writer and performer behind the one-woman show An American (not) in Paris, but almost ALL of us can relate to the experience she so comically and artfully conveys, the realization that comes with maturing – the understanding that the world doesn’t orbit around her every need.
With a green guitar and a karaoke track as the musical accompaniment to her 7 original songs spread throughout her 60-minute performance, Rocklin’s odyssey begins with her dream, or rather her GOAL, to study abroad in Paris. She did do this, in the spring of 2020. Yep, 2020. Her four-month, “Lizzie McGuire” adventure in the city of love with a French guy (a guy she calls “Pierre” with whom she went into a speakeasy) all ended after only six-weeks, and she landed back home feeling completely f-ed. From there, the world conspires against her, sending her brother and his wife to live in Paris (post-Covid) for 6-weeks, inflicting her with a gluten allergy, and leaving her feeling lost and lonely. It’s Paris’s fault and she vows never to say the word, eat their food, or ever visit there again!
Of course, what makes An American (not) in Paris so worth seeing is the fact that Rocklin did eventually return to Paris — the city of bread and a million bakeries from which she can no longer buy anything. Her writing reminds me of a tightly crafted Netflix comedy special, the kind that keeps the audience laughing with outrageous semi-autobiographical tales and then catches them off-guard with existential investigation into loneliness and trauma (without getting too dark). Rocklin’s songs aren’t musically complex, sounding at times like Taylor Swift or Lizzie McGuire, but the lyrics are witty and often LOL-hilarious, and they, the songs and monologues, all point back to Rocklin’s coming of age story in the end.
I have seen a lot of fringe theatre performers over the years, and I think that Chicago native Liv Rocklin is someone to keep watching. There is a reason she was named one of the 15 best shows at the 2025 Orlando Fringe Festival. Look out Edinburgh — if you’re planning to be there this August, look for An American (not) in Paris at Just the Tonic!
