A LOOK AT "SCAPINO" BY JEFFREY BINDER: A Brief Overview of Scapin the Schemer and the History of this Zany Commedia Character

 

BACKSTORY WITH BOBBY KENISTON

 There's just something about a character who can talk themselves out of anything, isn't there? A character who can somehow keep track of the lies they keep piling on and on, nimbly deceiving those around them without breaking a sweat. This is a staple of great comedies and farces all throughout history, even as early as Ancient Greece and Rome, and tonight, playwright Jeffrey Binder's Scapino takes a classic tale by Moliere and effortlessly sets it in a mafia style comedy for today's audiences. 

Moliere's Scapin the Schemer was first presented on the 24^th of May, 1671. And while this is the original source material for tonight's adaptation, Moliere's character Scapino or Scapin is named after a zanni character for the commedia dell'arte. A zanni character is what the commedia dell'arte referred to as a type of character that was an astute servant and, even more importantly, a trickster. Such characters were immensely popular in the commedia with all types of crowds, and our English word “zany” is derived from such characters. Scapin himself is said to have been created by Niccolo Barbieri, an Italian writer and director of the commedia dell'arte, and an occasional actor as well, as it is said that he performed before the Royal Court of France.

The name Scapino is directly related to the Italian word “scappare” which means “to escape”, and literally translates to “little escape artist.” A fitting name for a trickster who talks fast, and flees from fights even faster (even the ones he starts himself). Moliere's Scapin talks of having had a falling out with Justice, a “trifling quarrel” in which he claims, “She used me very badly; and I felt so enraged against the ingratitude of our age that I determined never to do anything for anybody.” Their means of escape includes escaping accountability for most of their actions, using their wit and words to stay one step ahead of all of those around them.

To be honest, I am surprised that it took so long for someone to come up with the brilliant idea of placing a Scapin zanni type character in a mafia comedy. I tip my hat to playwright Jeffrey Binder, who spent most of his career as a New York City actor, performing on and off Broadway, as well as appearing in several television shows. He has been trained in the technique of commedia and clowning, so you can rest assured that this adaptation, while new and bold, is also true in spirit to the masters that came before him. His journey in becoming a playwright began after he adopted his daughter and left New York City to become the Associate Artistic Director of the Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, Florida, where the Artistic Director encouraged the development of his Scapino every step, leading to a critical (“A bold stroke of creative genius!”, the Naples Daily News proclaimed) and commercial success that is now being produced all over the country.

So please sit back and enjoy the zany (and zanni) mayhem of Scapino, our penultimate production of the season. But please save some of your laughter for Who's in Bed with the Butler?, our final show of the season coming soon.

Note:  This backstory originally appeared in Lakewood Theater's program for their production of Scapino.

To learn more about Jeffrey Binder's adaptation or to acquire rights to produce it, visit Concord Theatricals by CLICKING HERE.

A Look at "WHO AM I THIS TIME?" by Kurt Vonnegut: Actors Can Be Shy

 

Still Picture from American Playhouse's production of "Who Am I This Time?"

When I was teaching an Introduction to Theater class at Foxcroft Academy, I had my students read Kurt Vonnegut's short story, "Who Am I This Time?," about a shy community theater actor named Harry Nash who seems to only come to life or, indeed, have any personality at all, when he is acting on stage. He knows how to be Cyrano, knows how to be Stanley Kowalski, knows how to be any character you throw at him, but he has no idea how to talk or relate to people as Harry Nash. While I know many people (mistakenly) think of Mr. Vonnegut as a sci-fi writer, or maybe a funny social critic, this story is neither of those things. In fact, it is a sweet gentle tale about community theater, which ultimately becomes a love  story:  Helene Shaw, on an assignment for her job, is cast in a play with Harry, and learns how to break through his shyness, using dialogue from plays to woo him. 

The story was published in 1961 by the Saturday Evening Post (back when, as Vonnegut used to say, a writer could actually make a living writing short stories), and is now widely available in Vonnegut's classic short story collection Welcome To the Monkey House. Though I find the story timeless, full of heart and humor and just plain goodwill, many students found it boring (probably didn't read it, if I am being honest), or at the very least, didn't relate to it. But then there were always a few who did.

The shy ones. They got it. Just like I did. 

I was actually introduced to the story by way of the short film that was adapted from it for the gone and still lamented American Playhouse. This short film is a very faithful adaptation of the short story, directed by the late Oscar-winning  Jonathan Demme (when he was still early, of course), and starring Oscar-winning actors Christopher Walken as Harry and Susan Sarandon as Helene. I suppose I could have shown this movie in class instead of making them read the short story, though I still think it might have only really hit home with the shy ones like me. And having been made in 1982 with almost non-existent production values,  I do wonder how it would have been received--- though the performances from the two leads are outstanding, and it is a funny story if you can let yourself bet taken in by it. 

My first year drama coach in high school was Tom Lyford, and he gave me the movie to watch to observe how Walken cried out "Stella!" as Harry was rehearsing for A Streetcar Named Desire. Well, this is why he told me he was lending me the movie. I think there was more to it. I think he recognized a shy, introverted young man, who seemed to only really come alive on stage. 

I have always been shy. I mean, I am good with a small group of close friends, and, these days I can flip the "ON" switch an be entertaining around groups of people. But it is so very exhausting. 

But being in character on stage has always been invigorating. Expressing myself through different characters has always felt natural. 

I was accepted into Boston University's School for the Arts, but when I got there, I had such a hard time talking to people. I was more shy there than I had ever been in my life. I wanted to talk to people, but I just didn't know how. I remember a king young woman in my group asking, "Have you ever seen the movie 'Who Am I This Time?'" I told her yes. She said, "I thought you probably had. I bet you have a whole lot going inside."

She was right. 

I have learned through the years that it is not uncommon for actors to be introverts--- quite the contrary. It is called escapism for a reason. 

I know that many of the students in my Intro to Theater class were put in there by the guidance counselor because they needed an arts elective. But I was always happy to see one of the shy ones start to shine in the classroom scenes, and learn how to express themselves, using theater as a tool.

And I like to think that Mr. Vonnegut's Who Am I This Time? helped with their journey. I know it did mine. 

