Selma Hortense Burke with her portrait bust of Booker T. Washington, 1930s. Smithsonian Archive of American Art. Photography by Pinchos Horn.
Selma Burke was an African American sculptor who played a major role in the Harlem Renaissance movement of the 1920s and 30s which was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theatre, politics, and scholarship.
Burke used her talent to immortalize such historic figures as author and African-American civil rights leader Booker T. Washington, philanthropist, humanitarian and civil rights activist Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, composer, songwriter, conductor and Jazz musician Duke Ellington, and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. who advanced civil rights for people of colour in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and nonviolent civil disobedience.
Among her more famous works is a bas-relief bronze plaque honouring President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Four Freedoms which he outlined in his State of the Union speech to Congress in 1941 as Freedom of speech; Freedom of worship; Freedom from want; and Freedom from fear. Burke’s portrait of FDR is recognized by many as the inspiration behind the design of Roosevelt’s portrait on the American dime, which was something she never received credit for in her lifetime.
Caroline and Maria have written a rich and thought-provoking play about the life of Selma Burke that also explores the meaning of art, the Civil Rights Movement, racism, and censorship. I asked Maria and Caroline what sort of experience they hope audiences are going to have when they come to see the play.
CAROLINE RUSSELL-KING
Our goal is to entertain. Our play is not a lecture on art or a biography, it’s a flight of fancy. Selma lived nearly a century – these are ninety minutes of fun.
MARIA CROOKS
An entertaining, stimulating and very humorous one. We hope the audience will find the use of actors playing statues and other objects to be innovative and clever. We also hope that they enjoy getting to know this feisty, intelligent, gifted artist who deserves to be recognized and remembered as a one-of-a-kind artist and human being.
JAMES HUTCHISON
What was your process like working on the play together and what do you think are the key elements that make for a successful writing partnership?
CAROLINE
I think complementary strengths are important. I’m obviously not from Jamaica like Claude McKay is in the play and Maria is. Maria brings her knowledge of French as I am sadly unilingual. Maria is also a great editor. When I am creating plays in my head form and from can often look the same on the page.
MARIA
It was indeed a very stimulating, interesting process for both of us. We brainstormed together, wrote scenes individually then compared the writing and chose sections that best conveyed what we wished to express. We argued, we laughed, we fought to convince the other person of the merit of our ideas. For me, the most important elements that made for our successful partnership were the respect and trust that I have for Caroline’s extensive knowledge and experience as a playwright. She has written numerous award-winning plays, she is also a dramaturg, a critic, and a playwriting instructor. In fact, she was my playwriting instructor and has done the dramaturgy on all my plays.
JAMES
There’s a note in the script before the play begins where you say, “Selma Burke lived from 1900 to 1995 which is approximately 49,932,000 minutes – here imagined are 90 of them.” I loved that because it’s a humorous observation that illustrates the challenge of trying to tell a life story in the span of a play. So, how do you do that? How do you go about distilling the essence of a person’s life into an evening of theatre?
Selma Hortense Burke with her relief plaque of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. From the Archives of American Art Federal Art Project, Photographic Division Collection.
MARIA
We wanted to demonstrate some very salient points about Selma: how gifted an artist she was, her determination to succeed as a sculptor despite having been born Black, poor, and female in the southern US. The obstacles she faced, and the triumphs and accolades that she garnered, the people she knew, including a veritable Who’s Who of the Harlem Renaissance, presidents, and artist she studied with in Europe, the remarkable events that she witnessed, participated in and chronicled of the tempestuous era that was the 20th century. We wanted to do so dramatically but also with humour.
CAROLINE
It’s all about peaks and valleys. I always tell my playwriting students you want to see characters on their best days and their worst days not a Wednesday.
JAMES
One aspect of the play that works really well that you mentioned is that you have actors on stage being the art – the sculptures – that Selma creates. It’s an effective and theatrical way to bring the art alive and to tell Selma’s story. Tell me about how you came up with that idea and what it adds to the play.
CAROLINE
Having her work come to life is very important. In plays there are three types of conflict – person vs person, person vs environment, and person vs self. In Shakespeare’s time characters had soliloquies to express internal conflict. Today people who speak out loud to themselves are either on the phone with earbuds or mentally unwell. So, her relationship with her art is a mechanism to show internal conflict. Secondly, we so often see plays on the stage that could be screenplays or done in other media like TV – I wanted the play to be theatrical. What theatre does really well – is theatre.
MARIA
Caroline had the brilliant idea to have actors portray the artwork and other inanimate objects. This idea is not only dramatic, but as the audience will see, hilarious at times.
Christopher Clare, Norma Lewis, and Heather Pattengale in the Theatre Calgary – ATP Production of Selma Burke. Photo: Trudie Lee.
JAMES
As you got to know Selma from doing your research and writing your play what sort of person was she do you think and what do you think her hopes would be in regards to her legacy and the art she created during her lifetime?
MARIA
She wanted, I believe, to be remembered as an African American artist who created important works and who wanted to uplift her people though her art.
CAROLINE
I think she had a strong vision for her work and the confidence to pull it off – her art speaks for itself. The language of her art is deep and rich – I’m totally in love with her.
JAMES
A couple of the topics touched on in the play are artistic freedom and censorship. Artistic freedom is defined by the UN as “the freedom to imagine, create and distribute diverse cultural expressions free of government censorship, political interference or the pressures of non-state actors.” In Canada the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects artistic expression. And yet in many countries artists are not free to express opinions that differ from those in power and these days there’s the new phenomena of the online mob attacking artists and their work if it doesn’t agree with their particular point of view. The idea isn’t to engage in an exchange and to challenge the art. The idea seems to be to stop the artist and their work. What are your own thoughts about artistic freedom and the kinds of censorship we’re seeing in the world today and what does that mean for the world in which we live? Why is art and artistic freedom important?
CAROLINE
The play is topical because firstly the struggle to create art is always an issue in hard economic times. More importantly the play is about not only those who get to create art but who has the right to destroy it. In Victoria BC two plays have been shut down, one before opening and one mid run. This is outrageous. It used to be the right that censored artist work now it is the left.
MARIA
We both find this trend alarming and offensive. It stymes creativity and will have artists second-guessing their ideas and their work. Unfortunately, today everyone with a computer, cell phone or tablet can disseminate their ideas to a wide audience no matter how unpleasant they may be and find receptive audiences who go along just to be provoking. Unfortunately, both of us have noticed that this kind of behaviour is not limited to right-leaning people or groups, the left, it seems, wants in on it too.
Christopher Hunt and Norma Lewis in the Theatre Calgary – ATP Production of Selma Burke. Photo: Trudie Lee.
JAMES
A script is words on a page. It takes actors to bring the story to life. A director to guide it. A set designer and costume designer and sound designer to build the world of the play. Tell me a little bit about the cast and crew that’s been assembled to tell the story of Selma Burke and what they bring to the story.
MARIA
There are four actors Norma Lewis, Christopher Clare, Heather Pattengale and Christopher Hunt. All very talented Calgarians. Between them they play over 55 characters, art pieces, inanimate objects and even a plaster-of-Paris leg. The director is Delicia Turner Sonnenberg who hails from California and the stage manager is Meredith Johnson. Javier Vilalta is the movement and choreography coordinator. There are of course many other brilliant, artistic crew members who are creating magic in the background to allow this play to shine.
CAROLINE
We are so lucky to have Delicia as our director. Besides a phenomenal cast the designers are great especially Hanne Loosen who has sculped our set and Adejoké Taiwo who sculpted our costumes.
Heather Pattengale, Christopher Hunt, and Norma Lewis in the Theatre Calgary – ATP Production of Selma Burke. Photo: Trudie Lee.
JAMES
Every artist needs their champions. Someone who believes in and loves their work. So, I’m curious to know who has supported you in the making of your art?
MARIA
We have been supported by every artist at Theatre Calgary and especially the Artistic Director of Theatre Calgary Stafford Arima who has taken an artistic risk on this new piece of art.
CAROLINE
No artist is an island. In addition to what Maria said, I think it’s important to recognize the support that we get from friends and family. A play is such an abstract concept before all of the thousands of hours it takes to realize it on the stage. In the early stages it’s very fragile. Every play starts with the thought “Maybe I could write about that….” Every human has the impetus to make art whether it’s a painting, a garden, or a rebuilt motorcycle… it’s the leap into follow-through that’s difficult. I am grateful that my friends and family have supported me for decades through all of the downs, more downs and the occasional up!
JAMES
Having a production on the professional stage is certainly one of those ups and definitely something to celebrate. Who should come to see the play? Is it a play for everyone?
CAROLINE
No, art cannot possibly be for everyone, that’s part of what makes it valuable. Art which is created as mass production is not art. Everyone has their own set of unique tastes in art. This play is for adults who are curious and love to be entertained in the theatre, in the dark with other aficionados. It’s for people who like me get a thrill out of live theatre and love visual art as well.
MARIA
This play is for audiences who enjoy innovative, fascinating theatre with a big dollop of humour mixed in with theatricality.
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Audiences can catch Selma Burke at the Martha Cohen Theatre in the Performing Arts Centre until Saturday, April 27th. An ASL-interpreted performance and an Audio Description performance is scheduled for Wednesday, April 24th at 7:30 pm and a Relaxed Environment Performance is scheduled for Thursday, April 25th at 7:30 pm. Tickets are just $39.00 and are available at the Box Office or online through Theatre Calgary or Alberta Theatre Projects.
This summer you can travel to Rosebud and enjoy a family-friendly and thoroughly entertaining production of the Rogers and Hammerstein much beloved musical The Sound of Music. The story is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers and contains many popular songs including “Do-Re-Mi”, “My Favorite Things”, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, “Edelweiss”, “Climb Every Mountain”, “So Long, Farewell”, and the title song, “The Sound of Music”.
The original Broadway production won five Tony Awards including Best Musical and the play was adapted into the 1965 film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer and went on to win five Academy Awards including Best Picture.
The story is set in 1938 Austria in the dark days leading up to the start of World War II and shortly before Germany annexed The Federal State of Austria into the German Reich. Against this backdrop we meet Maria who has taken a job as governess to the seven von Trapp children while she decides whether or not to become a nun.
Maria soon finds herself bonding with the children and eventually falling in love with their widowed father Captain von Trapp. Once Germany marches into Austria the Captain is ordered to report to the German navy but because of his opposition to the Nazis he and Maria devise a plan to flee Austria with the children.
In the Rosebud Theatre production, Cassia Schmidt as Maria and Ian Farthing as Captain von Trapp lead a talented cast that captures the joyful spirit of the show in a terrific production that will have you humming along to all your favourite tunes.
Cassia Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES HUTCHISON
The Sound of Music was a huge hit when it came out and it has remained a much beloved musical and I was wondering what you think are the qualities that make it so popular.
CASSIA SCHMIDT
It’s a love story. Two love stories actually. It’s a story about someone that doesn’t belong, which is always good fun for a musical. And she finds a place where she belongs. And then the story is set in World War II which is such a dramatic time in our history, and it’s based on a true story. And I think at the heart of it we love Maria, and we’re rooting for her, and we want this family to win. At the core, I think we want people to find each other and find a place where they belong.
JAMES
You say we want people to find each other and in the story, Maria falls in love with the Captain and he her. Why do you think they fall in love?
CASSIA
I think it’s the same reason anyone falls in love. It just works for them for some reason. They shouldn’t fall in love because they’re from different classes and there’s an age difference between them and they’ve lived completely different lives. But for them, it just worked. There’s a kind of magic to falling in love. And it’s so personal, too, right? This is the big question, James. How do people fall in love?
Katelyn Morishita and Cassia Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
I read in an interview you gave to Louis Hobson in the Herald that there are parallels between your own story and Maria’s story. Maria is uncertain about whether or not she should devote her life to God or follow a different path. And you said you’d had a similar struggle. What was that journey like for you and how did you go about choosing a life of music and family and performance?
CASSIA
My biggest kind of discerning time was in my teenage years. I really felt a call and I was really attracted to the cloister. It’s a really romantic kind of idea to be contemplative and to be in community and to be separate from the world and married to God. But all these orders that I looked at never quite felt like the right place for me and I never quite got as far down the road as Maria does as actually entering a convent. I have stayed in some convents through travel and through friends and I loved staying with the sisters and there’s just something magic about a holy place. And I was really attracted to that.
And then I just thought I don’t think that’s quite where I’m called so where do I go now? And that’s when I ended up coming to Rosebud. I came here as a student. I did the program here. And the first mainstage show I did was Man of La Mancha. And we did something like ninety shows that summer. Ninety performances. And I remember about twenty shows in thinking this is awesome. If we close tomorrow, I would feel like I had a good experience. And then in my next thought, I realized that there are seventy more shows and I felt this calling because I realized this show isn’t about me it’s about what I get to offer to each new audience that comes to see it whether I feel like it or not on that particular day.
And I think there’s something about the self-sacrifice that the theatre asks for, as well as we’re in community together doing this show hoping to change hearts and hoping to inspire people. And, you know, a theatre does feel like a holy place a lot of the time. So, it was coming here that really affirmed for me that the theatre is the church I’m called to. And then I found someone that I love, and we have a family, and it didn’t feel like a big “Aha!” decision. Instead, it felt like I pieced it together and I followed a thread until it became so clear that this is where I belong.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Ian Farthing and Glenda Warkentin in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music. Directed by Morris Ertman.
Lacey Cornelsen and Cassia Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Lacey Cornelsen and Travis Edwards in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Lacey Cornelsen and Travis Edwards in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Cassia Schmidt and Logan Hope in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Cassia Schmidt and Ian Farthing in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
The play has several young performers playing the von Trapp children, and so it provides an opportunity to pass on musical knowledge and mentor up-and-coming theatre artists. In what ways do you think mentorship is important for helping young people navigate their own professional development and life’s journey?
CASSIA
I’ve benefited from it. It’s such an integral part of what we do here in Rosebud. We call our training the Mentorship Program. So, we really believe in it. It’s like the good old 4-H club I was in when I was a kid. The 4-H model is – learn to do by doing.
You can go to a lot of classes, and you can read a lot about how to be an actor but standing on stage with an audience who will never lie to you because the audience is very clear about what they like and what they don’t like is indispensable. And you have a group of actors to support you and to be with you. And I think theatre can offer you a sense that you have value, and it builds confidence and it builds a sense of body and voice. And you don’t have to be the Gretel from the movie, you yourself are the perfect Gretel, and you yourself have so much to offer.
JAMES
Tell me what audiences can look forward to experiencing when they see the show.
CASSIA
I think this show is so beautifully cast and everybody is so well suited to their role. And what I’ve been seeing from our audience is a nostalgia in a way that no other show I’ve done before has had. I’ve done Anne of Green Gables – I’ve done Oliver! – and I’ve done some other musicals where people know them pretty well. But because The Sound of Music movie is so embedded in our culture people know this story and they remember watching it with their grandmother and they love this story in a way that’s physical and whatever their connection is to the story we can feel it in the show.
From the very first performance, we felt it as soon as we started the music because some people sing a little bit, or they repeat a line, and you hear them sighing or crying or laughing. And I was like, “Wow, people love this show.” And isn’t that wonderful that they get to come to see a show that they love and I’m happy to share it with them because I love the story too. It’s part of my childhood.
Cassia Schmidt and Ian Farthing in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
I know you also produce original music with your most recent release called The Lullaby Project: Songs for the Sleep Deprived. Tell me a little bit about that project and how that came about.
CASSIA
It was my COVID project. I actually just wanted to do a writing project around parenthood and lullabies and to collaborate with people. And I’m a mom. We have three kids. We have a four-year-old, a two-year-old, and a four-month-old. And before I was a mom, I always thought what a romantic idea to rock your kids to sleep but instead it’s often frustrating and you’re tired and it’s not working. And so that’s why I call it songs for the sleep deprived. It’s more about songs for parents rather than songs that might put your baby to sleep.
And my favourite song I co-wrote with Lauren Hamm and Paul Zacharias we called “Time Go Easy”. We sat together and just talked about being parents and how there’s a saying that being a parent is saying goodbye to a child over and over again because the baby is gone now. You’ll never see that baby again, but now you’re saying hello to a toddler. And then you’ll never see that toddler again because now there’s this child, and now all of a sudden there’s this teenager, and then there’s this adult before me, right? So, we all had a good cry, and then we went off and we wrote this song that’s our pride and joy from the album.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
What do you think it is about music that makes it such an important part of people’s lives?
CASSIA
I think it’s something Morris Ertman our director said at the end of rehearsals about the show. “This show is about music changing people’s hearts and wouldn’t that be amazing if that’s what we get to do all summer for audiences.” It’s like a softening of the heart and I think it’s a physical experience for us. Music has rhythm – like our heartbeat. Like our mom’s heartbeat. Like our family’s heartbeat. And I think when we’re listening to music, we’re part of the music. There’s something physical about it that goes into our spine and into our memory and into our feelings in a way that nothing else really can. So, just like falling in love – it’s magic. (Laughs) Everything’s magic.
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Catch The Sound of Music at Rosebud Theatre until September 2nd. Tickets are available through the Rosebud Theatre Website or by calling the Box Office at 1-800-267-7553.
Rosebud Theatre’s production of The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote is a rich and rewarding story about love, family, regrets, and hope all brought to life in a wonderful production that provides audiences with a memorable and highly entertaining night at the theatre.
Bringing the play to life is a terrific cast including Judith Buchan as Carrie Watts, Nathan Schmidt as Ludie, Heather Pattengale as Jessie Mae, Rebbekah Ogden as Thelma, and Caleb Gordon and Christopher Allan each playing multiple roles. The production is expertly directed by Morris Ertman who also designed the sets.
Judith Buchan as Carrie Watts in the Rosebud Theatre production of The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote. Photo by Morris Ertman.
All Carrie Watts wants to do is return to her childhood home of Bountiful but without money and being an old woman living with her son Ludie and his wife Jessie Mae her dream of returning home isn’t going to be an easy task to accomplish. She’s tried it before and failed but this time she’s secretly been making plans and preparations, and no one is going to stop her.
But she’s not the only one dealing with life’s difficulties. Ludie and Jessie Mae have had their own regrets because sometimes careers stall and stumble or our hopes for a family don’t work out the way we planned. In the end, all three characters have to figure out how to come to terms with life’s regrets and move forward.
After seeing the show on opening weekend, I arranged an interview with Judith Buchan to talk with her about the play and her portrayal of the feisty and determined Carrie Watts.
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, I saw the play and you know, we talk about the magic of theatre but the true magic of being deeply moved and at times getting lost in a play doesn’t happen very often. It’s a rare experience. But your production had that magic. And I wonder how much of that magic do you sense on the stage and what’s it like to be in a production that has the power to move an audience.
JUDITH BUCHAN
It’s beautiful to hear that actually. I am not sure how much I can sense that. I mean obviously we’re hoping to do justice to the material. Trying to connect and trying to find the truth and the honesty in these people the best we can. And with Horton Foote’s writing nothing is wasted. I go through the whole script every day before I perform it because it is so beautifully written that you do not want to stray from it in any way. And the more I study it, the more I realize nothing is wasted and everything comes back to a payoff at the end, and everything does connect in some way.
In some ways, it’s a little story. My daughter, Rachel, has a great description of this play. She says it’s about an inch wide and about a mile deep. And that really touched me because it’s not as if big things happen yet huge things are happening between the characters. Relationships are being altered in big ways and their eyes are being opened in deeper and more meaningful ways about themselves and each other. I had seen The Trip to Bountiful myself on Broadway with Cicely Tyson playing Mrs. Watts and I was deeply moved by it.
Heather Pattengale as Jessie Mae and Nathan Schmidt as Ludie in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote. Photo by Morris Eartman.
JAMES
It’s a play filled with ghosts because the people in it are mature characters. And I personally like plays about older characters and characters that have known each other for a long time. I just usually find those more interesting. There’s history there that includes tragedy and happiness, and that informs the relationships in the present. Tell me about your character and her journey, and why do you think all the characters in this play are so compelling?
JUDITH
Horton Foote just has the gift of writing simply but just so deeply. I had a lot of great aunts that were very powerful women and very resilient and strong and opinionated and who lived really complicated lives. And I’ve kind of been thinking about them while doing the play. My own mother loved this story, and she did say to me once you could play that part. I hadn’t actually thought of that before she said it, and she died last November so it’s been very poignant for me to be in a play and playing a character that I know she loved.
I think my character and the other characters in the play remind us of people we know. And Carrie loves her son even though his life has been a mess because of an illness. And she adores him so much and he adores both his mother and his wife Jessie Mae. And what would you call her? Well, she’s a strong flavour – Jesse Mae. Just a powerhouse of a person and loving her husband so much and she’s living in a time when she can’t really be more than what she is. And my daughter who really loves this play said Jessie Mae would’ve been a lawyer if she lived now. She’s smart but she’s kind of trapped looking after her mother-in-law and so what can she do?
I think you see the frustrations of the characters really, really well, the things they’re fighting against. And I just think there’s so much truth in the play about how we treat our elders. And I think it’s kind of unusual to have this senior lady being the one taking the journey and I love that.
Judith Buchan as Carrie Watts and Nathan Schmidt as Ludie in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote. Photo by Morris Eartman.
JAMES
Let’s talk a little bit about the production itself. I’d love to hear what it’s like to work with Nathan and Heather and bring this story to life.
JUDITH
I’m so fortunate. I’ve worked with Heather a few times before and so we already start at a place where we know each other and are comfortable with each other and love each other. So, it’s just fantastic. And Nathan and I haven’t really worked with each other but thirty years ago I taught a few courses here and I would come in from Olds and teach and he was a young student then. And you know its so good to see him mature and become such a fine actor and stay in Rosebud and put his roots down and contribute here and teach. So, it’s really been fun to be on stage with him.
And Rebecca was a student from here and she’s doing all kinds of things and she is just darling. And for her to be the stranger I meet on a bus…I mean how blessed am I to meet Rebecca on the bus every night and have to tell her my life story? And Caleb and Christopher they’re just great having to play several different roles and having to move all the backstage stuff so that things roll in smoothly and roll out smoothly. I agree with Morris our director that on this small stage not having a blackout and instead having everything moved around so smoothly works better and I just love the way that’s done. And I just find the music so beautiful that it almost makes me cry sometimes.
Judith Buchan as Carrie Watts and Rebbekah Ogden as Thelma in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote. Photo by Morris Eartman.
JAMES
Yeah, there’s not a production element that doesn’t work. From an audience point of view, the transitions between scenes are seamless. They dovetail beautifully. It’s like a dissolve on stage.
So, the main character is Carrie Watts. She’s older. She’s looking back at her life, and so, I’m curious about you and your thoughts about growing older and reflecting back. What’s that like?
JUDITH
It’s quite an experience to be able to play this woman and reflect back on my own life. I find certain things that she says really get to me like when she says she wants to know why her life has become so empty and so meaningless. That really gets to me every time because I think people feel that way quite often. And it’s just heartbreaking to have a lot of regrets and I think you can reach an older age and really be so full of regrets. And I can relate to her sometimes. I had one child, so my table isn’t full at Christmas or Easter, but I have great friends.
And in the play Carrie teaches me that you need to be thankful for what you have and whatever you have is enough and maybe we need to really be listening to that. So, I just think it’s really hopeful and helpful to see an older person take stock and admit she has regrets, and then manage to go past that and she sees that she gets her strength not from a house or from people but from the ocean and from the beauty around Bountiful.
Nathan Schmidt as Ludie, Heather Pattengale as Jessie Mae, and Judith Buchan as Carrie Watts in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
So, I’m curious to know what you think theatre can offer a modern audience in this age of TikTok.
JUDITH
Well of course, it’s the shared community experience that we were deprived of for the years during Covid. Sitting together in a room and laughing together or crying together and watching something happen in real-time right in front of you. You know, it’s a shared thing that I think is ancient and powerful.
And at Rosebud walking home from a show under the stars and the northern lights and hearing the coyotes in the distance keeps you very grounded in the land and the earth. And having a theatre school here and a community of theatre artists here there’s a big commitment to honesty in the storytelling which you know, most theatres would go along with, but I think somehow because this is an earthy place, I buy more into the honesty. And somehow Rosebud manages to find the essence of the shows they produce and so I enjoy what happens at Rosebud very, very much, and I’m so privileged to be able to work here.
This holiday season Desert Crown Theatre produced a festive and entertaining production of my stage adaption of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol is the ageless story of redemption where Ebenezer Scrooge having turned his back on love and his fellow man is visited by three Christmas spirits who teach him the error of his ways. In this fun and lively adaptation, you’ll still find all the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future along with Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, the Ghost of Jacob Marley, Old Fezziwig, Scrooge’s nephew Fred, and the love of Scrooge’s life, Belle. There are some scary bits, a few good laughs, a tender moment or two, and some surprises! It’s a fresh take on an old tale sure to thrill young and old alike.
Desert Crown Theatre is based in Vail, Arizona a small community of about 15,000 not too far from Tucson. Last year a group of Vail residents got together to start a new community theatre company in order to provide opportunities for youth to explore and experience the arts including drama. I sat down with Christine Ralston one of the founding members of Desert Crown Theatre and her husband Nate Ralston who is playing Scrooge this year to talk with them about Desert Crown Theatre and this year’s production of A Christmas Carol.
CHRISTINE RALSTON
I grew up in an extremely performance-oriented family. We played instruments, we did theatre, we did film, we did dance. It was really important to my parents to let us explore. Not all of us acted, not all of us sang, not all of us danced. I’m in the middle of seven siblings. There’s a lot of us. But they really wanted us to have an outlet.
All of our children are older teenagers or adults now but when they started going through middle and high school I was shocked when I found out there weren’t clubs with those types of activities available. And our schools are great schools it’s just after years of seeing no choir or drama club we decided to form Desert Crown Theatre.
I’m the director of youth programs so my passion is to do things like our summer camps and our hope is to provide kids and the community with an artistic outlet and to keep it at a low enough cost so that it’s not pricing children out. Because they might not ever try it otherwise, and we’ve already discovered some kids who are extremely talented and have really bright futures in performing who came to summer camp and who had never done anything before.
NATE RALSTON
I did some community theatre where I grew up. Even where I grew up, there was a community theatre. I didn’t start Desert Crown Theatre but I’m supportive of it because I had that opportunity as a youth. I was in three plays as a teenager. Crazy for You, Number the Stars, and Babes in Toyland. And I really liked it. I thought it was a lot of fun. And last year when we were doing A Christmas Carol I really liked the role of Marley. It seemed like it would be fun to be the mean and angry ghost. And this year I wanted the opportunity to try the main role and there are some challenges to it as well, but I enjoy that.
Nate Ralston as Scrooge, Raedin Ralston as Young Scrooge, Taylor Ralston as Niece Emma, Éowyn Ralston as Little Fan in A Christmas Carol at Desert Crown Theatre. Pete Mecozzi Photography
JAMES HUTCHISON
One of the fun things about this year’s show is your entire family is involved. Nate, you’re playing Scrooge. Christine, you’re the stage manager and also the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come. You’ve got your son Raedin playing Young Scrooge and your daughters Krystin, Éowyn, and Evelynn are also part of the cast and Afton is helping backstage. So, this is the second year the entire Ralston family has been involved with the production of A Christmas Carol. What’s it like having the whole family working on the show and what are some of your family traditions you celebrate this time of year?
CHRISTINE
It’s great. It’s building a really fun memory this year, especially with our son playing young Scrooge opposite his dad’s Scrooge. It’s brilliant because he looks like him and can mimic him so well that it makes for a very believable character.
NATE
The difficulty is that whenever we stand next to each other I have to get on my tippy toes so it doesn’t look too odd because he’s a couple of inches taller than me.
CHRISTINE
It’s definitely building a new tradition for our family. And as far as our other family traditions, we don’t really have too many. I grew up in a family and we observed Hanukkah from my dad’s side, but we also did Christmas. And we still do both.
NATE
What we do for Hanukkah is celebrate with latkes and dreidel. And now that the kids are older dreidel has kind of passed by the wayside. We have some end-of-year traditions. There’s a place we walk to and see the Christmas lights. We have our traditions about how we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve and the way we have a Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day dinner.
CHRISTINE
And every year, at least one or two of us has participated in our church’s Christmas music program.
Michael Shaughnessy as The Ghost of Jacob Marley in the Desert Crown Theatre production of A Christmas Carol. Pete Mecozzi Photography
JAMES
Nate last year as you mentioned you played Jacob Marley and this year you’re playing Scrooge and the play deals with redemption and forgiveness. And I’m wondering how playing Scrooge, a man in desperate need of redemption and forgiveness, has made you think about those two aspects of life.
NATE
I have to be fully honest. I’m a religious man, and that’s a normal part of my life. It’s a daily part of my life; asking for forgiveness; looking for redemption. I believe that all men are sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God and the play focuses a lot on the idea of redemption. One of the lines in the show is Bob Cratchit telling his family what Tiny Tim had said in church earlier. And he had said that he hopes everybody can see him as a cripple so that they can remember who it was that made blind men see and lame men walk. A Christmas Carol without mentioning any names focuses quite a bit on Jesus Christ, and I think if I were to have a wish it would be that this show can help bring people closer to the saviour – to the redeemer. So, for me personally, this has not really added to or changed the way that I view forgiveness and redemption instead I guess I’d say it further strengthens my belief in it.
CHRISTINE
In the play, you can really see that the Cratchit family is a religious family. They read Psalms together when they’re in mourning and they go to Church and it shows that they have that connection and that faith that things are going to be okay, and they’re going to make it through. A Christmas Carol is a show that is all about finding hope. It’s not like redemption goes away at the end of your life. Even in your later years, it’s still attainable because it’s never too late for forgiveness or to change. I think that’s a good message that A Christmas Carol shares with everybody who comes to see it.
Nate Ralston as Scrooge, Christine Ralston as The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in A Christmas Carol at Desert Crown Theatre. Pete Mecozzi Photography
JAMES
I don’t think until Scrooge is pleading near the end of the play in the graveyard with the Ghost of Christmas Future and he asks for forgiveness that he has a chance for redemption.
CHRISTINE
The graveyard scene is really intense. Especially for us because it’s the two of us up there alone in the graveyard with the tombstone. And we play my character the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come as a lady in full Victorian mourning with a veil. And Scrooge is asking for mercy. This man who at the beginning of the play would never have asked for something like that.
We really try to give that scene a bit of desperation. Nate ends up on the ground in full tears and is really desperate because he thinks that he can’t do anything and the spirit has turned her back on him and it’s a really powerful moment. Not only is he asking for mercy he is also realizing he has to ask for forgiveness. Mercy isn’t just given. Mercy needs to be earned as well.
That’s one of our favourite scenes especially because the following scene is so different. He has pledged that he’s going to change and he wakes up in his bedroom a completely new person. And I think that’s really symbolic.
JAMES
Every theatre company brings their own vision to the telling of the story. Tell me a little bit about the vision for this year’s production as you bring it to the stage.
CHRISTINE
Audiences come to A Christmas Carol for the atmosphere. There had been discussion of do we modernize this or do we change the time period. And the overall consensus was, no. People want to be transported back to a simpler time. People want a classic tale told in its own time which means gorgeous costumes. And we wanted to make our atmosphere immersive so the second you walk through the door we have a choir and they’re phenomenal singers in Victorian garb, and we have a Christmas tree auction set up, and we want our audience to walk in and be filled with the Christmas spirit. That’s kind of our goal with this show.
