This week we interview our Playwright and Sound Designer - Debbie Patterson!
1. Robert Munsch has a huge cannon of books,
how do you go about choosing which stories will end up in the play?
I try to pick a mix of classic Munsch and
newer releases. I think about the theme and try to find stories that fit. For
Magical Mystery Munsch I tried to find the most magical and mysterious stories.
I also try not to repeat the same stories too too much, although I do have my
favourites.
2. How did you come up with Mr. Kite, Rose,
Valerie and the Portal into Robert Munsch's brain? It's such a cool concept!
The obvious beginning was that I thought about
a magical mystery tour and what that would be. Where would you go on a magical
mystery tour? So the portal idea came first as a place one might go on a tour
like that. Then I thought about Being John Malkovich and the portal into his
brain and kind of liked that idea. At one point the story was more "magic
schoolbus": we were going to shrink the theatre and actually drive up into
Robert Munsch's brain through his nose, but that seemed kind of messy, so I left
that one alone.
In the first draft I tried really hard to give
Mr. Kite a line about Rose and Valerie screaming from the gallery, but it
didn't work.
3. Do you write any other kinds of plays?
I wrote a musical about
Anne Boleyn called Head that will never get produced again because it's just
too huge. And I've written plays for my family to perform in the fringe: Candy
from a Baby and Molotov Circus. I'm working on a new play called Sargent &
Victor that's all about urban decay and multiple sclerosis.
4. What's your favourite Robert Munsch book
and why?
I like the Paperbag
Princess because she kicks butt!
Thanks Deb!
-Lisa, Stage Manager
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