GREAT QUOTES FROM GREAT PLAYWRIGHTS

 

Because Playwrights Are Potently Quote-able

If you are like me, you are a man who needs a shave sitting at his computer wondering how to eke out a living as a playwright in the small town of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, during a pandemic. 

Or, another way that you may be like me, is that you like quotes. For me, quotes can be inspiring, funny, strange, or at the very least, diverting. Since many of my heroes are famous playwrights, I like to look quotes from playwrights, so I figured, why not share some of my favorites?  If you're like me, you'll like them. 

I personally wish I could always remember and feel the truth of this great quote from the amazing Suzan Lori-Parks:

"Each moment is perfect and heaven-sent, in that each moment holds the seed for growth."  

Nice, right?

Tony Kushner, the genius behind Angels in America, among several others once said, "As a playwright, you are a torturer of actors and of the audience as well. You inflict things on people."

Noel Coward believed "Work is much more fun than fun," while Neil Simon reminded us that "If no one ever took risks, Michaelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor."

George Bernard Shaw gave us this advice:  "Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world," as Lynn Nottage encouraged us to "Replace judgement with curiosity." 

"Things are beautiful if you love them," said Jean Anouilh, and I can't argue with that. I also can't argue with Arthur Miller when he said, "Betrayal is the only truth that sticks."

And absolutely no one should be able to argue with Edward Bond: "The human mind is a dramatic structure in itself and our society is absolutely saturated with drama."

Theresa Rebeck said, "I write a lot because, if I don't, I start to panic, and I calm down when I write," feelings I often share. 

Samuel Beckett is often quoted as a proponent of failure, which is its own kind of encouragement: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." Edward Albee must have been a fan of this quote (he was definitely a fan of Beckett), as he said, "If you're willing to fail interestingly, you tend to succeed interestingly."

Another favorite of mine from the Theatre of the Absurd, Eugène Ionesco, said, "Ideologies separate us. Dreams and anguish bring us together."  And he wasn't just talking about rhinoceroses, either. 

Lanford Wilson warned that "Nobody's safe around a writer," and he was probably right. 

Perhaps the best way to end this batch of quotes are with this short quote from Harold Pinter (another favorite of mine). I have often found it inspiring on bad writing days, and I hope you all will, too:

"Good writing excites me, and makes life worth living."

A BRIEF BACKSTORY OF "GODSPELL": It's All About Building A Community

 

The Famous Godspell Logo

BACKSTORY WITH BOBBY KENISTON

Just to get this out of the way, I, your humble essayist, played the part of Jesus once upon atime---actually, it was in 2010 in Dover-Foxcroft at the Center Theatre, but this isn't about me (never an easy thing to say). Do forgive my lapse down memory lane. 

Like many great pieces of art, one could say Godspell was created in the kind of frenzy achieved when passion connects with a looming (and extremely important) deadline. God knows that's when I have had to use my creative powers to their fullest.  But this isn't about me. 

Picture, if you will, a young man by the name of John-Michael Tebelak, a student at Carnegie Mellon University in 1970, with a thesis due in two weeks. John-Michael had been studying Greek and Roman mythology, but became fascinated by what he called “the joy” expressed in the Gospels. Nowpicture this young man attending an Easter Vigil at St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh--- he is wearing his almost constant garb of overalls and T-shirt. And finally, please picture this overall-wearing churchgoer being frisked for drugs by a police officer after the service, most likely because of the long hair and hippie clothes.

Later, when explaining the origins of Godspell, Mr. Tebelak wrote of this experience, “I left with the feeling that, rather than rolling the rock away from the Tomb, they were piling more on.” He went home and worked on the manuscript for the entertainment you are about to watch in a nonstop race to completion. He first staged the script at Carnegie Mellon with students from the music department, then moved it to the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club for a two-week run in 1971, utilizing much of the same cast.

Tebelek's production came to the attention of Edgar Landsbury (Angela's brother--- you know Angela Lansbury--- not only a Grand Dame of the Theater, but also a famous teapot and a woman who inexplicably finds murders wherever she goes), who, with other producing partners, wanted to move it to Off-Broadway. They hired Stephen Schwartz, another Carnegie Mellon alum (known these days as the composer of Wicked and Pippin, among many others) to re-score the show (though the lovely “By My Side” from the original Carnegie Mellon production by Jay Hamburger and Peggy Gordon was kept in the final show--- I may write a separate blog post about just this song some day because I love it so much). Shcwartz incorporated several styles, including folk, pop, and even vaudeville to complement the energetic, colorful nature of the piece.

Before taking New York by storm, however, Godspell had a rich life in prominent productions in Australia, England, and South Africa. I personally wish I could have been around in 1972 for the Toronto production which helped to launch the careers of Victor Garber (who reprised his role of Jesus in the film adaptation), Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Gilda Radner, Dave Thomas and Martin Short, all under the musical direction of a fellow named Paul Shaffer! The nomadic feel of Godspell's early life, and its reputation later on as a touring show, only adds to the nature of the script itself, which feels like a tight ensemble community helping to spread Jesus's message to each individual audience, inviting everyone who watches into their community for the duration of the performance, perhaps even after.

I think the reason that a show like Godspell is so popular in community theater (despite some mild controversies along the way that are, to be honest, so very silly), is because it is a show that is about building communities and inviting all people into it. Which is exactly what community theater should be about, too.

John-Michael Tebelek died in 1985 at the age of 35 from a heart attack, but he is survived by this musical, and every family of actors who perform it, including this lovely tribe of storytellers here at Lakewood Theater. May its music lift your spirits, and its message of Peace, Love and Acceptance follow you long after the curtain has closed.

Note:  This essay originally was written for and appeared in the program for Lakewood Theater's production of Godspell.

