Pilliard Dickle presents his 1 1/2 Man Show on April 21
From Special Reports
Who ever heard of a performer getting kicked out of his own show for heckling himself from the audience? Well that’s what happens to Pilliard Dickle in his upcoming “1 1/2 Man Show.”
In conjunction with the Newnan-Coweta Historical Society, Pilliard Dickle will revive his “1 1/2 Man Show” as part of the non-profit’s 50th Anniversary celebration. Originally performed in 2015, Dickle’s “1 1/2 Man Show” serves up a quirky selection of original songs that tell stories of everything from nuns with guns to killer bees to a dog who’s running for mayor.
It’s little wonder that Pilliard Dickle would end up performing with his past self. Time is his stock in trade. He is the creator of The Land of Calendaria, a series of whimsical poster calendars that Associated Press calls “a yearlong trip through a cartoon fantasy land.” His calendars have won The National Calendar Award as Most Original.
Pilliard Dickle’s real name is Joe Chandler. As for where he got the pen name, he explains “when I drew my first calendar all those years ago, it just didn’t look like something a ‘Joe’ would come up with. So I took a break for lunch, and just as I bit into a dill pickle…” He’s been drawing and performing as “Pilliard Dickle” ever since.
Dickel recalls the inspiration for his “1 1/2 Man Show,” “I’ve always wished I had a band,” he says. “A little percussion, some background vocals. Then it occurred to me: who better to collaborate with than myself from the past?” So he grabbed his tape recorder and sat down at his kitchen table to lay down some tracks. He didn’t have any actual percussion instruments, but a spoon, coffee cup and eggbeater did the trick. Soon his 1 1/2 man band was born. And in his show, it all goes smoothly…until it doesn’t.
The Today Show calls Dickle “a born storyteller with an inventive mind that never stops.” That inventiveness will be unleashed on stage on Thursday, April 21 at 7 p.m. at The Historic Train Depot in Newnan. Proceeds benefit The Newnan-Coweta Historical Society. Tickets are available at The McRitchie-Hollis Museum (call 770-251-0207 for more information), online at Eventbrite.com, or PilliardDickle.com.