Nate Ralston as Scrooge and Porter Turner as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol at Desert Crown Theatre. Pete Mecozzi Photography
JAMES
When I was writing the play I wanted to create a scene that showed how Bob Cratchit is a really good dad and that he’s playful and there’s this wonderful humour and love in the family. And that’s the scene where we see the Cratchit family on Christmas day.
CHRISTINE
I think how you wrote it gives credit to Bob because despite the fact that he comes from this cold, harsh workplace and working for Scrooge he is able to leave that at his door when he comes home to his family. And so, you have this bubbly happy home and they’re playful and excited. Most portrayals don’t really put that in.
NATE
One of the difficult aspects of playing Scrooge is trying to figure out when he’s going to start having this change of heart because he’s super cold and angry, and then he goes on this journey and sees things in the past and it hurts him a little bit, but does it really make sense for that to be the thing that immediately changes his heart?
There’s got to be this gradual change and in the scene where Bob Cratchit and his family are celebrating Christmas and they’re so happy and it’s so much fun he sees what it’s like to have a happy home. I don’t think it makes any sense for Scrooge to start to feel any happiness unless he’s seen how happy Bob is with his family. So, one of the things that I try to show is how the happiness Bob is experiencing with his family is having an effect on Scrooge.
Sierra Turner as Mrs. Cratchit and Porter Turner as Tiny Tim in the Desert Crown Theatre Production of A Christmas Carol. Pete Mecozzi Photography
JAMES
One of the other things I have in my version of the play is that Mrs. Cratchit actually does get to give Scrooge a piece of her mind. That’s something she says she’d like to do in the book, but she never gets the chance.
CHRISTINE
Oh, absolutely. And our Mrs. Cratchit plays it so beautifully. She is a sweet and loving mother and she’s so kind and when she stands up for Bob in the street scene on Christmas Day, she does give Scrooge a piece of her mind because she’s a woman of her word. And then of course, Scrooge immediately triples Bob’s salary and she’s taken aback. I think sometimes Mrs. Cratchit gets left behind. So, it’s nice to let her have a moment.
I actually had the actress ask me, what’s her first name? And I said, go read the book. She doesn’t have one. Because it was written that way. In the book, she was just Mrs. Cratchit. And one of the things we have hidden on stage is an original edition of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.
JAMES
So, maybe the spirit of Charles Dickens might be there to help you guys out.
CHRISTINE
That’s what I think. This book is from the eighteen-hundreds and it’s on our set and the audience doesn’t know it, but we know it. And we’ve got a cast of about 45 people, 20 of which are children. And it helps our board to see that so many people believe in us and support us. And when you have a large cast they bring more people to the theatre and I really stress to the cast as much as I can that you don’t know who you’re going to inspire, whether it’s an audience of 30 or 300 or 3000, you don’t know who you might inspire out there.
We had a little girl show up to auditions with her dad, who we’ve known for a few years and we convinced him to come in and read and guess who’s playing Fezziwig. He did not expect to audition. He had never done this sort of thing before and we just said to give it a go. And it turned out he had a talent for it and he had just never put himself out there. And he is having so much fun and doing the show with his daughters. His one teenage daughter is the assistant stage manager and the little one is playing Ignorance. And it’s just been so much fun to have that many people involved.
Anna Dalgleish and Caleb Gordon in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Adapted for the stage by Ron Reed and Directed by Morris Ertman.
This holiday season Rosebud Theatre is taking audiences on a magical journey back to Narnia in a fun and family-friendly stage adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
In the original story Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie are four children who have been evacuated to the countryside from London during the early days of World War II. The children soon discover a wardrobe in their new home that leads them to the magical land of Narnia. Narnia is locked in a forever winter but never Christmas spell by the White Witch who rules over the land. The story revolves around the promise of spring and end of the Witch’s rule that is prophesized when two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve mark the return of Aslan the lion who is the rightful King of Narnia.
In Ron Reed’s stage adaptation Lucy and Peter return to the wardrobe as adults many years later and relive their adventures in the land of Narnia when they were children. The production is directed by Morris Ertman and stars Anna Dalgleish and Caleb Gordon who play Lucy and Peter as well as all the other characters in the story including Aslan, the White Witch, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Father Christmas, and Mr. Tumnus.
I was lucky enough to catch the opening weekend of the play and experience a terrific production that reminds all of us about the joy and imagination of childhood while bringing a beloved story to life. I sat down with the talented stars of the show, Anna and Caleb, to talk with them about the production, their love of theatre, and what they want for Christmas.
ANNA DALGLEISH
For a long time, I’ve been seriously looking at adopting cats and I get an early Christmas gift this weekend. I get to adopt two little kittens and I’m very excited about that. So, Christmas comes early for me. It starts this week.
CALEB GORDON
The last time we did this show I was involved as an assistant stage manager and the gift shop sells Turkish Delight. I never thought I would like Turkish Delight, but I had a bag of their stuff, and I liked it so much that I bought them out. So, let me just hawk for the gift shop. Ten dollars a bag. It’s very tasty. Turkish Delight is my answer.
JAMES HUTCHISON
I’m curious, when did each of you discover your love of theatre and what was it about that experience or moment in time that stirred your soul?
ANNA
Well, I have a very special story that goes along with this because the very first time I saw a play, it was a two-hander version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Pacific Theater had put on a show very similar to this one, but it was a different adaptation. I had never seen a play before. I was a four-year-old, so it was all magic to me.
And then when I was six years old the second show I ever saw was also The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. And that was when I fell in love with theatre because I have very strong memories of that. By this point I was an avid reader and already quite an imaginative kid and to see something playing out in real life embodied by people right in front of my very eyes who were profoundly affecting my emotions and whose story I was following along with captivated me. And so, my love of theatre is all tied to this story, and I was very keen to do the show when the chance came around.
Anna Dalgleish and Caleb Gordon in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Adapted for the stage by Ron Reed and Directed by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
What about you, Caleb?
CALEB
I went into theatre when I was in grade nine, and I was very good at it. And I say good at it because I could memorize things very well, but I had no idea about emotions or that maybe I should use them on stage.
And I remember when I had just turned eighteen sitting down and having a really big conversation with myself. I had gone to a summer drama camp, and they had talked about the presence of the fool in a lot of Shakespeare’s plays. And I hated being a fool. I hated not being in control was the real thing. And I remember thinking, maybe that’s not healthy and maybe I should look into that.
And so, I did. I decided, let’s do all the things I’ve never done before. Let’s be the fool. Let’s be okay with being a fool because what we had talked about in summer school was how fools are the only ones who are comfortable in chaos and limbo. Everything and everybody else gets turned upside down, but the fools are the ones who are suddenly the guides and the way keepers in those situations. And I thought, “Wow, that sounds infinitely better than been tossed around and lost at sea and not actually knowing where I’m going.” And so, I would say from that moment onwards is where my love of theatre was truly ignited.
JAMES
Your love of theatre brought you to the Rosebud School of the Arts. Both of you are graduates. So, tell me about your relationship with Rosebud and how you feel it has helped shape you as artists.
ANNA
There’s something so intense about forming an artistic voice in such an immersive education environment. Rosebud is basically a street that crosses another street and when you dip down into the valley it’s like you’re fully immersed in theatre and in your studies. And at times that was incredibly intense and sometimes even overwhelming. But at the end of the day, I think that the immersion into the world of theatre that exists at Rosebud is what has made me such a holistic theatre person and so willing to dive into the deep end every time I get a chance to do something theatrical.
CALEB
I know that when I came to Rosebud, I used to be quite a people pleaser and I would always defer to other people and their needs, but Rosebud was small enough that I couldn’t do that anymore. Instead, I had to actually take the stage and when the light was shone on me I had to step into it. Rosebud is where I started to listen to my own voice as opposed to the voices of others and that was very helpful for me in realizing who I was. Rosebud is a place where when you graduate you are your own artist with your own voice.
JAMES
Did you find the same Anna, that you discovered your individuality as an artist when you were in Rosebud?
ANNA
Absolutely. We were all so different from one another and that’s a comforting feeling when you’re at an audition because auditions are always nerve-wracking. They’re going to see sixty people today and how in the world am I going to stand out? But my training here taught me that it is not about outshining, it’s about bringing what only you have to offer to the audition.
And then at the end of the day, if that’s a fit for the show, fantastic. If it’s not a fit for the show, it’s not because you’re a bad actor, it’s because you have shown them what you have to offer and they’re going with someone who has a different thing to offer. So, you never have to pretend to be someone you’re not. You just have to bring your unique gift. And I think that Rosebud grads are encouraged to have that sense of self and that sense of individuality and to put their own quirky stamp on who they are and what they bring.
Anna Dalgleish and Caleb Gordon in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Adapted for the stage by Ron Reed and Directed by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
There’s a famous quote by George Bernard Shaw. “We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.” And I think that’s an interesting idea when we look at this particular adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe because Lucy and Peter are adults and they’re remembering their childhood adventures.
CALEB
One of my favourite parts of this show is when Aslan comes back and we just play tag for a few moments. The exuberance that I feel in that moment not only from myself but from the audience as well is so exciting. Who would’ve thought that watching two people run around on a stage playing tag was exciting? And yet it is. Even today, we just came out of a show and oh goodness, people were excited and chattering, and all I’m doing is running around on stage out of breath.
And I think I have a sense of play. I play a lot of video games and tabletop games and that sort of thing, but I’m realizing just how much a sense of play is actually something to be celebrated because it’s not that people don’t have a sense of play it’s that people can’t express it fully because they’ve been told that’s a thing that you leave as a child and now that you’re older you have responsibilities. You can have responsibility, but you can do it with a wink in the eye and a sense of play.
ANNA
This question makes me think of the dedication in the novel that C.S. Lewis wrote to his goddaughter who was named Lucy. And he says something like this, by the time I’m finished writing this book, you may have grown out of fairy tales but there will come a day – one day where you’re old enough to read fairy tales again, and I hope this book will find you then.
And I think that’s true of the characters in the story. I think Peter and Lucy are far enough away from their adventures as children and are far enough into their lives in England as adults where they need to remember how to read fairy tales and how to play again. And I think it is that sense of play and embracing that childhood belief and courage and adventure that brings a taste of that Narnian magic back to them in the present moment.
CALEB
And in this play, at one point I’m Peter playing Edmond watching Lucy play the Witch Queen and she levitates her wand. And the wand does levitate because a Narnian is holding it up for her. And there’s that moment where Peter’s thinking, “Did I just see that? Is that what’s really going on right now?” And those moments in our adulthood are just a trick of the light but as a child those moments are not a trick of the light they really happen.
ANNA
That’s another magical thing that is brought to life in this particular production because even though we have two primary storytellers we have two other actors Christopher Allen and Lacey Cornelsen involved in the process. We start out in this dusty old room and because of these two other actors the whole room bursts with magic and the involvement of these two Narnian characters makes you really believe that the magic has come back.
Anna Dalgleish, Caleb Gordon, Christopher Allen and Lacey Cornelsen in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Adapted for the stage by Ron Reed and Directed by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
When Lucy and Peter first discovered Narnia, it’s a land of perpetual winter and never Christmas. In fact, the White Witch’s magic keeps Father Christmas from being able to visit Narnia. And the story is about the arrival of Aslan and the breaking of that spell. And the story takes place in England during World War II and it’s about living through tough times with a vision of better times in the future. What is it about Christmas do you think that renews our hopes for a more compassionate and better world?
ANNA
I think for one thing winter is a very desolate time and if it goes on for too long you begin to wonder if we are ever going to see tulips again or crocus again or all these beautiful springtime miracles. And I think that Christmas is representative of that miraculous life springing forth.
And I know that for C.S. Lewis a ton of his interest and passion was in the Christ story and of course that’s remembered at Christmas time where out of nowhere a miracle is born that turns the whole world upside down. And I think, in this story Father Christmas who comes in with this boisterous energy and gifts galore represents the turning point. And he comes with the good news that Aslan is in fact here and the balance of power is shifting, and the melt will come and you will have what you need to be prepared for the coming world.
CALEB
I remember being very young and thinking Christmas is about getting presents and it’s all about getting the Fisher-Price Knights and Castle set or whatever it was that I really wanted. And then of course you go through a little bit more and you realize, ok, maybe it’s actually more about getting socks and more about the people that I spend it with.
And I have always enjoyed the Christmases that I’ve experienced in Rosebud. I worked in the Mercantile for quite a few years while I was a student, and I remember having so many good memories of the place. Closing down and we’ve sent all the patrons home and it’s dark and there’s just a little bit of excitement because even though it’s cold outside and it’s freezing and Kevin’s car won’t start we know that we have a community out here in the middle of nowhere who gather and find warmth with each other’s kindness.
And I remember thinking in the early days of COVID that we might never have theatre again. I tried a few ZOOM readings where I read Shakespeare with a bunch of other players to an audience and it just does not feel the same. There’s no life through the digital ether, unfortunately. I think technology is great but realizing it’s never going to bridge that gap like real live theatre can was very worrisome.
So, it’s reassuring to come out of it now and I’m dealing with a cold but instead of saying sorry everybody I have a cold and you’re just going to have to deal with that I can say sorry everyone I’m going to be masked up for the next little while because I don’t want to spread that to everybody. COVID brought a lot of realities to the forefront. Theatre is a precarious career at times. It’s precarious and it’s a gift to be able to be in front of people and I should take care of myself and others while I do it.
Anna Dalgleish and Caleb Gordon in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Adapted for the stage by Ron Reed and Directed by Morris Ertman.
ANNA
Theatre artists have always been adaptive and the fact that it’s a live art means that at any moment anything can happen and you have to adapt to it. We’ve always been good at that. But I think COVID taught us on an industry scale, just how flexible we can be and how creative we can be about solutions.
And I think bringing all of that adaptation and creativity back into the theatre when audiences have been allowed to return, has made us care for each other better and has made us even more grateful for the gift that is being inches away from your scene partner and being just feet away from the audience.
There’s nothing like a full theatre of well-fed, excited individuals ready to watch a show and Rosebud does that unlike anyone else. It’s been a glorious and joy-filled homecoming, these returns to full audiences. And now I think none of us take it for granted. So, there’s extra magic in that for sure.
***
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis adapted for the stage by Ron Reed stars Anna Dalgleish as Lucy and Caleb Gordon as Peter along with Christopher Allan and Lacey Cornelsen as Narnians. Director Morris Ertman, Fight Director Nathan Schmidt, Scenic Designer Morris Ertman, Costume Designer Hanne Loosen, Lighting Designer Michael K. Hewitt, Sound Designer/Composer Luke Ertman, Stage Manager Samantha Showalter, Assistant Stage Manager Koayla Cormack.
This interview was conducted on Friday, November 11, 2022, and has been edited for length and clarity. Last Revised on December 22, 2022.
When romance novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued from a car crash by his “number one fan” Annie Wilkes – he feels lucky to be alive. As Paul slowly recovers from his injuries in Annie’s isolated home, Annie reads Paul’s latest novel and discovers to her horror that Paul kills off Misery – her favourite character. That’s when Annie’s obsession takes a dark turn, and she forces Paul to write a new novel that brings Misery back to life. In a perilous game of survival, Paul works on the new novel while plotting his escape from the menacing and unpredictable Annie Wilkes.
Misery stars Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes, Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon, and Curt McKinstry as Buster and I’m happy to report that Vertigo’s production of Misery is a thrilling dive into the scary world of deadly obsession. Everything you want in a psychological thriller is here including phenomenal performances, an incredible set, atmospheric lighting, a chilling soundscape, and plenty of big payoffs all under the gifted direction of Jamie Dunsdon.
I sat down with Jamie to talk with her about Misery, and I started our conversation by asking her what is it about Annie Wilkes that makes her such a compelling and menacing character.
JAMIE DUNSDON
What makes her so compelling is that she’s so human. She feels so real. She’s not a villain. She’s not Moriarty. She’s broken is what she is. She’s a normal human being. She’s someone who has had hurt in her life and pain in her life, and she just used the wrong means to cope with it and that led to an obsession which led to fanaticism.
And for her, this is a love story. For Paul, this is a survival story. She’s entering this story from a much different angle than everyone else. And then she can snap on a dime, which makes her unpredictable and frightening and complex.
Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Misery based on the book by Stephen King and adapted for the stage by William Goldman. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES HUTCHISON
You’ve got a wonderful cast with Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes and Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon. Tell me a little bit about how these actors are bringing these characters to life and what we can expect as an audience.
JAMIE
When I was casting, I didn’t want a Kathy Bates impersonation. It was about finding a person who could bring complexity to this character. I think it’s easy to look at a character like Annie Wilkes and just play a psychopath. I wanted an actor who could enter her from a human angle. And I felt the same way about the Paul character. I didn’t want a James Caan impersonation. I didn’t want someone to do the same thing that he did.
We’re not trying to do an impersonation of the film, even though this is an adaptation of the film more than of the novel. We are trying to honour what audiences want from the Misery story while also giving them something that’s a little more rounded and a little more complex. So, Anna and Haysam bring something that’s really beautiful to the characters. They bring their years of theatre experience and playing real rounded human characters, so these characters on stage feel like people you could know, and that’s mesmerizing to watch.
Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes and Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Misery based on the book by Stephen King and adapted for the stage by William Goldman. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
You know, one of the most chilling aspects of the story is the fact that there actually have been fans who have stalked and killed the very people they claim to admire and love.
JAMIE
I know.
JAMES
That’s what’s so strange about humans, right, how that love can twist into hate. And I wonder what do you think it is about human nature that makes some people travel down that dark path of obsession and violence?
JAMIE
I’m not sure what makes them go down that path. I think people who have trauma and then live with that trauma on a loop in their head are looking for coping mechanisms and that can make the mind do dangerous things.
And then I’m guessing what happens with obsession is there’s a shift in the concept of ownership. I think a lot of fans feel ownership over the thing that they love, and when that ownership gets carried to its furthest logical conclusion ownership means control, and ownership means they have a right to control the subject or the object of their fascination and fanaticism. I think objectification and ownership is probably where the shift happens in their mind.
But what makes people go down that path? I’m not sure.
In our production, we’re playing with what happens when people get traumatized. What’s going to happen to Paul Sheldon if he lives through this experience? Is he going to be a different person on the other side? Is he going to be a different person in the same way that Annie is clearly a different person than the child she was? Something happened to her and her past made her who she is.
Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes and Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Misery based on the book by Stephen King and adapted for the stage by William Goldman. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
In the play, Paul doesn’t give up. He’s resourceful. He’s trying to figure his way out of this situation. So why doesn’t he give up? What keeps him going? What do you think the story says about our desire to fight and survive?
JAMIE
In the novel, he kind of does give up. There are some significant moments in the novel where he wishes for death. We don’t go quite that far in the play, although we hint at it. I think what happens and what pushes him through is probably that Paul gets broken down into the animal version of himself, and that animal instinct to survive.
And the other thing is, he’s got something to fight for. Being locked in this little room changes him. It makes him a better person in a lot of ways. Trauma tends to make someone either a better or a worse version of themselves. And so, I think, he gets a new outlook on the world, and that gives him something he’s trying to escape for. He has a different perspective about his life as a writer and the characters he writes about and a deeper love of the work he’s done. I think he is transformed by this experience.
Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Misery based on the book by Stephen King and adapted for the stage by William Goldman. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
A theatre production involves all kinds of elements and talented people working on those aspects of a production. What are some of the elements you’re bringing together in terms of set design, lighting, sound, costumes, and makeup and how are you using some of those elements to tell the story?
JAMIE
This adaptation of Misery was commissioned by Warner Brothers for a Broadway production, and they pulled out all the stops. They put Warner Brothers’ money into it. The play is massive. And the team at Vertigo has pulled out all the stops as well. They’ve really embraced the challenge.
We’ve got special effects. We’ve got fire. We’ve got guns. We’re using light in a sort of cinematic way. And Scott Reed is doing my set for Misery which I’m really lucky for because the set for this show is very demanding. How do you create a claustrophobic space on stage while also allowing for all the other things that need to happen inside the house? I won’t spoil it, but Scott’s given us a really beautiful mechanism to work with that allows us to travel through the house but to also feel the claustrophobia of Paul’s room.
Misery can feel like a small story. It can feel like a little two-hander, but the scale of this production is pretty massive. I made a list of every special effect in the show and every unusual bit of combat and choreography, and production challenges, and I think that every production challenge that has ever existed in theatre is in this play. Except for bubbles, maybe.
JAMES
Is it too late to add the bubbles?
JAMIE
No, it’s not too late. I’ll look for a place. Just for you.
JAMES
Excellent.
JAMIE
I think audiences are in for a treat. It’s not spectacle for the sake of spectacle. It’s all there to serve the story. Some of the special effects are really tiny and you wouldn’t even think of them as special effects, but they’re special effects to us because they require special technology or a special prop. There are a lot of tricks that we have to do in this production to make things possible.
Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Misery based on the book by Stephen King and adapted for the stage by William Goldman. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
There are lots of different schools of thought about approaching directing and putting on a show and I’m curious to know how you describe your own approach to directing and whether or not you follow any particular philosophy or process or method.
JAMIE
I don’t have a process. In fact, my approach or my process is to not have a process. I was trained with a process. I did my masters in directing and so I learned a process. I learned an approach to tackling plays, but over the last fifteen years of my directing career, I found that when you try to paste a process on top of any given project you’re asking that project to fit within a previously held set of parameters. And that doesn’t work. Every play means something new. So, my approach is to learn what kind of director I need to be for each project.
So, for this cast, for example, I’ve worked with Haysam and Anna and Kurt McKinstry who is in the show as well. I’ve worked with them all before. I know them as actors. I trust them as actors implicitly. And they trust me. We have a really great relationship.
So, we do table work at the beginning and we did some table work on this, but back in my early days of directing, I would have felt the need to write down our objectives for every scene. And today I’m much more like – okay we can talk about our objectives, but we’re not really going to know everything until we’re up on our feet. So, there’s a lot more fluidity than there used to be in my process. There’s a lot more responsiveness to the needs of the moment. So, my approach to directing is to be responsive rather than prescriptive.
JAMES
Is there something about the play or directing or theatre you never get asked that you’d love people to know about?
JAMIE
I would love people to know about the role of the stage manager because most people don’t know what the stage manager is, and the average audience member will never know who that person is or how they exist in the world of the play if the stage manager is doing their job.
And on this show, we have a team of stage managers that are holding this thing up. Every moment they are running around backstage doing things and getting things ready. Meredith Johnson is my lead stage manager, and I often joke that the best-kept secret in Calgary is that the best director in town is Meredith Johnson. She’s a hero and a consummate artist, and without her artistry a show like this wouldn’t work. And it is artistry. There’s timing. There’s finesse. There’s an element of directing in stage management. The true hero of productions like this one are the stage managers.
Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes and Curt McKinstry as Buster in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Misery based on the book by Stephen King and adapted for the stage by William Goldman. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
I’m going to go back a couple of years. Back in March of 2020, you were directing a production of Admissions by Joshua Harmon for Theatre Calgary. I think it was just about to open or it had just opened and then COVID hit.
JAMIE
It was about to open the next day.
JAMES
And you had to shut it down and here we are now September 2022. Two and a half years later. I’m curious about two aspects. First, what was it like having to close that show and then what’s it like coming back with a full production now? And I’m curious to know how do you think COVID has impacted the theatre world and you as an artist.
JAMIE
Not being able to open Admissions was one of the most painful things I’ve gone through in my career. We got so close. It was a show I was proud of. It was a show that was doing really well in previews. I feel like it was all this unfulfilled potential energy that was suspended and never got released. So, I have a lot of sadness about the fact that show never opened, and it was a show that not only got postponed but they chose not to bring it back in the end. So, it’s deeply sad for me, and I carry a lot of sadness about that project.
I think a lot of theatre artists have experienced that in the last couple of years, and it’s made them question why they do theatre. There’s a lot of pain in this industry right now. We’ve seen ourselves get shut down and locked away and so now that we’re coming back what I’m seeing is this real joy of being in a room with people that you trust and you want to create with again, and that’s really beautiful and more beautiful than it used to be because we’re aware of how special it is, and we’re more aware of the ritual of live theatre – of the empathetic ritual of coming together in a space to experience things together.
***
Misery stars Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes, Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon, and Curt McKinstry as Buster. Katherine Fadum is the understudy for this production. Misery is directed by Jamie Dunsdon, Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Sound Design & Composition by Dewi Wood, Fight Direction by Karl Sine, Stage Management by Meredith Johnson, Carissa Sams and Michael Luong.
“I believe we move in the direction that lights us up. That captures our attention. That we feel passionate about. But my end destination keeps changing and what makes me happy keeps changing. I thought when I started all of this, I wanted to be an actress. I didn’t know I was going to be aplaywright. And I like playwriting a whole hell of a lot better. It’s really about trusting the path and letting go of the outcome because how can you really foresee where the path will take you? If someone comes along and mentors you they can only tell you what path they took. But that’s not you. That’s not your path. I used to feel like a failed actress but if I had taken different steps along the way, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up loving playwriting so much or being as happy as I am being a playwright.”
Meredith Taylor-Parry Playwright
Playwright Meredith Taylor-Parry whose previous plays Book Club and Book Club II: The Next Chapter were big hits for Lunchbox Theatre has a new play at Lunchbox premiering on May 10th called Shark Bite. The two Book Club plays focused primarily on the challenges and joys of motherhood and marriage while her new play turns its attention to the relationship between a grandfather and his troubled fourteen-year-old granddaughter Ava as the two struggle to find the love and connection they once shared when Ava was a child.
I first met Meredith back in 2011 at Playworks Ink a theatre conference focusing on playwriting run by the Alberta Playwrights Network and Theatre Alberta. At that time Meredith was just beginning her playwriting journey and she was in the early stages of working on her play Survival Skills which won the New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest in 2013 and was produced Off-Off-Broadway in April 2014 by the 13th Street Repertory Company in New York City.
Meredith is a gifted playwright who is as adept at comedy as she is at drama, and her newest play is a touching and heartfelt glimpse into the age-old challenges of family members trying to reach out across the generations. I contacted Meredith back in March to talk with her about Shark Bite, life-changing decisions, sources of creative energy, and playwriting.
JAMES
One of the things we experience both as an audience and as an artist is a divergence of opinion regarding the work we see and the work we create. And by that, I mean the same movie or book or painting can be praised as the most meaningful and deeply moving experience of someone’s life and someone else will not feel a thing. One person can love it. Another person can hate it. Do you have an explanation for that divergence of opinion in ourselves and in others, and what does that tell you about us as humans?
MEREDITH
I think to sum it up in one sentence – people are complicated. Think of how complicated we are in our personalities and our histories and our experience. So of course, one piece of art is going to mean something completely different to someone else, or they’re going to experience it in different ways. That being said, what I’ve always been told about writing was that the more specific you are to your own experience the more you’re going to relate to a wider group of people.
So instead of trying to figure out what your audience wants, go to the heart and truth of your own experience as much as you can, and you will reach more people. That’s how you find your people. Your audience. The people that want to listen to what you have to say and to what story you want to tell. Because if you’re authentic through your writing and tell your story and your truth, then you seem to reach those people out there who are listening for it. They want to hear it because they experienced something similar.
JAMES
Have you ever had a critical moment in your life where someone or something you’ve encountered has resulted in a decision that changed your life’s path?
MEREDITH
Absolutely. I just feel weird about getting into it because I’m going to get pretty personal but what the f*ck! So, I got involved with a guy who was married back on the East Coast and if you flipped open a sociology textbook you could find a paragraph with our pictures above because it was that typical.
“I’m not happy with my marriage. I’m so sad. And now that you’ve come along, I understand what real love is. Maybe I’m finally ready to leave my wife. But no, I made vows. But I’m so unhappy. And you’re so great and amazing. Let’s get an apartment together! No this is moving too fast for me, I need to think. Blah blah blah.”
And I’ve written about this. I’ve written about this a number of times. Trying to work it out. That’s when I first started writing. That’s what I was writing about. It finally came down to this very dramatic scene in a small rural town in Nova Scotia, where I was sitting in a car and all three characters were there. The mistress, the husband, and the wife and they were screaming at each other. And I thought, “Oh my God, this is a Women’s Television Network fucking movie. And I am part of it. I’ve let my life become this drama.” And it was so clear to me that if one person did not withdraw that this crazy dysfunctional silly drama would continue on for who knows how long. That’s a lot of energy and a lot of pain and a lot of suffering. And I didn’t want any part of that anymore and I wanted to step out of the drama.
So, I did. I went home. I talked to my wonderfully smart, kind, and very wise roomie at the time who was my best girlfriend. And she organized a girl’s camping weekend around the gorgeous Cabot Trail in Cape Breton with a few good friends. By the time we had finished that trip, I decided I was going to get in my car and drive across Canada, cause I love a good road trip, and figure my life out. Those women and that weekend changed my life. Never underestimate the power of the female friendship. So, within two weeks, I packed up all my stuff, dropped it off at my parents and started a road trip and ended up out here. That’s how I ended up in Calgary. So – life-changing.
If I hadn’t done that God knows I’d still be back in Nova Scotia. I never would have had a little look-see and gander around Canada and figured out where I wanted to be. I’m sure I never would have ended up in the arts. I never would have had enough guts to go and do my BFA and my MFA. There’s no way I would have ended up as a playwright.
It’s a really interesting movie. But in the book, there’s a line that goes, “Who we want to be doesn’t matter when there’s no way to get there.” And that really brought to mind the idea of guidance and mentorship in life for me. It’s like how do we figure out how to become the artist?
MEREDITH
I think our picture of who we want to be isn’t the destination. I believe that. When someone says I don’t know the path to get there it’s like – take a fucking step in the direction of where you think you want to go and then watch the magic happen. Because in my life, every time I’ve done a big bold move the universe has come in tenfold.
For example, you may ask how does an elementary school teacher manage to take a road trip across Canada with no job prospects and end up out in Calgary? It’s because within a week after I’d made that decision to leave, I had a big unexpected financial windfall.
I believe we move in the direction that lights us up. That captures our attention. That we feel passionate about. But my end destination keeps changing and what makes me happy keeps changing. I thought when I started all of this, I wanted to be an actress. I didn’t know I was going to be a playwright. And I like playwriting a whole hell of a lot better. It’s really about trusting the path and letting go of the outcome because how can you really foresee where the path will take you? If someone comes along and mentors you they can only tell you what path they took. But that’s not you. That’s not your path. I used to feel like a failed actress but if I had taken different steps along the way, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up loving playwriting so much or being as happy as I am being a playwright.
Anna Cummer, Cheryl Hutton, Kira Bradley and Arielle Rombough in a scene from the Lunchbox Theatre production of Book Club II: The Next Chapter Photograph by Benjamin Laird
I remember making a decision when I was turning thirty. I already had two degrees. I had a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Sociology. Should I go take a Bachelor of Fine Arts and spend all that money or should I go to SAIT and take the film and television course, which was notoriously hard to get into at the time, but it seemed more practical, because I thought, “Well, I could still be on camera. I’ll just be working in television. Maybe I’ll be hosting a show or maybe I’ll work in news.” And that seemed the more practical choice. And if you took a poll of all my friends, which I did, because I used to do that in order to try and make decisions, they all said, “Oh, SAIT. Doesn’t that sound more practical? It’s only two years. You’re not going to spend as much money. I can see you doing television or radio. You’ve always been interested in it.”
