Herschel Savage Solo Play 'Porn Star' Opens This Weekend

VENICE, Calif.—Renown adult actor Herschel Savage will be performing his solo play Porn Star: My Life In The Sex Industry this weekend and next at the Beyond Baroque Playhouse, 681 Venice Blvd. in Venice, Calif. It's the "draft version" of the work funded by his Kickstarter campaign earlier this year, but though he describes it as a "work in progress," it's practically done, and the current performances will allow him to tweak it depending on audience reaction. "I decided that I hadn't been on stage in a while, and I thought it might be an interesting story to share my life in and out of pornography," Savage said, "so I decided to take a class with somebody who coaches solo shows, and that's what I've done." "I'm going to talk about my entry into the business; a little about my childhood, what drove me to make a choice like that when my initial choice was to be a legitimate stage and film actor, so my slide into adult films sort of squashed that dream for the most part," he continued. "The stage was my initial dream, and I continued to work in community theater and equity waiver shows during the course of my life, such as my role in The Deep Throat Sex Scandal three years ago." The AVN Hall of Fame star has also appeared in several mainstream films and TV shows over the years. "I did stuff here and there; nothing to write home about," he downplayed. "Every now and then, my name shows up, but with my residual checks, you might be able to get a cup of coffee." Savage will also give the audience a look at how religion has affected his life: "I'll be talking about how I view my life in regards to practicing Buddhism—I've been practicing for 40 years now—and being a porn star; how did the two come together? I remember I was chanting [the classic Buddhist chant] 'Nam myoho renge kyo' and the first thing I chanted for was some money, and two weeks later I did my first porn film." Porn Star: My Life In The Sex Industry will be presented on two successive Saturdays: July 9 at 4 p.m. and July 16 at 12:30 p.m.—sharp! Admission is $8 at the door; no pre-sale is available. "This run now is only two shows," he noted, "but it's something that I hope will be picked up by a theater for a longer run—and I hope some of my co-workers like Nina Hartley will show up to see me."