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One & Only

A young comedian misses performing, but faces a world in which she can no longer tell if she’s funny, so she decides to reconnect with her audience members – one at a time.

ONE & ONLY is an experimental comedy special written and performed by Sophia Cleary for an audience of one person. Using this 1:1 ratio of performer to audience, ONE & ONLY explores connection, intimacy and the shifting power dynamics in live comedy.  

The everyday performer desires critical acclaim and pure adoration. But after years of not performing, how does a standup connect to her audience again? What do performers need from their audience, and vice versa? When comedy is personally tailored, can it move us from fear to intimacy?

ONE & ONLY straddles the line between a standup-comedy special, documentary reality-tv series, and performance art piece: Marina Abramovic’s "The Artist is Present," with an Andy Kaufman twist. Drawing on her experience as a private investigator, birth doula, and comedian, Sophia devises an experience for her audience that is both structured and spontaneous. During this produced fever dream, Sophia and our audience members experience the all too human debacle of fearing the intimacy we so badly crave.

  • Carolina Barlow
    Director
  • Sophia Cleary
    Writer
  • Carolina Barlow
    Executive Producer
  • Sophia Cleary
    Executive Producer
  • Nora Barlow
    Producer
  • Sophia Cleary
    Key Cast
  • Ignacio Genzon
    Director of Photography
  • Miguel Ángel Rodríguez
    Sound
  • Jen Bryson
    Editor
  • Griffin Goldsmith
    Music
  • Lee Pardini
    Music
  • Patrick Moore
    Production Assistant
  • Denise Malone
    Photography
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short, Other
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 31 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 28, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • LGBTQ+ Los Angeles Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    August 19, 2022
    North American Premiere
    Winner Best Documentary
  • LOS ANGELES COMEDY FILM FESTIVAL 365 : Screening Series
    Los Angeles
    United States
    September 28, 2022
  • Los Angeles Comedy Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    May 20, 2023
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Carolina Barlow

Carolina is a producer, writer and director from Malibu, California. She is a writer, producer and co-host of the Ron Burgundy Podcast as well iHeart’s True Romance Podcast. She works at Gloria Sanchez with Will Ferrell and has previously worked with Leslye Headland. She is currently developing an original project with Bento Box Entertainment, with Denis Leary and Tubi attached to produce.

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Director Statement

I met Sophia Cleary in the fever dream of 2020, and quickly came to realize she had touched all of the edges of humanity. Sophia had waited tables, delivered babies and performed as a clown. And she was not only a working comedian, she was also an absolute freak show.

But unlike many actors Sophia was conscious of her incessant need for validation. This gave her a superpower that informed her stand-up. She even wanted to do a piece on a performer’s hunger for love and applause.

Sophia talked to me about wanting to do stand-up comedy for one audience member at a time. I myself, who after months in a pandemic was struggling to have basic conversations with one person, thought the idea was intimidating. But since fear is always my barometer on what I should pursue, I volunteered to direct this as its own comedy special.

Tonally, we wanted to make ONE & ONLY warm and vulnerable, less confident than your standard comedy special, with a romantic red and blue color palette. We also wanted to see Sophia’s vulnerability be rejected:  we wanted to see her bomb, and suffer from the great expectations of what this show would give her. There, while she was on the floor of a dressing room, barefoot and crying, the glaring overhead lights would emphasize the reality of performing.

Using volunteer audience members, we got to play with real reactions and deliver moments that were as nerve racking and hilarious as Sophia Cleary herself. We wanted people to laugh, maybe to look askance, but more than anything we wanted to connect: with Sophia, with her audience member, and with you, our viewer. We wanted to all hold our breath in unison, wondering what would happen to us next.