Maybe SAIT was more practical, but I went with my gut intuitive feeling that I would not be happy. I got accepted into SAIT. I probably got in because I was relaxed in the interview. I wasn’t hanging all my hopes and dreams on it. I got in, but then I phoned them up and I said, “You know what, I’m declining my seat because I’m going to go to the University of Calgary and I’m going to take my Bachelor of Fine Arts and Drama.” And the admissions person said, “Well, good luck to you.” He was nice. He was just kind of astounded because people wanted to get into the program so badly.
But I just had this epiphany moment and when I made that decision, I decided that from then on, I was going to make bold moves like that. I wasn’t going to do what culturally looked right or what my friends were telling me to do. I was going to go with my gut. And I feel like I’ve been rewarded. I feel very grateful for the life that I live now. I work hard to let go of the feeling that I’m a loser unless I’m a famous Canadian playwright or I’m making good money doing this. Which is so ridiculous because it’s such a crapshoot and there are so few people that are going to go into the arts and make money. Maybe it should just be enough that you’re happy with yourself and you’re happy with trying to get your work out into the world. Sometimes you do, and that should be sweet enough perhaps.
“The Biotechs” Meredith, Tanis, Jenny, and Krista – Banff 2019
JAMES
You mentioned friends. Who do you have in your life that can be brutally honest with you and how brutally honest are you with yourself?
MEREDITH
I subscribe to the philosophy of less brutality and more gentleness. So, I have a really good group of girlfriends who are honest with me, but we’re all each other’s biggest fans and we’re all really gentle with each other. And as far as being honest with myself in a workshop situation, for example, where you bring your play in and you lay it out and all the actors read it, I invite honesty. I just keep assuring people that I want to know if there’s something that doesn’t feel right to them. And you will get a lot of different opinions because as we said before, people are complicated. People respond differently to art. One scene that someone might love and adore another person may think is completely unnecessary. One character that I’m in love with someone else might find creepy.
So, I let everybody know at the beginning I want their honest feedback and that has come with experience. I certainly wasn’t like that at the beginning of my career. Not at all. But now I can handle anything. Just give it to me straight. I will write everything down because I feel like I have a really good inner bullshit meter that will tell me one of two things. Either: “You know what, that comment doesn’t serve the play OR shit they’re right. I didn’t see it before but now that they’ve given me that feedback I have to go back and fix that part. Oh my God, that entire scene has to come out and I have to write something else. What am I going to do? How am I going to fix that?”
Occasionally, I just note a comment and wait for two other people to tell me the same thing then I’ll go back and have a look at it. But I still have the dial on the bullshit meter that says, “Thanks for your feedback!” while I’m thinking, “No way would I touch that. I don’t care if you think that character is creepy. You can not like that character and that’s fine, but I’m not going to change anything or take that character out.”
Arielle Rombough, Kira Bradley, Anna Cummer, Kathryn Kerbes, and Cheryl Hutton in the 2016 Lunchbox Theatre Production of Book Club by Meredith Taylor Parry. Photograph by Meredith Taylor-Parry
JAMES
Let’s talk about creative energy. That’s been one of the challenges I’ve noticed over the last decade with my own writing because I’ve always thought of writing as something finite. In other words, something that gets used up in the day. It’s like a jug of wine, right? You drink as you write and by the end of the day the jug is empty, and you’ve used it all up. And if you use it up on other activities like blogging or writing commercials, which I used to do, there’s nothing left at the end of the day for your stories.
But just the last week I started to think about creative energy more like turning on a tap. In other words, it’s always available. It’s just you have to turn the tap on to use it. So, I could be at work and let’s say I’m a commercial writer, I turn it on. I create whatever I need to make a living. I turn it off when I head home. And then that night, I’ve got a two-hour block where I could turn the tap on again and do my own creative writing. How do you think of creative energy? The energy you use to create your art. Is it a finite thing to use up in a day? Is it a flowing thing? I’m just curious.
MEREDITH
There’s got to be something in the tap when you turn it on. You have to figure out how you replenish that supply or keep that supply flowing. And for me, it comes from other people. For example, my energy has completely changed since we started talking even though this morning, I had a bit of anxiety about doing the interview because I wanted to think carefully about my answers. But now that we’ve started talking about playwriting, I don’t give a shit because I get so excited and all the anxiety goes away. This crazy energy builds up in me and it’s fun because I love talking about writing and I love talking about plays and I love talking about making art.
And if you look at any of my plays they went from one level to a much higher level it was always because of an infusion of creativity from other artists offering their talent, ability, different points of view and brilliance to the project. For example, with Shark Bite Maezy Dennie, Robert Klein, Chantelle Han, and Ruby Dawn Eustaquio were a dream team. I keep getting dream teams at Lunchbox. Like the dream team I had for Book Club and Book Club II. It’s impossible to have all of that artistic talent in a room together and not get inspired. And I know that I need that. It’s just that sometimes I forget to seek that out. I’m pretty good at doing workshops if a workshop pops up from the Playwrights Guild of Canada or whatever. I will do a workshop because I know that I’m going to come out of that two-hour workshop and be full of creative energy, which is going to help my writing that day or the next day or in the weeks to come.
Meredith’s Mother Elizabeth Taylor, Meredith, and her sister Emily Taylor Smith on an Opera Tour in Budapest 2019
And I need to expose myself to other forms of art if I want to get creative energy to put into my own art. I need to visit art museums. I need to look at visual art. I need to listen to a lot of music and different kinds of music. I need to read fiction. I need to go to plays because that will replenish my creative energy. My mom and my sister and I would go on these amazing opera tours pre- Covid. There’s a company out of Ontario called ARIA tours and they handpick the wine that you’re going to drink in the two-star Michelin restaurant where you’re going to dine. And thanks to my Mom, I’ve gone to New York and Scandinavia and several different countries in Europe, and I’ve eaten great food and toured world-class art museums during the day and seen so much opera. I’m truly blessed to have been immersed in such amazing art experiences.
And getting outside. Walking or gardening or yard work. Even shovelling snow. You’re outside. You’re getting your vitamin D. You’re getting some fresh air. You’re doing something kind of mindless that you don’t need your brain for so your brain starts wandering and coming up with creative ideas or starts solving a problem in a play that you’re working on or comes up with an idea that you might use for a play.
All this stuff’s been said before though. I’m not making this up and you just have find what works for you. And those are the three things I can think of that work for me every time: being around creative people, experiencing art in other forms and going outside and walking or just moving your body in other ways like yard work.
JAMES
How has COVID made an impact on you over the last couple of years? How has it impacted you personally and professionally?
MEREDITH
It broke my stride as an artist, I think. It did a lot worse for a lot of other people, so I don’t mean to sound whiny, but I had just rented a desk at cSPACE in the sandbox which is a co-working space at the King Edward. And I would go in once a week dressed up for work with my lunch and my computer and sit at this desk with other people who were renting space. And there’s all this art in there already and a lot of nonprofits and a lot of arts companies and organizations. And I’d go and I’d sit down and work and in a few months I finished an adaptation I was working on. And then COVID hit, and I thought, “Well, I’m not going to go into work anymore.” And for a while they shut down completely. So, now I’m like, “Should I do that again?” It was productive at the time but right now for whatever reason, I’m not super motivated. I already feel really busy.
And the pandemic was the perfect storm for my teenagers and they both encountered a lot of mental health struggles that were worsened during the pandemic and came to light during the pandemic. So, we started a whole journey with both of my kids and that’s taken its toll. It’s been really hard on us as a family but we’re getting through it.
Summer 2021 – Greg, Leo, Noah, and Meredith – Dinosaur Provincial Park – Alberta, Canada
But it also gave me time to rest and say, “Okay, we’re in a pandemic right now. I’m going to support my kids with their mental health struggles and get my kids through grade nine or ten or whatever it was because they’re working from home and they’re going to need my support to get through it.” Neither of them was doing very well independently. They really needed support and help to get through the online learning. So, “I’m going to give myself a break as a writer and I’m not going to feel like I need to be writing every day right now.”
JAMES
You mentioned you have a production coming up with Lunchbox Theatre called Shark Bite. This is the third play of yours to grace the Lunchbox stage and here’s the description, Ava a troubled urban teenager goes to her grandfather’s remote cabin for a visit. The two soon learn that the easy days of their relationship are far behind them and when George tries to find some common ground between them through a hike in the woods, a dangerous turn of events leaves Ava in the position of trying to save them both.
First, I’m curious, Ava’s fourteen and I’m just wondering, what were you like when you were fourteen? What did you think about the world? What was your life like? What did you spend your time doing? And reflecting back now, how much of that fourteen-year-old version remains today and how much did you use it to create the character?
MEREDITH
Oh, God, that’s a tough one. That’s a big question. Okay, so the first part of the question was thinking about yourself at fourteen and I see myself as a gawky, gangly teenager. My nickname was String Bean. And I was a card-carrying perfectionist. I was working really hard in school to try and get good marks. I did extracurriculars. I did sports. Even when they made me miserable I still did them. And then I was looking at everybody else and going why can’t I just be normal like her? Or comparing myself to other people because there was always someone who was better on the basketball team than me and there was always someone who was getting higher marks than me and had a boyfriend when I didn’t. So those kinds of things. Feeling like there’s something wrong with me. That I’m out of place. That I don’t fit in with other people.
I did spend time out in the woods with my father because he was a big outdoorsman. So, the stuff about hiking through the woods in the play and the spruce gum and looking at animal tracks would have still been a part of my world a little bit at fourteen. I don’t know how old I was when I gave up snaring rabbits. When I finally went, “Oh my God this is horrible. And traumatic.” Little t. That was definitely still part of my world at that time.
But when I was writing the play, I also tried to look at it from the point of view of teenagers and I wrote an imagined character who wasn’t really one of my teenagers, but I was certainly drawing from some of their experiences. And then Maezy helped me too in that final workshop that we did in 2021 with Stage One. She helped me be more truthful and authentic. There’s pretty much no other place I’d rather be than sitting in a room with a bunch of actors, trying to make a play better, and then getting to see it. I’m grateful for all the people that I get to work with through Lunchbox and I’m grateful that I’m going to get to work with them again because it’s a pretty damn great place to work.
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George and Maezy Dennie as Ava in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George and Maezy Dennie as Ava in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George and Maezy Dennie as Ava in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George and Maezy Dennie as Ava in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
JAMES
One of the themes in the play is an examination of self-harm. And the play really made me think about our culture and the fundamental role punishment plays in our society. The desire to punish ourselves is a message that might find its roots in the very nature of our own culture. In other words, ideas like no pain, no gain and the need to make sacrifices in order to achieve something. So, I’m curious about your own thoughts and what you hope your play opens up in terms of a discussion about self-harm and punishment.
MEREDITH
Self-harm wasn’t originally in the play. I workshopped the play with the St. John Theatre Company just before the pandemic in the fall of 2019. Pamela Halstead was the dramaturge and I also worked with a lot of really talented playwrights in that little circle. We were all finalists in a playwriting competition that was put on by the St. John Theatre Company and in order to enter the competition you had to have ties to New Brunswick or New Brunswick roots. Which I do. I was born there.
And one amazing playwright in attendance in Saint John, John-Michel Cliche said that when he thought about the presence of the lighter in the play he immediately thought about self-harm, and I replied – “Wow.” Sometimes you put things in your play, and you know they’re really important, but you don’t know what the hell they’re in there for. And then someone like Jean-Michel comes along and says, “Well, what about this?” And that opened up the idea of self-harm and I started thinking about it, and then it came into my own life through what my teenagers have been experiencing over the past couple of years. And then it came into the lives of a lot of my parent-friends, who have teens, and you know, pandemic aside, just being a teenager in this age is really, really, really, hard. Right? In this age, of TikTok.
So, I believe there’s a reason why Jean-Michel turned to me and said, “I thought about self-harm when she took that lighter.” Coincidence? I’m not sure. I’m experiencing this with my kids and I know so many people who are experiencing this and this needs to be talked about because this is a big commonality among teenagers right now that’s not being talked about a lot. And there are parents from my generation who are going, “What the hell? I don’t get this. I don’t understand this at all.” So, I think it’s really good if we talk about it a bit and we get some more information out about it and it sparks conversation among audience members.
I also think it really illustrates the generation gap between Ava and George because he’s an even older generation because he’s the granddad and how does a teenager maintain a relationship with a grandparent? How did I maintain a relationship with my grandparents at that point? When you’re fourteen and vulnerable and going through stuff that you don’t want your grandparents to know about because they might not understand it or they might judge you for it, so you don’t really show them who you are. You just have this kind of superficial relationship. They just know that you do well at school and you like horses. You don’t talk to them about what’s really going on. I felt there needed to be issues that illustrate the characters struggling to connect while dealing with topics that the granddad doesn’t understand.
And I don’t know everything there is to know about self-harm but from what I’ve learned about self-harm, and from what people have told me – because I haven’t experienced it myself – is that it is different from punishment. My understanding of it is that you’re inflicting a physical pain to avoid or rescue you from or to stop a profound emotional pain that is being visited upon you, rather than it being a punishment. It’s more like an action to protect you from pain, or to take you out of a painful place that you’re in so that you can avoid experiencing emotional pain.
For more information about self-harm check out the links below:
When you think about life how much do you think about the cycles we experience and the linear progression of time we experience because there are cycles and an individual cycle can be different. So, we have the seasons, and each season has similarities to previous seasons, but each season is also unique, right? This summer was hotter than last summer or whatever. And just as we experience cycles in life on an annual basis, we’re also on a linear track. We’re getting older each day. So, our time here diminishes. And when you look at life, how much do you think about the cycles of life and how much do you think of the linear progression of time?
MEREDITH
I think more about cycles. That’s how I mark time. I really love the change of seasons in our climate. I could never be a snowbird. I have friends who are retiring, and I look on Facebook and they’re like, “We’re snowbirds now and we’re going to go down and live in Florida.” My grandparents did that. And I think, “I couldn’t do that. I’d miss the change of seasons. It’s nice to take a break from winter and go away for a couple of weeks but I like that cycle.”
And every year it seems to light me up even more. I’ll be sitting at my window, and I look outside, and I see birds starting to come around because it’s starting to get a little bit milder and I’ve got bird feeders in the yard and I’m like a little kid, “Oh my God, I saw my first Robin.”
And as I get older that stuff becomes more important and interesting to me. I notice it more. I enjoy it more. I enjoy that spring cleanup and getting out when the earth is starting to soften up a little bit and then you go out and you work in the yard all day and you smell the dirt and the air starts to warm up a bit in the spring. And I love the fall equally with all the smells and sometimes that beautiful weather that keeps going into fall when the skies have never been bluer, and it’s really crisp in the morning. And I love the first snowfall of the year and so I think I focus more on cycles.
And I know there are cycles with parenting because parenting is tough. And it makes parenting a whole lot easier because when you’re in a really tough cycle, or a really tough phase it really helps to look at it and realize, “You know what, this isn’t going to last forever. And right now, it’s really, really tough. But in a few years, they’re going to be a grown-up and we’re going to be sitting down having a coffee together, or going to a movie, or going for lunch and everything is going to be okay.” And it’s really useful to remember that when you’re going through a difficult phase.
JAMES
This too will end.
MEREDITH
“This too shall pass.” My mother used to say that all the time and I honestly believe that. And maybe it sounds trite, but it helps me sometimes to say it to myself. When I’m in my own little mire of bad thoughts or bad times or bad luck. It can help me to say, “This too shall pass.” So, I think in cycles. Definitely cycles.
JAMES
Back in January 2016, we did an interview where you talked about your play Survival Skills which is a fictionalized story about a father committing suicide based on your own experience with your own father completing a suicide after he had received a terminal diagnosis, and in that interview, you said, “You want to write the kind of play where people are going to go home and talk about it, think about it and talk about themselves a little bit. You know, my God, if it got people to think about their own mortality a little bit, how could that be a bad thing? We all run around scared to talk about it, but we’re fascinated by it at the same time. The idea that we’re mortal, just to have that discussion opened up wouldn’t hurt.” So, I thought, let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about mortality and the fact that we’re all at some point in the future going to die. Have your own thoughts on mortality evolved over the course of your life?
MEREDITH
I think they’ve evolved but I can’t really say I spend a ton of time thinking or talking about it either. You know, it’s funny, at that point in time, I was obviously thinking we need to talk about death. It needs to be in a play. But right now, I don’t have a lot of thoughts to share on the topic to tell you the honest truth. I still think what I said was valid and I like what I said.
JAMES
Maybe there are times in your life where you feel the need to discuss your mortality, and maybe there are other times you don’t.
MEREDITH
And maybe you could take out the word mortality and punch something else in there like self-harm or punishment or shame or any of the other things we’ve talked about. I mean isn’t that what one hopes a play does? When I wrote Book Club a lot of thought went into how many moms are experiencing the same things, and shame being one of them, for not being the best mother on the planet. A couple of my plays deal with that theme. But if we don’t talk about it and bring it out into the light, we’ll just go on pretending to the people around us that we’ve got it all under control. Perhaps when we open up and laugh about the things that make us feel ashamed as moms or just human beings and shine a little light on it, perhaps that is a little bit healing.
There’s a Brene Brown quote, and I have it on my mirror in my bathroom. “I think laughter between people is a holy form of connection, of communion. It’s the way you and I look at each other and without words, say, I get exactly what you’re saying.”
So, if you write a funny line in your play about something rather important and your whole audience is laughing about it, there’s a shared humanity in that. Perhaps the audience is thinking “I get it. I get what you’re saying. I’m with you.”
Besides the fact that everyone just laughed at something you wrote down and were fortunate enough to bring to actors and a director and the rest of your creative team and they’ve poured their creativity into it and together you’ve just made a big room of people laugh and walk out together feeling happy and connected.
“I like farce. I like the challenge of farce. I like the pace of farce. The fast thinking. I like the door slam timing. The mechanics of it. I like the hard math of a good farce. I love Shakespeare. Your mouth feels good just saying those incredible words and negotiating those fantastic ideas and the colourful language and the use of metaphor from such a rich writer.”
Stage West is serving up a healthy dose of farce with a talented cast in their current production Drinking Habits 2 Caught in the Act. This is a sequel to the hugely popular Drinking Habits that Stage West produced a couple of years ago and features most of the original cast from that production.
In the first play the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing were trying to save their convent this time around they’re trying to raise $5,000 to save an orphanage and according to Sister Augusta, played by Natascha Girgis, and Sister Philamena, played by Esther Purvis-Smith, the best way to do that is to secretly produce a batch of their much in demand wine. In addition, to the wine, Mother Superior played by Elinor Holt and Father Chenille played by Robert Klein decide to raise the necessary funds by putting on a play which of course doesn’t go smoothly. And as a farce there are plenty of other plots in the works and secrets to be revealed as the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing try to do God’s Holy work.
I sat down with Natascha Girgis to chat with her about the production and her approach to comedy.
Esther Purves-Smith as Sister Philamena & Natascha Girgis as Sister Augusta in the Stage West Production of Drinking Habits 2 Caught in the Act by Tom Smith. Directed by J. Sean Elliott
JAMES HUTCHISON
Natascha, is there a different approach you take when performing comedy as opposed to drama?
NATASCHA GIRGIS
I don’t think so. How I prepare depends on the piece. If there’s a historical precedent or if it’s an individual who has existed in the past then there’s research to be done. If it’s The Bard then obviously there’s a lot of book work. For comedies I find the work happens in the room. If it’s a prop-heavy show or a prop-heavy role where I need to manipulate a lot then the sooner I can get off book and have my hands available and be an active listener the better. That lets me react in the moment in the room to the other actor or to the circumstances without thinking, “Oh, what’s my next line?”
JAMES
Are there any famous comic actors that you admire that you kind of pattern yourself after? Or have been a great influence.
NATASCHA
My body is tattooed with Buster Keaton.
JAMES
When did you discover Buster Keaton?
NATASCHA
I might have been eighteen or something like that and it was purely by accident. I was working at the Plaza Theatre in Kensington and we had access to whatever movies we wanted to go see. I meant to see a Danish film, but it didn’t come in because of shipping so they put their Buster Keaton festival on early and I thought, “A silent film, really?” So, I stayed and saw Pale Face which was one of his shorts and my head exploded and I thought who are you? And I went every day after that to every one of the festival dates and have followed up ever since.
Buster Keaton – American actor, comedian, film director, producer, screenwriter, and stunt performer.
JAMES
What is it about Keaton’s performance that you find so mesmerizing?
NATASCHA
He lives, eats, breathes his medium. His work was everything. It defined who he was. He’d been working since he was an infant on vaudeville with his parents. He never went to school. His training was in the theatre. It was on the boards. It was a very rough knockabout physical act. His physical facility is incomparable, and he dates well because in his films – he’s man against the machine – he’s man against the world. His stuff is still funny and the risks that he took were astonishing. I own virtually every film and virtually every book that’s ever been written on him and I’m a member of both the British Society and the American Society of Keaton fans.
JAMES
So, what plays do you like? What makes you laugh?
NATASCHA
I like farce. I like the challenge of farce. I like the pace of farce. The fast thinking. I like the door slam timing. The mechanics of it. I like the hard math of a good farce. I love Shakespeare. Your mouth feels good just saying those incredible words and negotiating those fantastic ideas and the colourful language and the use of metaphor from such a rich writer.
Natascha Girgis as Sister Augusta in the Stage West Production of Drinking Habits 2 Caught in the Act by Tom Smith. Directed by J. Sean Elliott.
JAMES
I’m interested in how you approach physical comedy yourself and use that aspect in your performance.
NATASCHA
Very technically. I’ll throw an idea out there. I’ll think about the gag and how to physically orchestrate it and how to tell the story with your body and if there’s a fall or some sort of mechanical element required. And then I just clean it and clean it and clean it and try to make it very specific and very precise. And a Keatonism that I try to apply is think slow act fast. So, let the audience catch up with you but not get ahead of you and then surprise them if you can. And my approach is to give one hundred percent. Don’t mark it. If you mark it your body learns nothing. You have to give one hundred percent the entire time you’re in rehearsal.
JAMES
What do you mean by mark it?
NATASCHA
It’s often applied to dancers – sometimes they’ll go full out and sometimes they’ll just mark it – where they’re not doing it full out. I find you train your body if you do it full out every single time. It helps train your body for what is necessary in that moment.
JAMES
Let’s talk a little bit about the show you’re in now. What’s the play about?
NATASCHA
It’s about the sisters of perpetual sewing trying to raise some money to help save an orphanage. And everybody’s doing their best to assist with that because the most important thing is saving the orphanage, but everybody has a different idea about how to do that and so there’s a little bit more subterfuge involved in getting all that done.
Natascha Girgis as Sister Augusta, Luc Trottier as George & Esther Purves-Smith as Sister Philamena in the Stage West Production of Drinking Habits 2 Caught in the Act. Directed by J. Sean Elliott.
JAMES
You’re working with a lot of the same cast from the first play what’s that like?
NATASCHA
Many of which are my really good friends in life, and they approach the work the same way I do. There’s always another laugh to be mined, or if something is starting to go a little awry and you’re not getting the same laugh you used to you can talk about it. They never stop working because every show means something. Every show is important because you have a paying audience who deserve the same performance that you gave at the beginning of the run. And hopefully, it’s more informed. Hopefully, there’s more gags. You always keep working. And they approach it the same way I do which is why I like working with them.
Esther Purves-Smith as Sister Philamena & Natascha Girgis as Sister Augusta in the Stage West Production of Drinking Habits 2 Caught in the Act by Tom Smith. Directed by J. Sean Elliott.
JAMES
It’s interesting to me to hear you say the comedy continues to develop and mature. How does new material work its way in over the course of a run?
NATASCHA
You still need to be consistent but if there’s room for it and you’ve been given license by the director that within a certain set of parameters you can add something there might be a gag that can be mined. You’ll try something and it’s small and you’ll hear some laughter about it, but you watch to make sure that you’re not stepping on someone else’s moment. The more experience you have hopefully the more aware you are of everything that’s going on and when you can add something and when you shouldn’t because you don’t want the focus to suddenly shift to you when it shouldn’t be on you, to begin with. That’s just being responsible. That’s being considerate.
Esther Purves-Smith as Sister Philamena, Kate Madden as Kate, Elinor Holt as Mother Superior & Natascha Girgis as Sister Augusta in the Stage West Production of Drinking Habits 2 Caught in the Act. Directed by J. Sean Elliott.
JAMES
The nice thing about this play is that there are several roles for women and so I’m just wondering with the length of time you’ve been in the theatre performing different things are you starting to see a move towards better parts and more parts for women?
NATASCHA
There seems to be a growing awareness from producing bodies to include more female writers and to mentor more female writers not that women are the only ones writing parts for women but there seems to be a better inclusion of women where possible. Elinor Holt said it very succinctly the other day that sometimes in a play it’s just an occupation, but we always presume it has to be played by a man. Like you’ll have a judge, or you’ll have a police officer and for our now day sensibility our audience would buy it if you say – okay here we have the judo master and the judo master is a woman.
Natascha Girgis as Sister Augusta, Jeremy LaPalme as Paul and Esther Purves-Smith as Sister Philamena in the Stage West Production of Drinking Habits 2 Caught in the Act by Tom Smith. Directed by J. Sean Elliott.
JAMES
So, why should somebody come and see your show? What would be your sales pitch?
NATASCHA
Don’t be afraid of the sequel if you haven’t seen the first one. You’re going to get a fast-paced broad comedy with a lot of experienced performers who enjoy working with one another and hopefully that makes the comedy infectious. It’s a great night out. It’s not Strindberg on Ice. It’s not a long piece of theatre. It’s a short little foray into silly.
***
Drinking Habits 2 Caught in the Act by Tom Smith and directed by J. Sean Elliott runs until April 14th. The show stars Natascha Girgis, Charlie Gould, Elinor Holt, Robert Klein, Jeremy LaPalme, Kate Madden, Esther Purves-Smith and Luc Trottier. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 403.243.6642 or online at www.stagewestcalgary.com
“I think the most important thing comedy provides is catharsis – especially with farce – like this is a tragic situation that we get to laugh at Donny being a fool and we get to laugh at everyone else on stage being horrible and we get to live out some ridiculous aspects of human nature and laugh at it and not take it seriously and that makes the world a little bit lighter. And then there’s also the communal experience of being in a theatre and hearing everyone else laugh around you and that’s why live theatre still exists.” Ruthie Dworin
My one-act comedy, 500 bucks and a pack of smokes, is one of two student productions at the University of Chicago this weekend. 500 bucks and a pack of smokes is the story of Donny Bracco who after being told by his doctor that he’s dying puts out a contract on his own life. So, when his doctor calls him on his birthday and tells him the lab made a mistake, Donny is more than a little upset. Making matters worse, the original killer Donny hired, subcontracted the hit to another killer – who subcontracted it to another killer – who subcontracted it to another killer – who doesn’t know Donny is the one who put the hit out on himself. With time running out, Donny has to find the killer and convince him to call off the hit, otherwise, this might be the last birthday he ever celebrates.
Cast & Crew for 500 bucks and a pack of smokes. L-R Jess Robinson – Stage Manager, Gayathri Rao (Carmen), Reed Thurston (Vinnie, Murphy, Powell, Stubby), Kajol Char (Sophia, Sid), Carolyn Applebaum (Donny), Ruthie Dworin – Director
The production stars Carolyn Applebaum as Donny Bracco; Reed Thurston as hitman Vinnie Torelli, Officer Powell, Detective Murphy and Stubby the hobo; Kajol Char as widow Sophia Falco and butcher Sid Valencia; and Gayathri Rao as Sid’s sister Carmen. Ruthie Dworin is directing. The production is being stage-managed by Jessica Robinson with sound design by Ro Redfern. Tickets are just $6.00 in advance or $8.00 at the door and are available online at the University of Chicago Box Office. Plus you can catch a free preview on Thursday, February 7th.
I gave Ruthie Dworin a call a couple of weeks ago to talk with her about the University of Chicago, the production, and her approach to directing.
JAMES HUTCHISON
As a director what type of culture do you try and create for your actors in the creation of a play?
Ruthie Dworin
RUTHIE DWORIN
I grew up doing a lot of acting so I’ve seen a lot of different kinds of rehearsal rooms. I’ve seen a lot of directors who create good rehearsal rooms and bad rehearsal rooms and everything in between. So, I’m a student director and I’m still honing my craft and figuring out how to create the rehearsal room that I want but the best rehearsal rooms that I’ve been in as a director and actor have been one where the director sets forth a clearly stated vision so that everyone knows what we’re all working towards and to provide a framework and a container for the actors to fill. And that allows for a lot of creativity from the actors and from the designers and that allows for a lot of play too which I feel is very important.
And then I like to use Viewpoint exercises to build an ensemble. Ensemble work I think is good for any kind of play. We use ensemble building for helping people to feel comfortable and physically liberated which allows them to explore how the characters move in different ways and also allows them to take a lot more risks. Viewpoints can also be more helpful for exploring character relationships with different kinds of boundaries and with different kinds of constraints than a typical rehearsal room using scene work and what the script offers.
JAMES
You mentioned before our interview that you were part of a commedia dell’arte troupe and that’s a particular kind of comedy with a long tradition behind it. How does your work with the commedia dell’arte help you in terms of putting on a contemporary play like 500 bucks and a pack of smokes?
RUTHIE
Commedia’s been helpful in a lot of different ways. It’s been helpful in allowing me to think of emotions on a much higher scale because what makes a commedia show funny is that it takes every day human emotions and then takes them up beyond the scale often even bigger than 10. I explicitly said those words in rehearsal and I think that’s going to help the actors a lot. It also frankly gives me a lot of exercises that I can use with actors that are unfamiliar with taking emotions to that kind of height and I can help them get more comfortable with amplifying reality and amplifying realistic emotions.
Ruthie and other members of her Commedia Troupe in Performance
RUTHIE
It’s also helpful for thinking about each character. So, I wrote down for each of the characters in the play who their commedia character would be because it’s helpful for me to think about the show and it’s helpful for me to think about helping actors in crafting their characters. So, I’m calling Donny – Tartaglia because the person who plays Tartaglia in my troupe plays him very much like a straight man where everything is happening to him and he’s just trying to gain some control in that environment and he’s very nervous and falling over all the time which are some of the characteristics for Donny.
JAMES
As the playwright, I’m curious about what attracted you to the play?
RUTHIE
I like that the script moves so quickly. I like the dry humour. I like that everything is huge and that a lot of the humour allows for the actors to get up and play a lot more with the words. And the characters were so clearly delineated, and I have one guy playing Vinnie, Murphy, Powell and Stubby and he’s having a lot of fun creating all those characters.
Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, University of Chicago
JAMES
From a student point of view, what are some of the things you really like about the University of Chicago?
RUTHIE
There’s a million ways for students to get involved. Our shows are entirely student-produced – all our main stages, all of our workshops, every single small production is student-produced so students are making everything happen from start to finish. Students are acting, students are directing, students are designing, students are production managing, students are stage managing, and students are picking the shows that actually get produced.
JAMES
What kind of experience do the professors and instructors and support staff bring with them that you think is really beneficial for students?
RUTHIE
Basically, every single person who works as a professional staff member here is involved in the professional theatre community in Chicago – one of my professors is a senior ensemble member at a theatre uptown and I’ve gone to see a couple of shows that he’s directed at that theatre and I’ve learned a lot from them.
And for the mainstage shows we have professional staff for each of the areas of design and for production management and stage management and for direction. So, student directors have a weekly cohort where they sit down with a professional director and workshop things to make their shows work well and look good and the student designers do a lot of the same things. It’s very helpful and they also teach classes as well.
