Spotlight! E-news from Theatrefolk

Issue 29 - What's New at Theatrefolk!

Welcome!

This month learn about Theatrefolk's latest publications. We've got interviews with our newest playwrights talking about their works.

We're so pleased to introduce these plays to you!

In This Issue

• THEATREFOLK BLOG
  Theatrefolk talks!
• INTRO
  An introduction to the newsletter.
• A BOX OF PUPPIES
  An interview with author Billy Houck.
• UPON A SEA OF DREAMS: A JOURNEY ON THE TITANIC
  An interview with author Kathleen Donnelly.
• THE ART OF REJECTION
  An interview with author Christian Kiley.
• SHOUT BLOG
  Lindsay talks about the one act version of SHOUT.
• RINGTONES
  Get your favourite literary quote on your phone!
• MRS. MERRITT'S BIG BOOK OF HOLIDAY SKITS
  Holiday plays for the whole calendar.
• CONFERENCE ALERT
  Meet us in person.
• IN THE NEXT ISSUE
  What you can expect next.
• FACEBOOK/MYSPACE
  More places to reach Theatrefolk.
• STAY IN TOUCH
  Contact Info/Read Our Blog.

Theatrefolk Blog

Keep up with the comings and goings of Theatrefolk on our blog.

Read Lindsay's Judging experiences at the California State Thespian conference.

Intro

I read all the submissions that come into Theatrefolk. Sometimes it's a great job, sometimes it's not. You can tell pretty quickly if a play has a spark, or if it fits within our mandate. Those plays just fly off the page, they make me excited to keep turning pages. They remind me of why I love theatre.

Sometimes, well, the plays have less spark. Those can be hard to get through, mostly because you're hoping with each page that the play will take off, will take flight and more often than not they don't.

It's important to read the less sparky plays too. A playwright took the trouble to write it, I should honour that by taking the trouble to read it. And besides, I'm a playwright too; I submit to outside companies all the time. I've received a lot of rude, careless, insensitive rejection letters from those companies. I refuse to write those kinds of letters to the playwrights who submit to Theatrefolk. I read every play and try to respond constructively. One of the things I'm most proud of is when I get thank you notes for my rejection letters.

If you want to submit a play, anywhere, make sure you think long and hard about your cover letter. An ill-conceived email with poor spelling and no formatting makes it really hard to like your play. Secondly, make sure you know the mandate and customer base. I get plays all the time from writers who didn't take the trouble to look into Theatrefolk, like when I get a play with a cast of four senior citizens!

We're pleased to introduce to you three new plays and their authors. I love that these playwrights found Theatrefolk and allowed us to share their work with you. It's an exciting time and these are diverse exciting works. Enjoy these interviews as the authors share their insights.

A Box of Puppies

Billy Houck is a California teacher. Last year, he initially submitted three plays, two of which were the monologues One Beer Too Many and Huge Hands.

These two scripts were vivid; the main character in each spoke so clearly in the teen voice. We eagerly asked Billy if he had any more, as these plays were shorter than we usually publish. He responded with two more wonderful plays: Diatom and another crystal clear teen monologue, Constantly, Incessantly, All the Time.

All of these together make up the varied, heartbreaking, hilarious, emotional roller coaster collection that is A Box of Puppies.

Why is the collection called A Box of Puppies?

It’s a phrase I like to use. Have you ever seen a classroom full of kids as they come into a room? They bounce. They sniff each other. The chew each others’ ears. They yelp. They’re a box of puppies. They don’t always chew each other’s ears, but you get the idea. Besides, who doesn’t love puppies?

What do you like about writing short form?

It’s much faster.

Also, it allows the play to be about one specific thing. If I write too much, I’m in danger of being attacked by subplots.

You have a clear vision of how to write for youth. How much of what you see in your teaching life inspires the characters in your work?

