{"id":343460,"date":"2023-07-17T19:24:47","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T23:24:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=343460"},"modified":"2023-07-17T19:24:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T23:24:47","slug":"2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/","title":{"rendered":"2023 Capital Fringe Review: \u2018Keys, Wallet, Phone, Dignity\u2019 by Sheldon Scott (4 stars)"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>ravelogues \"\"are a unique form of storytelling: as you stay stationary, someone else guides you across the globe. Playwright-performer Sheldon Scott brings a sense of forward momentum to his own travelogue Keys, Wallet, Phone, Dignity, <\/a>now at DC\u2019s Capital Fringe Festival. A striking account of his life that spans decades and countries, Scott\u2019s solo performance is a moving look at his life, even if it\u2019s a hazy portrait of the world he\u2019s traveling.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Scott starts the show with a childhood story that combines free expression with humiliation\u2014and he continues to fluidly move between both themes in performance. The play recounts his life as a gay, Black, 46-year-old man. In a nonlinear fashion, Scott describes his international sexual adventures as a \u201cpilgrim and pleasure seeker,\u201d the strange and often painful experiences of growing up in the American South, and the life he\u2019s created for himself in DC.<\/p>\n

Scott is a gifted performer. He delicately transports audiences to different locations and scenarios through his assured voice, and is unafraid to throw himself into silly physical comedy. Director Laley Lippard complements the show\u2019s bawdiness with moments of quiet reflection, and sprinkles in light and sound cues that enhance Scott\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one thing that could be more fully realized, it\u2019s the script. Voiceovers speak to colonization and gentrification, but often feel more like citations than dramatized elements of the story. Scott\u2019s show also unintentionally creates a binary where sex is either ecstatic or traumatic\u2014but what about hook-ups that are awkward, or mediocre, or frustrating? And while Scott speaks movingly about his friends and family, we don\u2019t learn much about them beyond their names and physical appearances.<\/p>\n

I wonder what Keys, Wallet, Phone, Dignity<\/em> would look like if its scope were more communal. Within the show, Scott references his love of R&B star Jazmine Sullivan. Sullivan\u2019s album Heaux Tales<\/em>, with its spoken word interludes from a variety of Black women, feels like a spiritual sister to Scott\u2019s project\u2014I just wish Scott would similarly expand the horizons of his show to conjure those who matter in his life.<\/p>\n

Still, if you can accept the more narrow focus of Scott\u2019s show, there are incredible pleasures to be gained. Keys, Wallet, Phone, Dignity<\/em> is a successful self-portrait, thoughtfully constructed but still raw. I\u2019d travel with Scott\u2019s words wherever he wants to take me.<\/p>\n

\"\"Running Time: 75 minutes.<\/p>\n

Keys, Wallet, Phone, Dignity<\/strong><\/em><\/a> plays July 21 at 7:45 pm, July 22 at 12:45 pm, and July 23 at 4:00 pm at Squirt – 1st Floor – 1050 Thomas Jefferson<\/a>. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Comedy
\nDirector:<\/strong> Laley Lippard
\nPlaywright:<\/strong> Sheldon Scott
\nPerformer:<\/strong> Sheldon Scott
\nSound Designer:<\/strong> Navi
\nSolo Production:<\/strong> yes
\nAge appropriateness:<\/strong> Appropriate for Adults Only
\nProfanity:<\/strong> yes<\/p>\n

