Shannan Calcutt Turns Midlife Into Material in Things I Shouldn’t Tell You

There is an art to turning the deeply personal into something an audience can recognize, laugh at and perhaps even feel a little less alone about. Las Vegas artist Shannan Calcutt takes that idea to the stage with Things I Shouldn’t Tell You, a candid, wickedly funny exploration of midlife, womanhood, sexuality, identity and the unexpected indignities of “second puberty.”

Presented by THIRD Street Arts & Media Incubator, the newly expanded production runs through October 11 at THIRD Street in downtown Las Vegas. Written and performed by Calcutt, the work turns experiences women are often encouraged to keep private into raw material for an intimate theatrical experience.

Rather than treating midlife as something to endure quietly, Calcutt mines it for comedy.

From a magical mistress and a quick-fix vibrator to the seemingly endless battle with chin hairs, Things I Shouldn’t Tell You finds humor in the awkward, uncomfortable and sometimes absurd realities of getting older.

“I truly believed midlife would be a time when I’d be thriving, but I somehow missed the memo on the crash landing of second puberty,” Calcutt says.

That honesty is at the heart of the production. Calcutt’s creative approach is rooted in taking experiences that might initially feel too embarrassing, too intimate or too ordinary to become theater and asking what happens when they are brought into the light.

The result is part confessional, part comedy, and part conversation—an opportunity for Calcutt to use her considerable performance experience to explore a chapter of life rarely presented with this much candor.

For Calcutt, the stage has long been a place for fearless physicality, humor and storytelling. Her international career has included performances at the Sydney Opera House and on the Las Vegas Strip, with credits including Cirque du Soleil’s Mad Apple and Zumanity, as well as Spiegelworld’s Atomic Saloon Show. CBC has even called her “a national treasure.”

With Things I Shouldn’t Tell You, however, the creative challenge is much closer to home.

Instead of stepping into a character created by someone else, Calcutt puts herself at the center of the story, shaping personal experiences into a theatrical language that invites the audience to laugh alongside her. It is a different kind of performance—one in which vulnerability becomes part of the craft.

Turning a Performance Into a Conversation

The creative experience continues after the approximately 70-minute performance.

Each presentation is followed by a 45-minute, perimenopause-themed after-party, extending the show's ideas beyond the stage. Conversation, games, specialty cocktails and mocktails give audiences an opportunity to connect and continue laughing about the subjects the performance has opened up.

Tickets are $45 and include a choice of a “Sweaty Betty,” “Second Puberty Punch,” or “Menopause Mocktail.”

The format deliberately blurs the boundaries between theater and social experience. Rather than simply watching a performer tell her story and heading home, audiences are invited to join the larger conversation.

It is theater as a shared experience—and a reminder that some of the most meaningful creative work begins when artists are willing to say the things everyone else has been thinking.

A Home for Vegas-Made Creativity

The production also reflects the mission of THIRD Street Arts & Media Incubator, which provides Las Vegas artists with space, infrastructure, and creative support to develop original work.

For Calcutt, that support creates an opportunity to continue shaping Things I Shouldn’t Tell You while expanding its possibilities as a theatrical experience.

“Las Vegas has world-class artists creating work that deserves to be seen here and far beyond our city,” says Daz Weller, CEO of THIRD Street. “Our job at THIRD Street is to create a place where artists can experiment, collaborate, take risks and connect with audiences.”

That philosophy makes THIRD Street more than a venue for the production. It becomes part of the creative process itself—a place where an artist can test ideas, refine a performance, and discover what the work can become when given room to grow.

“Things I Shouldn’t Tell You is a fearless, original, deeply personal work made by an extraordinary Vegas artist,” Weller says. “I want more people to see it, and I want work like this to have a pathway from Las Vegas to the wider world.”

For a city known for spectacle, Calcutt’s production offers a different kind of theatrical experience: one built not around illusion or elaborate machinery, but around the creative power of telling the truth—and finding the joke hiding inside it.

Things I Shouldn’t Tell You runs through October 11 at THIRD Street Arts & Media Incubator, 814 S. 3rd St. Performances are at 7 p.m., with Sunday performances at 2 p.m. Tickets are $45 and include the post-show experience and a specialty beverage. Click here for more info and tickets. Follow on IG @shannancalcuttofficial, IG @thingsishouldnttellyoushow, and IG @THIRDVegas.