To learn more about his musical, you can visit https://www.godspell.com/

If you would like to produce the musical, you please visit Music Theatre International to obtain licensing rights.  You can do that by CLICKING HERE

My High School Theater Experience

 

I'm the short one in the affectionate headlock
(Then there's Tom, Heidi and Jess)

Just yesterday, there was a high school reunion for my graduating class. I didn't attend, and I had no real interest in attending (most of the people I were close with were not going to be there, or were not in my graduating class), and, indeed, did not attend, but the very fact that such a reunion existed prompted me to think back on my high school experience. It is safe to say that without theater, I would have drifted to the outskirts even more than I did--- I had a tight, small group of friends (many of whom I dragged into doing plays with me), but I grew up and live in a community that doesn't value the arts perhaps as much as it should. It has improved since I was a high school student, but it will never be on equal footing with certain other activities. And since theater was all I cared about (and academics... I was Salutatorian of my class after all), I often didn't feel very popular or like I belonged... unless I was rehearsing for a play. 

I attended Foxcroft Academy in my hometown, Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, and at that time, the school generally put on three productions a year:  a fall (or sometimes spring) musical, the one-acts for the Maine Principal Association's One-Act competitions in the winter, and then a non-musical full-length play in the spring (or the fall, depending on when it was decided to the musical was going to be that year). While I loved being involved with all of them, the one-acts were my absolute favorite:  the competition play got to go to competitions and see a bunch of plays and meet a bunch of students from all over the state. We often got to stay in a motel (which is always exciting-- overnight field trips in high school). But I was definitely in it to win. I wanted to take home trophies or All-Festival cast certificates. I was perhaps, to my embarrassment, a little too invested in that aspect of the competition at times, and would brood if things didn't go as I'd hoped. 

Musicals were always the most challenging for me. Even though I was in chorus, I was once told that, if I hadn't been a good actor, I probably wouldn't have been cast in good parts in musicals, because my singing voice wasn't strong enough. This stuck with me for a long time, and it wasn't until I started doing musicals after college that I began to love being a part of them, and, in time, grew more confident with my singing voice (which, if I am to believe most people I have worked with, actually pretty good). But even though the musicals were challenging, I dove right in. 

Having grown up in a house with parents who were always in plays, and being involved in theater myself since the age of ten or so, I know I fancied myself to be quite the expert in high school. Looking back, I hope I wasn't too insufferable... I am fairly certain I never was obnoxious (I hope), but, in truth, I think the attitude came from the fact that I was not good at things like gym class (except volleyball, kind of), and I was not an athlete (except track a few times). Perhaps I needed to feel like I was the expert at something, maybe even the best. And even if I didn't think I was necessarily the best, I had to believe that no one could have loved theater as much as I did.  I know now that is untrue, too, of course. 

Mostly, though, I was able to let go of my own insecurities, and just enjoy being part of a cast, which, to me, is always being part of a new family. When you let yourself go, you forget about things like popularity, status in school, and all of that nonsense, and just work with everyone to create something together. That's why I love theater so much, why I have taught it and directed it all over the place. Theater builds communities. 

Builds families.

For fun, I am going to see if I can remember all of the plays I did in high school and list them below. And to be honest, I would have a reunion with the cast of any one of these plays in a heartbeat.

(Note:  In high school, I was also part of a program called Gifted and Talented Theater, but that deserves its own post)

MY HIGH SCHOOL PRODUCTIONS:

GUYS AND DOLLS (Rusty Charlie)

THE ACTOR'S NIGHTMARE (George Spelvin)

THE CRUCIBLE (Reverend Paris)

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (Hysterium--- pictured above)

AUDITIONS FOR A WRITER (The Janitor?)

ONCE UPON A MATTRESS (The Jester... years later, I would play Dauntless at Lakewood Theater)

TWO BOTTLES OF RELISH (I want to say William or Willie, maybe?)

THE PASSING OF AN ACTOR (The Old Actor)

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (Perchik)

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (Mortimer)

Selections from A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM  (the "rustics" putting on the play scenes) (Peter Quince)

Looking back, it feels like there were so many more... but, of course, my summers were full of Lakewood productions and there was also the Gifted and Talented program I will write about separately. 

Want my advice?  Go out for plays. Be involved in theater. It's good for you. And you will still look back on it fondly years later. Trust me. 

How Covid-19 Made an Effect On This Playwright

 

The Virus that Stopped the World

I have a confession to make right up front: 

I take care of my parents who are both of advanced years. Since having this responsibility, I have found myself becoming more and more afraid of germs, even before pandemic. When directing plays during the Maine fall and winter, I made it clear to my cast that if they felt sick, they should stay home. I had bottles of hand sanitizer everywhere, especially near me. 

You can imaging that the pandemic only exacerbated these feelings within me, and, to be frank, I have been dealing with what is called illness anxiety, or, what some might call being a hypochondriac. Because of this, when I tell you that I believe safety should always come first, you can believe I mean it. I have known three people who lost their lives to the virus, and many others who were quite ill but fortunately recovered.  

I want to make it clear that this post is not a post against the lockdowns that occurred and the activities that were cancelled for public health and safety. I am pro-science and pro-safety all the way.

But I did want to write a post to let people know how the pandemic made an impact on my playwriting career, as a workman playwright who depends on royalties from schools and community theaters. 

I think you can guess the answer:

Obviously, my productions went down. Drastically. Performances were (again, understandably) cancelled. All in all, I would say I experienced easily a 60% drop. And that hurts one financially. But what hurt even more, was that I felt I had at last published a play that could be a holiday hit for me, certainly the biggest hit I would have had up until this point in my writing career.  The play is called A Wicked Christmas Carol (it is published by Playscripts, Inc., and you can order it by CLICKING HERE). Watching theater disappear just as I had a play that I thought could really go somewhere was devastating to me. It is not easy to have a hit when you're in my market. 

As you must know if you are theater folks reading this, many wonderful groups did their best to keep the spirit of live theater alive using Zoom technology. That is one way I maintained some royalty payments at all!  In fact, a theater group in London did a Zoom production of A Wicked Christmas Carol (did I mention you could order the play by CLICKING HERE). I thought this was an ambitious undertaking---the play is a solid 2 hours long, which isn't necessarily easy to maintain on Zoom. But, this wonderful group really made something special and unique from it, using the medium in creative ways. And certainly one major positive from the entire situation is the fact that this Maine-based playwright who never could have afforded to travel to London to watch the production, was able to watch it live streaming, which was by far the highlight of my Christmas season. 