The complete 2023 Capital Fringe Festival guidebook is online\u00a0here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A gay Black man’s self-portrait exploring sexuality, shame, and identity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":343462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[688,2452],"class_list":{"0":"post-343460","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reviews","8":"tag-laley-lippard","9":"tag-sheldon-scott"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n2023 Capital Fringe Review: \u2018Keys, Wallet, Phone, Dignity\u2019 by Sheldon Scott (4 stars) - DC Theater Arts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A gay Black man's self-portrait exploring sexuality, shame, and identity.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2023 Capital Fringe Review: \u2018Keys, Wallet, Phone, Dignity\u2019 by Sheldon Scott (4 stars)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A gay Black man's self-portrait exploring sexuality, shame, and identity.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DC Theater Arts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-07-17T23:24:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Keys-Wallet-Phone-Dignity-800x600-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nathan Pugh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nathan Pugh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/\",\"name\":\"2023 Capital Fringe Review: \u2018Keys, Wallet, Phone, Dignity\u2019 by Sheldon Scott (4 stars) - DC Theater Arts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Keys-Wallet-Phone-Dignity-800x600-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-17T23:24:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f55aa75deb82478eb31d20b07d553b29\"},\"description\":\"A gay Black man's self-portrait exploring sexuality, shame, and identity.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Keys-Wallet-Phone-Dignity-800x600-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Keys-Wallet-Phone-Dignity-800x600-1.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"2023 Capital Fringe Review: \u2018Keys, Wallet, Phone, Dignity\u2019 by Sheldon Scott (4 stars)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\",\"name\":\"DC Theater Arts\",\"description\":\"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f55aa75deb82478eb31d20b07d553b29\",\"name\":\"Nathan Pugh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Nathan-Pugh-2025-scaled-1-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Nathan-Pugh-2025-scaled-1-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Nathan Pugh\"},\"description\":\"Nathan Pugh (he\/him) is a writer, journalist, and culture critic currently based in the Washington, DC, area. He is gay, biracial, and Filipino American. Pugh\u2019s writing explores how identity is performed both on and off the stage (with special attention paid to race, sexuality, and gender). His bylines include Theatrely, Smithsonian magazine, DCist, NPR\u2019s Code Switch and It\u2019s Been a Minute. From August 2022 to March 2025, he served as a copywriter\/coordinator for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. BA English & Theater: Wesleyan University. Pugh is available for contact through his website\u00a0nathanpugh.site\u00a0and on\u00a0Instagram\u00a0@nathanpugh.3\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.nathanpugh.site\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/nathan-pugh\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"2023 Capital Fringe Review: \u2018Keys, Wallet, Phone, Dignity\u2019 by Sheldon Scott (4 stars) - DC Theater Arts","description":"A gay Black man's self-portrait exploring sexuality, shame, and identity.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"2023 Capital Fringe Review: \u2018Keys, Wallet, Phone, Dignity\u2019 by Sheldon Scott (4 stars)","og_description":"A gay Black man's self-portrait exploring sexuality, shame, and identity.","og_url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/","og_site_name":"DC Theater Arts","article_published_time":"2023-07-17T23:24:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Keys-Wallet-Phone-Dignity-800x600-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nathan Pugh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nathan Pugh","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/","name":"2023 Capital Fringe Review: \u2018Keys, Wallet, Phone, Dignity\u2019 by Sheldon Scott (4 stars) - DC Theater Arts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Keys-Wallet-Phone-Dignity-800x600-1.jpg","datePublished":"2023-07-17T23:24:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f55aa75deb82478eb31d20b07d553b29"},"description":"A gay Black man's self-portrait exploring sexuality, shame, and identity.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Keys-Wallet-Phone-Dignity-800x600-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Keys-Wallet-Phone-Dignity-800x600-1.jpg","width":800,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2023\/07\/17\/2023-capital-fringe-review-keys-wallet-phone-dignity-by-sheldon-scott-4-stars\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"2023 Capital Fringe Review: \u2018Keys, Wallet, Phone, Dignity\u2019 by Sheldon Scott (4 stars)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/","name":"DC Theater Arts","description":"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/f55aa75deb82478eb31d20b07d553b29","name":"Nathan Pugh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Nathan-Pugh-2025-scaled-1-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/cropped-Nathan-Pugh-2025-scaled-1-96x96.jpg","caption":"Nathan Pugh"},"description":"Nathan Pugh (he\/him) is a writer, journalist, and culture critic currently based in the Washington, DC, area. He is gay, biracial, and Filipino American. Pugh\u2019s writing explores how identity is performed both on and off the stage (with special attention paid to race, sexuality, and gender). His bylines include Theatrely, Smithsonian magazine, DCist, NPR\u2019s Code Switch and It\u2019s Been a Minute. From August 2022 to March 2025, he served as a copywriter\/coordinator for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. BA English & Theater: Wesleyan University. Pugh is available for contact through his website\u00a0nathanpugh.site\u00a0and on\u00a0Instagram\u00a0@nathanpugh.3","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.nathanpugh.site\/"],"url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/nathan-pugh\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=343460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/343460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/343462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=343460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=343460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=343460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}