This Friday, December 14th, Trey Nichols will be performing his hysterical holiday hit “A Lesson in Proper Bow Fluffing Technique.” At first glance one may look at this and think “huh?” Is this a play, a comedy act, a gift wrapping tutorial, or what? Well my friends I am hear to tell you that all of the above are correct! Cityzine had a chance to speak with Trey Nichols, the bow extraordinaire and ask a few questions about his bow fluffing experience and more.

CityZine: I know that the name says it all, but what exactly is this show about?

Trey Nichols: I like to describe the show as hilarious and heartbreaking. It’s about a character really struggling with his sense of humanity in the commercial crush of the Holiday season and I think that the retail environment, the Department store, is the perfect place to dramatize that. He’s torn between trying to be the nice person and really following the company line. It’s not just about the bows, it’s about those little acts of kindness that we perform on a daily basis.

CZ: What prompted you to write and perform this show?

TN: My experiences at my day job, working in customer service in a big department store. It started as a day job and I sort of collected little anecdotes… but there were certain situations that struck me as having some kind of literary or human value that I wanted to do something with and an opportunity presented itself in 1998. I was Literary Director of Moving Arts Theater in Los Angeles, and the Artistic Director at the time, Lee Wochner, wanted to bring back a Holiday event called “Hate for the Holidays”… and so in that edition I collected some of my anecdotes and put them together in the form of a story, that was a shorter version of the current show, called “Fluffer.”

CZ: Fluffer?

TN: In 2004 I wanted to turn it into a stand alone show, so I added some more material and changed the title to “A Lesson in Proper Bow Fluffing Technique” because of what a fluffer is in the adult industry. It is a fairly family-friendly show so I didn’t want to create any confusion. So I wanted to change the title to something a little more fussy and meticulous, like the character I play.

CZ: You have written many plays as well as performed in them, do you prefer writing or performing?

TN: A little bit of both. Currently it’s mostly writing. I am developing this into a screenplay and I have a couple of solo pieces in the pipeline and a couple of plays that I’m working on. I still like performing and I wouldn’t like to give that up. So the solo show lets me do both.

CZ: How much of this show was based off of actual experience?

TN: Well I like to say that all of it’s true and most of it happened. But I would say that all of it was inspired by true characters. I have changed names. I’ve combined events. But all of it is true…There are a number of different vignettes, that happen in the play almost exactly how they happened in real life. Others I’ve fictionalized somewhat to make more amenable to narrative format.

CZ: How much bow fluffing experience do you actually have?

TN: Tons. Lots and lots! It was part of our job in customer service. We used these bows, many colors, and we had to keep them fluffed so that we could wrap many items at one time. It’s funny because a lot of stores don’t use those anymore… now I have to send away for them by mail order. So now the show feels a little bit dated. And these types of bows may actually be a relic. They come flat and You have to pull them out with your fingers. It seems very simply and easy, but if you give it to someone who has never fluffed one of these things before it can be a real challenge.

CZ: Who would win in a bow off, you or Martha Stewart?

TN: Well me, I would of course, I have more experience. This has been my focus. She’s a little spread out.

CZ: Can anyone be a bow fluffer?

TN: I think so! I think that if you have good hand-eye coordination and an attention to aesthetics I think that anyone could do it with a little practice. I don’t think you need to be gifted or special. I think practice will eventually yield the perfect bow to anyone who tries.

CZ: “A Lesson in Proper Blow Fluffing Technique” is only playing one night, would you ever want to do it for more than one night?

TN: I certainly would. Actually I am looking to tour it eventually. I felt like when we did it as “Fluffer” I really wanted to take it further and an opportunity presented itself when my friend Isabel Storey was beginning her production company, Storey Productions. So we did it in 2004 , we rented a small theater… a nice little intimate 45 seat venue. One of our goals is to get a video of the show to put on DVD to promote it then for touring. We are in contact with theater companies in LA, other Southern California area and the Western United States with the goals of eventually touring it and taking it on the road. (Currently) we had this great opportunity with the Santa Monica Playhouse, they had their benefit series, so this seemed like a great way to bring it back to audiences and keep it going.

So that’s all for now! Don’t miss out on this fabulous one night show! For information on tickets and more check out CityZine’s story on “A Lesson in Proper Bow Fluffing Technique” or go to Santamonicaplayhouse.com

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