I suppose I could wind up being divisive here, but it is my blog these are my feelings: 

If we want live theater to come back, we've got to bring it back safely. That means cast members who are old enough, should be vaccinated. And there is nothing wrong with a theater telling the public that audience members must show proof of vaccination, and still wear masks. With the Delta Variant, we can't be too careful. This is how Broadway is proceeding, and I believe it is the smart way to proceed. There should also be some kind of air replacement system that keeps air circulating in the theater. Ventilation is important.

Again, this isn't about politics, or about being divisive, it is about public health and having the things we love once more, and helping artists like me to make a living again. Please get vaccinated and please mask up, so that when Christmas rolls around we don't have another outbreak, forcing all of the Christmas productions to be cancelled. 

And speaking of Christmas productions, I know of a great Christmas play. You can learn more about it by CLICKING HERE. 

Please keep theater alive moving forward by being safe. Overcautious, even. Because as lovely as Zoom can be, we all know it is not quite the same thing as being there in theater experiencing it all together. 

Let's make that happen. 

HOW READING PLAYS MADE ME A PLAYWRIGHT: The Tale a Theater Kid, A Local Library, and a Ten Cent Book Sale

 

Me, With Two of My Childhood Teachers

For better or worse (I like to think better, except when I'm short on cash and in need of a bigger royalty check), I grew up in a theatrical household. I don't just mean because of the drama, though we certainly had our fair share. No, I mean that my parents were both involved in theater from the time I was a very young age. I remember tagging along with my older sisters to my parents' rehearsals for Blithe Spirit as part of a theater group they were trying to start in our home town, and then, later on, driving an hour to and from Lakewood Theater every summer. Certainly it was this life of witnessing rehearsals, hearing them run lines (and memorizing them before they did) and experiencing their love for it that made me want to be involved in theater myself. And indeed, I got my chance when I was cast as Winthrop in The Music Man at the age of ten. Throughout the next years, I was not just tagging along with my parents to Lakewood, but rehearsing for plays myself. 

Along with my own burgeoning love of performing, I was simply fascinated and terribly curious about how plays were made. From the time I was twelve or thirteen, I began to simply love the act of reading scripts, seeing how they worked. I suppose in my mind, I wanted to learn how to write plays for me to star in. I was barely a teenager, so I can be forgiven such a self-serving ambition, right?

My hometown library is called the Thompson Free Library, and while it didn't necessarily have the largest collection of plays you could ever hope to ask for, it had more than one might think for such a small town. In the picture above, you can see there volumes of "The Best American Plays" which spanned from the 1950s to the early 1980s. I started taking those books out and devouring as many plays as I could. I distinctly remember reading Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and, while not completely understanding what was going on, I was excited by the electricity of the dialogue and the characters, the way they talked to each other, using their words as weapons. I remember reading Arthur Kopit's Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad and again being thrilled by this energy, this complete sense of possibility. Lanford Wilson's Lemon Sky spoke to me in a way I couldn't fully describe. I checked out each volume of this Best American Play series more than once ( as well as collections they had of Neil Simon, Eugene O'Neill, Thornton Wilder). I began to learn the work of some of the masters, and witnessed how theater evolved from decade to decade. 

Though I didn't know it at the time, reading and re-reading these volumes were just as much a part of my theater and playwriting education as all of my work in college. My playwriting professor at Bennington, Gladden Schrock, had indeed made the point that a great way to learn how to write plays was to read plays (and see them, too, of course). These plays made me want to be part of their world.

As I got older, and found more extensive libraries at college, I was able to branch out from simply the best AMERICAN plays, and learn where favorites like Albee, Kopit, Tennessee Williams, Christopher Durang, and David Mamet picked up their bag of tricks from (Beckett, Ionesco, Pinter, etc.). But these volumes gave me an incredible base of knowledge, but, perhaps even more importantly, it kept me wanting to know more, to read more, to act more, to write more. Would I have ever wanted to direct a play if I hadn't directed the plays in these volumes in my mind dozens of different ways? Would I have ever taken joy in creating dialogue if I hadn't learned from the masters on these pages? 

I tell you this, and I believe it wholeheartedly:  one way to really keep our American Theater vital and vibrant, is to normalize the reading of plays the same way we do novels, from a very young age. I know some schools in fact do this, but it should be a given in every district all around the country in my opinion. Reading out loud helps students connect to the characters and the story, it teaches empathy, teaches us how to relate. It inspires us to set the stage in our own minds. If we started with plays early on, Shakespeare would not be such a challenge when we get to high school.

But I digress:

The Thompson Free Library had its first ten cent book sale since Covid-19 a few months ago. I love the ten cent book sale, and always am proud of certain finds. But this year, when I went in with my Mother, as they were only allowing a few people at a time, the woman who runs the sale said, "We have some books set aside that we thought you might be interested in."  She went off into a side room, and came out with four volumes of these Best American Plays, the very same books I had taken out so often, more years ago than seem possible. It brought up a great deal of emotion in an interesting way. To buy these books that have meant so much to me, that have been a part of me even more than I realized. These four volumes truly were some of my earliest theater teachers. 

A great education, now purchased for only forty cents. 

Cracking the covers and looking over old favorites is already actively filling up the creative well. 

If you love theater, read plays. Lots and lots of them. You'll be glad you did. 

A Look at "JENNY'S HOUSE OF JOY" by Playwright Norm Foster: Strong Women and Hearty Laughs

 

Promotional Material From Lakewood Theater's Production of Jenny's House of Joy, starring (from left to right to up) Chelsea Martel, Christina Lovett Steeves, Kalyn Black, Sarah Johnson, and Midge Merrill Pomelow

BACKSTORY with Bobby Keniston

Norm Foster, the author of tonight's entertainment Jenny's House of Joy, is the most widely produced playwright in Canada, and for very good reason. His plays are relatable, accessible, and oh-so human. It doesn't hurt that they are laugh out loud funny, too! I personally had the pleasure to appear in his play Skin Flick here at Lakewood a few years back, and I had a blast. I reached out to Mr. Foster with a few questions about what inspired him to write this play set in an old West brothel, and its companion piece Outlaw, which is set in the same town and year as Jenny's and features overlapping characters. To my surprise and appreciation, he generously took the time to write back with his thoughtful answers.

