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

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.

Laugh Until You Forget Your Life Stinks: TYPES OF THEATER---What is Farce?

Still Gets a Laugh

Hello ladies and gentlemen.  Welcome to Theater is a Sport.  My name is Bobby Keniston, and I will be your host for this blog post.  I am a playwright with 21 published titles, and actor who has appeared in more than 65 plays, a director, and a theater educator.  This blog is where I like to talk about all things theater, and I welcome all drama geeks, actors, writers, directors, and theatre-lovers to check out what I have to say and offer up your own thoughts in the comments below.

A little while back, I had a post about the Theatre of the Absurd, which is one of my favorite types of theatre.  Tonight, I thought I'd talk about something a little lighter....

FARCE

Those of you who are regular theatre-goers or are involved with theatre are pretty clear what on what farce is.  I know that at the community theatre I grew up at, Lakewood Theater in Madison, Maine, the summer season always ended with a rip-roaring farce, often a "sex farce", because they were almost a sure bet to pack the house.

In fact, I have acted in a number of them. 

So what is a farce?  Let's start with a definition, shall we?

FARCE:  A comedy with exaggerated physical characterizations, abundant physical humor, and, often, an improbable plot.  (source:  SPARKed)

Pretty siimple, really.  One thing to keep in mind, that is not mentioned in the definition, is that, while they talk about improbable plots, part of this improbability is the fact that more and more complications build throughout the play, often froma catalyst moment of a simple deception, forcing the characters to construct more and more elaborate deceptions in order to cover up the initial deception, until, finally, in the resolution, the truth is revealed and our heroes are generally left unpunished for their sins (it's not too funny if they're killed or jailed, let's be honest).  Along the way, as complications mount, there most likely will be mistaken identity (many examples include men having to dress up as women), slamming doors, close calls, a big chase scene, and, in a "sex farce", people running around in their underwear.  In short, it is a night of pure escapism for the audience, and, more than likely, a huge workout for the actors on stage (theater is a sport, after all).

If you trace back the roots of farce, you will find a little something in ancient Greece called Satyr Plays, based on Greek Mythology, which had a chorus of satyrs (half-men, half-goats, like Pan), and told stories with lots of bawdy humor, sight gags (including lots of phallic props), and drunken people (remember, theater began as a festival for Dionysus, the god of wine).  Satyr Plays were one of three types of plays in Ancient Greece, along with tragedy and comedy.  Most playwrights would enter three tragedies and one satyr play to the big festivals. 

Other "classical" farces may include The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare (or "Good Time Willie" as Queen Elizabeth I called him*), from 1592, Tartuffe by Moliere in 1664, and Russian gems like The Inspector General by Gogol (who, in my opinion, was a better short story writer than playwright, but that's just my opinion).

Don't be fooled by the light-hearted nature of farce--- they are hard work.  The playwrights who create them, the actors who perform them, and the directors who stage them, should have a very clear and precise notion of how to bring their vision to life.  There is a great deal of energy associated with farces, but it is an energy that should, and indded, must, be focused.  Audiences go to a farce to lose themselves in the delirium.  Don't cheat them by putting on a shoddy farce that hasn't been choreographed well (and I use the term "choreographed" very deliberately). 

For example, take a look at Noises Off (seriously, take a look at it--- it's a scream) by Michael Frayn, which is arguably the best and most successful farce of the contemporary theatre.  It is produced almost non-stop, and it deserves to be.  Michael Frayn created a farce-within-a-farce that involves a group of actors trying to put on a farce called Nothin On, and everything goes wrong.  The first act is an awful dress rehearsal, where we meet the actors and other key players, a learn a little bit about the storyline of the first act of Nothing On.  Act Two is a true delight--- written almost entirely in stage directions, Frayn takes us backstage of a rough performance of Nothing On, showing us a cast that is at odds with each other.  Because they are backstage, we only hear the voices of the actors who are onstage doing the play (who are now, of course, backstage in reality).  In this act, the complications rise to boiling point with a truly wonderful last line in the act.  In this act, it is ESSENTIAL that the stage directions are choreographed to a T, with impeccable timing.  Act Three is a performance where EVERYTHING goes wrong.  Seriously.  Noises Off succeeds because of Frayn's precision, his dialogue, and his ability to make these characters relatable and sympathetic, but still allows you to laugh at their hardships.  This is a tough balancing act, which is why Mr. Frayn deserves every cent of what I'm guessing are pretty big royalties for this play. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the words "Oh, that's good enough for a farce" should never be uttered by anyone undertaking the writing or the performing of one.  Farce is damned serious business.

Here are some other examples of popular farces from this day and age:

Run for Your Wife, Funny Money, Caught in the Net all by Ray Cooney, a premier British farce writer

Lend me a Tenor, Leading Ladies both by Ken Ludwig, a premier American farce writer

Rumors by Neil Simon (a murder mystery farce)

There are many others, of course.  I am, in fact, working on polishing a farce that I wrote as an experiment.  I hope that it turns out well.

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Thanks for stopping by.  Until next time, be well, remember that farce is damned serious business, and, of course, theater is a sport.