All of it. I’ve spent most of my life in high school theatre.  If I draw from my life experience, that’s where it is. That said, I should explain that I’m not a journalist. I never try to make an accurate portrayal of one person or a specific situation. In the final analysis, my characters are all me.

All four plays deal with how teens cope: Rikki in Constantly, Incessantly has a drug store of prescribed pills in her knapsack, Sparky of Huge Hands channels superheros, Skip of One Beer Too Many writes, the characters in Diatom use humour. Why is it important to write these kind of stories?

That’s what art is for: to help us to cope with life. There’s a great lie that our culture tells young people: “These are the best years of your life.” True, life can be harder when you’re older and have to take some sort of responsibility – but being a teenager is hard. You feel pulled in five directions at once and it’s hard to know who to trust. It aint all Happy Days. And it never was, either. Producing plays that deal in some honest manner with real human problems tells each audience member: “It’s all right. You’re not alone. I’m going through the same stuff you are. I know how you feel.”

What makes a great teen play?

A great teen play? It shouldn’t be any different than any other kind of play. Believable Characters. Dialogue that takes to the ear. Passion. An untold secret. A funny situation. And truth.

What's your writing process?

I’ve tried all different manner of writing processes. I generally start with a central idea or image, maybe a single line of dialogue. When I started writing, I did it all on a manual typewriter. My cuticles were always all torn up from trying to type too fast and missing the keys. My heart’s desire was an IBM selectric with interchangeable typeface balls. Now that I work on a computer, I find it really doesn’t matter where I start writing. I can start in the middle and go backwards, then go put an ending on it, then realize maybe the beginning isn’t really the beginning, and put some more up front. Due to the realities of time and work, I tend to do most of my writing at night.

The longest I have ever taken to write a play is about ten years. I had the idea for Incroyable (a play about fashion and politics in the French Revolution)  when I saw a picture in a college textbook. I didn’t get around to finishing it until I was 30. On the other hand, I wrote One Beer Too Many during a break at a Thespian Festival. It was created in the time it took to scratch it out on a yellow legal pad. I’ve put plays into rehearsal with my students, then done rewrites as they presented themselves in the process. It’s very interesting, but playwriting isn’t really a democratic process. I personally dislike the concept of “workshopping”- either produce a play or don’t. Why bother with half measures?

A Diatom is a unicellular algae. How did that turn into a play about two teens waiting for the bus?

I remember reading about diatoms in some magazine article about advances in science…here they are, living beings, but so tiny that they’re constantly lost in the ebb and flow of the water around them..so they extrude exoskeletons to protect their tiny bodies. Well, isn’t that what life is like for all of us? So I wrote a play about a couple of kids who are not “big enough” to have any great influence in their worlds…they don’t have a car, or a friend with a car. So they sit there on the curb, waiting for the bus, waiting to get bigger.

One Beer Too Many has been performed around the world. What are some far flung locations? What's it like to see the play performed?

My plays are far better traveled than I am. I have been told about productions in Bangkok, London, Manila, and all over the United States. In the first couple of weeks that A Box of Puppies was available, copies were sold in Australia, Georgia, Canada, the Republic of Korea, and Tennessee.  This doesn’t include all the copies I was giving people in California. Of course, those are script sales, not productions. Still, I like the idea of all those puppies out there in the world, just waiting for someone to turn the page.

A few years ago my son Alexander did a production of One Beer Too Many as his senior project at Santa Clara University. He added characters and expanded the play to  thirty minutes. There’s a lot in the play about fathers and sons, so it was very interesting to see it take shape. As far as the subject of the play, I have found that the disease of alcoholism is so pervasive in our society that there aren’t many people out there who don’t relate to the play on some level.

Are you working on anything new?

Yes. Right now I’m writing an adaptation of Lysistrata that we’ll do at Arroyo Grande High School next February. I’ve put it in the season, so now I have to finish it. It’s about half done right now. Of course, there’s always the possibility that there will be no need for anti-war plays 2009, but I doubt it.

