The one-man show Greg Marshall Pops Out of the Trees is an amalgamation of many things, including but not limited to hip-hop storytelling, live music, crowd participation and improvisation.
Its creator, Milwaukee native Greg Marshall, has a professional and creative life that’s intertwined over the years. He’s currently “chief storyteller” for a local marketing firm where he’s won three Emmys for his production work. Previously he was a member of The Figureheads, a Milwaukee-based hip-hop group that gave interactive educational performances at schools and nonprofits.
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But it was Marshall’s desire to share his own personal stories with his daughters that led him to combine his many talents into a show. Marshall first workshopped Greg Marshall Pops Out of the Trees with an impromptu delivery at an Ex Fabula StorySlam, and then at home in front of friends and family before debuting it at Vivarium in November 2024.
Ultimately, Marshall says he hopes people who see his show will be encouraged to “be honest about the fact that you have a story and be willing to share it with people.” Milwaukee Magazine chatted with Greg as he ramps up for the show’s third-ever Vivarium performance on Thursday, May 7.
What inspired you to develop this one-man show?
In 2020, I decided to start a podcast because I wanted to gather the stories I wanted my daughter to hear some day. One day, I was watching Social Dilemma on Netflix. About three-fourths the way through the documentary, I felt stunned by what it was helping me to understand about my relationship to the digital world. I hit pause on the movie, and I went out and started pacing in my backyard, recognizing that I was under this spell, that social media was so critical for things.
I started asking honest questions. I was thinking about how the most valuable moments in my life have been when I’ve been in a room with one person or a small group of people and we’re just connecting, knowing each other, loving each other, knowing and being known, loving and being loved – in person, in a room. Do I want a million followers on social media, or do I want to be meaningfully pouring into real people in my actual community?
I think you hit on a good point: the real value of people in a room versus the perceived value of 100,000 followers online.
You’re holding a little piece of plastic, and you witness a thing on a thing. Your brain thinks it’s experiencing something, but your whole body isn’t. But when you’re in a room for a show like Greg Marshall Pops Out of the Trees, you are fully immersed.
How did you get started creating this show?
I went to a story slam and threw my name in with no preparation. And I ended up winning it. Then, we’d have people over to our house and I’d share stories and ask other people to share stories, a song, a poem or something. Everyone would have a wonderful time. I was working out material, and one day I realized I want to do a show. I want to create something that I can get on stage and facilitate human knowing, loving and connection, for my daughters so they can know me and what I believe about life. My friend Dave Kang [the show’s director] said you’re talking about a one-man show. Obviously, with The Figureheads, I’ve done thousands of shows. Dave gave me a show – John Leguizamo: Freak – and he’s like, “Study this.” This is exactly what I wanted to do.
What was the next step?
Dave and I invited 80 people to my house for a test run – no visuals, no special audio, just me and guitar. I just told the story to 80 people in my backyard. I had 80-year-old people saying it was amazing, a 4-year-old telling me it was amazing, teenagers gripped the whole time. One guy said, “I felt like I was watching a movie.” I thought, “We got to take this to the next level.” We started building out more visuals. My whole friend group came together and helped me pull off all the media I needed for the show, rehearsals and lighting. It became this community of people. Matt Beringer at the Pabst Theater Group – he helped us pick Vivarium as a location. The first night I did it: full house. Second night: full house. Did it in Madison, sold out, had to turn people away at the door. The word just kept spreading.
What can people expect when they see Greg Marshall Pops Out of the Trees?
What happens is people’s memories start stirring up. They’re experiencing their past with new light and new hope. I built it to feel kind of like a magic show. I’m creating music on stage in real time – it’s different each time. I do freestyle interactivity, where by the end of the show, the music I’m creating is about the audience in response to what they’ve shared, so it feels kind of like a magic trick. People experience themselves in a way they won’t when they’re looking at social media. People feel present in a way they won’t feel when they’re looking at their phone. I’ve watched people after the show talk about relating with their future self or past self in ways they didn’t know was possible.
You see yourself, right?
Yes. When it’s a human being, vulnerably entertaining from the stage – I didn’t get it edited. It’s just raw; it’s just me with a microphone, a guitar and a looping pedal. The intimacy you share with the person next to you is greater.
What do you say to the person who isn’t sure about a one-man show?
My favorite feedback is “this is hilarious and deeply moving.” If you love live music, you’re going to love this. If you love theater, you’re going to love this. If you love crazy stories, you’re going to love this. Consistently people leave the show and say, “I wish I’d brought my kids to this.” This is a very-easy-to-enjoy show. It’s a comedy, it’s a drama and it’s entertaining.
What would you say to people who have stories to tell and are wondering how to get the stories out there?
The only way to do it is to start doing it. If you know how to write in a journal, do that. Have you sat down with your kids on a Saturday night and told them stories? When you have people over for dinner, tell them the story. That is where it starts. Be honest about the fact that you have a story and be willing to share it with people. At the end of the day, the most meaningful manifestation of this story is not how many people saw it but the fact that it’s been shared meaningfully with my kids and they’ll carry it forward with them. That’s what really matters.
Anything else you want to share?
I want to use this show to create awareness for Stella’s Playground. It’s an initiative to create Milwaukee’s first universally accessible and inclusive playground. I am going to be dedicating this show to that initiative.
Greg Marshall Pops Out of the Trees returns on Thursday, May 7 at 8 p.m. at Vivarium.