That’s why Chicago is the first and only place I applied because I just fell in love with the school and I’m not majoring in theatre I’m majoring in linguistics because the linguistics program here is very good, but I also wanted to be able to do theatre with an exciting group of people without having to go to a conservatory.
A Streetcar Named Desire, University Theatre – Fall 2018, Photo by Matt Mateiscu
JAMES
You mentioned you’re taking your degree in linguistics and since you’re looking at language how does that focus on language influence the directing and staging of a play.
RUTHIE
I think a lot about language in terms of specific word choice because it informs all of the characters and it also informs a lot about how all the people talk differently to each other. Does Donny talk differently to Sophia than he does with Vinnie? Those things are very important. Linguistics is a scientific abstract version of things and theatre takes that knowledge and applies it to a specific situation which I think is fun and very useful.
JAMES
Do you have a preference for comedy or drama?
RUTHIE
I don’t really have a preference. The last several things I have worked on have been dramas and have been very heavy on symbolism and so I was specifically looking for a comedy this time around.
JAMES
What do you think comedy provides us in terms of its snapshot of the world?
RUTHIE
I think the most important thing is catharsis – especially with farce – like this is a tragic situation that we get to laugh at Donny being a fool and we get to laugh at everyone else on stage being horrible and we get to live out some ridiculous aspects of human nature and laugh at it and not take it seriously and that makes the world a little bit lighter. And then there’s also the communal experience of being in a theatre and hearing everyone else laugh around you and that’s why live theatre still exists.
JAMES
Why should people come out and see your production?
RUTHIE
The show is going to be a lot of fun. We’re going to laugh a lot and we’re going to throw things around on stage. Things are going to break and the actors are going to have a lot of fun on stage creating a lot of very huge characters that people can laugh at and enjoy and audiences will be able to relate to the small seeds of truth in it.
* * *
Ruthie Dworin is a second-year student at the University of Chicago majoring in Linguistics. Her theatrical background is mostly acting, but she discovered directing sophomore year of high school. She has assistant directed in her hometown, Louisville, KY, and at the University of Chicago on productions like A Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner, Julius Caesar, and Animals Out of Paper by Rajiv Joseph. In Louisville, she directed 26 Pebbles by Eric Ulloa and at UChicago she has directed Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Nora and Delia Ephron and short pieces by local playwrights for the annual New Work Week.
The Committee on Theatre and Performance Studies supports innovative work at the intersection of theory and practice across a broad spectrum of disciplines. The University of Chicago’s undergraduate and graduate programs in TAPS stand out for the intellectual commitment they demand, the interdisciplinary perspective they require, and the extraordinary collaborative opportunities they provide with theatre, dance, and performance companies in Chicago, across the country, and around the world.
Commedia dell’arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italy, that was popular in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century. The characters of the commedia usually represent fixed social types and stock characters, such as foolish old men, devious servants, or military officers full of false bravado. The characters are exaggerated “real characters”, such as a know-it-all doctor called Il Dottore, a greedy old man called Pantalone, or a perfect relationship like the Innamorati. (Source Wikipedia)
Viewpoints is a technique of composition that acts as a medium for thinking about and acting upon movement, gesture and creative space. Originally developed in the 1970s by choreographer Mary Overlie as a method of movement improvisation, The Viewpoints theory was adapted for stage acting by directors Anne Bogart and Tina Landau. Bogart and Overlie were on the faculty of ETW at NYU in the late 1970s and early 1980s during which time Bogart was influenced by Overlie’s innovations. Overlie’s Six Viewpoints (space, story, time, emotion, movement, and shape) are considered to be a logical way to examine, analyze and create dances, while Bogart’s Viewpoints are considered practical in creating staging with actors. (Source Wikipedia)
Tyrell Crews and Mark Bellamy in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Deathtrap by Ira Levin. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon, costumes by Hanne Loosen, set by David Fraser, Photo by Diane + Mike Photography
Mark Bellamy, former artistic director of Vertigo Theatre, returns to the stage to take on the role of Sidney Bruhl in Ira Levin’s intensely entertaining thriller Deathtrap. Joining him on stage is Tyrell Crews as aspiring playwright Clifford Anderson, Barbara Gates Wilson as Bruhl’s wife Myra Bruhl, Karen Johnson-Diamond as psychic Helga Ten Dorp, and Kevin Corey as attorney Porter Milgram. The production is being directed by Jamie Dunsdon.
Deathtrap is one of the longest running mystery thrillers to ever hit Broadway and even though the play premiered more than forty years ago it’s as fresh and funny and thrilling today as it was the day it opened. The only problem is that because the play is filled with so many twists and turns and surprises you have to talk about the play without talking about the play. The only thing I can tell you, without revealing any spoilers, is how the play begins.
Sidney Bruhl, once a successful Broadway murder mystery playwright, has fallen on hard times after numerous flops, so when he receives a brilliant murder mystery play in the mail from a former student, Sidney begins to contemplate murderous thoughts about how he might steal the play for himself. I sat down with director Jamie Dunsdon and actors Mark Bellamy and Tyrell Crews to talk about weapons of choice and Vertigo Theatre’s production of Deathtrap.
Barbara Gates Wilson as Myra Bruhl and Mark Bellamy as Sidney Bruhl in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Deathtrap by Ira Levin. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon, costumes by Hanna Loosen, set by David Fraser, Photo by Citrus Photo.
JAMES HUTCHISON
I’m going to start off with a hypothetical question. If you had to commit a murder – not saying that you would – what would be your weapon of choice?
MARK BELLAMY (Without hesitation)
Poison.
JAMES
Poison?
MARK
I have mine all planned out.
JAMES
Who’s the victim?
MARK
Oh, I can’t tell you that.
TYRELL CREWS
You’re looking at him.
JAMIE DUNSDON
It’s been a rough week. (Everyone laughs)
MARK
After running this company for ten years, you just amass so much knowledge that I actually figured out how I would do it. There’s a plant. I’m not going to say what the plant is, but you can grow it. It’s very common and there are different varieties of it. You can grow it in your garden and if you take the root and you soak it in vodka it makes it a tasteless, odourless, and almost untraceable poison that mimics a heart attack.
JAMES
It’s kind of disturbing that you’ve given this so much thought.
MARK
There’s even more. I figured out how I was going to use that poison.
No, no, no – just never accept a cup of coffee from me – that’s the deal!
JAMES
Tyrell?
TYRELL
You know I haven’t given it as much thought as Mark.
MARK
Who has a detailed plan.
TYRELL
Well, like you said you lived in this building. I don’t know how I’d do it but what I will tell you is that last night I dreamt that I actually killed somebody with my bare hands – strangling – which was not even the major part of the dream. The major part of the dream was covering it up. There was a cell phone involved and I had to destroy the cell phone and the sim card itself and make sure the sim card was absolutely disintegrated because that’s the only thing that would have traced that individual to me.
MARK
This is exactly our characters.
JAMES
Good casting.
TYRELL
The violent one.
MARK
And the plotty one.
JAMES
Jamie, do you have a weapon of choice?
JAMIE
I do, but it’s for a very specific person. I would use peanuts.
MARK – TYRELL – JAMES
Ahhhh.
JAMIE
Yeah, I’d take them for a walk out in the mountains. Somewhere far away from their EpiPen and then I’d throw some trail mix their way. I would make it really pedestrian. Very every day.
Mark Bellamy as Sidney Bruhl, Barbara Gates Wilson as Myra Bruhl, and Tyrell Crews as Clifford Anderson in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Deathtrap by Ira Levin. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon, costumes by Hanne Loosen, set by David Fraser, Photo by Citrus Photo
JAMES
So, then let’s talk about the play. Deathtrap is one part thriller, one part comedy, and one part mystery and I’m wondering how do you balance all those elements so that we’re laughing where we’re supposed to and we’re screaming where we’re supposed to?
JAMIE
I think the script does most of it for us. The script is very well constructed, and it’s tried and tested. The playwright doesn’t drop in laughs except to break the tension and I think we just follow that lead for the most part. As far as the mystery and the thriller aspects go that’s more of a balancing act and we’re still working on that in rehearsal. It’s all about who knows what and when and then when do we want the audience to know what and when? So that’s the work – the final stage of rehearsal – we know what we’re doing but now we’re shaping the experience for the audience.
JAMES
And making sure you don’t telegraph to the audience at the wrong time what’s going on.
MARK
That’s the hardest part, I think.
TYRELL
Yeah, I think, it’s about playing these moments honestly and what’s on the page in that specific situation. I think Jamie’s done an amazing job in knowing when those secrets or the scheming are supposed to bubble up to the surface and peak through.
JAMIE
That’s right, it’s entirely volume control because we know this play so well now that – once you’re inside it – it’s hard to get back outside.
MARK
It’s super hard from the inside.
JAMES
Because you know everything.
MARK
I know everything and I think the previews will be really neat because I’m sure there’s going to be one night where we go way too far one way and then way too far the other. It’s about finding where the sweet spot is. And it’s really finite, isn’t it? It’s really particular.
JAMIE
There’s a narrow band that we need to live within and so that’s the work we’ve been doing the last couple of days and it’s a little bit subjective, right? It’s a little bit here’s how much I think we need to turn it up but I’m kind of the audience surrogate so I do my best to gage that but we could have audience members who are smarter than me and pick up on things earlier.
Karen Johnson-Diamond as Helga Ten Dorp in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Deathtrap by Ira Levin. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon, costumes by Hanne Loosen, set by David Fraser, Photo by Citrus Photo.
JAMES
And you’ve got a great cast you’re working with on this show.
JAMIE
We have a room that already understands the mystery genre because everybody in this show has worked with Vertigo multiple times which is fantastic. I’m leaning on their expertise as well, so for example, Mark caught something in rehearsal the other day that was very forensic. So, we have a room full of experts and fantastic people at the top of their craft and they’re also funny which is nice.
TYRELL
I think any hall that I have found success in is one where there’s the willingness to collaborate. It’s knowing that we’re all on the same playing field. Of course, Jamie has the final say but it’s the willingness to play and experiment which is supremely helpful for this type of play – auditioning every choice and volume level that we can.
JAMES
Now, Mark, you directed Deathtrap previously, haven’t you?
MARK
A long time ago. Sixteen or seventeen years ago. It was in 2002, I think.
JAMES
So, I’m kind of curious – you were the director and now you get to be the actor in it. Does having directed a show and now having had the chance to have aged into a part give you any additional insights?
MARK (Laughs)
It certainly gave me a familiarity with it. And when I directed it Stephen Hair was in it and Stephen was the former Artistic Director of the Pleiades.
JAMIE
And he had also directed it.
MARK
He had directed it! So there’s this weird little legacy.
JAMES
So, Jamie does that mean you’re going to be doing a female version of Deathtrap at some point?
JAMIE (Laughs)
Yes, I’m the next Sidney Bruhl.
JAMES
Mark, when you were directing it did you imagine that’s a part I want to play in twenty years?
MARK
I probably did. I fell in love with this play when I was in University. I saw the movie first and I’ve always been a fan of Deathtrap, but I don’t think back then my twenty-year-old self imagined my fifty-five-year-old self being Sidney Bruhl. I think I probably saw myself as a Clifford at some point when I was young, but that never happened.
JAMES
Tyrell, are there any particular parts that you want to play one day?
TYRELL
Hamlet is one of them. I’m a big Shakespeare guy so playing Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing with the Shakespeare Company last year was another one.
Tyrell Crews as Clifford Anderson and Mark Bellamy as Sidney Bruhl in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Deathtrap by Ira Levin. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon, costumes by Hanna Loosen, set by David Fraser, Photo by Citrus Photo.
JAMES
Is Sidney in your future?
TYRELL
Ahhh, I love this play. I love this part, but it will be a very very long time before I get Mark Bellamy out of my head.
MARK
Oh dear. Oh dear. I’ve affected you.
TYRELL
In a good way.
MARK
Well, there are two moments in the show where I channel Stephen Hair. I’m not going to say where they are. I don’t channel. I homage. I homage – like I remember what Stephen did. There’s only two though.
Mark Bellamy as Sidney Bruhl and Kevin Corey as attorney Porter Milgram in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Deathtrap by Ira Levin. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon, costumes by Hanne Loosen, set by David Fraser, Photo by Citrus Photo.
JAMES
So, murder mysteries look at the darker side of humanity and there’s always an element of desperation to the characters contemplating murder – why do you think audiences enjoy watching desperate characters making morally questionable decisions?
JAMIE
Probably because we do it in real life. We don’t go as far down that path so, it’s delightful to see someone have that impulse and actually follow it through. There’s something a little bit cathartic in that.
TYRELL
And they’re relatable. You like these people and you’re invited into their home and you meet them and they’re very charming and you kind of fall in love with them.
MARK
And they’re funny.
TYRELL
And I think the way the plays mapped out you can see the decision making that goes into the escalation and so you can understand that decision making.
JAMIE
It’s a character-driven thriller – which you can probably speak to that more Mark because I’m not sure how common those are. This is a thriller that’s plot-heavy and it’s plot driven but the characters are all grounded.
MARK
What characterizes a thriller as opposed to a who done it is the thriller is more about the people and what they’re going to do and how they’re going to do it and not what they’ve done. A who done it is for us to figure out. A thriller is more like what are they going to do now?
Mark Bellamy as Sidney Bruhl and Karen Johnson Diamond as Helga Ten Dorp in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Deathtrap by Ira Levin. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon, costumes by Hanna Loosen, set by David Fraser, Photo by Citrus Photo.
JAMES
So, we’re telling people about this wonderful play and if somebody were to ask you what you’re in and you say you’re in Deathtrap – and they say well why should come I see that? What would your sales pitch be?
MARK
Directed by Jamie Dunsdon
JAMES
That’s a good reason.
JAMIE
Stars Mark Bellamy.
MARK (Laughs)
I would say that it is probably the epitome of the American thriller. Deathtrap, to me, is the American thriller version of what the Mouse Trap is to the who done it. And it’s fun. It’s funny. It will scare you. You’ll jump out of your seat and if you can stay ahead of these characters then you’re a genius.
JAMIE
I always tell people the same thing I have written in my director’s notes for the show. I was working for Craig, the artistic director of Vertigo Theatre, a couple of years ago and he had me look through something like fifty plays from the genre in a matter of months and there was some great stuff there but there was also some not so great stuff and when I read Deathtrap in the first hour of reading it I was already gasping and doing little ahahs with my cats and so if you can get that out of a read then think how good it would be on stage.
JAMES
And because you are directing this Jamie, I was wondering how significant and important do you feel getting a chance to stage Deathtrap at Vertigo is in terms of your career development?
Tyrell Crews & Mark Bellamy in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Deathtrap by Ira Levin. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon, costumes by Hanne Loosen, set by David Fraser, Photo by Diane + Mike Photography
JAMIE
It’s huge for me, but that’s half my battle right now is to not get too worried about that. I just have to applaud Craig because there’s not a lot of artistic directors who give young female directors a chance and he did and so I’m so grateful for that opportunity and really grateful for him as a mentor in my life and I’m just now trying to focus on the work and not on the monumental career step in it for me.
JAMES
Well speaking of next steps what have you got coming up?
JAMIE
Nothing I can talk about. I’m in workshops for things that are coming up at Verb and I’m in the early stages of some stuff…like early design phase of some things that haven’t been announced yet so I can’t talk about them.
JAMES
Tyrell, you’re part of a new theatre company called Black Radish and I see you’ve got a production of Waiting for Godot coming up in April. Tell me a little bit about the creation of the company and the production.
TYRELL
It’s a passion project. A huge passion project for us all. Myself, Duval Lang, Chris Hunt and Andy Curtis have been meeting and reading and discussing the play for the last three maybe four years. We shopped it around a little bit but it wasn’t a good fit with any existing company in the city so we decided to bite the bullet and give it a crack ourselves and now Denise Clarke is directing it so we have a chance to work in the Flanagan Theatre at The Grand and they want to open their doors and invite the community in and have a fresh start and that’s a big push for me as an artist and an individual with our little company.
JAMES
Mark, you’ve got a show coming up later in the year at Stage West?
MARK
I’m directing A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. It’s a Broadway musical that won the Tony Award in 2014. It’s very funny and it’s based on the film Kind Hearts and Coronets with Alec Guinness and it’s about a guy who thinks he is very poor but he discovers that he is actually the ninth in line to become Earl of Highhurst so he goes about murdering all of his relatives who are ahead of him and the great conceit in the show is that all of his family – all of the eight relatives – are played by one actor. It’s superbly funny and has really great music.
***
Deathtrap by Ira Levin and directed by Jamie Dunsdon and starring Mark Bellamy, Tyrell Crews, Barabara Gates Wilson, Karen Johnson-Diamond and Kevin Corey runs at the Vertigo Mystery Theatre from January 26th to February 24th. Tickets start at just $29.00 and are available online at Vertigo Theatre or from the box office by calling (403) 221-3708.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Last edited on August 29, 2019.
Maryanne Pope – Playwright, Screenwriter, Blogger & Novelist
Maryanne Pope is a playwright, screenwriter, blogger and novelist. She is the author of A Widow’s Awakening and the founder of Pink Gazelle Productions where she blogs and works to create literary, theatrical, and cinematic works that challenge, enrich and inspire both artist and audience.
“It’s about the power of dreams. And I’m a huge person on believing in dreams. I mean that’s what I live for is to achieve my dream. I just think dreams are hugely important and I just – I don’t know – I just decided a long time ago – for many reasons – the big one being John’s death – that I don’t want to die having lived an unfulfilled life.”
Maryanne is also the Chair of the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund a charity committed to raising public awareness about why and how to ensure workplaces are safe for everyone, including emergency responders. The charity was started after the death of Maryanne’s husband, John Petropoulos, who was a member of the Calgary Police Service. John died in the line of duty on September 29, 2000 while investigating a break and enter complaint when he stepped through a false ceiling, because there was no safety railing to warn him of the danger, and he fell nine feet into the lunchroom below and succumbed to brain injuries.
I sat down with Maryanne to discuss the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund and her life as a writer.
JAMES HUTCHISON
You’ve wanted to be a writer for a long time?
MARYANNE POPE
Oh yeah, I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was seven. I think that was probably when I first thought of it. But I never really got the concept that you actually have to sit down and write. It was always something in the distance that I wanted to do.
JAMES
As far as your writing career goes your husband’s death seems to be a marker. There was a life before that and a life after that.
MARYANNE
After I graduated from the University of Calgary when I was twenty-five and up until John’s death when I was thirty-two I wanted to try and write a novel. I had no interest in playwriting or screenwriting or anything like that. So, I started to work on a novel but I didn’t really know what I was doing and I was just creating a female protagonist who’s unhappy with her life and wanted to change the world and become a writer. And I wasn’t unhappy with my life, but I was unhappy with the fact that I wasn’t finding the time to write because by this time John and I were married. We’d bought a house. The financial pressure was on. The family pressure was on – are you going to have kids? You’ve got the mortgage now. John’s working full time. I was working full time, and so I was writing less and less and I was very anxious.
John & Maryanne on the beach in White Rock
MARYANNE
I knew I was on the right path with the right guy, but I wasn’t doing the work that I knew I had to do, and I was stressed right up until the point before the night John died when we had this big discussion and I said to him, “I am so scared that I am going to wake up twenty years from now and still not have become a writer.” And we had just had a big fight. We’d come back from a holiday and we had a big fight and we didn’t speak to each other for two days and he turned to me and he said, “Maryanne you know that is exactly what is going to happen in twenty years. You are not going to become a writer until you make your writing a priority – until you believe in yourself you will not become a writer.” And he died that night. He went to work and died at 4:00 o’clock the next morning.
And within two weeks after his death I sat down at my computer and I started to write what would become in eight years A Widow’s Awakening and of course because he died in the line of duty that meant that I was financially okay. My house was paid off. I got his income for twenty-one years and then I switch over to his pension, so I got exactly what Virginia Woolf had said – in a room of one’s own women need a secure – or any writer really – needs a secure income and a place of their own to be able to truly write. So, I got what I wanted, but I lost that which I loved the most.
JAMES
The interesting thing to me is how much of your writing has been focused on that tragedy and dealing with it. You have your novel A Widow’s Awakening and you have a one-act play called The Widows.
MARYANNE
Yes, it touches on that.
JAMES
And then you also have Saviour which is a full-length play.
MARYANNE
And that is hugely about John’s death, but it’s also about what I imagine his perspective to be on his death. And so he’s in the process of dying – that’s very much an imagined perspective on that but then I’m in the play as well.
Maryanne Pope at a workshop for her play Saviour with the Alberta Playwrights Network – January 2019
JAMES
Can you encapsulate Saviour, so people understand what it’s about?
MARYANNE
Saviour explores the concept of whether or not another person can save a person or whether the true meaning of a saviour is to help a person save themselves – to empower someone. So, this play looks at the example between John and me because his death gave me the financial freedom to pursue my dream. I just don’t get him and he doesn’t get to pursue his dream so it’s a real double-edged sword. And then it also goes into the bigger concept of a saviour from our Christian paradigm and whether or not we are, in some level of our consciousness in the West, expecting a saviour to come back and fix our problems.
L to R: Col Cseke, Kathryn Kerbes & Trevor Rueger in an APN workshop for Saviour by Maryanne Pope – January 2019
JAMES
Death is, of course, a big part of all our lives and I’m wondering in what ways you think our desire to write and tell stories is an attempt for us to navigate our feelings about death and our own mortality?
MARYANNE
Oh, I think it has everything to do with it because I have found that writing about death and loss and grief – my experience with it – helps me sort out and make sense of what happened. Helps me express my feelings and helps me move forward emotionally and psychologically whether it’s a blog or a story. And then to polish it a little bit and share it with other people is a gift and based on the feedback I get people do resonate with it because you’re right – death is a part of all our lives – we’re all going to go through that you know – losing people we love – or pets we love – or whatever. And when I write about death I like to be super honest about the good, the bad, and the ugly of what I was really thinking and experiencing.
JAMES
In a sense, John’s death fuels or has fueled a large part of your writing how do you feel about that?
MARYANNE
My mom was a psychiatric nurse at one point and she was very concerned about me working on A Widow’s Awakening for so long. And I think there is validity in that because if you constantly write about a tragedy it’s very difficult to move on because you sort of stay stuck in the past.
However, from a creative perspective, it’s an incredible story. And I know from the feedback I get from the book plus when I go out and deliver presentations that it’s a very powerful story and it’s very emotionally impactful. There are many many life lessons in there so I can pull different things for different projects whether it’s presentations, whether it’s a blog, whether it’s a book, whether it’s a screenplay, whether it’s a play. It was horrific to experience John’s death, but in a way the universe not only delivered me the financial means to become a writer the universe delivered me one hell of a story to tell.
JAMES
One of the things you established after John’s death was the John Petropoulos Memorial Fund which is an organization that strives to eliminate preventable workplace fatalities and injuries to first responders by educating the public about its role in helping to keep these workers safe on the job. What initiatives are you the proudest of and have been the most successful in your promotion of that safety message?
MARYANNE
We’ve done eight public service announcements and one ten-minute safety video. The picnic PSA, for example, is about traffic safety and reminds drivers to slow down when they see emergency vehicles – police, firefighters, paramedics, and the tow truck drivers along the side of the road. Then there’s the three put yourself in our boots videos. One tells the story of a police officer in exactly the same situation that John died under, and then there’s one where firefighters get trapped in a burning building because someone left clutter at the emergency exit and they couldn’t get out, and then in the emergency services one the paramedics are impacted because of a distracted driver.
Often, we get the most powerful feedback from people after they’ve seen one of our safety presentations. As part of our safety presentation, we physically go into a business or a school and we’ll talk about John’s death, show our public service announcements and the safety video. And when I’m the one doing the presentation and they hear the story they see it in my face because I’m this widow and then they see the videos and you see the light turn on. And I’ve heard from people in person after the presentation and in lots of e-mails and the number one comment is, “I never thought about safety in our workplace from the perspective of a first responder going in who wouldn’t be familiar with our building. Your story and your public service announcements and your video helped me change my perspective.” And that’s our goal. And I see that shift when I’m the one doing the presentation.
Maryanne and Sadie on the road
JAMES
Speaking of a shift, back in 2017 you decided to sell your house – put all your belongings into storage – and hit the road with your golden retriever Sadie. Your journey began on January 12, 2018. You left Victoria and headed down into the states for three months of travel and writing staying for short periods in various places and working on different projects and maybe living a bit of a Bohemian life.
MARYANNE
Very Bohemian.
JAMES
What motivated you to take that trip, and what did you learn about yourself as a writer?
Maryanne’s Henna Octopus Tattoo
MARYANNE
That trip was something I had been wanting to do for a long time. I just needed to have the financial freedom of the house behind me and my stuff in storage so I’m not trying to run a household, and the motivation was just to travel and be on the road, and to write, and to eat road trip food. That’s what motivated me. What I learned though – and this is what I’m still baffled about – is that I love that Bohemian lifestyle! I love life on the road!
Like right now I’m staying in one place for three months and I get a lot of work done, but I’m already getting antsy. And I never, never, would have guessed that about myself even though I’ve been a traveller all my life. And I to love travel but I am also a huge homebody but what I’ve discovered about myself is that home for me doesn’t necessarily have to entail being surrounded by my own things in my own home. Home for me is being with my laptop, my writing, my vehicle, my dog and so wherever I am becomes home. I would have never imagined that about myself. I always thought I’d feel like I was on the road but now I find home is wherever I am. It’s a shift in my thinking.
JAMES
So, now you’re able to write anywhere?
MARYANNE
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely anywhere. And my office is all over the place. And I’ve no problem with the discipline. What I have a problem with is the opposite. Turning it off and taking those breaks and saying, “No, it’s Sunday I’m not going to write today.” But I’ve learned that the breaks even if it’s only one or two days a week that I take off – those payoff in spades when I’m back working because that break away makes my writing that much stronger whereas when I work right through, even if it’s only a few extra hours a day, then I burn out.
On the Road Bohemian Writing Space
JAMES
What were some of the best places you went to on your trip for your writing?
MARYANNE
Sedona is magic. Sedona is one of the best places on the earth that I’ve found to write. So, I’ve gone there twice now. Once on my trip and then I went back at the end of September. I went for a week and did some intensive writing. There’s something there, right? There’s the energy and the vortexes and all that sort of stuff. I tap into it. It’s amazing and I’d just go write in the mornings, and then I’d go for a hike in the afternoon, and then I’d just listen to music in the evening. It’s incredible. I got most of a script written there so that was really good. I would go, for sure, to Sedona again.
Bell Rock Sedona, Arizona
MARYANNE
Another place that was extremely magical was Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. And these are all interior like Utah and Arizona which is shocking because I’m a total beach person – a total water person. I live to be by the ocean. And I absolutely loved the Oregon and California coast but these other places were new and just incredible. Yeah, that trip was just life-changing. I had a sense of freedom on that trip that I don’t remember ever experiencing in my life. I loved it. I loved every moment. And Sadie and I had a ball and I got lots of writing done and I just loved it. I loved the whole scene.
Sunrise at Bryce Canyon, Utah
JAMES
You also do a lot of blogging so I’m kind of wondering how did the blogging evolve?
MARYANNE
Sable and Maryanne
I started blogging in 2010 when I sold my home in Calgary, and I was leaving to go and live on Vancouver Island, and I was working with a marketing person who had suggested writing blogs, and I thought, “Oh God I don’t have time to write blogs on top of everything else, I’m stressed. I’m getting out of this house.” Well, wouldn’t you know it my doggie Sable goes blind. So, here I am in this huge house and normally I’d be out visiting a thousand people because I was leaving Calgary, but I couldn’t because my dog was blind and I live in a house full of stairs. So, I physically had to be with her so I’m in this house that’s all packed up and I took her advice and I started to write a blog about this experience of what it’s like to pack up a house with a blind dog starting on a new journey with so much sadness knowing that this dog isn’t going to be around for very long. And then when I got to Vancouver Island I kept blogging regularly, and I liked the feeling of satisfaction you get from completing a short piece after working on longer pieces that are taking so long to finish like my screenplay, God’s Country, which is about Nell Shipman the silent screen star.
On the Road
JAMES
I’ve noticed on your blogs that you’ve posted a couple of quotes from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
MARYANNE
Yes. Yes. Yes.
JAMES
Is that a favourite book?
MARYANNE
Oh, yeah. I’ve read it so many times now.
JAMES
What does it provide you with?
MARYANNE
Oh, it provides me with the reminder that – it’s the quote – that the universe conspires to help us achieve our dreams. The universe is there. It’s got our back. It will do everything it can to help us along and what seems like a setback is not a setback. It is just an opportunity for us to learn the lessons so that we can move forward in our dream. It’s about the power of dreams. And I’m a huge person on believing in dreams. I mean that’s what I live for is to achieve my dream. I just think dreams are hugely important and I just – I don’t know – I just decided a long time ago – for many reasons – the big one being John’s death – that I don’t want to die having lived an unfulfilled life.
Maryanne & Sadie on the road in Utah
JAMES
So, you were on the road when you celebrated your 50th birthday on February 23rd 2018 with friends in Oceanside California. How did you feel about reaching that landmark and did you gain any new insights about yourself or life now that you’ve lived half a century?
MARYANNE
Well, I was just so flipping excited and I still am. I feel way better than I ever thought I would at fifty. At twenty I thought fifty was old, and I had better have achieved everything I wanted to achieve by then because I’d pretty much have just rolled over and died by then. And now that I’m at fifty I feel great. The only thing is I have lots of energy during the day and during my creative time and stuff but I’m pretty much useless after seven pm. And it used to be a joke and funny and now it is what it is and because of the writing and intellectual work that I do all day I need a lot of sleep, and I just shut down at seven o’clock at night and then I just get up early and go for it. You know the bodies not the same. There are wrinkles and stuff but that stuff doesn’t bother me. I just think it’s like Coco Channel said, “You get the face after fifty that you’ve lived.” It shows. And Gloria Steinem said, “After fifty all the bullshit is gone.” And that I’m noticing. Oh my God, my tolerance for people that are pissing me off – that are toxic – that are bringing me down – that are bugging me – whatever – I don’t have the time for it. I don’t have time for all the extra shit that I don’t want to do anymore. And it has just become so much easier to just say no to that.
Heather, Maryanne and Ella, Heather’s daughter, celebrating Maryanne’s 50th Birthday
JAMES
Well, lets talk a little bit about your screenplay God’s Country which as you mentioned is about Nell Shipman the Canadian born silent film actress, screenwriter and director. You’ve been working on that project for a long time so I’m just curious where you’re at with that.
MARYANNE
Ah, yes well that went through a big rewrite in the summer and then I sent it to the director and the producer here in Calgary that I want to work with. And I had a big meeting with the director and he still isn’t happy enough to take it on but we brainstormed ways that I might change it so that he will because I really want to work with these guys they’re so good.
But I had changed the story to be a biopic. So it was cradle to grave and his suggestion was we just need to give it a bit more oomph a bit more magic and you know it’s so funny because this book I’m reading about marketing and stuff which is all about story and about clarifying the message is exactly what this director told me is the flaw in God’s Country at present. Now we have Nell being born – now she’s on vaudeville – now she’s getting married – all this sort of stuff that tells a beautiful story about someone’s life but what is the meat and potatoes of this story.
Canadian actress, author, screenwriter, producer, director, and animal trainer: Nell Shipman
JAMES
Are you talking about her inner motivation?