Upon A Sea of Dreams: A Journey on the Titanic

Kathleen Donnelly is from Pittsburgh, PA and teaches middle school. She sent us a very quiet but passionate email about her play Upon a Sea of Dreams: A Journey on the Titanic "The Titanic story never fails to engage the students’ imaginations." I was intrigued in the story from the first page to the last.

It is the night of April 14, 1912. In a tiny third class cabin Emma struggles to quiet her infant brother and calm her younger sisters. The young girls think life on the Titanic is a game. They're on their way to a new life in America after all. But the playful air changes when the ship suddenly stops moving and sirens blast. The stewardess says they're to stay in their cabins. The American boy says his deck is flooded and the ship is sinking. They have to get out now. Do the girls stay put or leave? And if they leave, how do they get past the locked gate? An amazing character-based drama with a unique look at this infamous event.

What made you want to write a play about the Titanic?

I love how Upon a Sea of Dreams came to be. It was about as unexpected as you could get, a proverbial 'point and shoot.'

I was teaching a 6th grade playwriting class and we were in the brainstorming phase. On the board were a bunch of things that students had written in response to the prompt 'moments that changed the world.' Somebody had put down 'Titanic sinking.' I was talking about how a play can be about anything, be set anywhere. I turned to the board, 'Titanic' caught my eye, and I began a 'for instance.'

I think the cabin setting came pretty quickly because I was thinking small, contained set; I don’t remember where the idea for the three sisters travelling alone came from. But I went home and wrote a five-page model for a beginning of a play, and an outline. As I shared the beginnings of the script with my class, we were all enjoying it so much that I kept going. I had a first draft in less than a month. I probably never wrote a first draft of a play so quickly.

What came first for you; the characters or the story? Do you favour one over the other in your writing?

Although the play did not begin with the idea for the characters, I’ve become very close to them and don’t think a play can be complete without that. If I’m having trouble with a play, I usually figure that I just haven’t gotten to know my characters well enough. There are different seeds for different stories, but I think that they finally have to be realized through the characters.

My favourite image in the play is when Emma talks to the piece of cloth adorned with her mother's sewing work and stained with her mother's tears. What's your favourite moment or image in the play?

I’m glad you like that image -- I remember vividly the writing of that moment. I have to say I have a lot of favorite moments in the play -- I’ve spent so much time in the North Atlantic with these characters!

I like the moment when Milly blurts out about their mother. And without giving away the end, that last scene didn’t use to be there. It came to me while I was walking down the street one day and I knew it belonged. But I will narrow it down to two favorite moments: when Emma says her final goodbye to the Stewardess and when the Stewardess reveals her own dreams. Both of those are still very dear to me.

What was it like to see the play for the first time?

Besides deep gratitude for all the cast and everybody at Saltworks Theatre for giving me that chance to see the play on its feet, there was a moment in a rehearsal when I was watching the three young actresses and I was just overcome with the realization, 'Oh my goodness, there they are, there’s Emma, Sarah and Milly -- they’re really real now.' It brought tears to my eyes.

During the performance, I was split between watching the actors and watching the audience. I happened to catch one woman (during that moment of Emma talking to her mother with the linen) and I can still see her face, she held her hand clenched to her mouth, she was so caught up in it -- and I just thought to myself, 'okay, yeah, it’s working.' Feeling the audience caught up with the story and with the characters, again, was very gratifying.

Were there any moments that were hard to write? Anything you had to go over and over again?

I edited the play a lot. Mostly fine tuning though staying true to the overall spirit of the first draft. But working transitions and the passage of time, trying to get the sense/logic right, making the builds work, and just really working hard at trying to make each emotional moment real. I haven’t counted how many drafts of the play I have, best to sum it up as 'very many.'

As we've been preparing the play for publication, we've noticed that you are extremely specific with your dialogue. You want every line to sound just right! This play has an extra-specific sound as well because the characters are Irish: talk about your approach to dialogue and writing in an accent.

