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!

INTERVIEW WITH PLAYWRIGHT LESLIE KIMBELL, author of FOUR OLD BROADS

 

Leslie Kimbell, successful playwright!

Note:  This interview first appeared in Lakewood Theater's program for their production of Ms. Kimbell's play, Four Old Broads.

BACKSTORY WITH BOBBY KENISTON

Though probably the last thing the world needs is another Zoom meeting, I am happy to report that this oh-so-necessary pandemic technology has made it much easier for me to reach out and actually talk to people like Leslie Kimbell, the author of tonight’s entertainment, Four Old Broads. And what a pleasure it was to talk shop with this playwright who is just as funny and charming as her work! After sharing a mutual relief that THEATER IS BACK and a brief discussion about how Zoom has changed the standards of formality for online meetings (who needs pants when you only see the top half?), I talked with Leslie about what inspires her work, and the joys that come with writing plays and watching them come to life.

Leslie wanted to write ever since she was in high school. Born in Tennessee and now living in Georgia, she has had a long career in acting, burlesque, and directing, all disciplines she says have enriched and inspired her writing, giving her a sense of the big picture and what is playable on stage. In 2015, she was on a lunch outing when her friend and mentor Billie made an “off-color joke” that tickled her enough to jot it down on a napkin. And while this joke did not make it into the play you are about to watch, it proved to be the seed of inspiration that Leslie needed to start her playwriting journey, reminding her of the sass and spunk of the real “old broads” in her life. And just like that, she was off to the races, eager for time at her computer to bring her story to life, excited when her two boys left for school giving her precious distraction-free writing sessions, and always on the lookout for any spare moment to keep working on her play.

“You can you use the word obsessed,” Leslie told me with a laugh.

The first draft of Four Old Broads was roughly two hours and forty-five minutes long. The “get the story out, throw everything in” draft, as she calls it, an important part of the process for any writer. After a reading of the play with some theater friends, Leslie could hear what her story needed, and what could be tucked away for use elsewhere.

“Too bad we couldn’t have an evening of deleted scenes and additional footage like on DVDs,” I joked. Fortunately, Leslie had the better idea of incorporating some of the material into the sequel, Four Old Broads on the High Seas, including the “off-color” joke from the napkin!

When I asked if she set out to write a play with juicy parts for women, since women audition more for community theater than men but seem to have fewer roles for them, her answer surprised me in the way we are often surprised by the things that should be obvious. “Actually, I wanted to write a play for seniors,” she told me. “You never see plays that are about seniors.” And, indeed, since Four Old Broads has been published, she has received letters from a number of senior community theater actors, thanking her for writing a play that gives them such fun characters to perform, and a story that is all about them.

Not every baseball player hits a home run their first time at bat, and not every playwright knocks it out of the park with her first play. But Leslie Kimbell is not every playwright. Since Four Old Broads premiered in 2017, it has been published by Samuel French (now Concord Theatricals) and performed all over the world. The publication Carolina Curtain Call even favorably compared it to The Golden Girls, a favorite of mine that Leslie had never seen until after she wrote the play and heard the comparison!

But despite this success, Leslie is a playwright who is grounded in gratitude for her collaborators and her audiences. When I asked her what it was like the opening of night of Four Old Broads, which had its world premiere at Winder-Barrow Community Theatre, a place that she loves and has worked with often, Leslie told me the question gave her goosebumps and was “...going to make me cry.” And indeed, she did get choked up as she talked about sitting in the audience, her loved ones on each side of her, watching the actors bring her play and characters to life. As the audience laughed at the lines she had put down on the page months ago while sitting alone at her computer screen, tears of joy and appreciation streamed down her face.

Leslie Kimbell understands that a playwright’s work is only fully complete when it is watched and enjoyed by an audience. We thank each and every one of you in the audience today for helping complete the work of this talented and generous playwright with your laughter and your applause.

If you would like to learn more about Leslie Kimbell and her work (like her new comedy with heart, Packing Up Polly, which premiered in April), please visit her website, www.lesliekimbell.com

INTERVIEW WITH PLAYWRIGHT NORM FOSTER, CANADA'S MOST PRODUCED PLAYWRIGHT!

 

Norm Foster, Canada's Most Produced Playwright!

Note:  This interview first appeared in Lakewood Theater's Program for their production of Mr. Foster's play, Drinking Alone.

Norm Foster, the author of tonight's entertainment, is the most produced playwright in Canada,

known for delivering the laughs and plenty of heart in his scripts. Lakewood, like Canada, loves Mr.

Foster's works and have produced several of his plays over the years, much to the delight of

audiences like you. He was gracious enough to take some time out of his day to answer some

questions for me about his work, his characters, and the importance of truth in comedy.