MARYANNE
Yeah, what does she want? And you know I know her so well now because I’ve lived with this character for fifteen years – I know her family so well now because I’ve become very close with her family – her descendants. And it feels like I’m battling with her instead of working with her. I’m telling the story that she wants me to tell because I’ve read this autobiography and I’ve seen her movies and I want to be true to her but I also want to tell a contemporary story.
I’m just frustrated with myself as a writer because for some odd reason I haven’t always been able to grasp the basics of what a good story is. I’m more of a writer who just wants to tell what I want to tell, and I really don’t care what the textbooks have said about you have to have your inciting incident – you have to have your characters wants – you have to have to have stakes. I know all that but I don’t think I’ve really internalized it and I’m frustrated with myself because those scripts are not getting made.
So now I’m being forced to become a better writer and a better storyteller and that’s not easy, right James? It’s not. It’s growing. It’s exhausting. It’s hard work. I’m tired of being rejected but this is the path I chose and most of the time I love it.
JAMES
John with Sable at Emerald Lake
So, as you mentioned before, your husband John said to you the night before he died, “Maryanne you know that’s exactly what’s going to happen in twenty years. You are not going to become a writer until you make writing a priority until you believe in yourself you will not become a writer.” So now almost twenty years after his death what do you think John would say to you about what you’re doing and what you’ve accomplished with your writing?
MARYANNE
I think he’d be super proud of what I’ve accomplished and where I’m at, but I think he’d be kind of puzzled, as I am puzzled, as to why some projects are taking so long to complete even though I’m doing my job, and I’m showing up every day and doing the work, and I’m finishing a project and then it goes out into the world and then the world sends it back, and I think he’d be interested – I think we’d be having some good conversations about that.
JAMES
So, then looking ahead what is your vision of life as a writer?
MARYANNE
I would say the life of a writer is learning to embrace the process and learn to love the process of writing. Like the day in and day outness of it. So, for me being able to get up in the morning and be super excited where I’m at – no matter where I’m at in the cycle of a project – no matter if it’s going well or not going well. If it’s not going well to embrace the challenge and if it’s going well to go, “Yes, I’m almost done and it’s going to be great.”
Maryanne Pope on the road. “Embracing the process.”
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity. This particular post is a combination of two interviews with Maryanne Pope. One conducted on April 8, 2016, and one conducted on December 8, 2018. DOWNLOAD – James Hutchison Interviews Maryanne Pope
Queen of the Ring by playwright Wendy Froberg is the story of Johnnie Mae Young who spent over seven decades of her life slamming, punching and clawing her way to the top of the women’s professional wrestling world. Despite her pin-up good looks, she was a trash-talking bad girl the crowds loved to hate. From the carnival sideshows of the dirty thirties to the glitz and drama of the WWE, Mae Young rose to fame as the toughest, most dangerous female and one of the top attractions in the rough and tumble, disreputable world of old-school pro wrestling.
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, Wendy, how did you stumble upon the story of Johnnie Mae Young?
WENDY FROBERG
I was reading my Facebook newsfeed in early 2014 and a story came up about her because she had just died at the age of 90. And even though I’m a native Calgarian and I grew up with Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling I’d never heard of Johnnie Mae Young. The photo of this blonde bombshell throwing another woman around a wrestling ring captivated me and I just had to click on the link and once I started, I couldn’t stop. Everything I read led me to the conclusion that this was one of those, truth is stranger than fiction, stories that needed to be told.
JAMES
Well, why did you feel this need to tell her story and write a play?
WENDY
This woman wrestled from the dirty thirties of the depression era right up to the post-millennium WWE. Seven decades. Can you imagine stepping into the wrestling ring and getting tossed around when you’re in your eighties?
Johnnie Mae and other female wrestlers like her had to overcome incredible odds to make their mark in a world dominated by men. A lot of them escaped brutal childhoods where they were neglected or abused, and they were exploited physically, sexually and financially by the male wrestling promoters who they depended on to make a living.
These women lived in a time when women were supposed to be demure ladies in heels and make-up, and not down-and-dirty, ass-kicking fighters. They broke the rules about how women were supposed to behave sometimes at a great cost to themselves. These women were feminists before we had a name for it. They were trailblazers who proved that despite the theatricality and fakery involved in wrestling it’s a true sport and they were bona fide athletes.
And as someone who writes for the theatre, you can’t find anything more theatrical than professional wrestling! So, audiences coming to the show should be prepared for a lot of physicality, some sweating, and slamming, and maybe even being made to feel a little uncomfortable by the rawness of Mae’s life. But don’t be afraid to get involved in the moment because we all know it’s always a lot more fun when you pretend it’s real!
JAMES
What sort of message do you think Mae’s story has for the people of today?
WENDY
There has always been a history of people in power, often white men, taking advantage of those with less power, often women and people of colour, and so I think Mae’s story is very timely considering the greater awareness and growing power of the #metoo and #timesup movements. Mae and her colleagues fought back against their exploitation and rose to create lives of truthfulness and empowerment. She knew she had skills, talent, ambition, and drive and didn’t let anyone stand in her way which sometimes led to real fights outside of the ring as well as in. But it’s also true that she used her sexuality as a source of power and this brings up another question we grapple with today and that’s if a woman chooses to use her sexuality to get ahead, is she still being exploited because it’s largely men who want what she has? That’s something I’ll let the audience decide for themselves.
JAMES
Any time you tell a story there’s a certain amount of poetic license involved. How did you balance the real story of Mae’s life with the needs of creating a compelling story for the stage?
WENDY
I wanted to honour this woman by telling her story accurately, but you can’t fit everything in because there just isn’t enough time in a stage play. Sometimes you have to condense characters or change the order or timing of events. But I’ll say this: the characters in the show are real people and the events really did happen and the spirit of her story, the amazing contributions she made to the sport of wrestling, is one hundred percent truthful.
JAMES
Tell me about the creative team behind the production. Who is the cast and who is the director and what’s it been like to work with that team?
WENDY
I’ve been so impressed with the professionalism of Attollo Productions. They’re a new company and they’ve worked hard and employed all their creative skills to figure out a way to tell Mae’s story in a compelling, exciting and engaging way. They’ve respected my script and my role as the playwright and they’ve honoured the actors time, skills and process. The production is being directed by Chelsea Friesen who is also a fight choreographer, so she’ll be ensuring the safety of our actors while working with all the performers to make the wrestling moves believable. Brett Waring is producing the play and she’s also the dialect coach and assistant fight director on the production. Chelsea and Brett and several of the other cast members had previously worked on developing Queen of the Ring so I’m grateful we’ve been able to keep many of the original cast and I’m really honoured they’ve chosen my play for their inaugural production.
JAMES
So, who should come and see the show?
WENDY
Everyone—assuming you’re eighteen or over. The producers decided that since the show is raw and deals with sensitive subject matter such as sexual abuse, it would be best to limit the audience to adults. If you love a good, rollicking story, if you’re interested in the history of an unusual, sometimes wild and wacky sport, if you love stories about real-life, flawed people who nevertheless inspire us as we see them overcome obstacles and live their truth—then this play is for you.
JAMES
If Mae were alive today and could come to see the show you’ve created what do you think she’d say – or what do you hope she’d say?
WENDY
Well, I’d be scared shitless if I got it wrong and she didn’t like it, because that woman – literally – wouldn’t pull any punches about letting me know what she thought. I do think—or hope—she’d see that we’ve recognized the depth of her skill and tenacity, the obstacles that she and her fellow female wrestlers had to overcome to survive and thrive in a tough, unfair world, and the fact that she didn’t care about being nice or liked, as so many women do. We didn’t sugar-coat anything or cover up any ugly realities about her less-than-perfect behavior. We captured her strength, resilience, and love of the sport as both an athlete and an entertainer. Mae Young truly did it her way and I think she’d agree that we showed that.
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CAST: Jade Benoit, Hailey Carr, Chris Gibson, Kathryn Kozody, Fred Krysko, Jesselle Lauren, Shaylea Pangle
CREATIVE TEAM: Playwright Wendy Froberg, Director & Fight Director/Choreographer: Chelsea Friesen, Stage Manager: Danelle White, Producer & Dialect Coach & Assistant Fight Choreographer: Brett Waring, Intimacy Director: Anastasia St. Amand, Costume Design: Christie Johnson, Props Manager/Costume Intern: Kaylee Pratt, Dramaturg: Caroline Russell-King Produced by Attollo Productions.
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WENDY FROBERG: Wendy’s solo shows Interruptions and A Woman of a Certain Age® were each awarded “Outstanding Original Script” at the 2011 and 2013 Calgary One-Act Play Festivals, with AWOAC going on to win “Best of Fest” at the Calgary International Fringe Festival. Her plays, Riches and Best Interests, were produced in 2013 and 2014 by Urban Stories Theatre. She wrote the libretto for the 2015 Cowtown Opera Company production Annie Davidson. Wendy is also an actor who has appeared on stage with Theatre BSMT, Morpheus, Urban Curvz, Fire Exit and Scorpio theatres in a wide range of roles. In addition to working in theatre, Wendy is a registered clinical psychologist. She hopes you, like her, are inspired by the story of Mae Young and her fellow tough broads of wrestling!
If you have ambitions of pursuing a career as a screenwriter or television showrunner then I’d highly recommend you attend the Austin Film Festival. I attended the 2018 Austin Film Festival Writer’s Conference and found it to be a very rewarding and exciting opportunity to connect with industry professionals as well as up-and-coming writers. This interview with Matt Dy, the Director of Competitions about the Austin Film Festival will give you a comprehensive overview of what the festival is about and why you should enter the competition.
Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Austin Film Festival Barbara Morgan talks with the 2017 AFF Awardees: Walter Hill, Keenen Ivory Wayans, and Kenneth Lonergan.
We all have favourite stories – favourite films – favourite television shows and books and plays – because these stories somehow reach us. They make us laugh, or cry, or reflect more deeply about life, or simply give us a momentary escape from our troubles.
That’s why I’m really excited to announce that my play Masquerade is a finalist in the stage play competition at this years Austin Film Festival – which is a festival that’s dedicated to story. Masquerade is about an empty nest couple, Sarah and Glenn, that have drifted apart. They were talking divorce and selling the house until they discovered a book called: A Good Marriage is Just a Fantasy by Dr. Ravi Shasta. Basically, it’s a book about exploring your sexual fantasies with your partner. Unfortunately, sometimes what is real and what is fantasy can become blurred and what was intended to bring a couple closer together can sometimes drive them apart.
The Austin Film Festival is a celebration of film and television that focuses on story and the people who write the screenplays and teleplays. The festival features industry professionals as well as up and coming writers. I’ll be flying down to Austin to participate in the festival as well the staged reading of my play. I gave Matt Dy, the Director of Competitions for The Austin Film Festival, a call to talk to him about how the festival began and what participants can expect.
Gabbi Lindgren, Script Competitions Coordinator & Matt Dy, Director of Script Competitions – Austin Film Festival
JAMES HUTCHISON
The Austin Film Festival was founded in 1993 by Barbara Morgan, who still serves as Festival Director, for the purpose of furthering the art and craft and business of screenwriting and filmmaking. So, I’m curious over the last twenty-five-year history of the festival how have those founding goals been developed?
MATT DY
The Festival was also co-founded by Marsha Milam who is still involved in a limited capacity, but Barbara Morgan is sole Executive Director for the Festival now. The two of them started the festival because they felt there was a need for a community like this. There really wasn’t a writer’s festival let alone very many screenplay competitions at the time. There were maybe a handful and now there are hundreds of them in existence, but we’re one of the original ones which is a really nice thing to be able to say.
The thing that still remains intact over the twenty-five-year history of the festival is our goal and mission to champion the screenwriter. We’re now open to playwrights and eventually we may become more of a hub for all forms of story because we’re also expanding into fiction podcasting and we have a digital series component as well – content for the web – so there’s a lot of different formats that we’ve embraced over the years but the mission to champion the writer is still the same.
First Day of the Austin Film Festival in 2017 – a room full of storytellers.
JAMES
You know when I think of successful screenwriters they might have different success stories but I’m wondering if there might be a couple of qualities that sets the successful screenwriter apart and I’m thinking one of those qualities is having a dedication to the craft. In what way do you think a dedication to the craft benefits a writer’s career and development?
MATT
That is absolutely essential and it’s easier said than done. I’m a writer as well and I tend not to take my own advice – to write every day you know – you hear of people who have nine to five jobs and they’re married, and they have kids, and maybe they have a second job, and they still make time to write. So my thing is to not make excuses anymore and just do it. It is about dedication. It is about finding time to write because, as a writer, you want to treat the writing as if it’s going to be your job. You need to set deadlines and goals and that’s why competitions are a great thing for writers because you work towards a deadline to get your script in for the competition.
It’s also teaching you about persistence. You’re a finalist in our Stage Play Competition. You’re in the top three out of 655 plays that were submitted but a lot of people that didn’t make it as far as you have may actually have a really good play and we may have overlooked it because – it’s a little bit of the luck of the draw – trying to find a good match for the reader that might respond to it. It’s a human process, and it’s incredibly subjective, so you’re going to get different results from different competitions, and so it’s also about being persistent and moving on and entering the next competition
JAMES
Enter other ones or give it a rewrite and enter again.
MATT
Yeah, and you’ll find that exists in every creative field. And if you pick any popular film or stage play that has gotten produced – if you talk to those writers they will tell you consistently that they had so many doors closed on them – so many people told them this would never get produced or shouldn’t be produced and yet they still got it produced. And so the writer’s process is to write every day and stay persistent, stay focused, and write the story you want to tell.
Writer, director, actor Dennis Hopper at the Austin Film Festival in 1997.
JAMES
You said you’re a writer yourself so I’m just wondering from your own perspective – because you’re surrounded by writers – what does keep someone going? I mean those rejection letters are piling up and you work for years for little money…what is that keeps writers going? Why do they keep writing stories?
MATT
Passion. Love. A lot of playwrights are incredibly passionate – they love their work – they do it for the love of the art – and I think a lot of screenwriters feel the same way. It’s a dream and if you don’t have a dream it’s hard to find the motivation to get up each day and work on that passion project
JAMES
I wonder if part of it might be realizing that when you sit down at your desk to begin the research, the writing, the outlining or just diving into writing your script you might be starting a ten or fifteen or twenty-year journey in order to realize that project.
MATT
Absolutely. Everybody has their own process. There are some writers who end up having one project that they spend their entire lives working on, but there are other writers who work on many different projects all at the same time because they know their one pet project may not be the one that gets them discovered.
JAMES
The festival has a number of writing competitions. You’ve got the feature-length drama. You’ve got the comedy feature. Horror. Sci-fi. So you’ve got lots of different categories, but I’m wondering, regardless of the genre, do you notice anything that the winning scripts seem to possess? Something in them that makes this writing stand out.
MATT
I think if I had to pin it on one thing it would be stories that have that unique voice – that unique perspective. Those stories end up winning or advancing in the competition. It’s always their unique spin on a familiar story. A different perspective so that when you’re reading it you go, “Oh that’s brilliant. I wasn’t expecting that.”
Each writer is going to have their own perspective on the world and so their version of a story is going to be different than someone else’s version of the story, and you can tell when they’re writing something for themselves for the passion and for the love of their story rather than when they’re trying to write something for the masses that they think would sell.
Writer/Director Robert Altman – M.A.S.H., McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Nashville, and The Player talks with screenwriter and actor Buck Henry – The Graduate, Get Smart, and Catch 22 at the Austin Film Festival.
JAMES
You bring up an interesting point because I just watched Get Out which was a huge hit last year and so I’m wondering when you have a hit like that – a film that, you know, is well made, does well at the box office, gets awards – does the success of that film, in the marketplace, influence the types of scripts you see being entered into the festival?
MATT
Oh yeah, not just the marketplace but also the climate – and what’s happening politically and what’s been happening in the industry with movements for diversity. All these different ancillary things that are happening in the world obviously effect what people are writing and submitting to the competition. You can definitely feel that when you’re reading scripts, and you’ll find that there are many people who are commenting on the current President and many of the other things that are happening in the Zeitgeist because we write to talk about and make sense of the world we live in.
Of course, there are going to be people who are going to try and anticipate what is marketable and usually if they try to emulate what’s popular right now they’re too late because those projects were long in gestation and they’re striking a cord now. As a writer, you should just continue to write what you’re passionate about and then something might happen to make your script a timely subject. There was a playwright here from last year in the playwriting competition who happened to write a play about immigration on a border town in Texas. It was a play she had written a long time ago that never got produced but she pulled that back out of her drawer because she knew this is the time for it.
JAMES
Well, let’s talk a little bit about the festival. There are two components. There’s the film festival and there’s the conference and the conference is filled with industry professionals and established as well as up and coming writers. What’s the conference part of the festival about?
MATT
I like to call it summer camp for screenwriters except it’s only four days. It sort of has that Kumbaya feel when you first arrive. It’s palatable – at least for me. You know you can stereotype writers and say they’re all an isolated bunch who are very introverted who don’t like to converse or be communal, but I find that even the most introverted screenwriter, deep down, really wants to connect, and I think when they realize that wow, I’m not the only one who feels that way, and they come to a conference where it’s a bunch of introverts and a lot of thinkers and creative types who are just like them then the walls start to come down. And we try to make it easy for them to get to know each other and just converse and make friends. Usually without fail that’s what happens.
Samuel Weller, Allison Norlian, Sean Collins-Smith, and Emily McGregor at one of the many mix and mingle functions at the 2017 Austin Film Festival
MATT
I also think a lot of people come to the conference with the goal of getting their script sold and produced or getting an agent or manager but that rarely ever happens at the festival. I like to think of the festival as an incubator where things just take time to develop. Like you’re planting the seeds. You’re making connections with people you wouldn’t normally be able to meet. If you place in the competition you’re going through a special track of panels with people who are just like you – quality writers, talented people with great ideas, so you’re in a very talented room with people that you’re going to several events with and you never know you might find your next collaborator or somebody who would love to read your work and would introduce you to somebody that they know in the industry and so usually those are where most of the success stories come from.
JAMES
As a participant in the conference there are panels there are readings what kind of things are happening?
MATT
Everything that happens at the conference is about the creative and business sides of story, so if you want to learn about other people’s writing process and how you can apply that to your own writing you can do that, or if you’re really wanting to understand how it works in the TV writers room we usually have that covered. We have pitching opportunities, we have script reading workshops, we have an indie filmmaker track as well if you’re a filmmaker and want to learn more about microbudget filmmaking. We have a playwriting track. We have a panel that covers writing for webisodes. We have a script to screen series where writers will show a few clips from their film or show and show the process of what they wrote and how that translated to the screen. We have a conversation series with people who just talk about their career in general and usually, those are the bigger people and in particular our awardees like Tony Gilroy
Barbara Morgan co-founder and Executive Director of The Austin Film Festival hosts In Conversation with Kenneth Lonergan the writer/director of Manchester by the Sea.
JAMES
Why don’t we talk a little bit about that since you brought it up? As part of the festival, you honour screenwriters and filmmakers, and the very first person that was honoured at the festival was Horton Foote who wrote Tender Mercies and adapted To Kill a Mockingbird for the screen, and then last year you had Kenneth Lonergan at the festival who wrote and directed Manchester by the Sea. Who are you honouring this year and why?
MATT
I mentioned Tony Gilroy who is a screenwriter and filmmaker. He’s somebody that we’ve tried to get for a very long time. We try and find people that have a rich history of contributing to storytelling and also have an ability to be accessible to our audience because that’s something we also pride ourselves in is that you have an opportunity to meet Tony Gilroy and talk with him or meet somebody like Vince Gilligan the creator and showrunner for Breaking Bad who took the time to meet everybody when he was here for the festival.
Tony Gilroy is the writer/director of the Oscar Nominated thriller Michael Clayton starring George Clooney. He also wrote the first three Bourne films and co-wrote and directed the fourth film in the franchise. More recently he is the co-writer of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the writer/producer of the political thriller Beirut starring Jon Hamm and Rosamund Pike.
MATT
Another awardee we have this year is Daniel Petrie, Jr. who we’re giving our Heart of Film Award and we invited him because he’s been involved with the festival for such a long time and he really loves our festival and he’s very giving and he comes almost every year and we even gave his production company a category the Enderby Entertainment award because his company produced a finalist script from I think 2008 or 9 from our competition and it premiered here at the festival, and they’ve worked with many writers that they’ve met here at the festival. And so usually we try to find in an awardee who has left a mark on the industry and is somebody who can share words of wisdom for the next generation of creators.
Daniel Petrie, Jr. will receive the Heart of Film Award for his many contributions to the film and television industry and his service to the screenwriting community. Dan’s screenwriting credits include the Oscar-nominated Beverly Hills Cop as well as The Big Easy, Shoot to Kill, and Turner and Hooch. Dan is also a two-term past president of the Writers Guild of America West and a long time panelist and supporter of the Austin Film Festival.
JAMES
And you’re also honouring Roger Corman. How many careers has he helped launch?
MATT
Yes, I know that’s another reason it was very clear why we chose him because when you find out all the careers he’s started you wonder why he hasn’t received more credit. It was clear for us that he needed to be an awardee.
Roger Corman has been credited with discovering such talent as Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Diane Ladd, Peter Bogdanovich, Martin Scorsese, and James Cameron. He is the director of over 500 films including Little Shop of Horrors, Death Race 2000, and The Pit and the Pendulum. Corman’s company New World Pictures was also a distributor of foreign cinema including the work of Francois Truffaut, Akira Kurosawa, and Federico Fellini.
JAMES
And then you’ve got Larry Wilmore.
MATT
Yes, and he’s somebody else who has been so great as well. Somebody who has been great talking with our attendees and very giving and very accessible as well.
Emmy Award winning Larry Wilmore has been a television producer, actor, comedian and writer for more than 25 years. Wilmore created the Bernie Mac Show which ran for five seasons on FOX and recently helped launch ABC’s Black-ish. On camera, Wilmore was the “Senior Black Correspondent” on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and was the host of his own show The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore for two years on Comedy Central.
JAMES
So, my play Masquerade is a finalist in this year’s Stage Play Competition and I’m really excited to be attending the festival, but I was curious about why you decided to add a stage play category to the film festival?
MATT
It was our Executive Director who had the idea to do it because we work with many playwrights, and we find that many screenwriters and tv writers aren’t just screenwriters and tv writers they also have plays and a lot of these people have been asking us to start a playwriting competition. A lot of playwrights living in New York City, for example, find it hard to make any money as a playwright so a lot of them make their money in TV. The Americans, House of Cards, Orange is the New Black those writer’s rooms took place in New York and a lot of them consisted of playwrights. We started the screenplay competition in 1994 because there was a need for something like that and so we thought this would be a great way for playwrights who want to make that transition into film and television to utilize the resources that we already have in place. And also to give recognition to your own play because the placement and the exposure your play gets from the festival could help get it produced because every playwright still wants to have their play produced.
JAMES
Let’s talk about the other aspect of the festival – so you’ve got the conference part but it’s also a film festival and the film festival runs for an additional four or five days after the conference ends. What are some of the highlights coming up this year as far as films go?
Closing Night Film at the 2018 Austin Film Festival is The Front Runner starring Hugh Jackman. Based on the real-life story of politician Gary Hart whose 1988 run for the Democratic Presidential Nomination was sidelined by reports of an extramarital affair with Donna Rice.
MATT
What I love about our film festival is that our mission to honour the writer still exists. All the awards that are handed out for the different categories in the film competition are handed out to the writers of the film. Not the director or the producer. You know when you watch award shows or you’re at a film festival and they announce the best picture they usually hand out the awards to the director and the producing team. Unless it’s a writer/director but usually the writer isn’t involved with directing or producing they just wrote the script. But at our festival, the writer is the one who actually receives the award. We put a stronger emphasis on the quality of the writing than the marketability or the production values of the films that are chosen to be in the festival. So story really is the thing that we look for the most.
Greta Gerwig the writer and director of the Oscar-nominated film Lady Bird attends the 2017 Austin Film Festival screening of her film.
MATT
The thing that’s nice about our festival is that we’re after Toronto after Venice – after all the bigger film festivals that have those Oscar contenders – and so we have a lot of those big films that end up getting nominated for Oscars. Last year, I think, we might have had nine or ten of them. We had Lady Bird, Three Billboards, I Tonya, Mudbound, and Call Me By Your Name.
JAMES
That was quite the lineup.
MATT
And while a lot of people are going to be gravitating towards the bigger marquee films that we have this year like The Favourite or Boy Erased or Widows you don’t want to miss out on all the other films that are playing within the film festival competition because those are films that you might not be able to see anywhere else anytime soon.
JAMES
So, as I mentioned this is my first time going to the conference. What basic tips or advice can you tell me about coming to the festival that I should know and would help prep me or anybody else who is going?
MATT
Well, get familiar with our list of panelists that are attending the festival and the conference. Find out if your screenwriting heroes are going to be here because they’re going to be out during the festival. They’re going to be at the Driskill bar and they’re going to be at the partner parties and their badge is just going to say their name. It won’t tell you any of their credits or if they’re a panelist. So you never know who you’re going to be standing next to and if you recognize them you can respectfully introduce yourself like, “Hi I’m a finalist in the playwriting competition.” And there aren’t very many finalists. There’s about fifty of you and that’s a huge difference from the ten thousand five hundred scripts that were submitted this year. And your badge will say finalist and you should wear that badge proudly and introduce yourself, “I’m James, I’m a finalist in the playwriting competition.” And that is something that will hopefully open doors. “Oh, you’re a finalist. Okay, tell me about your play.” And of course what’s also going to happen next is, “Well what else are you working on?” And so be prepared to talk about other work that you’ve written and of course be ready to talk about your play.
2017 Panelists Amy Berg, Eric Heisserer, Megan Amram, and Raamla Mohamed attend the Writers Guild of America West Welcome Party
MATT
You’d be surprised how many writers come here and they have a fantastic piece of work but they don’t know how to talk about it to people. So, just be prepared for that elevator pitch but I wouldn’t necessarily call it pitching at the festival because nobody really likes to be pitched to. A lot of these agents and managers and producers who are here are here to have a good time and to meet writers and contribute to the festival. They don’t want to be treated as if the only reason you’re talking to them is so you can send them your script – there’s so many people that are after them that they just want to be treated like a human being.
JAMES
Well, treat them like you would want to be treated if you were in their position.
MATT
Yeah, exactly and as a manager, it’s all about the relationship and so if that’s how you’re going into it they’re probably going to think I’m not sure I want a relationship with this person. And don’t forget about your fellow writers that are sitting right next to you because you know everybody comes here wanting to try and meet the panelist or agents and managers but it’s a chance for you to meet other writers like yourself and develop your network and friendships and your professional relationships.
JAMES
I was thinking about the legacy of the festival. And I have to say I really like what you guys are doing with the Austin Film Festival – On Story. Tell me a little bit about how that started and what you guys are doing with that part of the festival.
MATT
So, Barb our Executive Director had always envisioned that we would have a TV show and so she had the foresight to record all of our panels during the festival and to keep a record of it so that we could utilize it in some way one day. And we also had a lot of people who attended our festival asking if we had any recordings so there was a demand for it. And so we went through our archives and created a quality product that PBS loved and picked up and our marketing team has gotten us in almost all the markets for PBS and now On Story has expanded into a book and a radio show on PRI and we have a podcast as well. So On Story has really become its own brand and people really love it.
JAMES
I watched a couple of them on YouTube and shared them through Facebook, and Twitter and Instagram. I watched Carl Reiner talking about the early days of working on the Dick Van Dyck Show and it was really interesting, and I watched Kenneth Lonergan who you had here last year and I thought it’s nice to have those things available.
Vince Gilligan creator of Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul at the 2013 Austin Film Festival
MATT
And we’re proud to say we’re an Emmy award winner as well. We won an Emmy for our episode featuring Vince Gilligan whom I had mentioned earlier and actually, we’re nominated this year for an Emmy for our episode featuring Eric Heisserer the writer for Arrival.
JAMES
I’ll have to hunt those down and watch them. Are there any legendary stories from the festival that you can share?
MATT
Oh God. Legendary stories. Well from the first year the winning script in our competition actually got optioned and produced rather quickly. It was called Excess Baggage and it was written by Max D. Adams. It had Alicia Silverstone and Benicio Del Toro in it.
I believe the first screenwriters’ conference for AFF happened at Willie Nelson’s old opera house, but it was run down, and it was rainy but somehow it brought people together, and you know we said magic happened there. I wasn’t around for it but this is what our director Barbara Morgan has said repeatedly over and over again – that magic happened there despite all the chaos because everybody was there because they believed in story and telling their stories. And a lot of big influential people from Columbia Pictures were there as well and they felt the magic too, and I think that helped encourage them to become more involved with us and to see us as a legitimate resource for writers, and they optioned that first script and produced it and that’s really what put us on the map.
Austin Film Festival 2017 Awards Lunch (L to R) Walter Hill, Extraordinary Contribution to Film, Keenen Ivory Wayans – Extraordinary Contribution to Television, Kenneth Lonergan, Distinguished Screenwriter
MATT
And you know what feels legendary for me each year is the Awards Luncheon and hopefully you’ll see that and feel that too when you’re here because the awards luncheon is where we celebrate the winners in the competition and win or lose it’s still a really great event because on that stage we are awarding up and coming writers from our competition and we’re also honouring the established writers like the Tony Gilroys, the Larry Wilmores, Roger Corman, Dan Petrie and so they’re all on the same stage together. And what’s so beautiful is that one of those awardees, almost without fail, will comment on what they’ve seen from the up and coming writers. They’re deeply moved by the time they get up on stage because they’re also not sure what to expect at our festival. So, when they see we’re really championing the writer and they’re hearing all the winner’s stories and we even have a young filmmakers award so they end up seeing young kids going up there and accepting awards too it makes an impact. And these kids are in awe of what they are seeing – you know these teenagers are seeing people from different backgrounds and ages winning our script competition and our film competition and then they’re seeing highly established people as well and so that’s really inspiring for the next generation of young people who are going to continue to create and write and tell stories. And for me, that feels legendary because everybody always comes away feeling so invigorated and inspired.
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The Austin Film Festival and Writers Conference runs from October 25th to November 1st. You can check out all the details regarding the Festival at their website online.
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AFF is pleased to announce the 2018 Script Competition Finalists and Winners. 51 scripts were chosen for the Final Round with one winner to be determined in each of the 13 categories. The winners were announced during this year’s Conference at the Awards Luncheon held on Saturday, October 27 at the Austin Club. (Winners in Bold.)
COMEDY FEATURE SCREENPLAY Presented by Sony Pictures Animation
Sex APPeal by Tate Elizabeth Hanyok Darryn the Bold and the Sword of Boldness by Justin Best Meet Cute by Noga Pnueli My Date Is Kate by Carlin Adelson Orientation by Eve Symington
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DRAMA FEATURE SCREENPLAY Presented by Writers Guild of America, East
Horsehead Girls by Wenonah Wilms The Death of Colm Canter by Revati Dhomse & Hector Lowe Dig Two Graves by Jared Schincariol The Huntress by Abdullah Alhendyani The Innocent and the Vicious by Dominique Genest & Nick Kreiss
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SCI-FI FEATURE SCREENPLAY Open to science fiction, fantasy, horror, surrealism, myth/legend and fantastical storytelling.