As for my focus on dialogue, I have been an actress for many years but I haven’t been acting with any great frequency these days and I feel that I do all of my acting at the computer now -- my cats totally enjoy the show! So, I’m working the dialogue as I write it. For better or worse, I’m using my own actor’s inner sense of the words to guide me and if I’m getting tripped up, that’s a cue for me to re-examine what’s going on.

What's your writing process?

I like the quiet and I like mornings at home. Mornings are everything to me in my writing and I can’t imagine being able to do any real writing at night -- that might just be a bad habit I have to break, but for me nothing beats the mornings and the quiet!! I probably work more on the computer, but I do work on paper in notebooks, and like to do some of the editing on a paper script. Sometimes scenes are best realized when I’m working with pen and paper, but usually it’s the computer.

I think an idea for a play comes to me almost always in a flash and if I can just harness it and get it down on paper then I’ll have the makings of a play or a story (I write fiction, too). Sometimes I might realize that the flash really doesn’t have the substance for a whole piece, but too often, those flashes are gone before I’m able to capture them. Once I’m working on a project, have really dove in, long walks are very helpful, as is the shower, or swims, for seeing things more clearly and getting lines of dialogue.

But back to what to do with the ideas for a play or story, there’s a Sherwood Anderson piece where he talks about all the characters who are freezing outside on his stoop, waiting to enter his home while he’s fumbling to get them written; he berates himself for not working hard enough to get them down on paper. I can relate to that a lot as I think most writers can. So I struggle with being more disciplined as a writer while keeping up with a busy schedule as a teacher of writing, which I absolutely love -- I have a pretty inexhaustible source of inspiration between working with really gifted students and the material we get to cover in class, like that Sherwood Anderson piece, which I use as a writing prompt every year and the kids write amazing things based on it.

Please share anything else you'd like our customers to know about the play!

I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun working on a play. I think, at heart, it’s just a very simple and innocent play and it’s easy to get lost in it (in a good way). It’s been just over five years since I first began it. Besides a lot of really dear friends and colleagues, it was my students at Rogers CAPA who’ve really encouraged me in this process. The Titanic fascinates students with widely different backgrounds and interests. There’s something so compelling about that story, maybe because it is still unbelievable that it actually happened. Maybe that’s why it’s so compelling, that there’s still hope it’ll turn out different this time? I don’t know, but students for whom the 1980s are ancient history, get absolutely caught up in this story and relate to it very much. Over the years, my students have been my readers and my feedback givers and their enjoyment of it has encouraged me to continue with the play and believe in it.

And now, I have the feeling that my journey on the Titanic is over, with the script being out there, no more long days in the North Atlantic for me. But I’m hoping there will be many days for Emma and her sisters out there, still. This story is probably too long, but about how you can get so close to your characters: It was one day when I had just finished a complete revision of the play and that evening I went to see the movie 'In America' about the Irish family coming to New York, but in the 1980s. I loved the movie, it was very emotional and wonderful, and as the credits were rolling, the name of the two young actresses who played the Irish sisters scrolled up. They were, it turned out, sisters in real life, too, and their real names were Emma and Sarah -- I just started weeping.

This somehow solidified for me my Emma and Sarah, and affirmed in some strange way all the time and effort I was putting into the play and how real my characters had become for me. So, yes I do think it ultimately all comes down to the character work. That’s the most challenging part, but also the most rewarding. Once your characters start to really gel, working on the play is like spending time with good friends and when you finally get the sense that they really have their own lives, that’s a great feeling.

The Art of Rejection

Sometimes when I'm reading a submission there's a moment or an image that just makes the play explode. They're very exciting, and I have been known to say 'whoa!' out loud as I'm reading. The Art of Rejection has one of those 'whoa' moments. The end of the play (which I won't reveal, you'll have to see for yourself!) is stunning and unexpected. It made us want to publish the play right away, and again we wrote the author, California teacher Christian Kiley to see if he had a companion piece. He provided the amazing Chaired. The two plays work wonderfully together and we've collected them under the title The Art of Rejection: Two One Act Plays

Enjoy!

