AN INTERVIEW WITH PLAYWRIGHT SUSAN PARKER

 

NOTE:  This interview was conducted for Lakewood Theater's program for their production of Who's In Bed With The Butler?

BACKSTORY WITH BOBBY KENISTON

 I had no idea when I set out to write this final backstory of the season that it would turn out to be a kind of love story. Michael Parker, the playwright behind Who's In Bed With The Butler, passed away in 2019. I had been in touch with Mr. Parker a few years ago for an interview about his play The Sensuous Senator which he wrote with his wife, Susan, and received a very generous and kind response. I reached out to Susan to offer my condolences, and learned that she and Michael had met when she had acted in a few of his plays, including the world premiere of Who's In Bed With The Butler, where she played opposite Michael, leading to a real life love connection. Susan described the original production vividly:

“A world production means you are the first to bring to life the character that was written by the playwright. As an actor you pray that you do both the playwright and the character justice. The cast for the premiere was extremely talented and working with Michael was great. He was always encouraging and giving us insights into what he was looking for in the characters. However, he was a stickler for getting your lines correct; which is why as we walked to rehearsal, we practiced the scenes which we had together. I played Susie and he was Clifton, the butler. Finally, when opening night arrived, we were ready. I could have recited my lines in my sleep. Unfortunately, life doesn’t always imitate art, and I forgot my lines! Having the playwright in the audience when this happens is one thing, but having him on stage with you is another. I had complete confidence that Michael would rescue us! As we blindly bantered back and forth trying to find the lines, all I could think of was, 'You wrote the damn play, why can’t you remember the lines?' Eventually, the play continued, we received a standing ovation from the audience and afterwards, had a great laugh. Being in a world premiere is a once in a lifetime experience. You have the opportunity to be in a production that no one has ever seen, your name is included in the manuscript as a member of the original cast and more importantly you create lifetime memories. For me, the most special part of this play was that life finally did imitate art….Susie really did get the Butler.”

Becoming Michael's writing partner as well as his life partner was also another great source of joy, as well as tremendous learning opportunity for this former teacher. “I think having the opportunity to act in Michael’s farces gave me a much better understanding of what the actors need in order to tell the story being created,” Susan wrote. “I learned that as a playwright, it is my job to find the balance between telling an actor what to do and not giving them enough information to understand what it is you want.” The Parkers' website shares their philosophy on how farce best works, and I asked Susan if she could elaborate on this philosophy, and she happily obliged:

“The concept of keeping the characters grounded, having them play the role seriously, originates from the English farces which Michael grew up with. This is what makes Parkers American Farces different and funnier. This concept is often missed by many directors and actors who do not relate to the English style of farce. One example of a great American actor who did understand this philosophy was Bob Newhart.”

Susan is keeping up the Parker brand as she continues to write, and acknowledges how blessed she has been to have had careers as an actress and playwright, and, even more importantly, to help spread laughter to audiences all over the world. “One of the best compliments I’ve ever received,” Susan told me, “was from an elderly woman who had just seen Who's In Bed With the Butler? She said, 'My husband died 6 months ago, and this was the first time I’ve laughed since.'”

For her part, Susan likes to find productions of the plays she wrote with her husband and sit in the audience, soaking up the laughter. It is a way for her to connect with her late husband, and to “experience that same ‘aha’ moment of joy,” that she and Michael had when writing the play together.

If you would like to learn more about Michael and Susan Parker's plays and their philosophy of writing farces, you can do so by visiting their website:  https://www.michaelparkerplaywright.com