Hollands "Learning to Human" returns to Hyde Park Theater

Native Austinite Sims Holland will return to Hyde Park Theatre in August for encore performances of her solo show "Learning to Human," following a successful run of the show in May.

Zoom in: "Learning to Human" navigates Holland's life — starting in Austin, where she grappled with the beginnings of addiction in high school.

• After running from herself across the East Coast to Los Angeles, Holland got sober seven years ago and returned to Austin last year with her husband and children.

What they're saying: Holland began writing the show in her first year of sobriety, and the timeline is now "full circle" as she performs it back in Austin, she told Axios.

• "Every time it's become this new evolution of itself," she said. "There's something about being (in Austin). It's like it's strengthened my feet on the ground and I can just run with it."

Flashback: Holland's performance of a 20-minute excerpt from "Learning to Human" became a best of FronteraFest award winner this year, and she added the August encore shows after a successful run in May.

We spoke to Holland about the show, and her return to Austin. The following has been condensed and edited for clarity.

How has the show changed from your earliest version almost seven years ago?

"I originally sat down to write because I did stand-up. I was doing stand-up at the time that I wrote the first version of the show, and I sat down to write an hour's worth of comedy. So arrogant, so ridiculous of me, because people work their whole lives to curate a 60-minute set, and I'm just like, 'I'm going to sit down and write it right now!'

"And instead of writing an hour's worth of comedy, I wrote this show, and it really feels almost not of my own making in a silly, magical sense. It just feels like it poured out of me."

Tell me what it's like to do a one-woman show that's not just stand-up comedy.

"It's terrifying and fascinating and thrilling, and before every iteration of the show, I have a total meltdown on why I think that I'm qualified to do this. How on Earth could I dare to ask people to come to a show that I wrote about myself?

"My husband happens to direct it … I'm so grateful because he really picks me up and pats me on the back and sends me out on the stage. But I joke backstage, 'See you on the other side,' because there's no going back. I step out there and whatever comes out of my mouth comes out of my mouth."

What do you want audiences to get out of "Learning to Human"?

"I would never want to impress on anyone what they might want to get out of the evening. I hope people laugh. I hope people enjoy themselves. It is a heavy topic, but I do the show with a lot of joy and heart.

"The show is called 'Learning to Human,' and I think it's more about the human experience than it is about addiction, and I hope that we all feel a connection."

📍 If you go: Performances run Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm through Aug. 17.

• Tickets start at $25.

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