"First of all, the western genre has always been my favourite", Mr. Foster writes, complete with delightful Canadian spelling. "I chose Baxter Springs, Kansas as the setting for Outlaw and Jenny's House of Joy because of the role it played in the cattle drives of the day."

When asked about the subject matter of the play, he makes it clear that he set out to write a play about strong women. "I wanted to show this group of women in a different light from what we would expect of women in that profession... I think audiences should know that some of the women who took part in this profession back then were fairly normal by most standards and had dreams like any person might."

I asked Kalyn Black, one of the lovely and talented actresses you have the pleasure of watching in theshow tonight, for her thoughts about the play's female characters. She tells me how "each one of thewomen find their way to Jenny's House of Joy through various paths of finding their true self worth.Each woman has a barrier that is unique to them that prevents them from seeing their own value."

Ms. Black concludes with perhaps my favorite insight of the play, saying it is "a story about losing yourself and finding your way back."

But what about us in the audience? If we lose ourselves in the world of the play, will we ever be able to find our way back to it?

"I always intended to write a third story about the people from Outlaw and Jenny's,"  Mr. Foster assures me. "Maybe someday I will complete the trilogy."

We can always hope!

Note:  This interview/essay first appeared in Lakewood Theater's program for their production of Norm Foster's Jenny's House of Joy.

Find out more about Norm Foster's plays here:

NORM FOSTER: CANADIAN PLAYWRIGHT

The Backstory of "But Why Bump Off Barnaby": Will the Real Jack Sharkey Please Stand Up?

 

Note:  This piece originally appeared in Lakewood Theater's program for their production of Buty Why Bump Off Barnaby by Rick Abbot

BACKSTORY WITH BOBBY KENISTON

Greetings, friends! I would like to welcome you back to Lakewood Theater for the summer! I know I am not the first to do so--- I have no doubt that the wonderful box office staff, the indispensable volunteer ushers, and the tireless gang at the Lakewood Inn Restaurant have all beat me to it. Still, I would like to add my gratitude to the list and thank you for supporting theater here in central Maine as the world creeps back to sense of normalcy.

Nature often works in cycles, so it feels appropriate to open our 2021 season with last season's closing show, But Why Bump Off Barnaby?, a delightful mystery farce by Rick Abbot. If you have read myessays before, you know I often try to contact the authors of our plays for interviews. Sadly, this is not possible with Rick Abbot. He passed away in 1992. Further, he wasn't really Rick Abbot.

Don't worry, there's no mystery here. Rick Abbot was one of four pen names for prolific writer Jack Sharkey (the others were Monk Ferris, Mark Chandler, and Mike Johnson, who only wrote stage thrillers). Like many other prolific playwrights, Mr. Sharkey employed these pen names to avoid saturating the market, and because he wisely realized that many theaters don't like to produce multipletitles by the same author in a single season.

Born in Chicago in 1931, Jack Sharkey served in the army where he wrote and directed shows for theEnlisted Men's Club. In 1958, he moved to New York City to pursue writing, and, oh boy, did he pursue it! He wrote countless science fiction stories, novels, and chapbooks for children before deciding to solely write for the stage in 1975. And though it is estimated that he wrote 85 plays or more, it is very likely his name isn't nearly as recognizable to you as a playwright like Neil Simon or Beth Henley. This is because Sharkey was one of the playwrights who made a fine living, but never a “killing”. A “working class” playwright, Sharkey geared his plays toward the community theater and school markets, like so many others in his field (Tim Kelly, Pat Cook, and yours truly come to mind), making sure to write great parts for large casts to shine.

“His first play, Here Lies Jeremy Troy, was about two days from opening on Broadway on two occasions,but just didn't happen,” his widow Pat Sharkey told the L.A. Times in 1996. “He got comfortable with not trying for that anymore. He wrote what he would enjoy seeing, feeling that if he would enjoy it, other people would.”

Mr. Sharkey particularly enjoyed creating fast-paced, joke-filled shows that were easy to produce and made people laugh without offending them. It seems he couldn't resist going for the funny bone.

“I remember a few times, Jack would try writing a straight mystery,” Pat Sharkey said, “and after a few pages he'd decide to turn it into a comedy mystery, after all.”

And here, nearly 30 years after his death, Lakewood Theater carries on his legacy of laughter by bringing back the crowd pleasing But Why Bump Off Barnaby?, a quintessential comedy mystery. It is our hope it keeps you guessing--- and chuckling--- until the very end.

Thank you so much for joining us on our journey for 2021! Full steam ahead!

If you are interested in learning more about the play, or producing it, follow this link to Concord Theatricals:

'But Why Bump Off Barnaby?' | Concord Theatricals

A History of the Play "Mid-Summer" by Viña Delmar: How Vaudeville Lies at the Center of this Nostalgia Piece

 

BACKSTORY WITH BOBBY KENISTON

Note:  This was originally written for Lakewood Theater's production of Mid-Summer

Mid-Summer, tonight's entertainment, was one of only 3 plays Viña Delmar wrote, but don't let that fool you--- she was a very prolific writer for nearly fifty years, rising to fame in the late 1920s with her then provocatively titled novel Bad Girl, and went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for the screenplay of The Awful Truth in 1937. Mid-Summer, premiering in 1953, was a love letter of sorts to vaudeville, and featured a young Geraldine Page in her Broadway debut. Speaking of auspicious debuts, I am happy to report that this production marks the Lakewood directorial debut of (among many other titles) my good friend, Arturo Meneses, who was good enough to talk with me about the play, about vaudeville, and about his love of Lakewood Theater.

“It really is like home,” he told me, a sentiment to which I, and many others, can certainly relate.

Audiences have been enjoying Art's work for quite some time. He made his acting debut while still a teenager in 1997 in the musical Jungle Queen Debutante, and played a memorableHarvey Johnson in Bye, Bye, Birdie. I first acted with him a few years ago in Incorruptible, andaudiences cheered his performances in The Legend of Georgia McBride and Godspell. On topof his work as an actor and director, Art has been spending some time this summer organizingthe Lakewood archives, sifting through old memories of friends made throughout the years.