The Art of Rejection

R is the only letter in a sea of numbers. Always picked last for kickball, never part of the 'in' crowd, never gets the girl. What is a letter to do to get through life? An avant-garde look at the price of popularity.

You describe the play as an avante garde look at the price of popularity. Why did you pursue the avante garde form? Is it a genre of theatre you like? Why does it fit the play?

I have always looked at life a little differently than everyone else. I think many of us in theatre feel this way. I remember acting in an avante garde play in college and everyone saying, 'this is so weird' and I felt so comfortable with it. I guess some people can’t tango in slippers. I like the lack of boundaries and limitations that the avante garde theatre offers.

Avante garde theatre is like the sweet music of the ice cream truck to me. In terms of the play, trying to 'fit in' and be 'popular' is a bizarre proposition. It is a lot like being in an avante garde play. For some of us 'popularity' is like an experiment that has gone wrong. Terribly wrong.

While the story is a little to the left of realism, the dialogue and characters are naturalistic. Do you like combining forms? Or is it a style that just comes naturally?

I like the idea of regular people facing unusual circumstances, and I think actors and audiences are more able to adapt than we give them credit. As a kid I often thought of famous historical figures caught in a Lewis Caroll world. How would FDR deal with the Mad Hatter? I do enjoy styles that test the boundaries of realism and challenge conventional ideas and norms.

What really stands out in The Art of Rejection is the ending. Without giving anything away, the ending is the ultimate in Rejection! What inspired you to write this play?

It may sound strange, but in many ways this is my life (exaggerated slightly). I just want people to know that they do not have to do the expected things to obtain popularity. I still remember destroying my junior high journal because one of my 'friends' said I was a 'sissy' for writing in it. It is very much like R’s spelling medal. We should never be ashamed of our true power and uniqueness.

Did you ever consider going for the happy ending route?

Wow! No. But my wife wanted it to be happy. I told her I would make a different version to read to our daughters as a bedtime story. This just felt like the right way to end it.

The Art of Rejection won first prize in the Rancho Cucamonga High School One-Act Festival - did you direct the production yourself? What was it like?

Yes, I directed it myself. I have come to really respect those teacher-artists who run junior high and high school theatre programs. You are really like a pioneer alone on the prairie. There is something romantic about it, but it is also a little scary. And I felt that as director-playwright too. Sometimes I think the extra set of eyes and critical thinking skills can help you out. But my advanced actors here at Etiwanda High School are very perceptive and talented, and they truly helped shape The Art of Rejection. I can honestly say it would not be the same play without their input.

Chaired

Potential sits centre stage in a chair. At times Potential is forced to remain seated by family, teachers and friends. At other times Potential will do anything not to stand. It's better to stay in place, not move, not reach out. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is just stand up...

In this play, the main character remains seated for the whole story. What's the inspiration for the play?

People do a lot of sitting. And I think this becomes a habit, almost like chronic apathy. Sometimes we are afraid to take risks, to really pursue our dreams. The main character represents the people and things that prevent us from getting up and taking risks, including those lingering self-doubts. For me, it has taken a while to say 'I’m ready to take a shot at my dreams.' Like Potential, I feel like I’m a late bloomer.

Again you combine the absurd format with naturalistic characters and dialogue. What about this combination speaks to you?

I often feel like life is a series of dream excerpts that make little sense to anyone except to the person living them. Plus, I think we have all been in a situation where we feel like the world and all the people in it are insane except for us, and we have to make sense of it all. I imagine that Potential in Chaired and R in The Art of Rejection feel the same way.

I think my favourite line in the play is 'Even though I wouldn’t trust you to put my laundry in the dirty clothes basket, I like you.' It's just so imagistic! What's your favourite moment in the play?

