Actor Kurt Fitzpatrick in a recent show called Hooray for Speech Therapy. He will be performing his latest show, The Last Straight Man in Theatre, at a Flushing Avenue theater. — Photo from the artist’s website.

The Brooklyn art world has no shortage of up-and-comers trying to make their mark in a packed scene. Starting a noisy synth-fueled pop band in Bushwick is one thing. But bringing a one-man comedic play to the neighborhood is another thing altogether. Kurt Fitzpatrick is taking the road less traveled, bringing a multitude of characters and non-sequitur laughs to the masses, one show at a time.

Kurt works in theatre and film, and “has toured North America several times with his three self-written one-person shows… He wrote, directed, and starred in the feature film Kin, which played as part of the New Filmmakers Series in New York, as well as in other festivals,” according to his bio. “When not touring, Kurt performs monthly in New York, improvising songs and characters in Sunday Night Improv and as Chuckie Loo in Lindy Loo’s Country Cuzins country music variety show.”

As you might guess, this diverse background makes for some good conversation. We talked about his most recent one-man play, The Last Straight Man in Theatre, which he’s doing Saturday nights at Flushnik Studios (698 Flushing Avenue) for the next 8 weeks.

BBK: Hello, Kurt! So give us a little background on this one-man show you are putting on.

Kurt: Hello, Leo! The Last Straight Man In Theatre is a multimedia solo show. The entire story takes place over one night in a neighborhood, with different characters that are all looking for love in their own way. They all connect – but you don’t see until the end how they actually do that. It has a unique narrative structure to it. The way the show is presented is unique as well. For the entire show, I am acting with characters being projected onto a video screen. I play all those characters as well. And it is a comedy!

BBK: And this isn’t your first one-man show, right? What are some others you’ve done?

Kurt: I do an autobiographical show called Hooray for Speech Therapy, which I am currently doing at colleges. I also did a show called Rebel Without a Niche, which was semi-autobiographical. All my solo shows have toured North America, mostly through the Canadian and American Fringe circuit.

BBK: Cool. Sounds like you’ve traveled quite a bit. How do you enjoy that?

Kurt: I enjoy seeing new places and meeting people. It’s sometimes difficult to adjust to being home again after a tour, although this time I have a show here in New York to focus on. I like road trips, too, so that factors into the enjoyment.

BBK: Ah, yes.

So where is this new show happening?

Tell us about the space a bit.

Kurt: It is happening in Brooklyn! Some say that people won’t come out to Brooklyn, and I say what about all the people who LIVE in Brooklyn? It is playing in a performance space called Flushnik Studios. A bunch of artists live there – some people actually live right in the theater space! Life in the theater – literally! It is an artist collective. So it is a different vibe than the theaters in Manhattan, where I’ve performed before. It’s more relaxed, and Flushnik allows me to affordably do a ten-week run.

Since I basically am producing it myself.

BBK: How new is the space?

Kurt: I’m not sure how new it is. They have had different events there, including plays and music events. There was even a wedding reception there. I think a lot of bands rehearse there, too.

BBK: Ah, interesting.

Kurt: I’m just starting to hear about artist collective spaces in Brooklyn.

BBK:Is this your first venture into the Brooklyn theatre scene?

Kurt: Yes, I think it is! I’ve lived in Brooklyn for years, so it’s about time. I’m just starting to learn about artist collective spaces in Brooklyn, and I think it’s great. It’s great that artists can produce their own work and be creative, and also support the community. I’m bringing audience to South Williamsburg! Some years ago there were some affordable spaces to do shows in the Lower East Side, but most of them, like Surf Reality, don’t have a physical space anymore.

BBK: Right. It’s a sad state of affairs.

But it seems like people in Brooklyn are definitely picking up the slack.

Kurt: Yes! I think a lot of those seedy-looking little theaters were considered an eye sore to some people. Like Surf Reality was such a great space – so much creative energy went on there. Now it’s a yoga center.

BBK: Haha. Wow

Kurt: Also I think it’s good to have indie theater and music out there. I didn’t come up in some of the comedy theaters here in NYC, although I’ve had some experience with them. I’ve been doing stuff independently for years.

BBK: Well, I’m excited for the show. It sounds like it’s going to be great.

BBK: Thanks for chatting, Kurt!

Kurt: Thank you, Leo!