Our Own Devices by Paul Vance Darryn the Bold and the Sword of Boldness by Justin Best No Man’s Land by Jeffrey R. Field & Michelle Davidson
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HORROR FEATURE SCREENPLAY Open to thrillers, dark suspense, sci-fi, and macabre themes.
The Patience of Vultures by Greg Sisco Blood of Israel by Davey Morrison Shaky Shivers by Andrew McAllister & Aaron Strongoni
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ENDERBY ENTERTAINMENT AWARD For feature scripts in all genres with an original concept and distinctive voice that can be produced for under $10 million. The production company was founded by Rick Dugdale and Daniel Petrie, Jr.
Project Horizon by Charles Morris Grit N’ Glitter by Seth Michael Donsky The Patience of Vultures by Greg Sisco Put Your Hands In by Warner James Wood Surfmen by Christopher Rhoads
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AMC DRAMA TELEPLAY PILOT All Semifinalists will be reviewed exclusively by AMC who will determine the Finalists and eventual Winner.
Worth by Stuti Malhotra Double Time Dames by Davia Carter Liberty Falls by Robert Attenweiler Lifers Anonymous by Sean Collins-Smith Mindset by Ethan Solli & Ziba Sadeghinejad Ticker by Connie O’Donahue & Jeremy Nielsen
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COMEDY TELEPLAY PILOT
What Will Jessie Do? by KevinLuperchio Band of Mothers by Sabrina Brennan Bastards by Erin Muroski The Last Abortion Clinic in Kansas by Tammy Caplan Rice, Fish, and La Croix by Naomi Iwamoto
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DRAMA TELEPLAY SPEC
The Handmaid’s Tale: Rebels by Angela Jorgensen Billions: Trust by Amanda Parham The Handmaid’s Tale: The Abduction by Todd Goodlett
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COMEDY TELEPLAY SPEC
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Volunteers! by Maggie Gottlieb Better Things: Goy Vey by Robert Axelrod Master of None: Headspace by Honora Talbott
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SHORT SCREENPLAY
Ruby Throat by Sarah Polhaus Seat 23B by Eliott Behar A War on Terror by Peter Haig
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SCRIPTED DIGITAL SERIES Presented by Stage 13
Epizootic by Daniel Young Halcyon by Jonathan Marx hello, world\ by Michelle Sarkany
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STAGE PLAY
Particular Disposition by Benjamin Fulk Masquerade by James Hutchison Disposable Necessities by Neil McGowan
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FICTION PODCAST
The Rest Stop at the End of the Universe by Samuel Suksiri Alethea by Katrina Day & Phillip R. Polefrone Forces by Len Sousa Welles D-11 by Simon Nicholas
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JOSEPHSON ENTERTAINMENT SCREENWRITING FELLOWSHIP FINALISTS In addition to this year’s Script Competition Finalists, we are proud to announce the Finalists for the inaugural Josephson Entertainment Screenwriting Fellowship. This new opportunity will provide a one-on-one mentorship with producer Barry Josephson and his team in Los Angeles for the writers of one feature screenplay and one teleplay pilot.
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Feature Screenplays
The Death of Colm Canter by Revati Dhomse & Hector Lowe Darryn the Bold and the Sword of Boldness by Justin Best Meet Cute by Noga Pnueli The Patience of Vultures by Greg Sisco Sex APPeal by Tate Elizabeth Hanyok
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Teleplay Pilots
Lifers Anonymous by Sean Collins-Smith Band of Mothers by Sabrina Brennan Mindset by Ethan Solli & Ziba Sadeghinejad Ticker by Connie O’Donahue & Jeremy Nielsen Worth by Stuti Malhotra
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Revised on November 26, 2018.
You might know Barb Mitchell as the cohost of Calgary’s first morning show for Global back in the early nineties. Or you might remember her as Miss Calgary back in the early eighties. Or more recently you might have seen her on television as a judgmental church lady in the gritty Depression-era drama Damnation. I sat down with Barb, just after this year’s Calgary Stampede, to talk with her about her experiences as a broadcaster and her career as a stage and television actor.
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, your first experience on stage was playing Piglet from Winnie the Pooh in Junior High – certainly one of the more complex characters in the hundred-acre wood.
BARB MITCHELL
Yes, I did a deep dive into Piglet.
JAMES
Was there anything from that performance that ignited your love for the stage?
BARB
Well, I loved my drama teacher, Miss Main. She was incredible and fun, and we got to escape and experiment and I loved it – so when they didn’t have enough kids turn out for the play and she asked me to be in it I jumped in and did it.
Barb takes a “deep dive into Piglet” from the Hundred Acre Wood
Haysam Kadri Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Company
Haysam Kadri Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Company talks about Hamlet, theatre, and just how the Shakespeare Company’s Madness in Great Ones season came about. Hamlet will be haunting several Calgary stages over the coming year as The Shakespeare Company along with Hit & Myth Productions have partnered with Vertigo Theatre, The High Performance Rodeo, and Alberta Theatre Projects, to bring Calgary audiences four different tellings of the melancholy Dane’s tragic tale. It’s a full season of Hamlet!
JAMES HUTCHISON
I was wondering as the Shakespeare Company what are some of the challenges you face mounting a large cast show with a really short rehearsal period?
HAYSAM KADRI ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE SHAKESPEARE COMPANY
We have the best mandate and the worst mandate at the same time because we always have to populate the stage with ten to fifteen people which always has its challenges. Anytime anybody does Shakespeare you never have enough time, but what the Shakespeare Company has found out is that brevity is the soul of wit. When you trim some of the fat that Shakespeare gives you we find it makes the plays more accessible to an audience and we find that it’s better for the process technically of rehearsing and putting up a play. Because it’s not a kitchen sink drama. There are a lot of things going on. There are supernatural elements. There’s war. There’s fight scenes. There’s these extraordinary characters in extraordinary circumstances.
JAMES
These are big stories.
HAYSAM
They are big stories. It’s never easy to put them up in three and a half weeks let alone five weeks or six weeks. When it comes down to it it’s about money and ultimately you have to be lean and mean which is our company motto and as efficient as possible.
JAMES
When you’re mounting a play you’ve done before and you’re familiar with it as an actor or director does getting a second or third chance at it make it easier to mount?
HAYSAM
The first time we remounted a play was when we put on The Scottish Play with Vertigo Theatre. The Vertigo patrons just loved it and so what happened was they snatched up a lot of the tickets and then our patrons came on board and the run was already sold out. So, it was incumbent upon the Shakespeare Company and myself to reprogram it for the following season. Number one because there were a lot of our patrons that didn’t get a chance to see it and number two as a company for efficiency. The sets were already built. The production is in hand. The rehearsal process is shortened. And so it was a no-brainer and you know it’s been the most successful show in the history of the company.
Anna Cummer as Lady Macbeth and Haysam Kadri as Macbeth in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Macbeth. Directed by Craig Hall. A Coproduction of Vertigo Theatre, The Shakespeare Company and Hit & Myth Productions. Photograph Benjamin Laird
JAMES
You took over the company in 2012. How have the last six years gone in terms of what you wanted to do with the Shakespeare Company and where you’re at now?
HAYSAM
You know when I took over the company in 2012 I had never run a company before, so I had a clean slate and I was able to start building the culture that I wanted. I really wanted to build and increase the skill set of the performers and the performances. So, I felt it was really important to start developing a strong core of equity actors to comprise half the company. That’s a very expensive initiative but I felt it was really important.
The other important thing was to make Shakespeare much more accessible to a larger audience. All our Shakespeare plays are two hours with a fifteen-minute intermission and since I took over we’ve increased our audience by four-hundred and fifty percent and we’ve extended all our runs to three weeks and we hire on average six equity actors per show and we’ve developed and built a core audience.
We really wanted to key in on those young students in high school that get a bad taste in their mouth for Shakespeare because they think it’s three hours long and it’s boring and it’s in a foreign language and so we’ve done everything we can to make it really accessible. And you know that’s one of the benefits of being in the studio theatre. You see the blood on the Scottish King’s face and it’s visceral and it’s present and it’s intimate and so we benefit from a small space even though we’d love to expand to a bigger space which we will be doing for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
And as our high school contingent has grown into young professionals or gone on to university they’ve been coming on their own. They’re not coming in school groups anymore they’re single ticket buyers and they’ve become part of the fabric of our patronage. So, our 18 to 25 demographics are unreal and amazing and has been our biggest success.
Cast members in Alberta Theatre Projects’ presentation of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard. A Shakespeare Company and Hit & Myth Production. Photo: Benjamin Laird. (Set: Scott Reid. Lights: David Fraser. Costumes: Hanne Loosen)
JAMES
So, let’s talk about the new season since you mentioned Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and that’s the first play of your season focused on Hamlet. Where did the idea for Madness in Great Ones originate?
HAYSAM
I’ll confess, I didn’t think I was going to do an all Hamlet season, it wasn’t an epiphany that I had. What happened was I was in talks with Craig Hall the Artistic Director at Vertigo Theatre and we wanted to collaborate again because Mackers was such a big success and we would be totally remise if we did not entertain another partnership. And Craig and I had always wanted to do Hamlet because Hamlet is a ghost story and Vertigo Theatre is a mystery theatre and so we started with Hamlet and Vertigo.
HAYSAM
And then I talked to David Fraser the production manager over at ATP and I said, “Hey, what would it take for us to be in your space?” And David and I just started talking and then he talked to the artistic team and the artistic team came back to me and they said give us a couple of proposals for plays. And I’ve always wanted to do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and I thought well we could always have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Hamlet in the same season so I pitched Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead to the artistic team at ATP and they thought it was great programming for Alberta Theatre Projects.
JAMES
A good fit.
HAYSAM
Yeah, and for us.
JAMES
Let’s talk a little bit about that one because it’s coming up right away here and interestingly enough it’s being directed by the same director you worked with on The Virgin Trial and The Last Wife.
HAYSAM
Yes, Glynis Leyshon.
JAMES
So that’s exciting and you’ve got quite the cast lined up.
HAYSAM
It’s pretty stellar.
Myla Southward, Christopher Hunt, and Julie Orton in Alberta Theatre Projects’ presentation of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard. A Shakespeare Company and Hit & Myth Production. Photo: Benjamin Laird. (Set: Scott Reid. Lights: David Fraser. Costumes: Hanne Loosen)
JAMES
You’ve got Julie Orton and Myla Southward and I see Mark Bellamy in there as well…
HAYSAM
…Christopher Hunt…
JAMES
…and Tenaj Williams is going to be Hamlet.
HAYSAM
Julie and Myla are a dynamic duo together on stage and they’re a perfect fit for the characters. And Glyniss Lyshom is a big Tom Stoppard fan and a great mentor of mine and a great director and someone that I trust implicitly with everything especially with text and the classical works and I had her in mind before we knew it was going to be an ATP coproduction. I really wanted to bring her on board and it just worked out perfectly. It’s a really exciting cast and I just think this play is ridiculously brilliant and funny.
JAMES
So, now you’ve got these two plays in place – then what happened?
HAYSAM
Well, then I was talking to the High Performance Rodeo because I wanted to partner with the Rodeo and I’ve always wanted to do Drunk Shakespeare. Negotiating Shakespeare sober is a challenge in itself but adding another element to it, I think, is really exciting. So, we’re going to create Hammered Hamlet and if I do Hammered Hamlet I can’t just stop there I have to go full throttle on this and so I thought of creating a season based on Hamlet where you see four different interpretations of a story.
HAYSAM KADRI Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Company
Then I got this idea to do a movement piece and I phoned Denise Clarke who is a genius and a Canadian legend and truly a gem in our city and I just pitched the idea. I said Denise, I love your Radioheaded series they’re fresh and innovative and I want to see if you can transplant that into Shakespeare’s Hamlet. And her eyes and ears and everything just lit up and we went back and forth on it and we decided we wanted to do Hamlet Frequency which is an ensemble piece and a reimagining of Shakespeare’s story choreographed and staged by one of Canada’s greatest choreographers.
So, it’s a bold season and I think it’s exciting and I’m really curious to see how it’s going to unfold and I think a lot of people are really excited about the idea of doing four different interpretations of the same play.
JAMES
What are some of the things the Shakespeare Company has done marketing wise to sell tickets?
HAYSAM
Well, we’re constantly trying to find more ways to be creative with social media and to get people in the door. The other thing – partnerships – partnerships are the way of the future because if you cross-pollinate your audience you maximize your resources because you’re collaborating – there are many benefits to being partners with other organizations.
JAMES
One of the companies that you partner with is Hit and Myth productions how did that partnership evolve?
HAYSAM
Joel Cochrane who is the Artistic Director of Hit and Myth productions is passionate about theatre and particularly Shakespeare and so he’s been an amazing partner and supporter of our company and he’s been a huge part of the success of our organization. Joel has a strong business background and so you know as an Artistic Producer you have to balance the left and the right brain. You’re not just worrying about the art you’re worrying about how you make the art happen and so a guy like Joel who has a strong – business acumen I value because I’ve learned so much from him and many other companies.
JAMES
And he’s a pretty good actor too.
HAYSAM
Yeah, he’s a great actor. He’s really cut his teeth over the last ten years – now he’s a force on stage, and I really like watching him and working with him.
Joel Cochrane as Don Pedro in The Shakespeare Company with Hit & Myth Productions Production of Much Ado About Nothing – Photo by Tim Nguyen
JAMES
So, is Hamlet mad or is he playing mad? What is your own personal take on the madness of Hamlet?
HAYSAM
I think Hamlet is thrown into an extraordinary situation. Just imagine yourself in a situation where you find out that your dad was poisoned by your uncle and now your uncle is married to your mom and you’re a prince and you live in a castle and the tabloids are all around. So, to me, I can’t help but not think that there is a touch of madness that permeates his being because he’s faced with the task of taking action and revenging his father’s death. And to me, Hamlet’s a bookworm. He’s doing his Ph.D. over at Wittenberg University and he’s a head case – literally, he’s in his head. He’s cerebral and then he’s asked to use his body, his heart, and his soul.
JAMES
He’s asked to put down the pen, and pick up the sword.
HAYSAM
Put down the pen and pick up the sword and therein lies the great conflict and the exciting dramatic action where he takes all his time to get the courage to do something that other people would have done the second they heard.
JAMES
One of the brilliant things about Shakespeare is when you look at different forms of storytelling – the novels great strength is that it can go into the mind of its character right – often we say a play is dialogue driven but by using monologues Shakespeare is able to let the audience in on the mind of the character. He uses the device of novels in stage plays.
HAYSAM
I think that’s why when the Richard the thirds and the Iagos of this world turn to the audience and they go, “I’m a complete asshole now watch me do this.” audience members walk away going, “Oh my God, I loved Richard the third!” But how could I love a guy who is hell-bent to kill and murder, but it’s because you’re complicit – because he invites you in – because he shares his plot with you – and so you become a part of that story as you watch it unfold. That’s why you connect with these characters because of this device. And it’s exciting to explore those types of characters. Characters who explore the darker sides of their humanity. Those are fun characters to play.
Glenn Davis as Othello and Haysam Kadri as Iago in the Shakespeare Company production of Othello by William Shakespeare. Directed by Ron Jenkins. Photograph Benjamin Laird.
JAMES
Well, look at Walter White in Breaking Bad.
HAYSAM
Walter White is the perfect parallel.
JAMES
It’s not his good side that we’re fascinated by it’s that evil bit that nasty bit. Or Dexter
HAYSAM
The serial killer who kills serial killers.
JAMES
These are interesting guys.
HAYSAM
And that’s the Richard the third that we were talking about. You watch this underdog character navigate his way through the world in a very unconventional way. Those are interesting people to me.
Haysam Kadri Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Company’s Madness in Great One’s Season of Plays
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead By Tom Stoppard – October 9 – 21, 2018
Up first and in partnership with Alberta Theatre Projects is the Tony Award Winning comedy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard. It’s the story of Hamlet as seen through the eyes of Hamlet’s ill-fated university friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The show is running in the Martha Cohen Theatre and ATP has a pay what you can preview plus that $10.00 ticket thing for students. Regular tickets start at just $30.00 and can be purchased online at the ATP website or by calling the box office at 403.294.7402.
Julie Orton and Myla Southward in Alberta Theatre Projects’ presentation of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard. A Shakespeare Company and Hit & Myth Production. Photo: Benjamin Laird. (Set: Scott Reid. Lights: David Fraser. Costumes: Hanne Loosen)
CAST: Julie Orton as Guildenstern, Myla Southward as Rosencrantz, Mark Bellamy as Polonius/Ensemble, Daniel Fong as Alfred/Ensemble, Natascha Girgis as Gertrude/Ensemble, Braden Griffiths as Horatio/Ensemble, Christopher Hunt as The Player, Robert Klein as Claudius/Ensemble, Natasha Strickey as Ophelia/Ensemble, and Tenaj Williams as Hamlet
CREATIVE TEAM: Glynis Leyshon – Director, Scott Reid – Set & Properties Designer, David Fraser – Lighting Designer, Hanne Loosen – Costume Designer, Allison Lynch – Musical Director, Composer & Sound Designer, Haysam Kadri – Fight Director, Jane MacFarlane – Text & Vocal Coach, Ailsa Birne – Stage Manager, Ian Lane – Assistant Stage Manager, Derek Paulich – Production Manager
Hammered Hamlet January 23 – 26, 2019
Then the fun continues at this year’s High Performance Rodeo with Hammered Hamlet – in the tradition of the John Barrymore school of acting actors will try to navigate the tricky plot and intricate text of Shakespeare while consuming enough shots to trip up even the most well-trained tongue. Tickets will go on sale in November.
Hamlet: A Ghost Story Adapted by Anna Cummer – March 20 – April 13, 2019
Then Vertigo Theatre and the Shakespeare Company reimagine one of the Bard’s greatest works by presenting Hamlet as a ghost story, a detective story and a revenge story all rolled into one classic plot. Agatha Christie would be proud. Brought to you by the same creative team that created the chilling and supernatural Macbeth. Hamlet: A Ghost Story is a macabre reimagining of one of the Bard’s greatest works. Tickets are just $35.00 and available online at the Vertigo Theatre website or by calling the box office at 403.221.3708.
The Hamlet Frequency Directed and Choreographed by Denise Clarke – May 16 – 25, 2019
For the final show of the season you’ll meet Hamlet and the rest of the murderous and murdered ghosts of Elsinore as they wander and haunt the halls of the theatres that play them and stagger to their feet on an electromagnetic wave, ready to start all over again only this time they will grieve, plot and rage through the music of their minds in this reimagining of Shakespeare’s story, choreographed and staged by Denise Clarke with One Yellow Rabbit’s education troupe beautifulyoungartists. Tickets are just $35.00 for adults and $25.00 for students and are available through the Shakespeare Company website.
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The Shakespeare Company is Calgary’s lean and mean classical theatre company, highlighting the best of the Bard in all his comedy, tragedy, and bawdiness. Since 1995, we have brought the Bard alive for Calgarians through both Shakespeare and Shakespeare inspired plays. We are committed to making Shakespeare accessible through innovative performances and inspired directing. Alongside our mainstage productions, we have two community initiatives: Page to Stage Outreach Program and DiVerseCity.
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Haysam KadriArtistic Director has been with The Shakespeare Company since 2012 and has worked to elevate its main stage productions and outreach programs in Calgary. A graduate of the Birmingham Conservatory for classical training at the Stratford Festival, Haysam spent six seasons as a company member with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada. He has worked extensively as a Theatre Arts instructor with Red Deer College, Mount Royal University, and the University of Calgary. Haysam is an Actor, Director, Fight Choreographer, and Teacher. Since 2012, The Shakespeare Company has enjoyed countless nominations and rewards under his leadership.
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Hit and Myth Productions is a professional independent theatre company based in Calgary, Alberta. Hit & Myth was established in 2006, and since that time has produced over 30 professional shows, engaging numerous local actors, directors and designers. Hit & Myth collaborates with small to mid-sized sized theatre companies and independent artists to co-produce theatre that is provocative, modern, sensational, and above all else, entertaining. Our productions strive to reflect the dynamic and diverse theatrical community of Calgary and Calgary audiences.
This interview with Haysam Kadri Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Company has been edited for length and clarity. Last revised August 20, 2022.
This summer if you want a great show, a fantastic meal, and a night out that will leave you feeling optimistic and happy in these strange and uncertain times head on down to Stage West Calgary and catch Red Rock Diner. Director and choreographer David Connolly has assembled an energetic, youthful, fun, and talented cast for this tribute to the early music of rock ‘n’ roll.
Lee-Anne Galloway, Ben Chiasson, Scott Beaudin, Ben Cookson, Carter Easler, and Sarah Higgins singing Johnny B Goode in the Stage West Production of Red Rock Diner by Dean Regan – John Watson Photography
Red Rock Diner by Dean Regan is a rockabilly jukebox musical that celebrates the music of the fifties and features plenty of classic hits like Johnny B. Good, Who Wrote the Book of Love and Great Balls of Fire! The play is loosely based on the early career of Canada’s champion of rock ‘n’ roll music DJ Red Robinson who started spinning rock ‘n’ roll records on Vancouver’s CJOR while he was still in high school in 1954.
1954 was also the year the transistor radio – that marvel of modern technology – made it’s debut and made music portable. The first transistor radios were manufactured by Texas Instruments and sold for $49.95. That’s about four hundred and fifty bucks in today’s dollars, and even though the price was steep, Texas Instruments sold 150,000 units. Soon other companies jumped into the market and started manufacturing and selling their own radios and the price dropped and the radios sold, and the music spread. It spread because of DJ’s like Red Robinson who made it their mission to give the teens the music they wanted.
Red Robinson & Ben Cookson who plays Red in the Stage West Production of Red Rock Diner
I spoke with both the original Red Robinson and Ben Cookson who plays Red in the show. Red, who is 81, still has a youthful energy and infectious enthusiasm for rock ‘n’ roll more than 70 years after he first heard and helped spread the music of Roy Orbison, Chuck Berry, The Big Bopper and Elvis. I asked Red where the idea for the play Red Rock Diner came from.
RED ROBINSON
Well, it started in the brain of Dean Regan who had written things like A Closer Walk with Patsy Kline and other things like that. And he came to me one day and said, “I’m doing a play, a musical, about you.” And I said, “Why the hell would you do that?” “Red,” he said, “when I saw you getting into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame I said, I went to school with that guy and I’ve got to write something.” And he did. And that’s how it was born.
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, you guys know each other from high school. Isn’t that cool. I didn’t know that connection. You know when I look at the show there’s a lot of great songs in it. But, I’m wondering – did he consult you about the music?
RED
Oh yeah, for sure.
JAMES
How did you decide what music to put in the show?
RED
Well, when he has the script for what’s going to be said then you can place the music. You know it’s like photography. Years ago, when I had an ad agency the girls would come to me and say look, “We’ll write this up and then get a picture to go with it.” And I said, “You’re doing it backwards. You get the picture and then you write it up.” That’s the way plays work too, musicals, you have the script and then you place the music and I think it was incredible his brain remembered the music from that period and he made it all match.
Sarah Higgins, Lee-Anne Galloway, Carter Easler, Scott Beaudin, and Ben Chiasson in The Stage West Production of Red Rock Diner by Dean Regan – John Watson Photography
JAMES
There’s a lot of great songs in the show like Rock Around the Clock, Stand By Me, and Tequila. What are some of your favourites
RED
Oh, there are so many, I like Roy Orbison of course, he was a good friend for twenty-three years and he really was a gentleman. And I like Rebel Rouser, which was my theme, and it was really how I was. (Chuckles) A rebel without a cause.
JAMES
Well, you had a cause though, didn’t you?
RED
Oh, I did. It was to make rock ‘n’ roll acceptable to the public. People forget it was not welcomed by anyone except the youth – the teenagers.
Carter Easler, Lee-Anne Galloway, Ben Chiasson, Ben Cookson, Scott Beaudin, and Sarah Higgins in the Stage West Production of Red Rock Diner by Dean Regan – John Watson Photography
JAMES
What do you think it is about rock ‘n’ roll that was so appealing to the kids?
RED
You could get up and dance to it. And that’s one of the ways you met girls. It was incredible. Jan and Dean told me they started Jan and Dean because they just wanted to go out and meet girls.
JAMES
There’s a lot of musicians who learned music and picked up a guitar so they could meet some girls.
RED (Laughs)
No question are you kidding?
Lee-Anne Galloway in the Stage West Production of Red Rock Diner by Dean Regan – John Watson Photography
JAMES
You know you bring up an interesting thing because there’s a lot of male acts from that day but what about the girls? What about the females?
RED
We wanted more but we had a limited edition. There was a rockabilly singer by the name of Wanda Jackson – she was terrific. Elvis dated her for a while but then who didn’t he date? Brenda Lee was one. When she started singing my God it was amazing. This little girl who was not even five feet not really – belts out music like she was born to it. Well, she was, no question. Connie Francis another. I loved those ladies they were great, but it was very limited.
When I joined CKWX in Vancouver they had a playlist on the wall in the control room. Male, female, and this comes up in the play, male, female instrumental and group. And the program director called me in and said, “Hey you’re not following our format.” And I said, “How can I?” “What do you mean?” he said. And I said, “We got two maybe three female singers and that was it.”
JAMES
That’s certainly changed when you look at how many big stars are females today.
RED
Oh, it’s the opposite. It’s the opposite. Totally changed. And for the better.
JAMES
I do have an acting question. Ben Cookson is playing you in Red Rock Diner. What acting advice would you give Ben for portraying Red Robinson?
RED (Laughs)
That’s an odd feeling watching somebody play you. I think my advice to him would be to have fun and to just to act naturally – you know just like the song says by Ringo Starr. Get up there and have fun, act naturally but have compassion for the music and the people – the audience.
JAMES
So, you were there at the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll. Did the stars align for you or were you pushing in some way to get into that position? How did you end up being the person introducing rock ‘n’ roll to Canada?
RED
Nobody else would take a gamble, and they didn’t know what they were doing, and I’m not being rude. I was a kid. I was seventeen, and I knew what the kids in high school wanted. You know the teachers would throw a dance and play Glenn Miller, but in truth we all went down to a little restaurant called The Oakway at the corner of Oak and Broadway – it’s not there anymore. And the guy had a jukebox and he played rhythm and blues and we were all getting up and dancing to it and that’s where the idea of Red Rock Diner came from you know the title of the play. We just had fun.
Scott Beaudin in the Stage West Production of Red Rock Diner by Dean Regan – John Watson Photography
JAMES
How did you discover the music to put on the air?
RED
Well, I’d go down to the music stores in those days and you’d ask for it and they’d reach under the counter and put it in a brown paper bag and give it to you like it was pornography. It was unbelievable. And I think it was because they were black artists – that was the problem – and you know that all changed – thank God.
So, I’d buy my own records and when I couldn’t get them fast enough I would go to a little record store in Billingham Washington just across the border, and I made a deal with a company called Stark Music and every new record that came in I took them. And I’d drive down – it’s about sixty miles – I’d drive down – get them and come back home and play em on the radio. By the time they were pressed in Canada and mailed out it would be another week to ten days.
JAMES
So, you were offering something that was fresh and on the cutting edge.
RED
That’s right.
JAMES
Where did the confidence come from? How did a seventeen-year-old guy have so much confidence and such a clear picture about what to do?
RED
Well, you know the story on teenagers. You think you can never die, and so what if you fail. I mean it meant nothing to me to fail. And I didn’t. I had a dream. I had a vision and I went ahead and I pursued it. And I think any young person who has a passion for anything whether it’s computers or whatever – they’ll make it so long as they’re dedicated to it internally.
JAMES
No fear of failure is powerful at that age.
RED
Oh absolutely.
Red Robinson spinning Rock ‘n’ Roll Tunes
JAMES
I went to your website Red Robinson – Home of the Legends and I listened to one of the programs you have on your website through Soundcloud about a concert in Vancouver on October 23rd, 1957. That’s the concert where you were introducing all the acts – it’s called – I think The Biggest Show of Stars.
RED
Oh, yes, yes, yes.
JAMES
Oh my God, what a lineup. Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Paul Anka.
RED
I’ve got a poster from that year and it is unbelievable.
JAMES
Did you get it autographed?
RED
Ha, ha, no I didn’t.
JAMES
Damn.
Red Robinson and Buddy Holly
RED
I’ve got Buddy Holly’s autograph. And that was where I got my first interview with Paul Anka and he was fifteen at the time and was full of self-confidence and all the same things I was. I played it for Paul in later years and he said, “Oh my God I’m a kid.” And there was Fats Domino, Jimmy Bowen, Buddy Knox, Buddy Holly and the Crickets and so many acts it was just unbelievable. The story is Irvin Feld who owned Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey saw rock ‘n’ roll as I guess a circus and he decided to take it on the road.
JAMES
You had all these amazing acts and they’re coming out and only doing a couple songs.
RED
Well Buddy Knox said, “We come out” – and well they only had a couple of hits at that time – “and we do the two hits and then we’d do one more and if we had enough applause or whatever we had an encore and you had to come out and do another song. That was it.” But I mean how can you have more than that with all the acts they had.
JAMES
What are some of your special memories because we’re talking about this show from 1957 and then there’s your radio days and the Expo in Vancouver in 86 where you presented The Legends of Rock ‘n’ Roll – you mentioned Roy Orbison was a friend for twenty-three years, for example.
RED
Oh, yeah, he was a good friend. As a matter of fact, we were going to buy a radio station at one point. He always liked to invest in the arts. During the Expo in Vancouver in 86 we got the whole list of everybody we wanted and we wanted Roy but he was on the comeback trail with the Travelling Wilburys and he was a little reluctant but he said, “You know Red, you and your partner in the promotions department by the name of Les Vogt were the only guys who ever bonused me.” We gave him a couple extra grand because he made us a lot of money and that bought a house for me and one for Les – in a sense because we were both able to put down the down payment. That’s the kind of relationship we had in those days. The disc jockeys and the recording artists.
JAMES
You know I love the Traveling Wilburys that was a wonderful album. So, sad he passed away right then. What a voice.
RED
What a voice and what a gentleman.
JAMES
You know I think even though Red Rock Diner is a play that appeals to the memory of people who grew up with that music this music appeals to everybody today.
RED
No question. I’ve had – my grandkids say to me – I wish we grew up in your era – your music was fun. I think that people were just trying to get the thoughts of the wars and everything on the back turntable if you know what I mean. Then the message songs came along during the Vietnam War years but for me, I think music is like movies they should be an escape. That’s what it is to me. But then, I’m not the authority on all this stuff, I just think that to play music that’s fun and uplifting is the right thing to do.
Ben Chiasson, Sarah Higgins, Scott Beaudin, Sarah Higgins and Carter Easler in the Stage West Production of Red Rock Diner by Dean Regan – John Watson Photography
JAMES
I understand that Michael Bublé was in the original cast
RED
He was. I saw him yesterday by the way.
JAMES
How’s he doing?
RED
Oh fine. He’s back from the road and he’s waiting for the third baby to be born. So, he’s home for that. He’s just a wonderful rooted guy. He’s never let the ego take over his life. And he’s got a grandfather who inspired him to listen to music other than rock ‘n’ roll and he listened to Sinatra and Dean Martin and Elvis. Everybody says he’s Frank Sinatra but no he’s not. He likes Bobby Darin and Elvis Presley. That’s the truth. He’s a wonderfully talented kid. You’ve got to go to his show. This guy’s got a built-in sense of humour you can’t believe. And he’s down to earth.
JAMES
Did he play you in the play?
