In Now I'm Fine (January 12-17), Ahamefule J. Oluo leads a band of musicians who help him tell a story about "keeping it together". The pop-opera takes inspiration from events in Oluo's life and features vocalist okanomodé. Oluo was kind enough to respond to a few questions we had about the show, his participation on This American Life, and how he develops his projects.

How did you come up with the idea to combine band music and stand-up? It’s as if you’re doing a hybrid of classic variety shows!

I really like things to develop naturally and take their own shape. I've been a musician and composer as well as a stand-up comic for my entire adult life, those are the things that I love, so the show isn't really trying to be anything in particular, these are just the specific skills I have and I'm grateful that they work together in the way they do for this show.

How did your story on This American Life affect your life? Have you found that random people open up to you now?

It's been a dream of mine to work on This American Life since the show started almost two decades ago, so it genuinely was a chance to check something off my bucket list. One of the biggest ways working with Ira Glass and his team affected my life is just in how much I learned from them, they are such incredible editors and I really had to write with intention and thoughtfulness because they don't let anything slide, they don't let bad writing get past them. I became a better writer and a better editor through that process.

Sharing personal things publicly is a really contagious thing. People who heard me on This American Life or have seen Now I'm Fine definitely come up to me and share very personal things, and as someone who despises small talk, I think it's great. I would much rather talk about real stuff than the weather. Everyone's different but everyone's the same and I cherish genuine connection.

The story on the show, and how your father was proud of you from across the ocean, made me think of an artist’s relationship with his fans, how we’re always proud of people who aren’t really in our lives. Did it change the way you interact with people who attend your shows?

I wouldn't frame it as my father being proud of me, he only ever expressed disappointment... but he didn't know me. He probably knew less about me than my "fans" do. In general, I'm not that comfortable with the idea of people being proud of me. Pride comes with expectations, and expectations can tempt and confuse you. Whenever I make anything, I want to make it because I know, internally, that it's the right thing to do.

How do you approach the creation of a piece like Now I’m Fine and something like traditional stand up or recording an album? Do you have a box with ideas you develop, or are you more at the mercy of the muses?

I work in a pretty similar fashion in all mediums, I never try to write a song, and I don't have a calculated method of crafting a joke. When something comes to me, I scribble it down or sing the melody into the recorder on my phone but I never try to force anything. If I forget a melody that came to me, I take it to mean the melody wasn't memorable enough. I typically only use the things that I can't get out of my head, even if I want to, that's my litmus test. I've always generated much more material than I can use so it's never a struggle to come up with stuff, the struggle is in getting it all out into the world.

Is Now I’m Fine a show that will grow bigger or smaller with each passing year, or have we seen it in its ultimate form?

Now I'm Fine is what it is, all the music is very specifically orchestrated for a very specific group of musicians and I think of it as a finished piece. We are always trying to tighten things and make things run smoother but I like permanence, I like having a singular image of the show that I can keep in my mind forever. I don't intend on doing this show for years and years because I love it so much. It's such a personally important thing for me and every time I perform it I try to give as much of myself as I can and be as vulnerable as I can and make sure that I am 100% present and emotionally honest on stage. The second I get too much distance from the events in the show and am no longer able to completely connect with what I am saying, I want to stop.

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