BOBBY: While reading reviews of your plays, something critics seem to praise over and over

again is your characters being relatable, like "real people." How important is it for you to keep

characters relatable for the comedic circumstances to work?

NORM: It’s very important for me that my characters are relatable to the audience. I want the

people in the audience to see people they ‘know’ onstage. This heightens the comedy. It’s

funnier when real characters are going through real life situations that could very well happen to

any of us.

BOBBY: While your plays are hilarious, it is also noteworthy how there are tonal shifts to

moments of true poignancy and heart. How do you so skillfully balance comedy and emotion?

Does it all come down to the characters being relatable?

NORM: Balancing the comedy and the emotion is a knack I developed early on in my writing

career. I found that if you have a good mixture of both, it makes the play better. The comedy

makes the emotion run a little deeper, and the poignancy makes the comedy funnier. They

compliment each other. To balance these two, you have to know when to pull back on each

one. If it’s a serious moment, you need to know when the audience needs a break from that

seriousness. That’s when you lighten it up a bit. Going from comedy to a serious moment is a

little more difficult. You have to ease into the seriousness and not make it seem too abrupt a

change. Both elements are made easier if the characters are real people. If they have a truth to

them.

BOBBY: "Drinking Alone" in many ways centers around a dysfunctional family. What do you

think makes family relationships so easy to mine for comedy?

NORM: Families are something we can ALL relate to. That’s what makes them so natural to

write about and why we find them so funny. We have all been through it. Some to a lesser

degree but we all know what’s going on with family dynamics. You can make up the most

bizarre situation, and if a family is involved, we all say “Oh I get it.” When writing a play, if my

idea revolves around a family, like in Drinking Alone, then I know the battle is already half won.

BOBBY: Now that theater is slowly but surely coming alive again, do you think comedy can be

not only a salve for live audiences moving forward, but also a tool to show just how essential

theater can be?

NORM: I think this might be our chance for comedy to finally be taken seriously. And what I

mean by that, is getting the respect that it is due. For some reason people thinks it’s easy to

write a comedy. Really? If you think that, then try writing one. Try and make an audience of 300

or 500 laugh as one. But now, we are all ready to laugh again. We have had enough of hard

times. Comedy to the rescue!!

Comedy to the rescue... I couldn't have said it better myself! For more information about Mr.

Foster and his plays, you can go to his website, www.normfoster.com

A Great New Play For The Holidays: How and Why I Wrote "A Wicked Christmas Carol"

Cheyenne Sandau as the Wicked Witch and Elisa Schine as Glinda in "A Wicked Christmas Carol" at the Center Theatre

Greetings everyone, and welcome to Theater is a Sport, my much neglected blog about community and school theater.  Today I wanted to write about my latest published play, A Wicked Christmas Carol, a full-length holiday play that makes me proud.  It is a play that takes the world of Charles Dickens classic story and sets in L. Frank Baum's magical world of Oz.  In my play, the Wicked Witch of the West serves as the Scrooge-type character, and, true to the structure of Dickens, is visited by spirits to send her on a path toward redemption.  The difference is, these spirits are all beloved characters from the Oz books.

This idea had rolled around in my head for a few years.  I don't have many Christmas or other holiday plays published, and was brainstorming ideas for possibilities.  I cannot recall exactly how I first thought of the idea as the Wicked Witch of the West as a Scrooge-like character, but when I did, it was fun to imagine other Oz characters in different roles--- naturally, the Wicked Witch of the East could make a perfect Jacob Marley, I thought, only, instead of bearing heavy chains, she would be laden with pieces of the house that fell on her... that was an image that really stuck out in my mind.

Cheyenne Sandau as the Wicked Witch of the West, and Michelle Fisk as the Ghost of the Wicked Witch of the East in Center Theatre's production of "A Wicked Christmas Carol"

 Despite having this idea for some time, I didn't really act on it, even though I thought it was an idea that could pan out and work successfully.  I was busy working on other plays.  Still, this idea would bubble up every now and then, and I found myself almost looking for an excuse to sit down and write it.  And one day, I had a meeting with Patrick Myers, the Executive Director of the Center Theatre in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, about a completely unrelated topic, but I asked in passing if they knew what they were doing for their Christmas play.  This was in late May, if I recall.  He told me that they were once again going to go with "A Christmas Carol," though something in his tone suggested to me that maybe he wasn't thrilled with the decision, so I said, "You know, I've been meaning to pitch you an idea about a new adaptation 'A Christmas Carol' but it would be set in Oz, with the Wicked Witch of the West as the Scrooge."  Patrick liked the idea, said he would pass it along to the group who pick out the plays.  I went home from that meeting and began to write a synopsis and story treatment for the play.  I sent it along to Patrick, and told him I could have pages for them to read by July. And so, my excuse to write it was alive!

