Becoming Norman, presented by C. Raul Espinoza, It’s in the Cards and NoHo Arts Center Ensemble, opens Aug. 6; plays Fri.-Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 3 pm; through Sept. 12. Tickets: $20-$30. Pay What You Can Aug. 20. NoHo Arts Center, 11136 N. Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood; 800.595.4849 or becomingnorman.com.

Norman P. Dixon readily admits he did not rush into his autobiographical play (with music), which is having its world premiere at NoHo Arts Center.  “Oh this has been brewing for quite a while,” he chuckles. “We even did four tryout performances in February. It was fully realized then but this is the first fully staged run of the show.”

Norman P. Dixon. Photo by Michael Lamont.

Produced by C. Raul Espinoza and directed by Debra De Liso, with musical direction and accompaniment by Steve Applegate, Becoming Norman is the real life coming-of-age chronicle of a gay man raised in a conservative Mormon home in Utah who always wanted to be a performer but did not always know he was gay.

Dixon recalls, “Young Mormon men are sternly taught there is to be no sex before marriage so the relationship between a boy and girl often does not go further than a little kissing and hand holding. A teenage boy can go right through those formative years without needing to dwell on his sexuality.”

Although Dixon followed his passion for performance to Brigham Young University where he earned a BA in theatre, he did not make the big move to New York or Los Angeles to continue as a performer. What he did do was establish himself as a renowned greeting card designer with his own business, It’s in the Cards, which he began in 2001. His handmade cards are sold in fine stationery stores throughout southern California. Dixon has been featured on HGTV’s Crafters Coast to Coast, where he showed viewers how he makes custom photo albums by hand.

Becoming Norman highlights a journey that led him to not only fully acknowledge his sexuality and evolution away from his Mormon upbringing but chronicles his return to performing, first as a member of LA Repertory Theatre Company appearing in Private Lives, then in other LA-area productions such as George M!, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, My Fair Lady, Man of La Mancha, Sunday in the Park with George, Hamlet and Richard III. Currently he is a member of the NoHo Arts Center Ensemble. He readily admits there were a few demons he had to vanquish along the way.

“When I first started this process, my intent was not to develop a one-person show about my life. I took Debra De Liso’s solo show workshop. In our first class session, she gave us an assignment to write a scene from our lives.

“So, I wrote a scene and was encouraged to write more scenes and this is how the show began unfolding. I just kept writing while expanding and refining the concept, evolving it almost right up to the time I did the four performances in February.

“In developing the show, three major highlights emerged. The first was ‘coming out.’ That was a huge catalyst. It opened up a lot of things for me and transformed a major part of my life. The acknowledgment of my homosexuality led to the second major shift in my life: returning to my early desire to be a performer. I had a vocal coach, who encouraged me to do a concert. It was a simple evening of songs with a little patter in between. Unfortunately, the experience proved emotionally traumatic for me. I felt completely exposed and vulnerable and I proceeded to close down.”

The third highlight of Dixon’s evolutionary journey came by way of the persuasive encouragement of producer Espinoza, who is also Dixon’s life partner. Espinoza, who recently served as Community Relations Director for the West Coast premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights, produced by the Nederlander Organization at the Pantages Theater, has been a dynamic force in the Southern California live theater scene as an independent producer and formerly as the Audience Development Manager of the Center Theatre Group.

Norman P. Dixon. Photo by Michael Lamont.

Dixon recalls, “Soon after Raul and I got together, we went to Seattle to see some very close friends of mine. He had never heard me sing. He knew I had a job singing in a church on Sunday mornings but it didn’t penetrate his consciousness that I was a singer. One of my Seattle friends was a really good pianist so I performed a mini-concert for Raul that included a song I had written. It was Raul’s reaction to my performance that has pushed me forward. He said, ‘Why aren’t you doing anything. You have to do something with your talent.’

“I told him about my previous concert experience where I shut down. He just pushed right through that and said, ‘You need to do another show.’”

Becoming Norman contains five songs, composed by Dixon, featuring the onstage piano accompaniment of Applegate. He expresses great gratitude that his efforts are being enhanced by the scenic design of Lacy Anzelc, the lighting of Coby Chasman-Beck and sound design of A.J. Nowak.

“Having the wonderful support of all the people involved in this show further reinforces the knowledge I now have that I am not alone out there, in my work and in my life. Of course, Raul and Debra have been there from the beginning of this process. Originally, I thought I was simply going to do another concert. It was Raul and Debra who paved the way for me to put my whole life out there.”

Feature image of Norman P. Dixon by Michael Lamont.

Article by Julio Martinez.