MT Martha mum of three, Dayna Fallon, is taking to the stage with a one-woman show at this year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival.
The show is centred on a poem she wrote, titled The Manager is Me, and explores invisible labour, caregiving, and the art of keeping it together when it feels like everything is falling apart.
It unfolds across a morning before school drop-off, with Fallon’s character juggling three children, a husband having a seizure, a beanbag explosion, and a 7am Teams meeting asking whether now is still a good time.
Fallon said she has been involved in the creative sector for over 16 years, but for the last six years, motherhood has taken centre stage.
“My creative aspirations and dreams sort of had to be parked while I prioritised the family and earning an income, looking after my kids,” said Fallon
“But things just got so intense that I decided to make it into art and do something for myself.”
The show is a work of fiction but draws heavily on Fallon’s life experiences.
“It’s much easier to play someone else,” said Fallon.
“There is a vulnerability when it is you, and so for the show, I made sure that it was a character, but there’s so much truth to the story, and I think that’s what makes it real and relatable and awesome.”
She said she had purposeful discussions with her director, Cathy Hunt, about what to keep private and where to instil boundaries to help protect herself.
“I wrote this because I’ve made my children laugh to cover the sound of my husband’s seizures,” said Fallon.
“I’ve lived the truth of ‘if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry’ and I started wondering how many women are doing that kind of emotional labour in silence.”
Fallon originally wrote the poem for the local heat, which she won.
She wanted an outlet after years of caring for her husband through complex epilepsy and raising their daughters.
Fallon went on to compete in the state championship and was crowned the 2025 Victorian State Champion of the Australian Poetry Slam.
“I think it made them laugh and made them cry in the one poem, and that laughter, I think, was a huge relief,” said Fallon.
“So many people came up to me afterwards, saying how much they connected with it, and how overloaded everybody feels, and how are they expected to sort of keep all these plates spinning at the same time, and sort of the hilariousness of that as well.”
Fallon said she has adopted a Japanese concept called masogi, which involves picking one extremely difficult task to complete annually to help explore and test your limits.
“Last year it was, I’m going to do this poetry slam, and then I ended up performing at the Sydney Opera House,” said Fallon.
“So, this year, I thought I just want to do one thing that really makes me feel like I’m doing something for me, and something that fills my cup, and I decided I’m going to turn that poem into a one-woman show.”
Fallon said audiences can expect to laugh with recognition, to realise how much invisible work they have normalised, and to “hopefully laugh until they maybe cry”.
The show will run at The Motley Wherehaus this October. Tickets are available at melbournefringe.com.au/whats-on/events/the-manager-is-me. You can use the code ‘MPNEWS’ for a $5 discount.
First published in the Mornington News – 25 August 2026
