“It was amazing. It exceeded my hopes and dreams,” said Jonathan Cobrda as he discussed his Jan. 30 performance in ‘Sweet ‘N Low: The True Story of One Diabetic’s Journey to Keep Spirits High and Sugars Low.’
Cobrda’s one man show shares details of his Diabetes experiences – from the extremely funny to the nitty-gritty – while informing his audience about the condition. The show is a part comedy, part drama that not only shares his story yet allows Cobrda to raise money for the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund).
The performance of Cobrda’s show packed about 500 seats in the Fine and Performing Arts Center and raised about $2,000.
Cobrda has travelled around North Carolina performing his one-man show that started as his senior project in high school raising support and awareness for the JDRF.
“It started out as me writing a horribly written monologue just to get a grade. My mentor, Scott Eisenhower, looked at it and said there was an unbelievably beautiful story there. We sat down, dissected the paragraphs and made an 11 page script,” Cobrda said. “I got chills reading it.”
Cobrda’s performance had the same effect on WCU audience members.
“The show was amazing it literally gave me chills for the entire fifty minutes. It was hilarious at times, and challenging at others. I have never seen anything like it,” said Shannon Lockamy, a senior at WCU.
“You did such a great job last night,” said Dr. Beth Lofquist, Associate Assistant to the Provost as she congratulated him during my interview with Cobrda in Starbucks.
Cobrda stated the show at WCU went far better than expected and was very well received.
“They laughed until they cried, and even actually cried. Being only a sophomore at WCU and having the support of my peers, instructors and mentors was incredibly humbling,” said Cobrda.
Cobrda’s show is constantly evolving with him. Cobrda stated that no performance is the same because the audience is always different, but they are not the only factor that makes Cobrda’s performance change slightly every time.
“As I grow as a performer and with the show, I will ask, what can come next?” said Cobrda.
Although the script has changed very little, the technologies for diabetes are becoming life changing. Last Thanksgiving, Cobrda got involved with OmniPod, a system that has developed the first ever tubeless insulin pump.
Cobrda’s script will develop along with these new technologies to continue to share his personal journey.
“I will do the show as long as people can stand to watch it; as long as it continues to grow, adapt, inspire people, and change lives. It’s a beautiful germ of a show,” said Cobrda.