Cheyenne Sandau as the Wicked Witch of the West and Laney Reardon as Tip/Ozma in Center Theatre's Production of "A Wicked Christmas Carol"

I thought "A Wicked Christmas Carol" was a clever title, and people seemed to agree.  I immediately went back and started reading Baum's fourteen Oz books, paying special attention to the first book, of course, the only one in which the Wicked Witch of the West appears.  I wanted to make sure everything in my play was based on Baum's work, as those are the works that are in the public domain.  Though I admire Gregory Maguire's "Wicked" books, and the Broadway musical adaptation, I certainly didn't want to be sued for using their work in any way.  The same is true for the MGM classic, "The Wizard of Oz."  Which is why, in my play, you will find the details are taken directly from Baum:  no ruby slippers, for example, but Silver Shoes.  In my play, The Wicked Witch of the West (who has no other name in the book) is named Lina, though no one calls her this anymore.  It was a name she gave herself in her youth, after the great Fairy Queen Lurline.

I should note that if you have never read Baum's fourteen Oz books, I cannot recommend them enough.  They are a true joy, and it was such a journey getting to live in them for a time.  I hope to revisit my citizenship in Oz at some point.

The challenge when adapting not one, but two very famous pieces of literature is to be find the balance of being true to the source material, but also being true to your own voice.  I set about writing by going to my local library every day with my laptop, my notebook with all of my notes from Baum's Oz books, and a pair of headphones (when I am in a public place, I can only write if I have some way of blocking out the sounds of the rest of the world--- in this case, I was listening to "focus" binaural beats music).  I enjoy writing in the library.  When I take breaks, I can wander through the shelves at all of the other books that started by someone sitting down with an idea.

Will Stecher as Jemkiph, Axel Carlson as Wee Willie, and Cheyenne Sandau as The Wicked Witch of the West in Center Theatre's production of "A Wicked Christmas Carol"

The Center Theatre, similar to most community theaters I have had the pleasure of working with, likes to have large casts for their holiday plays, including children.  Fortunately, this story and setting lends itself to having many characters.

And one of the things I am most proud of?  The fact that the play, like the world of Oz, is populated by so many strong female characters.  Outside of the Wizard in the Emerald City, the power structure of Oz is very female-centered:  The Good Witches rule the North and South, the "Bad" Witches rule the East and West.  And of course, after the Wizard is exposed as the humbug he is, and after a brief rule under the Scarecrow, even the Emerald City is ruled by it's rightful heir, Princess Ozma.

While I love "A Christmas Carol", I have always found it somewhat unfair that some of the biggest and most complex iconic roles are for men.  I cannot even begin to describe how it felt to watch the scene where the Wicked Witch of the West is haunted by the Wicked Witch of the East, based on the infamous Scrooge and Marley scene, and to see these terrific actresses in my production get the opportunity to play this new version of such a classic moment.  I honestly got goosebumps.

Lee Wilber, Cary Libby and Dan Sharrow as the Ghosts of Christmas Present, Cheyenne Sandau as the Wicked Witch of the West, Will Stecher as Jemkiph and Kathleen Reardon as Joslyn Soforth

Clearly, I could go on about this at great length--- this one was kind of my baby.  Getting to write then immediately get to watch it stand on its legs is a dream come true for any playwright.  The cast I assembled were all so into the journey we were taking, and worked so very hard.  Not enough can be said about the volunteer actors who make community theater possible, who donate so much of their time and energy because they love to perform and to be a part of something magical.  Watching them bring my script to life stands among the proudest moments of my career as a playwright and director.

Elora Kares as The Ghost of Christmas Future, Cheyenne Sandau as the Wicked Witch of the West, Jasper Makowski, Will Stecher, Kathleen Reardon, and Abby Kemp as the Soforth family

Though my intention on this blog has never been to just plug my work (that's only a side intention!), this time around I can't help myself.  I wrote this play in mind to be accessible for community and school theaters of any budget, for the setting to be simple (the original production worked well with simple settings and projections as back drops for different locations), and to involve a diverse group of actors.  I was truly touched and grateful by the reception the play had in its initial production, and am truly honored that it has been published by Playscripts, Inc., one of the finest publishers of plays today for so many different markets.  If you would like to learn more about the play, and even read a sample, you can CLICK HERE

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and a big thanks to everyone who helped me along the way with "A Wicked Christmas Carol."  You all hold a special place in my heart.

Now let's try and make this a holiday classic, what do you say?