RIDGEFIELD — Singer-songwriter Pete Yorn may be almost as well known for his own work as he is for his potent list of collaborations.

Since his 2001 critically acclaimed debut, Musicforthemorningafter, Yorn has shared the studio with the likes of REM lead guitarist Peter Buck, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, and Dixie Chicks multi-instrumentalist Martie Maguire and vocalist-guitarist Natalie Maines.

He has contributed several songs to films, including scoring the Farrelly Brothers’ Me, Myself and Irene and scoring a hit off its soundtrack with “Strange Condition.” His most recent release is a cover of the Pixies’ classic “Here Comes Your Man,” which features vocals by Liz Phair.

“It was one of those songs that stopped me in my tracks when I first heard it back in the day,” Yorn said of the Pixies tune. “It informed my sense of melody in a big way and I always wanted to sing it.”

Perhaps most famously, he has showcased the smoldering vocals of actress Scarlett Johansson on several recordings. Their well-received EP, Apart, released earlier this year, was a follow-up to their wildly successful 2009 project Break Up.

But for all his collaborations, Pete Yorn decided this fall would be a perfect time to strip down and stand alone. He has launched an intimate, solo acoustic set, which will be at The Ridgefield Playhouse stage on Tuesday, October 2, at 8 pm.

Since Yorn is known for playing most of the instruments on his records, the idea of heading out on a solo tour is not at all unusual.

In an exclusive chat with The Newtown Bee, he jumped right into talking about his new tour and reimagining some of his tunes originally conceived with thick production, multiple instruments, and overdubbed vocals — for just one voice and one guitar.

"Everything is fair game," he said of his solo setlist choices. "Some of my recordings are big productions and not typically considered acoustic type songs. I'm a drummer at heart so with my kind of percussive acoustic strumming style, I think a lot of energy comes out and makes the songs really fun.

"I feel with just me and a guitar, our brains get to fill in the blanks any way we want," Yorn said.

Turning the focus to Apart, Yorn said the handful of songs on the EP has already whetted the appetites of fans who just can't get enough.

"There are always people who can never get enough. They're always saying 'give me more, give me more,' no matter what I do," he said laughing. "Apart is an EP because frankly, that was all we had time for. Scarlett's tough to pin down, so I'm lucky to get a few songs out of her every nine years or so."

The first single from Apart, "Bad Dreams," was also made into a music video by acclaimed producer Sophie Muller who previously worked with artists including Beyoncé, Coldplay, Gwen Stefani, Sade, Shakira, The Killers, Radiohead, Annie Lennox and Eurythmics, Pink, Björk, and Sarah McLachlan.

Yorn candidly talked about flipping the switch between songwriter and actor when called upon to create videos of his music.

"It's a funny thing for me, because I don't consider myself an actor," he said. "I really respect great actors because I realize how hard it is for them to do what they do. But I think the best thing for me is to not try and act. The less I try to do that, the better."

Yorn said he prefers to not have the responsibility to act in music videos made of his songs.

“But it was funny making the 'Bad Dreams' video beside Scarlett — arguably one of the biggest movie stars in the world," he admits. "I was like 'What do I do?' and she was great, egging me on a little bit and giving me some pointers which kind of boosted my confidence a bit."

Getting back to the solo tour, so far, Yorn said the shows he has done have turned into big singalongs — which are as delightful for him as they are for his fans.

"It's kind of like a long campfire kind of show, and what's great for me is there's never really a setlist. We just kind of make it up together as we go along," he said. "People just call out songs, and if I can figure it out or remember it, I'm happy to play it. Sometimes it's a challenge, but it really co-creates a unique evening together with the people in the crowd that may never be the same at another show."

At the same time, Yorn said he also gets a lot of creative satisfaction using the many tools in his recording studio toolbox to produce some songs that would translate very differently if he was pressed into performing them solo.

"There are some outliers," he said. "These are the tunes with a kind of emotional sonic thing that works better with full production that take you to a place. But for the most part, I'm a songwriter, and I like to connect to the music and the lyrics, and most of my songs do start on acoustic guitar and we build them from there.

"But by reverse engineering, I can usually tell if a song is going to work with just voice and guitar. When that happens, it validates that we have a really good song here."

For tickets for the Pete Yorn acoustic solo show ($40), call the Playhouse box office at 203-438-5795, or visit ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street.