RED
He played the Elvis part. Here’s a quick story. Bruce Allen manages him and I’m on the phone on a long-distance call with David Foster and Paul Anka and they said, “Red would you talk to Bruce and tell him to sign Michael Bublé?” I said, “Is he reluctant?” And they said, “Oh yeah.” And so I said to Bruce, “You saw Red Rock Diner but you didn’t see what was going on behind the scenes. After the show every night the girls would swamp – you know I’ve got David Foster and Paul Anka listening – they would swamp the backstage trying to get an autograph from Michael. And he wasn’t even established yet and Paul Anka says on the phone, “Oh that brings back some memories.” (Red laughs) Bruce signed him after that. I don’t know if I was responsible, but I think I gave him a new light – a new look at him.
JAMES
Well you know musicians need their champions, right? I think that’s a good way to think about you. You were a champion for that music and for those artists.
RED
I really was, and I believed in it. And I’ll tell you one thing I never told anybody. I traveled by airplane all around this province doing sock hops, taking my own music with me, taking giveaways, and you know only because I believed in it and I wanted the music to spread and so if anyone hates rock ‘n’ roll you got to hate me.
Red Robinson & Elvis
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Bringing the character of Red Robinson to life on stage is Ben Cookson. Ben bears an uncanny likeness to the young Red Robinson and has the same infectious positive attitude and smile.
Scott Beaudin, Sarah Higgins, Carter Easler, Lee-Anne Galloway, Scott Beaudin and Ben Cookson in the Stage West Production of Red Rock Diner by Dean Regan – John Watson Photography
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, when thinking about Red Rock Diner are there any particular numbers that really stand out for you? Because there’s a lot of great stuff in it.
BEN COOKSON
I get to rock out to every single tune on stage while it’s being played and performed and it’s hard to choose a favourite, but I really like Sh-Boom and one of my other favourites is Cry that Carter gets to sing in the second act.
Carter Easler in the Stage West Production of Red Rock Diner by Dean Regan – John Watson Photography
JAMES
You know one of my favourites is the one you do.
BEN
Oh Boy?
JAMES
Yeah, Oh Boy. I saw the show on Friday and you were absolutely fantastic. Loved the song. Loved the feel of that. It was a beautiful moment.
BEN
Thank you so much. It opens up the second act. It’s a difficult voice to imitate because Buddy Holly was so unique and distinct in his sound and quality.
JAMES
Why do you think this music still resonates today?
BEN
This music still resonates today because the eighty-year-olds are still playing it for their kids and grandkids. I think rock ‘n’ roll introduced a heartbeat into music. I think it’s a heartbeat that appears in all genres today. Rock ‘n’ roll creates this internal feeling that you can’t help but move to.
JAMES
Is it a little something primal maybe?
BEN
Yeah, exactly. You get hooked on it right away. And I think that’s why that music is still being played.
Sarah Higgins, Carter Easler, Scott Beaudin, Ben Chiasson, Ben Cookson, and Lee Ann Galloway in the Stage West Production of Red Rock Diner by Dean Regan – John Watson Photography
JAMES
What’s it like for you to perform in a show that’s running for a couple of months?
BEN
A show like Red Rock Diner – especially for the other five guys – is a heavy breathing show. They’re working their butts off. And it definitely becomes easier over time and that allows us to sink into the text of the songs and the actual beats of it and the reaction of the audience a little more, but it’s all for the audience because it’s their first time seeing the show even though it may be our sixtieth time doing the show. We owe it to them to give it our best every time.
JAMES
What type of research did you do?
BEN
I definitely looked into reel to reel tape and how that was used in radio production because at the time they were doing some pretty intense physical editing and changing records and Red would do all that himself. He’d be in the DJ booth changing records – changing 45s – and then going reel to reel in order to play the next commercial and he was constantly doing things. And I definitely listened to a lot of music. That’s not a bad assignment for homework. I listened to a lot of music a lot of the fifties stuff.
Ben Cookson as Red Robinson in the Stage West Production of Red Rock Diner by Dean Regan – John Watson Photography
JAMES
Did you listen to a lot of music growing up?
BEN
Well, my parents are both singers themselves they’re not professional but it’s a hobby they certainly love doing. So, music was a part of my childhood. My parents listen to all kinds of music. Elvis Presley was in the mix – the musical Jesus Christ Superstar was played every Easter, a lot of Celtic stuff, East Coast, Great Big Sea was a huge one growing up.
I did a lot of performing growing up in choirs and then I did the Grand Theatre’s High School Project in London Ontario where you get a chance to work with real professionals in the industry and see what it’s actually like to put on a full-scale musical. I did it two years in a row. I did Footloose and then I did My Fair Lady and I played Willard in Footloose and Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady, and then I went to Sheridan College for their Honours Bachelor Musical Theatre Performance Program. That program was intense. It was everything I needed. It was the training I needed and it helped me make the connections that I needed
JAMES
Are there particular musicals that you want to do in the future?
BEN
I have soft spot for golden age musicals, but I definitely would love to do Les Mis. Les Mis is probably one of my favourite shows. I’d love to play Jean Valjean later in life or just one of the guys in the ABC Café…it’s a show where I could play any role and enjoy it.
JAMES
So, here’s a question for you. Did you like the movie?
BEN (Laughs)
I did. I’m one of the few who actually really enjoyed it in my friends’ circle. I enjoyed the rawness of it. I enjoyed the power and it was all about the music for me.
JAMES
I loved it. However, my sister completely disagrees with me and thinks I’m an idiot.
BEN
Yeah, a lot of people disagree with me as well.
JAMES
I think it’s competing against the love of the stage play.
BEN
It is. I enjoy the stage play more than the movie, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the movie. I really enjoyed the movie, but I love the stage production of it. I love it so much it makes me weep it makes me cry. It makes me laugh. It’s everything to me.
JAMES
So, tell me about working with this group of talented folks you share the stage with every night on Red Rock Diner.
Scott Beaudin, Ben Chiasson, Carter Easler, Ben Cookson, Sarah Higgins, and Lee-Anne Galloway in the Stage West Production of Red Rock Diner by Dean Regan – John Watson Photography
BEN
Well, to start it’s nice to work with a small cast. There’s only six of us in the show and we became a family within the first week. I mean you kind of go through trials and tribulations together when you’re rehearsing a show but all of us get along so well it’s so much fun to work with Carter and Lee-Anne and Sarah and we do trips to the mountains on our days off. It’s a blast and I went to school with Ben Chiasson. He was in my graduating year. And I’d met Scott the year before and Carter also went to Sheridon. We’re just a happy little family which I just really enjoy and I look forward to spending the rest of the summer with them.
JAMES
What’s your impression of Stage West as a company and Stage West as a performance space?
BEN
I think the large reason our cast has become such a family is because the production team and the family here at Stage West is so strong. Everyone cares so much about the production. Everyone cares so much about each other. It’s hard not to love what you’re doing and who you’re working with.
Stage West as an experience is very cool because you get a great buffet before the show and then you get your dessert at intermission and it’s a comfortable setting where you’re not cramped next to another person. And Red Rock Diner is a show that you can’t come to and not have a good time – you can’t not have fun at the Red Rock Diner.
***
Red Rock Diner runs until August 30th at Stage West Calgary. Tickets are available online or by calling the box office at 403-243-6642. Red Rock Diner is a fun show filled with great music presented by a young and talented cast and gets a full five out of five great balls of fire for being a Rockin’ Robin good time.
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Red Rock Diner – Vancouver Canada June 1957
The Cast – Red Rock Diner: Scott Beaudin as Val, Ben Chiasson as Richard, Ben Cookson as Red Robinson, Carter Easler as Johnny, Lee-Anne Galloway as Connie/Dance Captain, Sarah Higgins as Venus
Creative Team – Red Rock Diner: David Connolly – Director/Choreographer, Dean Regan – Playwright, Konrad Pluta – Musical Director, Executive Producer – Howard Pechet, Production Manager/Artistic Associate – Kira Campbell, Technical Director/Set Designer – Sean D. Ellis, Costumer & Wig Designer – Norman Galenza-MacDonald, Lighting Designer – David Smith, Sound Designer/Head of Audio – Michael Gesy, Scenic Artist – Shane Ellis, Stage Manager – Laurel Oneil, Assistant Stage Manager – Darcy Foggo, Dresser – Brianne Hughes, Replacement Stage Manager – Ashley Rees, Apprentice Stage Manager – Jennifer Yeung, Followspot Operator – Chris Cooper
The Band – Red Rock Diner: Musical Director/Keyboards – Konrad Pluta, Sub Musical Director/Keyboards – Jon Day, Drums – Jeff Fafard, Saxophone – Keith O’Rourke, Guitar – Brad Steckel, Bass – Rob Vause
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Additional Media about Stage West’s Red Rock Diner
Interview: Legendary radio DJ Red Robinson: The Homestretch CBC He helped shape the radio scene in Canada in the 1950s. He has met everyone from the Beatles to Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. Red Robinson is an influential force who spent decades spinning tunes. He retired last year at the age of 80. His life inspired a new show now on at Stage West called Red Rock Diner. Red joined host Doug Dirks on the line. July 16, 2018 – Length: 08:27
Red Robinson: Home of the Legends The official Red Robinson Web site where you can check out Red’s musical memories buy his book and listen to some terrific podcasts.
The 50s: A Decade of Music That Changed the World – During the few years when high-octane rock & roll ruled unchecked, the possibilities seemed limitless. By Robert Palmer. Rolling Stone April 19, 1990.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s mission is to engage, teach and inspire through the power of rock and roll. The world’s only Hall of Fame devoted to rock and roll: the foremost cultural movement of our time.
Neil Fleming – Playwright, Designer, Television Writer/Producer
“There’s an artistic epiphany in my play John Doe Jack Rabbit. There’s a moment where the TV’s broken and they’re stuck in this cabin and they’re on the lam and this one guy Gordy is reading a book – it’s this trashy horrible romance novel called Ravaged at Rush Hour. But then he gets so sucked into this book – as if he’s never read a book before – and he has this moment where he’s like, the person who wrote this book wrote it down so I would know what it feels like to be Jessica in the cab or whatever it was, right? And that was one of those things. That’s what playwriting is about. What art is about. This is what it’s like to feel like I feel, and I put it into this painting for you to grasp that concept, or I put it in this play for you to go – wow that’s what’s going on in your head.”Neil Fleming
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Neil Fleming is a multi-talented, award winning Calgary designer, playwright and television producer. In our hour and a half chat last Friday Neil and I talked about all kinds of things including playwriting, depression, Chuck Wendig, poltergeists and ADHD. The purpose of our getting together was to talk about Neil’s playwriting and specifically his current play, Spare Parts, which is being workshopped at the Stage One Festival of New Canadian Work at Lunchbox Theatre this week.
JAMES HUTCHISON
As a writer we spend long hours alone at the writing desk and sometimes we find ourselves facing internal or external resistance to a particular writing project or even our own writing career. Who in your life gives you the support and feedback you need that lets you continue on your journey?
NEIL FLEMING
Well my first sounding board has always been Jane, my wife. When I’m done a draft, I’ll be like, can you take a second to read this? And bless her, she’ll drop everything and go in the other room and I’ll sit there and listen to her while I’m trying to distract myself, but really I’m listening to her reading it and asking her what she’s laughing at if she’s laughing just to make sure she’s not laughing at an inside joke between the two of us that I intended for a larger group.
JAMES
Are you more nervous giving her the first draft to read, do you think, than when it’s ready for an audience?
NEIL
No, I don’t think so. I trust her. We have similar taste in story and content, but she likes things that are a bit darker than I do.
JAMES
And you’re pretty dark at times.
NEIL
I can be. But I think humour has always been a defense mechanism for me. It’s my way of not going to the dark place. More recently I’ve been trying to challenge myself to have something to say and not just be silly.
Karen Johnson-Diamond, Nicole Zylstra, Miles Ringsred, Tim Koetting in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Last Christmas by Neil Fleming – Photograph by Benjamin Laird
JAMES
But when you did Last Christmas that was dealing with someone dying of cancer. It was a comedy and a Christmas show.
NEIL
Sure. Pam Halstead at Lunchbox had commissioned me to write that. She wanted it to be a dysfunctional family at Christmas made up of people’s Christmas horror stories. So, there’s some Pam Halstead in it. The inflatable husband. One of her siblings bought her an inflatable husband one Christmas, and she opened it in front of everyone, and it was horrible and awful and fun but real, right?
I tried to come up with a family that didn’t resemble my own and didn’t resemble my wife’s where I could use details from real people but no one was able to accuse me of writing about my brother-in-law or whatever. They were fictional characters, but then so many people came up to me after the show because those characters resonated so strongly, and they’d say, “Oh that’s like my sister-in-law, and I can’t believe she’s in your play.”
JAMES
So, it touched on some universal characteristics.
NEIL
For sure. What I like to do is find little bits of truth and craft around those. Last Christmas started because one of my wife’s best friends worked at a dispensary in Vancouver, and her job was to teach old people how to roll a joint because they’d been given medicinal marijuana with a prescription, and they’d never smoked a joint before. And that’s just such an awesome image. So, I wanted the pot smoking grandpa. I just thought what a great start.
JAMES
And then there’s a lovely part of that play where the grandson and the grandfather have a bonding experience. Where they’re sharing the marijuana.
Tim Koetting and Miles Ringsred in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Last Christmas by Neil Fleming – Photography by Benjamin Laird
NEIL
I think that’s a favourite moment for the audience. It’s Christmas Eve, and the grandfather and the grandson are listening to Nat King Cole, and grandpa is experiencing being high for the first time. But they’re just having one of those philosophical conversations.
I love the absurdity of real things. One of my favourite things to do when I was looking for something fresh or new is I’d go to the news of the weird, and I have a play called Gnomes about garden gnomes and literally there was a news article about the Garden Gnome Liberation Front, I think, in Paris and they had broken into a garden show, and they stole all these antique gnomes, and then in the town square spelled out, Free the Gnomes with the gnomes.
And so, my concept for that play was there were three characters. Character one was a collector, and his parents had this massive collection of gnomes, and there was an incident where somebody came and smashed a bunch of them. And then here’s a woman from The Garden Gnome Liberation Society. I changed that. And then the last guy was from a group called DAMAGE which was defending all mankind against gnome evil, because he believed that gnomes were secretly evil, and that they come to life. And so, it became this argument between the three characters – were gnomes good, or evil, or ceramic?
JAMES
The new play you’re working on with Lunchbox Theatre is called Spare Parts and has three characters. There’s Martin a widower living alone in the haunted apartment his wife Sarah convinced him to buy, and on the anniversary of the accidental death of his wife and daughter Emily, Martin decides to take an overdose of anti-depressants.
Then there’s Eric, Martin’s upstairs neighbour, and a former human guinea pig for pharmaceutical companies, who is now developing and promoting a new Life Style System that focuses on exercise, recreation, and meditation through colouring as a pathway to an enjoyable life.
And finally, there’s Sarah, Martin’s dead wife. As Martin trips through his various symptoms, side-effects, and visions, we meet Sarah as a memory. In life, Sarah had a business taking people on tours of haunted buildings. She knew the story of Lester – who had been found dead in a heritage building – presumably payback for a romantic tryst. When she heard the apartment was coming on the market, she knew she had to convince Martin to buy it and move in. These three characters…
NEIL
Well, four if you count Lester.
JAMES
Four characters are caught up in a story about suicide, depression, guilt, religion, and the supernatural. First question, how much of that is based on personal experience?
NEIL
Well I didn’t know this at the time, but I did struggle with anxiety and depression. It was more anxiety, I think. Depression I didn’t know how to define. I didn’t know anything about mental health really. Depression to me was sadness, as a writer. As a clinical term it’s something else. What I was struggling with was my inability to focus and accomplish things and constantly feeling like I was getting lapped by younger writers or whatever. I was like why can’t I get anything done?
Recently I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD and it was such a relief to finally know what I’ve been struggling with my entire life really. But, before I was diagnosed I was buying a book by Peter Shankman called Crazy Publicity Stunts and Why Your Company Should Do Them because I was thinking of doing a street theatre project that was sort of a social media experiment. And beside that book, in the people who bought this book also bought section, was another book by Peter Shankman called, Faster Than Normal. How to hack your ADHD brain and unleash your super power. And I was like, I want to read that. I ordered both of them. And that book explained my entire life, my entire history, and I was like Oh, my God. That’s my childhood. This is high school. University. All of those things, and I could see how things went sideways
And when you’re a writer and you sit down to write something it’s work. The first draft is always fun, but fixing it and fine tuning it that’s work, and if nobody’s breathing down your neck waiting for a draft then it’s easy to just let that one sit there and start something new. So, I have a lot of different projects that haven’t seen the light of day because I haven’t been able to focus. I started Spare Parts years ago, and it was part of my mental health journey.
The other thing with ADHD is that when I need to focus I can hyper focus. That’s the H part. As an adult it’s not hyper activity it’s impulse control. And so, yesterday I was writing solid for five to six hours on the play because I have to give them something to read by Monday so we can start to work on it.
JAMES
Who are you working with.
NEIL
Col Cseke is the director. Graham Percy is playing Martin. Matt McKinny is Eric, and Julie Orton is Sarah. And some things have changed already from your introduction. I’ve cut the daughter. They rent the place they don’t buy it. I know I’ve made that note before about Eric being a Guinee pig so he knows what the prescription is and what it does, because I need somebody in there to help detail what’s going on for the audience because your brain is a complex machine. That’s what fascinated me about this idea in the first place, because when I was struggling with those anxiety issues I talked to my doctor about it – this was years ago – and she gave me a trial prescription of Escitalopram which is a serotonin inhibitor in a way. And when I got the pills they came with warnings.
JAMES
The side effects?
NEIL
It was a crazy.
JAMES
Scary list?
NEIL
It’s supposed to help you, but like how could it maybe do that to you.
JAMES
Do the exact opposite.
NEIL
Well if you have suicidal tendencies it could amplify that.
JAMES
That’s frightening.
NEIL
Yeah, and I’m like, do I want to take this, and so you know I decided at the time I don’t think this is for me. But I kept the information and that’s what started it.
JAMES
That’s what started this play six or seven years ago?
NEIL
More than that – I think, 2007 is what my hard drive tells me was a first draft. So, I’ve learned a lot in the last eight or nine years. Mostly in the last year. What’s always interested me as a writer are the odd outlying people. Spare Parts is kind of about that. It’s about people just on the outskirts of regular society. Like the neighbor, Eric’s character. He’s trying to rediscover his purpose by starting this sort of life style system.
JAMES
It’s kind of a religion he’s working on?
NEIL
It’s open to all religions, because in his theory religion is part of the problem because of people bickering over the differences between theirs, and yours, and whatever.
JAMES
So, his philosophy could be placed over any faith?
NEIL
Yeah, his philosophy of life is to find the things that make you feel good because you’re only here for a finite amount of time.
JAMES
What are you hoping to accomplish in next week’s workshop?
NEIL
What I love about playwriting is it’s all about questions. Dramaturgy is all about questions, hopefully. And I don’t mind suggestions, but questions are great because I will write them all down, because a question from anyone – whether it’s from an actor, or a stage manager, or an audience member, represents a certain percentage of that population. There’s a lot more people who will have that same question. I lost you for two or three lines because you were hung up on something, so I always feel like you have to address those with what’s the simplest way for me to make that question go away. If it’s that kind of question.
I was just reading this book, Damn Fine Story, by Chuck Wendig who’s a novelist and a writing blogger. Terrible Minds is his blog. In his book, which is about story telling more than anything else, he uses Die Hard as an example. And at the root of it he says stories are about characters. Stories are rooted in character, and so a character has a problem, and then how they try to solve that problem is the story.
JAMES
And they either solve it, or they don’t.
NEIL
But what he pointed out – Bruce Willis’s character’s problem, John McClain – I only know that because he keeps referring to him in this book, but his problem is that his wife left him for this job in LA, and he’s a New York City cop, so he’s flown out at Christmas time to convince her to come home to get his family back together. And coincidentally all of this stuff goes down with Alan Rickman, and terrorists, and the tower, and him not having his shoes on – those are all coincidental pieces of the puzzle of I’m just trying to get back together here with my wife.
JAMES
And that’s what makes it work – the human element. You mentioned something in a previous interview when you were asked, “What do you think art is?” You said, “I suppose art is an expression of human emotion.” Why do you think we have this need to examine our emotional connection and reaction to other people, the world, and ourselves?
NEIL
I think that there are so many unanswered questions that we have. You know I took first year philosophy when I was at University and it was all Plato’s Republic and you couldn’t make me read that book – it was like painful. If it had been a survey course of all the philosophers I think I would have really gotten into it with different perspectives and stuff.
JAMES
Maybe theatre is philosophy on stage?
NEIL
Yeah, kind of. It’s trying to explain what it means to be a person, because we don’t know what happens after we die. As artists I think we’re always trying to reflect back, and sometimes it’s a fun house mirror reflection, but you know it’s also a compulsion. And I think the ADD is part of it too. I just started doing collage work with my photography. A few years ago we were in Paris for my wife’s 50th birthday and I saw all these numbers every where, and I just started taking pictures of numbers – like address numbers and here and there, and I bought one of those big cheap print things for ten bucks form Homesense or whatever, and I pasted all of these photographs over top of it as a present for my wife, and here’s our entire Paris trip on one canvas, and you could see us in some of them, and some of the pictures were tiny, and I have no idea the compulsion that drove me to do that, but it felt like something I needed to do.
JAMES
It tells a story.
NEIL
Yeah, for sure and it’s something you can spend some time with it’s not just like, “Oh yeah, I’ve seen that.” You can really sort of dive in and look at all those little details
JAMES
Do you think that’s what your plays are like? Like in terms of your process it reflects what you’re doing with your photography, because you’ve got all these different ideas, all these little bits, and now you’re putting them together, and the play itself when the audience comes to it is the experience of all these little pieces.
NEIL
Yes, and the takeaway will be different for everyone, you know, I think. Especially with this. There’s so much crazy content in this play. There’s an artistic epiphany in my play John Doe Jack Rabbit. There’s a moment where the TV’s broken and they’re stuck in this cabin they’re on the lam and this one guy Gordy is reading a book – it’s this trashy horrible romance novel called Ravaged at Rush Hour. But then he gets so sucked into this book – as if he’s never read a book before – and he has this moment where he’s like, the person who wrote this book wrote it down so I would know what it feels like to be Jessica in the cab or whatever it was, right? And that was one of those things. That’s what playwriting is about. What art is about. This is what it’s like to feel like I feel, and I put it into this painting for you to grasp that concept, or I put it in this play for you to go – wow that’s what’s going on in your head.
***
Spare Parts is one of eight new plays being developed through The Stage One Festival of New Canadian Work at Lunchbox Theatre from May 25th to June 9th.
2018 Stage One Festival of New Canadian Work Free Reading Schedule
Spare Parts by Neil Fleming – Friday, May 25, 12:00PM The Happiness Equation by Peter Fenton & Scott White – Friday, May 25, 6:00 PM The Art of Kneading by Helen Knight – Saturday, May 26, 12:00 PM Paul’s Grace by Anna Cummer – Friday, June 1, 12:00 PM Candemic by Arun Lakra – Friday, June 1, 6:00 PM Wo De Ming Shi Zhang Xin En by Kris Vanessa Teo – Saturday, June 2, 12:00 PM Go for Gold, Audrey Pham by Camille Pavlenko – Friday, June 8, 12:00 PM Reprise by Mike Czuba – Saturday, June 9, 12:00 PM
This interview has been edited for length and condensed for clarity.
“It’s been my goal to have a play at Lunchbox Theatre since 1978. I was in grade twelve when the Stage One program first started, and I don’t even know how I ended up going to all the Stage One readings but I did, and I made a mental note to myself that someday I would like to have a play at Lunchbox.” – Dale Lee Kwong
One of the things I love about Lunchbox Theatre is that many of the productions you see on their stage feature local playwrights whose work was developed through the Stage One Festival of New Canadian Work. This season alone features several plays that were developed through the festival including Book Club II: The Next Chapter by Meredith Taylor-Parry,Flight Risk by Meg Braem, and the upcoming and very funny Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets written by Dale Lee Kwong.
Dale not only writes plays but also writes poetry, essays, and creative non-fiction. Her essays have been published in Somebody’s Child: Stories of Adoption, A Family By Any Other Name: Exploring Queer Relationships, and the Malahat Review. Her poetry has appeared in Canadian Literature,Modern Morsels, and The Calgary Project: A City Map in Verse and Visual. Dale often performs at local literary events and sometimes speaks at inclusive churches and organizations like PechaKucha, TALES and The Coming Out Monologues.
I spoke to Dale about her dream of having a play performed at Lunchbox and the journey her play, Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets, took to go from page to stage.
Jamie Matchullis as Jennifer, Chantelle Han as Lilly, Ben Wong as Charlie, and Kelsey Verzotti as Jade in the Lunchbox Theatre production of Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets – Photograph by Benjamin Laird
JAMES HUTCHISON
When did you get into writing?
DALE LEE KWONG
I’ve always been a writer. I have poems framed in cardboard and typed on Manila paper from 1971 that I gave to my family at Christmas. I wrote a community column for about ten years when I lived in Crescent Heights that was told from the point of view of my dog, Magoo. And in my family I’m always the one that gets called upon to do the toast to the bride or the speech. But my real writing career started about fourteen years ago at the end of a relationship. I went to a writing workshop in Edmonton called Women Who Write and took some introductory writing classes. Classes which didn’t actually critique your material so much as just read it back to you and say what struck them.
JAMES
So, it’s a workshop to encourage the writing process?
DALE
Yes, it’s very much for emerging writers. And I realized I had things I wanted to say and so, the first year after my break up I started enrolling in creative writing courses at the University of Calgary. I took three poetry classes with Tom Wayman, and he’s an awesome professor. During that time I won the CBC Poetry Face Off in Calgary, and that got recorded and aired nationwide, and that got voted on by listeners, where it placed third.
JAMES
What a fabulous boost for the ego.
DALE
It was. At the same time Alberta Theatre Projects and the Alberta Playwrights’ Network ran a 24-hour playwriting competition. I entered, and my first play, which was really just a scene, was called – Is Normie Kwong Your Uncle? And it won a special merit award which gave me a free dramaturgical session with Ken Cameron at the Alberta Playwrights’ Network.
I wasn’t even sure what APN was, but after I met with Ken I sent a proposal for an as-of-yet unwritten play to Rona Waddington at Lunchbox Theatre and she commissioned the play in the fall of 2005. I wrote notes and outlines, but I didn’t actually write the play until February 2006 in another 24-hour playwriting competition, which is so well suited to me because I worked in television as a news editor. In television we don’t start cutting the news for the six o’clock show until around three in the afternoon. And then from three to six you hit the ground running, and it’s intense, and that’s the kind of scenario I love. So my writing is always last minute and rushed. I’ve tried to change that, but it’s just part of my process.
JAMES
So, was that the play that became the play being produced at Lunchbox this season?
Dale Lee Kwong, Steve Gin, Brenda Finley, Michelle Wong, Francine Wong, Pat Mac, Nicola Zylstra – at the Glenbow Museum for the Alberta Playwrights’ Network Discovery Prize workshop and reading, November 2006
DALE
Yes, this play has been in development since it was first commissioned in the fall of 2005 and written in February 2006. It’s taken twelve years to get to the stage. And some people think it’s autobiographical, but it’s actually not. There are elements of truth in it, and there are true stories in it.
JAMES
So, what you’ve done is taken personal experience as an inspiration and then created the play out of that. What are some of your thoughts about this twelve-year journey?
DALE
Well, when I started I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I’d never written a play before. But one thing that worked to my benefit as a playwright was my day job as a news editor. A news editor takes the raw material that a reporter shoots with her photog (cameraman) and helps it become a better product. And one of the things that entails is taking interviews that are five to twenty minutes long and pulling out 20-second sound bites. So in a sense – I’ve been working with dialogue for twenty-six years.
I’d also taken a writing workshop at the Banff Centre from Fred Wah about a form of Japanese poetry called Utanikki. In Utanikki you take two pieces of text and chop them up and then you put them back together in some form, and just by taking two completely different subjects – for example, a recipe for making scrambled eggs and a piece about coming out to your family and mashing them together a relationship is created between these two topics that didn’t previously exist. Many of my writings employ this method. Two types of writing blended together. I have poems where there’s haiku blended with free form.
Jamie Matchullis as Jennifer and Kelsey Verzotti as Jade in the Lunchbox Theatre production of Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets By Dale Lee Kwong – Photograph by Benjamin Laird
In the play I had this story about a lesbian and her girlfriend, and eventually they decide to move to Vancouver to get away from her family. But in between those scenes I had another entire play. It was a reality game show like Survivor where the lesbian girlfriend was being forced to come out to her family through a competition. There was a character like Jeff Probst, and there was this ancient Chinese sage character named Connie-fucius who would spout out fortune cookie lines.
Over the years I worked with a lot of different directors and dramaturges who encouraged me to remove the Survivor scenes from the play, but it was honestly my favourite part. I loved it! And I loved the character of Connie-fucius.
Lunchbox Theatre – The Early Days – Bow Valley Square
Rona Waddington never scheduled it for a production, and after she left Lunchbox I resubmitted it to Pamela Halstead when she was artistic director, and she was really interested in it, but by then she had already submitted her own resignation. So she set up a meeting between me and Glenda Stirling who was the incoming artistic director. Glenda had already programmed her first season, but she was interested in it for the following year, but then Glenda left. So I’d submitted the play to three different artistic directors and it had fallen through the cracks each time.
The other thing you need to know is that it’s been my goal to have a play at Lunchbox Theatre since 1978. I was in grade twelve when the Stage One program first started, and I don’t even know how I ended up going to all the Stage One readings but I did, and I made a mental note to myself that someday I would like to have a play at Lunchbox.
JAMES
But isn’t that fascinating – that there’s that connection from thirty years ago – no forty years ago.
DALE
78, 88, 98, 2008 – oh my God, forty years!
JAMES
Four decades.
DALE
That makes me tear up thinking about that. That’s why this play is so special to me. Lunchbox is my favourite theatre company, and I make no bones about saying that. I’ve been donating to them for years, and I’ve been volunteering there, and I think they’re one of the best treasures in Calgary.
Chantelle Han as Lilly and Ben Wong as Charlie in the Lunchbox Theatre production of Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets by Dale Lee Kwong – Photograph by Benjamin Laird
JAMES
So what happened next?
DALE
After Glenda left, in comes Mark Bellamy. I knew Mark vaguely from Vertigo Theatre – and you’d think I’d show him my script right away, but I was gun shy having experienced several disappointments. So, I got to know Mark better, and he got to know me better, and I finally said to Mark, “You know, I’ve got this script that was workshopped here, and it kind of fell through the cracks.” He asked me what it was about and after I told him he said, “Send it to me.” So then I had this opportunity to send it to him, and do you think I sent it to him? No, because by that time it had been workshopped so much I didn’t know where I was at, and I thought I should get him a clean version. So, it took me a year to revise it and send it to him and he got back to me within a month, and gave me a workshop.
At the workshop Mark gave me the choice of a couple of directors and I chose Trevor Reuger from APN whom I had prior dealings with. He had helped me with another script I had started. I told Trevor my creative process and how I’m late with everything and not to worry because I was a news editor, and I’m used to tight deadlines, but before we started the workshop, Trevor suggested, that for the sake of time, we leave the Survivor bits out for now and he said, “If you can show me how they advance the storyline then we’ll start putting them back in.” I was sort of reluctant to do that.