Art found his summer home after working with Mark Nadeau at Messalonskee High School,who encouraged him to audition, and also cites the late Jeffrey Watts as a mentor and influence. He first pursued his interest in directing at the University of Maine at Farmington, taking the helm of such productions as Pillow Talk and Medea (the hilarious Christopher Durang comedy). He really cut his teeth by directing his very own production of Bye, Bye Birdie at the Hsinchu International School in Taiwan with a group of young people who had never acted before!

“They all auditioned very well,” he said with a shrug. “But then didn't know how to act as soon as they were cast in the play.”

A self-proclaimed “Actor's Director,” Art has certainly made an impression on the cast of Mid-Summer. “He really takes the time to ask us questions, encouraging us to find our motivation,”

Kaelie Merrill, the talented young actress who plays Lily, the Geraldine Page role, told me. “He really wants us to think about our characters and how we connect to them. This experience has taught me how I can grow as a person just by putting myself in her [Lily's] shoes.”

Art has delved into the world of vaudeville, and read the delightfully titled No Applause- JustThrow Money, a history of vaudeville by Trav S.D. When I asked him how we make an older art form like vaudeville accessible to audiences today, he said, “The issues we go through today are the same ones people went through back then. The situations will always be relevant.”

Kaelie agrees, and adds, “I think vaudeville is fascinating... They could say things that we can't say!”

Though the brilliant Viña Delmar is no longer with us, and, sadly, vaudeville itself has faded away, we are all fortunate to experience a kind of time travel tonight, thanks to the hard work of Arturo and the talented cast and crew. So prepare to be transported to the Lenoir Hotel in New York City in the year 1907, as we enjoy Mid-Summer during our very own glorious mid-summer here at Lakewood Theater.

If you are interested in producing Mid-Summer, you can find it at Concord Theatricals by following this link:

Mid-Summer (Delmar) | Concord Theatricals

BULLSHOT CRUMMOND: a history of the play, and a brief history of parody

Note: This essay first appeared in the program for Lakewood Theater's Production of Bullshot Crummond

BACKSTORY WITH BOBBY KENISTON 

In 1974, Ronald House and Diz White were in a fringe comedy troupe called The Low Moans

when they first developed the initial concept for Bullshot Crummond, tonight's entertainment.

The idea was fleshed out with fellow troupe members Alan Shearman, John Neville-Andrews,

and Derek Cunningham, and had its first production in San Francisco at the Palladium Theater

the very year it was written.

The play, as you will soon witness for yourselves, falls into a very particular style of comedy we

like to call parody. Specifically, Bullshot Crummond, the name and the play, is a send-up of the

character Bulldog Drummond, who was created by author H.C. McNeile in a 1920 novel named

after the hero. Bulldog was a World War I veteran who had trouble going back to the boredom of

a humdrum civilian life. He decided to place advertisements, looking for excitement, until, lo and

behold, he transformed from listless veteran into a world class adventurer! And there were

plenty of adventures to be had--- McNeile wrote ten more novels, four short stories and four

stage plays about them!

Certainly there are elements (including his name) that made Bulldog Drummond a perfect target

for the parody provided by The Low Moans' performers. While researching this play and the

source material it spoofs, I began to wonder just how long parody has been around, and where

it all came from. It should have come as no surprise to learn that it has been around since

Ancient Greece at the very least. In his Poetics, Aristotle mentions Hegemon of Thasos as the

inventor of parody. Hegemon would slightly alter the wording of well-known poems, and thus

“transformed the sublime into the ridiculous.” There were other narrative poems in Ancient

Greek literature known as a “parodia”, which took the ideas of epics, but treated them in a light,

satirical manner with mock-heroic subjects, like The Diliad (sadly, a lost parody of the Iliad,

mentioned by Aristotle) by Nicochares. Aristotle, always a bit self-serious, wasn't much of a fan,

saying that Homer made men better than they were, while these writers of parody made men

worse.

Perhaps Aristotle was missing the point, or simply didn't know how to take a joke. Parody

continued to thrive. It was first mentioned in English in 1598's “Every Man in His Humor” by Ben

Jonson, and Shakespeare, of course, used parody quite freely, notably in A Midsummer Night's

Dream with a group of rustics making a clown show from Pyramus and Thisbe, complete with a

talking Wall (something our former President would no doubt love) and Lion.

Nowadays, it is not uncommon for the parody itself to outlive its source material, which may be

the case for Bullshot Crummond, a play still widely produced and a well-known crowd pleaser

(trust me, you'll see in just a few minutes). It is reported that when Mel Brooks, a master in the

art of parody, saw the play, he was so impressed by its zaniness and humor that he said it

couldn't ever possibly be filmed. And while Mr. Brooks has been right about so many things in

his 95 years, he was wrong about this. Perhaps inspired by the success of other parody films

like Airplane!, a movie adaptation simply called Bullshot was released in the UK in 1983, with

three of the Low Moans reprising their stage roles, and several cameos from famous British

comedians. The film was produced by George Harrison's production company, Handmade

Films, as the former Beatle was known to love a good laugh.

And a good laugh is what we have in store for you, dear audience, as our very own lively troupe

of performers wait in the wings for the curtain to rise on Lakewood Theater's production of

Bullshot Crummond,

 If you are interested in learning more about the play or producing it, you can check it out at Concord Theatricals by following this link: https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/5604/bullshot-crummond

INTERVIEW WITH PLAYWRIGHTS DOUGLAS E. HUGHES AND MARCIA KASH!

 

Marcia Kash and Douglas E. Hughes, a great comedic playwrighting duo!

Note: This interview first appeared in Lakewood Theater's program for their production of Mr. Hughes and Ms. Kash's play, Something Fishy.

BACKSTORY WITH BOBBY KENISTON

Something Fishy, by Douglas E. Hughes and Marcia (pronounced Mar-see-a) Kash, premiered at the Lighthouse Festival in Ontario, Canada, in 2016. Regular audience members of Lakewood Theater are no strangers to the works of Mr. Hughes and Ms. Kash--- we have produced two of their most famous titles, Who's Under Where?, a farce about love, marriage and lingerie, and Too Many Cooks, a delicious tale about cooking, gangsters and mistaken identity, to huge laughs and thunderous applause.

The writing team graciously took the time to answer a few of my questions. Their answers--- which came separately--- demonstrate just how wonderful a collaboration they have shared over the years.