I actually really like the off-stage monster noises. As a kid I used to check under my bed for monsters. I think we all get to the point where we just want to yell at the monster, 'Shut up you hideously predictable beast!' And it feels good whether you are five, fifteen, or fifty.

Is there anything in the play that changed from concept to final product?

Yes. You (Lindsay) gave me a great note on Potential’s objective in regards to the need/desire to stay seated.

Given the chance, wouldn’t Potential at least try to stand up? If Potential does remain seated, then there must be a clear reason for the decision. I was grateful for this input, and I believe the articulation of Potential’s desire to stay seated helped establish the obstacle that is addressed at the end of the show. I still get a lump in my throat the size of a baseball every time I watch a play that I have written being performed.

You work very closely with students to develop your plays. What's your process as a writer?

Yes. I am very proud of my students as artists striving for excellence. Usually I will bring in a draft and we will read it, and then I will take notes and make changes. Most of the organic part of the process comes when these talented actors sink their teeth into the words and characters, and the resulting impulses become the magic dust that playwrights so desperately crave. The rapid-fire sequence where R is picked on repeatedly by the ensemble was largely improvised.

I enjoy the collaborative process, and am thankful to be a part of developing new work.

Shout Blog: The One Act Version

SHOUT! is a full-length musical that follows four teens who can't seem to express themselves: Ariane is a hoodie wearing, brooding, silent girl nick-named "Gloom and Doom." Jack and Tassi are first time daters who have no idea how to deal with dating or each other. Dana is having a hard time dealing with an overprotective mother. She really, really wants to break free and really, really, wants to tell her mother what she's thinking but...just...can't.

When I approached teacher Roxane Caravan for the first test production of SHOUT!, she asked if I could also do a one act 'cut' version for competition. The Florida Thespian contingent is so huge schools compete in one act festivals at a district level and have to receive a Superior ranking to move on to the State level. Which is exactly what Lakewood Ranch HS did with SHOUT!

I thought initially that this one act 'cut' would merely be an exercise. Something to test my editing skills as a playwright, and something we could use as a business card to advertise the musical. Here's some of the music, check out the full length! I never thought we'd actually keep it or publish it.

The one act version of SHOUT! follows just one story – the brooding Ariane has to learn what it means to recognize true friendship, and what it means to be a true friend herself. It's the most serious of the three stories so I had to make sure there was a balance of drama and humour. A little Buzzy Bees does just the trick! The singular focus actually works – seeing Ariane's struggles under a microscope draws the audience into her world and throws them to the edge of their seats.

And of course, there's still lots of music! This was very important for Roxane so that as many students who were in the December full length production could participate. It's also important seeing that it's, well, a musical....

I love that we're going to have both a full length and a one act version of the show. It's part of our mandate to be flexible, and being able to have a one act musical I think is wonderful!

Is the full length better? It's different. The great thing about the full length is that because there are more stories, each character has time to develop and grow. In the one act, the characters are moving, moving, moving. The two have different paces, which has been an interesting exploration. Both have their place and I'm proud of each version.

The one act version of SHOUT! will be performed at the Florida State Thespian Festival by Lakewood Ranch High School.

DATE: Wednesday April 30th
TIME: 7:00 pm
PLACE: Ferguson Hall, Performing Arts Centre, Tampa, FL

Ringtones

Theatrefolk is going multi-media! Haven't you always wanted your favourite Shakespeare quote as your ringtone? Are you in a Theatrefolk play and want a quote to play when your fellow castmates call? Check out www.literaryringtones.com for more info!

Mrs. Merritt's Big Book of Holiday Skits

We're proud to be connected to this project. Especially for elementary schools, this book is bursting with plays, scenes, skits, sketches and poems for holidays throughout the year. See www.mrsmerritt.com for details.

Conference Alert

Here's our upcoming conference schedule. If you're attending, please drop by and say hi!

In the Next Issue

The Musical. Singing, performing, directing!

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Some of our playwrights post to the Theatrefolk Blog. Check it out for insights into what's happening with Theatrefolk.