JAMES
Sounds like a clever strategy from your dramaturge.
DALE
Yeah, so the first day we missed two Survivor scenes, and they were funny, and I was like – how can I justify getting them in?
JAMES
So, for the whole workshop you were trying to push them back in?
DALE
Well by Thursday I knew Survivor wasn’t coming back. The play had changed. Everything was fluid. I was doing rewrites every day. But there was this fight scene between Jade and her mother which I’d always struggled with because I didn’t have that fight with my mother in real life when I came out.
Ben Wong as Charlie, Jamie Matchullis as Jennifer, Kelsey Verzotti as Jade and Chantelle Han as Lilly in the Lunchbox Theatre production of Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets – Photograph by Benjamin Laird
DALE
When I first came out it was in ’93, and I wrote the play twelve years later. I came out before Ellen Degeneres came out, and that was big news. She came out on the cover of TIME magazine. I came out to my family – all in one day – at my mom’s house. I told my cousins first, and at dinner I told everybody’s parents. The ones who had the most trouble with it were the cousins in the 50 to 70 year range, but everyone over 70 was fine with it. In my experience of coming out – senior citizens don’t care that much – you know – life’s too short – do what you want. I had one relative who was ecstatic to finally have a lesbian in the family – that was surprising too.
So, anyway, I had written the play forward to the fight scene and written the play backwards from the fight, but I couldn’t actually write the fight scene. There was just a blank page.
And we got to Friday, before the public reading, and we were reading the script, like we did every morning, and the actor basically went from the last line before the blank page to the first line after the blank page and I went, “No wait. There’s a fight scene there.” And they all went, “What?” And I said, “Well that’s what the blank space is.” And Trevor said, “Where are the words?”
And I said, “I was hoping we could workshop this and get something out.” And Trevor said, “Dale, there’s an audience coming in an hour and a half to see your play. You have to have some words there.” And I said, “Well yeah, but I’ve struggled all the way forward and all the way back – I just need some help.”
Finally Chantelle Han who was playing the mother said, “I think I would ask them to leave, but I need to say something first.” Then the actor playing Jennifer or Jade said, “Well maybe such and such could happen.” And that gave me a little bit. And I think we all worked it out together. I was scratching out lines and adding lines and telling them things. I have no idea what that page looked like on their scripts, and when they actually read it at the reading it wasn’t typed. It was just hand written notes. That script literally got written an hour before it was read.
JAMES
But the audience didn’t know that, and I saw that reading, and it was a lot of fun. There were a lot of laughs. People loved the play, and I remember mentioning to you how much clarity had come into the play from when I had read it probably a year and a half to two years before that if not more. So now that the play is being produced are you excited about going into the rehearsal process?
DALE
Even though I’m not as much of a green horn as I was twelve years ago I’m still a newbie. This is my first big production. So, there’s a bit of a learning curve, but I’m really lucky because one of my mentors in the theatre community is Sharon Pollock whom I’ve known since 2006, and over the last few years we’ve become really good friends because we walk our dogs together.
Jamie Matchullis, Kelsey Verzotti, Ben Wong, and Chantelle Han rehearse a scene from Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets
Sharon is wonderful. Last year she had her own new play Blow Wind High Water at Theatre Calgary and she had a revision happening on another play at Stratford and I was going through stuff on my end and so I could ask her questions like, “Should I go to the rehearsals?” And Sharon was the first to say, “It’s your right to go to the rehearsal. Not all playwrights do. In fact, most directors would probably discourage it, but you’re emerging – you’re a rookie – you should go to them all.” She said, “Just take a book, and be there if they need you, and listen once in a while, and see what things they struggle with, and you’ll learn.”
You know I always say to emerging artists, particularly artists in their 20s, I say, “You have age on your side. You can plead complete ignorance. You can say, I don’t know. I’ve never been to a dress rehearsal? Can I come to your dress rehearsal? I’ve never been to a first read. Can I come to your first read?”
Ben Wong as Charlie, Jamie Matchullis as Jennifer, Kelsey Verzotti as Jade, and Chantelle Han as Lilly in the Lunchbox Theatre production of Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets – Photograph by Benjamin Laird
DALE
The other thing you can do if you’re an emerging writer or artist is volunteer. I have been ushering at Calgary theatres for more than ten years. Almost every theatre company in the city uses ushers, and if you usher you get to see the play for free, and you meet the people behind the scenes. So there are all these people that I’ve met along the way, and I’ve been supporting them for ten years, and I finally have something they can come to.
JAMES
Dale Lee Kwong at the Lunchbox Theatre 2017/18 Season Announcement with former Lunchbox Artistic Producer Mark Bellamy Photograph by Carol F. Poon
And genuine friends are happy for you.
DALE
Yes, I get that. I feel the love. At the official season announcement last February I just burst into tears. My best friend got a picture of it, and it’s one of my favourite pictures. Like you say it was a forty year journey. I didn’t even do the math. I’m bad at math. I’m not a good Asian.
JAMES
You can say that joke, I can’t.
DALE
You can credit it to me.
***
Dale also wanted to take this opportunity to thank the many people who have contributed to the development of her play over the years. Here is a list of the actors, directors, and dramaturges who have offered their time, talent and support in the creation of Ai Yah! Sweet and Sour Secrets.
Lunchbox Theatre – Stage One workshop, May 2006
TV Host/Charlie Wong – Steve Gin
Lillian Wong/Connie-fucius – Jacey Ma
Jade Wong – Elyn Quan
Jennifer Smith – Karen Johnson Diamond
Dramaturg/Director – Ken Cameron
Alberta Playwrights’ Network – Writing in the Works excerpt, Oct 2006
TV Host – Grant Lunnenburg
Lillian Wong/Connie-fucius – Sharon Pollock
Jade Wong – Laura Parken
Jennifer Smith – Francine Wong
Director – Sharon Pollock
Alberta Playwrights’ Network – Discovery Prize workshop and reading, Nov 2006
TV Host/Charlie Wong – Steve Gin
Lillian Wong/Connie-fucius – Michelle Wong
Jade Wong – Francine Wong
Jennifer Smith – Nicole Zylstra
TV Host/Stage Manager – Patrick MacEachern
Dramaturg/Director – Brenda Finley
filling Station Magazine – flywheel reading for Chinese New Year, Feb 2008
Charlie Wong– Ben Tsui
Lillian Wong– Jasmin Poon
Jade Wong – Francine Wong
Jennifer Smith – Elan Pratt
Connie-fucius – Jade Cooper
TV Host – Emiko Muraki
Director – Dale Lee Kwong
Lunchbox Theatre – Stage One workshop, June 2016
Charlie Wong – Mike Tan
Lillian Wong – Chantelle Han
Jade Wong – Ali DeRegt
Jennifer Smith – Julie Orton
Dramaturg/Director – Trevor Rueger
Dale Lee Kwong writes poetry, plays, and creative non-fiction. Third-generation Chinese-Canadian, her work explores Chinese-Canadian history, diversity & inclusion, adoption, and LGBTQ issues. Dale is passionate about the importance of Chinatowns across North America, and the fight to save them from gentrification. Dale plans to keep writing about the past and present, in hopes of shaping the future!
Lunchbox Theatre is one of the most successful noon-hour theatre companies in the world and produces one-act plays that provide patrons with an engaging and entertaining theatre experience. Lunchbox produces seven plays per season, as well as the Stage One Festival of New Canadian Work where many of the plays produced by the company are developed. Lunchbox is one of Calgary’s longest-running professional theatre companies and is located in downtown Calgary at the base of the Calgary Tower.
Tung Bui is a Calgary photographer and videographer that is passionate about visual storytelling. He loves the challenge of trying to shoot outside the lines of the viewfinder. So if you’re looking to capture your memories in a unique way…let his imagination work for your vision.
This interview has been edited for length and condensed for clarity.
Playwright Maria Crooks – Photograph by James Hutchison
“Frankly as human beings we all have a tendency to be more wary and distrustful of anyone who is not like ourselves. Also there has recently been a lot of discussion about who has the right to tell other cultures’ stories and my play touches on that topic. As our society becomes more diverse it is important to talk about this and to understand how to respectfully approach the telling of stories about other cultures. I don’t think it is wrong to write stories or make movies about others but one should always think about how to do so in a respectful and mindful manner.” – Playwright Maria Crooks
Maria Crooks is an emerging Calgary playwright who began writing plays after retiring from a corporate job in the oil industry in 2011. She describes her most recent play, The Mary Mink Story, as a play about untrammeled ambition, ruthlessness and deceit and one man’s relentless efforts for the truth to be told.
JAMES HUTCHISON
Maria, what attracted you to playwriting as opposed to novels, short stories, poems or other forms of writing?
MARIA CROOKS
I’ve always had a passion for writing and in the past I’ve taken a number of writing courses including poetry and short story writing. I decided to try playwriting because it was a new kind of writing for me and because I don’t like doing research and I mistakenly thought that writing plays wouldn’t require doing much research. Despite discovering that I was wrong about the amount of work it takes to write a play, I was hooked when at the end of the first course, the instructor brought in two professional actors to read scenes from the plays we had written in class. It was so thrilling to have the characters I had created, in my head, come to life before me that I’ve been writing plays ever since.
JAMES
You know I find it inspiring that you’ve come to playwriting later in life and I think that’s a great thing. I think people should go after their dreams no matter what their age. What motivated you to go after this dream?
MARIA
I love the theatre and I love acting and in fact after retiring I started taking acting courses and I’ve acted in a couple of plays since then. I also love words and writing and so the acting led to the writing of plays and somehow the writing has taken centre stage as it were, at least for the time being.
JAMES
A few years ago, I went to When Words Collide, an annual writers and readers conference here in Calgary, and heard American fantasy and science fiction author Brandon Sanderson talk about writers being either gardeners or architects. Gardeners are writers who plant seeds and see what grows. In other words, they just sit down and start writing. Architects are writers that like to make a blueprint before they start writing. Which are you?
MARIA
I believe I’m naturally a gardener. Even at university when I had to write papers I had difficulty following structure and pattern. I find following a blueprint a bit confining. However, over the years, I’ve discovered the usefulness of having a blueprint. It’s particularly important when writing a play where you have to know everything about the background of the characters you’re writing about before you start writing because it grounds them and informs their choices and will make your play and the characters more realistic and believable.
JAMES
Okay I have to ask, one of your earlier plays is a play called Age of Love – and it’s about a romantic relationship between a younger man and a much older woman – where did that story come from?
MARIA
I was listening to the program As It Happens on CBC radio about two years ago when they were rebroadcasting episodes from their archives. I heard an interview with a young man who in 1976 was 21 years old, and had fallen in love with his 76 year-old step-grandmother who had recently been widowed and he was determined to marry her despite his parents’ protests. At the time I was looking to write a play examining sexuality and I thought the story of love between two people with such a huge age difference would be intriguing to explore and write about.
JAMES
As you were writing that play what did you discover about your own thoughts and society’s thoughts concerning love, sex and age.
MARIA
I wrote the play as a comedy: I thought it was very funny and odd for a young man to fall in love with wrinkles and false teeth, but as I wrote it, I fell in love with my characters and I realized that romantic love comes in different forms and the usual pattern of boy meets girl who is young and beautiful is only just one of many ways for people to fall in love.
Ryan Gray as Ash and Diana-Marie Stolz as Olivia in the Urban Stories 2015 Production of The Age of Love
JAMES
It was produced so I’m curious what the audience’s reaction to the play was.
MARIA
I was very pleased with the reaction of the public, in fact it got good reviews* and elicited a lot of laughs. To this day, I will be at a dinner party or be at some other social function and friends or other people who have seen the play will approach me and want to talk about it. This happens way more often than with any other play I’ve written. Many wonder if perhaps I had been in a relationship with a younger man and that is the reason I wrote the play.
I also did research on gerontophilia, which is a little-known sexual preference for the elderly, and I printed an article to post at the theatre for the audience to read so they would know that this sort of love is possible and that I didn’t just write it out of wishful thinking.
JAMES
You mentioned that people thought the story for Age of Love came from personal experience but even though the specifics of that story aren’t about your life how much of your own life experience do you find you put into your writing?
MARIA
I think it’s inevitable that my own experiences will seep into my writing consciously or unconsciously.
When I was a child we moved from Cuba to Jamaica and after the move my parents couldn’t find an item, it’s been so long now I can’t remember what it was, but they immediately assumed it had been stolen by the woman who had been helping with the packing. This woman had been a family friend and my parents never responded to her letters because of the assumption that she had stolen from them. Many years later they found the missing item but by then it was too late, the friendship had been broken.
That story became the basis of my first play, The Servant, which is a story about a servant who is accused of having stolen a valuable ring which was subsequently found. I wanted to examine the nature of trust and how quickly it can be eroded when we jump to conclusions. In that same play I included a scene from a revival church meeting I witnessed as a child with a woman getting into the spirit and whirling around while speaking in tongues.
So yes, my experiences do enter my plays from time to time.
JAMES
Your current play is The Mary Mink Story. What is that play about?
MARIA
The Mary Mink Story is about a black woman who lived in Toronto in the mid-19th century. Her father, James Mink, was a prosperous businessman who owned a hotel and livery stables and had several lucrative government contracts delivering mail and so forth. According to several historical accounts, which I found online and in books, James Mink placed an ad in the Toronto papers offering $10,000 for a white man to marry his daughter. A white man married her and promptly took her across the border to the US where she was sold into slavery. The story was so intriguing that I felt compelled to write a play about it, however my research led me to a researcher from York University in Toronto who has done extensive work on James Mink and his family and she provided me with information which disproved the story.
JAMES
After doing your research and finding out the real story – how did that impact your play?
MARIA
I found myself in a dilemma. I felt the story was so dramatic that I wanted to tell it, but at the same time I didn’t wish to perpetuate the myth which is based on racism and bigotry and I didn’t want to be a part of that. I, therefore, decided to tell the myth while at the same time debunking it. This has been my most difficult play to write and my hope is that I have succeeded in exposing the myth while at the same time telling an interesting Canadian story.
JAMES
Why do you think this story needs to be told?
MARIA
I felt this was a story about a black family that needed to be told and I had a responsibility to set the record straight. A TV movie about the Minks was made in the 1990s and it too recounted the myth as if it were true. Wikipedia has an account of James Mink and that account does not say that it is a myth either so anyone coming across the movie or reading the Wikipedia account will come away believing it to be true.
JAMES
Why do you want to set the record straight? To tell the truth about what really happened?
MARIA
I feel a responsibility to James Mink and to his daughter to set the record straight because both were real people who were respectable and hard-working intelligent folk who do not deserve this continued insult to their memory. James despite his humble beginnings rose to become a prominent citizen of his community both he and Mary were proud of their African heritage and it is inconceivable that he would have made the offer he was purported to have made in order to get his daughter married.
JAMES
You’ve been able to work with Urban Stories a local theatre company here in Calgary on the development and production of your plays. What’s that been like?
MARIA
As an emerging playwright, collaborating with Urban Stories Theatre has been really advantageous. I met the founder and Artistic Director, Helen Young at an actors studio a few years ago and she encouraged me to expand a short play I had written into a full-length play which she then produced and presented as a main stage play. Urban Stories has a mandate to promote and support local playwrights and to that end they put on playwriting workshops, help budding writers through the dramaturgical and workshop process and will produce works which they feel fulfill their mandate of examining social justice issues.
Urban Stories has produced two of my full-length and two of my short one-act plays and we’re planning to produce the The Mary Mink Story at some point in the future. I originally had no intentions of offering this play to Urban Stories or anyone else for that matter because I had reached an impasse with the play and didn’t know how to move forward with it. I knew I wanted to expose the myth but I didn’t know how to do it, so I had put it away. Then I happened to mention to Helen that I had this play that I had more or less discarded and she asked to read it. She did and next thing I knew she said she wanted to produce it. So now I’m working with Urban Stories as well as dramaturge Caroline Russell-King, so that the play can be produced.
JAMES
Speaking of Urban Stories’ mandate to examine social justice issues what are you hoping audiences will get out of your telling of The Mary Mink Story?
MARIA
First of all, I hope they will find it entertaining and enjoyable but I also want people to see how easily lies can be created and perpetuated. This myth was born out of jealousy and dislike of the “other” and it persists even today.
JAMES
I assume you’re referring to the “other” as in immigrants or people of different race or nationality.
MARIA
Yes, I’m referring to immigrants and minorities but frankly as human beings we all have a tendency to be more wary and distrustful of anyone who is not like ourselves. Also there has recently been a lot of discussion about who has the right to tell other cultures’ stories and my play touches on that topic. As our society becomes more diverse it is important to talk about this and to understand how to respectfully approach the telling of stories about other cultures. I don’t think it is wrong to write stories or make movies about others but one should always think about how to do so in a respectful and mindful manner.
JAMES
Anything else you’d like to add about the play or writing or art or who you think is going to win the Grey Cup this year?
MARIA
I think theatre is important and it’s very pleasing how much good theatre there is to see in Calgary. We live so close to the US and their plays and playwrights tend to dominate so I think it’s very, very important to foster our own Canadian playwrights and their work. As for who will win the Grey Cup, I’m afraid I know nothing about football so, I won’t even hazard a guess.
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Maria Crooks is a Calgary playwright whose plays are often inspired by real events which she uses as a starting point for her fictional work. You can contact Maria by at catalinaver13@gmail.com if you’d like more information or if you’d like to obtain copies of her plays.
FULL-LENGTH PLAYS
The Servant is a play set in early 1960s Jamaica and Canada. It’s about a poor servant woman and her desperate efforts to achieve a better life for herself and her children despite the many forces arranged against her.
The Age of Love is a wacky comedy about an inheritance, a free-spirited step-grandma, a libidinous young man, his jealous mama, a weirdly eccentric German doctor and a ruthlessly ambitious talk show host. Non-stop hilarity ensues when these unlikely characters come together on a tabloid TV show.
The Mary Mink Story is a play about untrammelled ambition, ruthlessness and deceit and one man’s relentless efforts for the truth to be told.
SHORT PLAYS
Dreamboat is a 15 minute play about a plain young woman’s dreams of finding true love
La Mère, La Mer is a short play about a young mother’s descent into insanity and the unfathomable act she commits after the birth of her child.
Urban Stories Theatre is focused on supporting local playwrights writing about social justice issues by nurturing their ideas from first draft to finished production. The company is made up of a core group of local artists who oversee all productions and workshops. Budding actors, directors, stage managers and designers are encouraged to share their ideas by becoming part of the team on a show by show basis.
Vision: To give local artists a voice in creating theatre that tells real stories about real life.
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Playwright Meredith Taylor-Parry – Photograph James Hutchison
“I enjoy writing humour and I like the challenge. At the same time, if the story doesn’t have heart, if nothing serious is going on underneath the humour….what’s the point really? I want my plays to address some aspect of the human struggle that hopefully people can relate to. That’s what I want to see when I go to a play so naturally I aspire to that in my writing.” Meredith Taylor Parry interview Book Club II
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Meredith Taylor-Parry is a Calgary-based actor and playwright whose fun and insightful comedy Book Club was a runaway hit for Lunchbox Theatre back in 2016. At that time I did a two-part interview with Meredith. In Part One we talked about Meredith’s play Survival Skills which won the New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest in 2013 and was produced Off Off Broadway by the 13 Street Repertory Company. In Part Two we talked about Meredith’s play Book Club which was a funny and insightful look at motherhood and the joys and disappointments of life. Now in this third interview, Meredith and I talk about her very funny and moving sequel to Book Club – Book Club II: The Next Chapter, which premieres at Lunchbox Theatre and runs from September 18th to October 7th.
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JAMES HUTCHISON
The first Book Club was a big hit for Lunchbox Theatre and ended up having an extended and sold-out run. Audiences loved it! Why do you think the play resonated so well with audiences? And did you notice any difference in how men and women reacted to the play?
MEREDITH TAYLOR-PARRY
I knew I had a dream team as far as our director, actors, production and design team, but I never once imagined it would do so well! I can’t even tell you how much fun it was sitting in the audience listening to the laughs and waiting for the responses to my favourite moments. That was so exciting for me and unexpected.
I really think the reason the play resonated so well with people was because of the chemistry we had together as a group of artists. Everyone contributed so much to that script in the Stage One workshop process. There wasn’t one person in that room who didn’t add value to the script because everyone was brave enough to share themselves with me. I think that process and the generosity of the artists I was working with allowed me to find authenticity in the script along with the humour.
And, I think, the audiences liked it because they could relate to human beings, regardless of gender. One of the best comments I got was from a man who said, “good comedy is good comedy.”
Anna Cummer, Cheryl Hutton, Kira Bradley, Arielle Rombough and Kathryn Kerbes in the 2016 Lunchbox Theatre Production of Book Club
JAMES
How soon after Book Club did you start thinking about a sequel?
MEREDITH
I was watching performances of Book Club sell out and I was thinking, better strike while the iron is hot Meredith! I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to approach Mark Bellamy, Lunchbox Theatre’s Artistic Producer, when things were going well, and I had already been working on an idea for a sequel based on a weekend I had spent in Banff with my girlfriends.
I have the BEST group of girlfriends. We’re all moms and we have a lot of laughs together, and I’m constantly writing down ideas when I’m with them. They don’t mind either, they’re very supportive of my writing.
So, I took my idea and managed to scrape together 20 pages of Book Club II and a rough outline and I submitted it to Mark pretty much as soon as Book Club closed.
He was thrilled and considered it for the 2016 Stage One workshop but, due to scheduling issues, we couldn’t get the same team together to work on it. So, he scheduled me in for the 2017 Stage One series AND programmed it for the beginning of this season. He let me know at the beginning of this year and it was very exciting and of course a bit terrifying because I didn’t have a full script yet.
JAMES
What is Book Club II about?
MEREDITH
I wanted to further explore the nature of really good female friendships and examine how that works within one’s marriage.
There’s a special kind of intimacy I share with my girlfriend’s and I’ve questioned how that affects my relationship with my husband. Does he feel left out because I rely on them so much? What about my girlfriend’s spouses? How do they feel?
The first play was all about good girlfriends supporting each other through the messy business that is motherhood. I wanted Book Club II to explore the toll parenthood takes on a marriage and examine where the character’s husbands fit into the complicated lives of these women.
Anna Cummer, Cheryl Hutton, Kira Bradley and Arielle Rombough in a scene from the Lunchbox Theatre production of Book Club II: The Next Chapter – Playwright Meredith Taylor Parry Book Club II
JAMES
Even a good marriage has rough patches and, I think, unfortunately, our society places a lot of unrealistic expectations on our relationships. For example, there’s the idea that our romantic partners should know what we want and feel and think without us actually having to tell them. That’s a romantic notion that doesn’t reflect the reality of marriage or relationships. To make any relationship work, romantic or otherwise, you have to communicate. You have to tell your partner – when you’re hurting – what you need – what’s going on in your life – otherwise they won’t know. So, I guess what I’m asking is whether or not you think that some of the problems people face in their marriages are because the reality of marriage doesn’t live up to the romantic fantasy of marriage? And maybe – now that I think of it – men and women have different expectations of what marriage is?
MEREDITH
Yes, and yes! We are raised on a certain brand of romance. Cinderella has been around for a long, long time! I think we are both unrealistic in our expectations and I think men and women have different expectations for their romantic relationships. I also agree that communication is key. Humans are terrible mind readers yet we easily make assumptions about our partner’s thoughts and behaviours and communicate our needs in cryptic ways.
In the workshop, we did discuss the typical “husband on the couch while wife slams dishes into the dishwasher” scenario. Why doesn’t she just ask for help? Why doesn’t he pitch in without being asked? We also talked about the different expectations for men and women when it comes to emotional vulnerability in communication. I think we’re improving but there’s still a culture of emotional toughness when it comes to boys.
JAMES
Where did the actual story for Book Club II come from?
MEREDITH
It started with the original idea of the characters getting away for the weekend and talking about their marital woes. I talked with lots of girlfriends and a few male friends about their marriages and I also did a lot of reading. There’s a lot of material out there about marriage and relationships! I went back as far as Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus, remember that one?
One of my favourites was “How Not to Hate Your Husband After You Have Kids” by Jancee Dunn. So, the story of Book Club II contains bits and pieces of all the research I did and of course it evolved greatly in the Stage One workshop this past June. Curt Mckinstry was extremely helpful with developing the husband character. Once again, I was blessed with a generous artist who was willing to share himself. And, of course, I got the rest of my dream team back as well.
Cast of Book Club II – Anna Cummer, Cheryl Hutton, Kira Bradley, Arielle Rombough and Curt Mckinstry Playwright – Meredith Taylor Parry Book Club II
JAMES
Did you feel any pressure writing the sequel? Were you able to focus on the writing without worrying about it being as big a success?
MEREDITH
The pressure made me sick to my stomach to tell you the truth. What if number two sucks? But the great thing about a deadline is, you have no choice. I wasn’t going to walk into the workshop empty handed. It was a very intense week, the script was rough and I spent a lot of late nights writing so that I could address the issues that had come up during the day. That kind of intense writing leaves no room for your inner critic to get in the way. I did breathe a sigh of relief at the reading however when the audience seemed to like it. I also completely trust Shari Wattling, my dramaturg/director. She keeps me truthful and she keeps me focused and tells me when I’m drifting off course.
JAMES
I think one of the things that worked so well in the first play was the mix of humour and drama all brought to life by a wonderful cast and a terrific production. And I’d say based on the reading for Book Club II, which I saw back in June, I think you’ve managed to capture that same mix of humour and drama. So, I’m curious when you’re writing is the mix between humour and drama something you do intentionally or is it more of an intuitive process?
MEREDITH
I guess when I’m working I’m always looking for ways to work in funny or quirky bits. I enjoy writing humour and I like the challenge. At the same time, if the story doesn’t have heart, if nothing serious is going on underneath the humour….what’s the point really? I want my plays to address some aspect of the human struggle that hopefully people can relate to. That’s what I want to see when I go to a play so naturally I aspire to that in my writing.
Arielle Rombough, Cheryl Hutton, Kira Bradley, Curt Mckinstry and Anna Cummer in a scene from the Lunchbox Theatre production of Book Club II: The Next Chapter – Meredith Taylor Parry Book Club II
JAMES
It’s been a couple of years since you wrote the original Book Club. In what ways do you think you’ve evolved as a playwright?
MEREDITH
I’m learning more about structure and I’m learning more about the practice of writing. I was an on again off again kind of writer, creating in fits and starts and then buckling down when I had a deadline. But now, I write every day. A play is kind of like a lover, you need to give it attention so that it will give something back. If I give a play attention every day it seeps into my unconscious mind and feeds me new ideas constantly, even when I am not sitting at the computer. And hopefully on opening night, your lover doesn’t screw you over. Ha ha!
JAMES
If you loved Book Club you’re definitely going to love the sequel, but the great thing is you don’t need to have seen the first play in order to enjoy the second play. Both plays stand as full stories on their own. What do you want audiences to take away after they see the new story.
MEREDITH
My hope is that the audience will see a story they can relate to and enjoy a great night of theatre. I hope they will leave with a desire to see more theatre! There are so many spectacular offerings this season in Calgary!
JAMES
Are the girl’s stories going to continue? Is there a full-length play in the works? A book maybe? A possible television series?
MEREDITH
Good lord, you’re getting way ahead of me. Let’s see how this one goes first, shall we?
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Book Club II: The Next Chapter runs from September 18th until October 7th at Lunchbox Theatre. Performance times are Monday to Saturday at 12:00 noon plus a 6:00 pm show on Thursdays and Fridays. Tickets are $26.00 for adults and $21.00 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased on-line at Lunchbox Theatre or by calling the box office at 403-265-4292 x 0.
Book Club II: The Next Chapter by Meredith Taylor-Parry Book Club is back. Get ready for another page turner. September 18 – October 7, 2017
During a weekend getaway where the girls talk about creating a Mommy Commune and Lisa runs into an old boyfriend, the girls of Book Club have to examine what marriage and sisterhood truly means to them.
CAST
Kira Bradley – Kathy Anna Cummer – Ellen Cheryl Hutton – Lisa Arielle Rombough – Jenny Curt Mckinstry – Barry / Bartender / Colin
CREATIVE TEAM
Meredith Taylor-Parry – Playwright Book Club II Shari Wattling – Director Chris Stockton – RBC Emerging Director Terry Gunvordahl – Scenic & Lighting Design Rebecca Toon – Costume Design Allison Lynch – Sound Design Ailsa Birnie – Stage Manager Ava Bishop – Production Assistant
Flight Risk by Meg Braem One man’s heroic journey to find peace. October 23 – November 11, 2017
World War II veteran Hank Dunfield is about to celebrate his 100th birthday, but painful memories of his time as a tail gunner during the war don’t make him feel much like celebrating. Only his new nurse Sarah is finally able to get to the heart of Hank’s pain and sorrow and help Hank find peace with the past.
The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris, adapted by Joe Mantello The is one elf that won’t make the nice list. November 27 – December 23, 2017
An out-of-work actor in New York city takes a job as an elf in Macy’s Santaland Village and reveals all the crazy and hilarious behind-the-scenes shenanigans of the holiday season. A Christmas comedy for the little bit of humbug in all of us.
Inner Elder created and performed by Michelle Thrush One woman show for all people. Co-Presented with the High Performance Rodeo January 15 – 27, 2018
Using real memories about her Grandmother’s impact on her life, award winning Calgary actress, Michelle Thrush takes audiences on a journey of discovery. A journey where we see the transformation from child to elder and learn that for everyone laughter is the best medicine.
Ai Yah! Sweet & Sour Secrets by Dale Lee Kwong Dinner is served. So are juicy family secrets. February 19 – March 10, 2018
When her father invites a surprise guest to celebrate Chinese New Years more than one family secret comes out of the closet and Chinese-Canadian Jade Wong is caught between being true to herself and living up to her family’s cultural expectations. A funny heart-warming story for anyone who has ever faced an awkward family dinner.
Miss Caledonia by Melody Johnson This story will be over in an hour. Her Hollywood dreams may be too. April 2 – 21, 2018
Peggy Ann Douglas dreams of becoming a Hollywood movie star and leaving behind all the stall cleaning, hay-baling drudgery of her 1950’s life on Rural Route 2. Step one is to sing, twirl and pivot her way to being crowned Miss Caledonia in the local pageant!
Meredith Taylor-Parry is a playwright based in Calgary, Alberta. Her plays include So Long, a TYA play which toured Calgary and area schools in 2012 with Sandbox Children’s Theatre, Survival Skills (Winner New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest 2013) which was produced Off Off Broadway in 2014 by the 13 Street Repertory Company NYC and Devices which was produced as part of the 27th annual New Ideas Festival presented by Alumnae Theatre in Toronto. Her one act comedy, Book Club, received its world premiere at Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary in 2016, performing for a majority of sold-out audiences and held over due to the play’s popularity. She is looking forward to returning to Lunchbox with the sequel this September: Book Club II: The Next Chapter. Meredith is a co-founder of Bigs and Littles Theatre Society and a stay-at-home mom to 11 and 12-year-old girls. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Playwriting at the University of Calgary.
Bartley and Margaret Bard and Betty Gibb founded Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary in 1975. Lunchbox delivers a fun and unique experience to its audience – upbeat performances in an intimate and comfortable atmosphere. Patrons are encouraged to eat their lunch while they enjoy the show. Lunchbox Theatre focuses on the development and production of original one-act plays; many of which are written by local Calgarians.
