That quest and the startling revelations he uncovered are the basis of his one-man show, “Blank,” which he’ll perform this weekend at the Lounge Theater in Hollywood.
“Do genes have anything to do with who I am?” Stanton wondered. “Is it only my environment that defines me? I have two birth certificates! The slot by the “Name” space on my other birth certificate is blank! Who is that person that fills in the blank? I’m not who I thought I was!!”
Modern, open adoption is different than the time in which Stanton was raised, when it was often kept a “secret.” The dark side of Brian’s creation poses more questions than it answers, as he conveys in his show.
Here’s a clip of the show.
Alongside Stanton’s performance is a reading by Patti Hawn (Hollywood publicist, sister of Goldie, grandmother of four), who tells another side of the story. She explores what it’s like to give a child up for adoption. Like Stanton, Hawn was shocked by what she found when she discovered her now-adult son. She’ll read this from her book “Good Girls Don’t” as part of the show.