BOBBY KENISTON: There is no doubt that during every election season, one can't help but find Something Fishy in the air, no matter what side of the political spectrum one finds themselves. What do you think makes politics and politicians a topic that is so ripe for farce and lampooning? Is comedy the great unifier?

DOUGLAS HUGHES: Good question! One of the central themes of Something Fishy is that politics, to a very large extent, is theatre; and as recent events have clearly indicated, that theatre can often tip over into farce. Hence the setting for the piece.

MARCIA KASH: I think comedy most definitely is the great unifier- as long as everyone can laugh at themselves as much as the other guy. Politics and politicians are perfect for farce as they, like characters in farce, are constantly caught in the spotlight, changing the story (the spin) and trying to say/do the "thing" that will win the day- whether or not it is true.

BOBBY: You began your collaboration in the early 1990s with Who's Under Where? and have since written a total of six plays together, with your latest, Deadline, having a professional reading at the Purple Rose Theater. At the risk of asking a question you might be sick of, how did you become writing partners, and what makes the collaboration work after all this time?

MARCIA: We became writing partners accidentally. I moved back to Toronto after some years away, with a half-written first draft of Who's, and reconnected with Doug, who was a friend, at the time he was embarking on a writing career. I asked him if he wanted to help me finish it and - bingo. We scored! The collaboration works because we share a similar work ethic, enjoy creating complicated plots and twists- and when we're not annoying each other, we make each other laugh.

DOUGLAS: Another excellent question, one that allows me to share one of my favourite stories about our collaboration. We were sitting side by side at my computer one day, bickering at each other about something we were working on at the time, when Marce suddenly looked up and said, "You know, this relationship is exactly like a marriage," to which I responded, "Yeah--without any sex." Marce shot back, "Like I said--it's exactly like a marriage." As flip as that remark may have been at the time, there's a lot of truth in it. Like any intimate relationship, a collaboration such as ours requires a lot of work in order for it to be successful; and fortunately, we've both been willing to put in the necessary work over the years. A fair degree of autonomy in a relationship is also a healthy thing, and we've always had that. Both of us have worked on many solo projects as writers, as well as working with other people. I guess you could call our "marriage" an open one.

BOBBY: Comedy seems to lend itself to the art of collaboration--- Moss and Hart come to mind, of course, or other Lakewood favorites Billy Van Zand and Jane Milmore. Does having a partner to bounce ideas off of lend itself to comedy more so than other genres? Like musicians riffing, seeing what works?

DOUGLAS: Absolutely! One of the most common questions we get from other writers is, "How on Earth do you manage to write with a partner?", to which I usually ask, "How do you not?" There are lots of comic playwrights, of course, who are perfectly happy to work on their own, and thrive doing so--Norm Foster being an obvious example (although Norm's been known to collaborate as well from time to time); but you're absolutely right. When you're writing comedy, it's a great help to have someone else there to bounce ideas off of. I think Marce and I have different strengths as writers--strengths that complement one another--and as such, our working together means that the finished product can often exceed the sum of its parts.

MARCIA: Totally. In our case we began our careers as actors and were very comfortable collaborating. Unlike our pal Norm Foster, we need to bounce our humour off one another. Norm has a facility for one-liners that we have to work very hard at!

BOBBY: Your plays have had over 200 productions all over the world and been translated into six languages. You even visited Shanghai to see a production of your farce A Party to Murder. [Interviewer's note: I am about to be very embarrassed to have called this play a farce] I imagine it must be quite a thrill to see your work find such wide and diverse audiences! How was the trip to Shanghai, and how does comedy, or farce in particular, cross the language barrier?

MARCIA: I believe we are translated into 8 languages now... A Party to Murder isn't a farce, it is a murder mystery. The Shanghai trip, however, WAS a farce. I broke my knee on the first day and so our adventures there had a very unusual element added in. The experience of seeing the show from a wheelchair, in Mandarin, was one I will never forget! The audiences there are very young, very tech savvy and very interested in Western culture. The production and reactions were so different from what we are used to seeing.

DOUGLAS: One of my greatest joys has been having had the opportunity to see a number of productions of our plays in different languages and different cultures--I've seen our work done in French in Québec, in Polish in Warsaw, and now, in Shanghai and Shenzhen in Mandarin. I should point out, though, that the play in China was actually a murder mystery, not a farce--although our visit to Shanghai was such an adventure that our first instinct was to sit down and write a farce about it (that idea's on the back burner for the time being). What was interesting about seeing our some of our plays in Québec and Poland was that both cultures have a deep understanding of the genre of farce, and as such, appeared to enjoy the plays on a level that I hadn't quite seen in the many productions I'd attended in English Canada. That's not to say the English-speaking audience didn't enjoy it; it was more my sense that, despite the fact that the francophone and Polish audiences were seeing translations, the plays were set in a language that they instinctually understood.

BOBBY: You both have worked as actors, and Marcia as a director (even directing Doug in a few productions). How do these other roles influence your work as playwrights?

DOUGLAS: I think the best answer I can offer is this: Marce and I were both actors when we first started working together as playwrights. So, when we got to a part in the writing where we weren't sure whether or not a moment or a bit of business was going to work, we'd simply get up and do it. I think being actors also had something to do with our comfort level when it came to collaborating as writers. Rehearsing and performing a play is an inherently collaborative process, one we were completely at home with; so, writing together just seemed a logical extension of that.

MARCIA: Oh, it all informs everything. When we work together we have a very useful shorthand.

BOBBY: And finally: As we all know, we are living in a very strange time when it comes to theater. Lakewood has managed to open at limited capacity, as Maine has remained relatively safe during the pandemic. Many theaters are struggling, and I know that as a playwright myself, it certainly makes an impact. How do you think theater will move forward during these strange times, and prove itself to be as essential as we all know it is? What do you think of theater companies using platforms like Zoom to present live performances online?

DOUGLAS: I really hesitate to predict where things are going to go, but I'll say this much: I think that, in the short term, live theatre is going to go through an extended period of upheaval. How extended that period is will be a direct result of the state of the pandemic. However, the desire to experience interactive, live performances of all kinds is an innately human trait, and in the long run, I think it's that need for a collective, communal experience that will eventually lead us back to the theatre (and the music hall, the opera, the ballet, etc.) once again.

MARCIA: I look forward to the time when theatres can reopen to full capacity and programming but I think it will take quite some time. Currently our industry is devastated and the future looks very gloomy. I appreciate all the online programming that theatre folk are putting out- but personally I can only handle so much. I miss the "liveness" of theatre. It's just not the same watching on a screen at home. I do think that many good things will come out of this time and on a personal note, I am hopeful that our plays will still be relevant and appealing to theatres and audiences when this is all over.

You can learn more about Douglas E. Hughes and Marcia Kash by visiting their websites:

Douglas E Hughes | Actor / Playwright / Novelist

Website for Marcia Kash

INTERVIEW WITH PLAYWRIGHT MARY LYNN DOBSON

 

Playwright Mary Lynn Dobson

Note:  This interview originally appeared in the Lakewood Theater program for their production of Ms. Dobson's play Two on the Aisle, Three in a Van.

BACKSTORY WITH BOBBY KENISTON

Whenever possible, I like to reach out to the playwrights of our productions and let you read what they have to say in their own words. Mary Lynn Dobson was gracious enough to take the time to answer some questions I sent along to her.

BOBBY KENISTON: Having worked as an actor and director, do you feel that acting and directing influences your work as a writer?

MARY LYNN DOBSON: Acting came first, directing and writing came shortly after. I think having an actor/director viewpoint helps when writing because you know details about production/performance that can fill out your story. But directing is probably my favorite. It takes the onus off you because you’re collaborating with others on someone else’s play. When your own work is being performed there’s a whole new level of stress, especially when you write comedy. If the audience isn’t laughing, your play’s not working. You know instantly. Then, there’s the actually writing process where you beat yourself up for hours over a single word. For me, Dorothy Parker summed it up best: “I hate writing. I love having written.”

BK: Two on the Aisle, Three in a Van, performed as part of the New York International Fringe Festival, one of the largest multi-arts events in North America, where it received the Summer Theatre Citation for Outstanding New Play and an award for Best Ensemble Cast. Could you tell us a little bit about performing as part of FringeNYC?

MLD: The play won and was first performed in the YES Festival at the University of Northern Kentucky and went over really well. So, I credit them with giving the play its start. After that, it had a several interim productions. Then I was approached by producers, Tiger Theatricals and Peter Riga, and they entered it in the Fringe Festival. Now let me tell you, everything in the Fringe happens really fast. We had next to no time to put publicity together, secure designers, get rehearsal space and hire actors. I actually auditioned 2 actors at the Cheesequake Rest Stop on the Garden State Parkway. But I was lucky because I ended up with a stellar cast led by Jim Stanek, Natascia Diaz and Gordon Joseph Weiss. We had very limited rehearsal time and you’re only allowed one tech rehearsal at the venue. Plus, there are 2 other shows going up on the same day. We literally had 15 minutes to put up and break down the set each night. For most shows that wouldn’t be problem, but we had to get a van on and off stage. It truly took a village and while it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, it was like being on the most terrifying rollercoaster in the world, and you don’t realize you had fun until 5 hours after it’s over.

BK: Two on the Aisle, Three in a Van is part of the glorious tradition of plays about the theater, giving audiences a behind-the-scenes view of what really goes into mounting a production. What do you think makes plays about the theater so accessible and enjoyable for audiences? Is it a way of inviting them into our world as theater-makers, or does working in theater simply lend itself to comical situations?

MLD: It’s both. What I tried to do was write for theatre people as well as an audience who just wanted to see a comedy. I chose “shows” that I thought most everyone would know. And even if someone wasn’t familiar with them, I wrote it so they still would know what was happening in the story. My goal was to try to make it universally funny, which I hope I did.

BK: Along with your plays for a more adult audience, you have written the family-friendly The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood, published by Dramatic Publishing, which has been produced in all fifty states. Is there a difference in how you approach writing a play for all audiences that is different from writing your other plays? Do you feel it is important for playwrights to diversify in this way to reach a wider audience?

MLD: Two on the Aisle, Dracula and Skin Deep are for adult audiences. Skin Deep is a comedy about child beauty pageant moms being interviewed for a “documentary.” Out of 982 plays, it was one of 6which won the Samuel French Off-Broadway Short Play Festival. I seem to gravitate to writing for adult audiences more. I have no children and shouldn’t be the person molding the minds of young America. I think Robin Hood will be my only family-friendly play. Truth be told, I kinda Forrest Gump-ed my way with the success of that one. When Dramatic first published it, I thought it would just get a couple of productions a year at best. It’s global now. Seriously, it’s been performed all over the world. And it’s a really weird feeling when you’re sitting in your den watching Dancing with the Stars and you realize in a few hours part of your life will be going on in Albania without you.

BK: A few drama teachers describe The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood as having a Mel Brooks vibe to it, and one theater company described your play Dracula, Down for the Count as a Young Frankenstein for Dracula. Would you say you are inspired by the comedy style of Mel Brooks? Who are some of your other influences?

MLD: Actually, both my Robin Hood and Dracula were first done in the mid-eighties before Mel Brooks did his versions. That being said, if anyone feels my work resembles Mel Brooks’, even if it’s only by a hair, I can die happy.

BK: It is a clearly an uncertain time for playwrights and all other theater artists. Do you have any thoughts on how Covid-19 will affect live theater moving forward? What do you think of the many theater companies trying to offer new content through Zoom and other online resources during this time?

MLD: I commend anyone for doing anything they can to keep theatre going. Unfortunately, many shows might not fend well in a Zoom format— mine included (except for Skin Deep). This is such a horrible, crazy time. I think some necessary changes will have to be made. Will they be permanent? That I don’t know. But one thing I truly believe, and I believe this with every fiber of my being— we will make our way back.

If you would like to learn more about Mary Lynn Dobson and her work, please check out these links!

https://www.concordtheatricals.com/a/2406/mary-lynn-dobson

https://www.facebook.com/TheSomewhatTrueTaleOfRobinHood/

https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/the-somewhat-true-tale-of-robin-hood

And feel free to check out my book review blog, MY ONLY FRIENDS ARE BOOKS!