Survival Island! comes to life

The contestants signal for help from a passing helicopter

The world premiere of my new comedy Survival Island! is in the books--and what a premiere it was! The show was produced by my friends at Jacksonville Performing Arts in North Carolina, and they went all out in creating the set and costumes for this reality-show satire. They even built a volcano at the entrance to the theater! Best off all, audiences loved it.

Getting this premiere was especially important to me because my usual publisher, Pioneer Drama Service, passed on the script. I fully intend on submitting it to another publisher, but before I do that, I wanted to get at least one production to prove the play is not only producible but marketable. 

Of course, the production photos--JPA took over 200 of them!--will also help.

Investment banker Michelle seeks to
corner the market in seashells

Pioneer didn't tell me why they passed on it, and I didn't ask. But I suspect it may be because they felt that the play was too grim.

Admittedly, Survival Island! starts a little darker than most of my plays. The play centers on the eight cast members of a Survivor!-type reality show, and as soon as filming for the show is about to begin, they discover that the entire crew perished when they fell into a volcano. Now the contestants are entirely on their own.

At first, they vow to work together. But soon, they divide into competing mini-countries when their only food source runs low.

Anthropologist Edith and chef Andrea
disagree about the best way to run the island

Toward the end, they finally learn to work together, but not until after an epic fight in which their few remaining bananas serve as effective, if very silly, weapons

That's when they finally come up with the solution that'll allow them to get rescued: Build a battery out of a banana so they can charge the one satellite phone they have (yes, banana batteries really work!).

Only then does the crew reappear, revealing that the volcano incident was all a ruse. They'd faked their deaths in order to heighten the tension and increase the show's ratings.

So yeah, the play ends up being not as dark as it sounds.

The Battle of the Bananas

Now that JPA has produced the play and sent me their photos, I have everything I need to submit it to the next publisher on my list. Which I will do, as soon as I figure who that is.

In the meantime, you can license the play directly from me for the very reasonable fee of $60 per performance. For a free perusal script or to discuss licensing further, simply email me at todd.wallinger@gmail.com.

Building the banana battery

A Caribbean Enchanted Bookshop Musical

I'm beyond thrilled for my Trinidad and Tobago premiere today as the Native Caribbean Foundation opens a twelve-show run of The Enchanted Bookshop Musical. This makes my 25th country overall and my first in the Caribbean.

The Native Caribbean Foundation does a lot of work with marginalized communities, bringing the magic of theater to people who may not have experienced it before, and this production is no exception. One of the performances includes a sign language interpreter for deaf persons. Another is a relaxed performance for those with sensory sensitivities (think dimmer lights, lower mic volumes).

As president and CEO Marlon Espinoza put it in a recent Pioneer Drama Service newsletter article,  "I feel an immense amount of personal satisfaction and joy at being able to provide these children with a life-changing experience."

The best part? Both of these special performances are completely free for attendees.

 

I wish I had some stills to show you, but the foundation primarily relies on Facebook and Instagram reels, which I'm unable to copy here. Instead, I urge to go check out the wonderful work they're doing by visiting their Facebook page or Instagram page.

As for the theater, it's truly a beaut.

A Fine-Feathered Murder is now available!

There's fast. There's super fast. And then there's lightning fast.

I'm talking about the speed with which Pioneer Drama Service published my latest play, A Fine-Feathered Murder. It's my 30th play with them and my 5th new play this year.

But first, the deets. A Fine-Feathered Murder is a one-act comedy about an opera-singing parrot that gets bumped off. It has a cast of 8 (2M, 4F, 2 any), uses a single set, and runs about 25 minutes.

So about that speed. I submitted the play on August 26. Pioneer accepted the play on October 9. And they made it available on their website today. That makes 77 days from submission to publication, and that was after I delayed my editors a week so we could get a Louisiana middle school's world premiere into the script.

And by the way, that was only 139 days from when I started writing the script. Whoosh!

Why did it happen so fast? Well, for one thing, the publisher told me the script needed very little editing. Except for a few minor changes, it was ready to go from the start.

But they also see a huge market for it. It's short. It's funny. It's super easy to produce. And it's a fresh take on a well-loved genre. As far as I can tell, there isn't another murder mystery in which the victim is a parrot. Or really any other avian creature.

This play really is for the birds! (Sorry.)

I've already told you how I came up with the premise for the play. I've shared a fun excerpt from the script. So all that's left is to tell you what the darn thing's about. Here you go:

Apollonia is a very unusual parrot. Not only can she talk and sign, but she can perform Verdi's opera Rigoletto from start to finish. 

That is why her oh-so-snobby owner Lilith has invited a few special people to  private recital by the parrot. Unfortunately, just as the recital is about to begin, Apollonia is discovered lifeless at the bottom of the cage.

All signs point to murder. But who could have done it? The greedy impresario who hoped to cash in by sending Apollonia on a worldwide tour? The sinister ornithologist who wanted the fame of probing the bord for scientific purposes? Lilith's long-suffering husband? Their fun-loving but opera-hating teenage daughter. Their forgetful elderly neighbor? Or their cheeky, outspoken maid?

I just know you're going to love this one! To find out more, please visit the play's web page.

A Fine-Feathered Murder to be published

Great news for those who love short mystery comedies (or is it comedy mysteries?). Pioneer Drama Service is going to publish my newest play, A Fine-Feathered Murder, a very British drawing room mystery in which a bumbling town constable struggles to solve the murder of an opera-singing parrot. The play has a cast of 8 (2M, 4F, 2 any), uses a single set, and runs around 30 minutes. 

All of the characters are over-the-top in their own way, but the most over-the-top are a greedy impresario named Ashton Sinclair and a creepy ornithologist named Doctor Snively (I got that last name from a former coworker of mine, who always sounded vaguely villainous to me--the name, not the coworker).

Snobby Lilith Farthingstone has invited them to her country estate to hear her parrot Apollonia sing the entire score of Verdi's opera Rigoletto and these characters have two very different reasons for being there.

ASHTON:  Well, Dr. Snively, you seem especially nefarious today.

SNIVELY:  I'm afraid you're the one who seems nefarious, Mr. Sinclair.

ASHTON:  Good doctor, I have no idea what you mean.

SNIVELY:  Don't play coy with me. I know exactly why you're here. You wish to exploit this magnificent specimen by putting her on the stage!

ASHTON:  A specimen, is she? Something to be poked and prodded like fungus in a petri dish? At least I'm offering her an opportunity to be lauded for her artistry!

SNIVELY:  Her artistry? Don't make me laugh! Under your guardianship, she'll be treated more like a bear in a circus than an artist!

ASHTON:  Your arguments are futile, Doctor. You watch. Someday I shall have Apollonia for my very own!

SNIVELY:  You stay away from her! That bird is mine, do you hear? Mine!

LILITH:  (ENTERS RIGHT.) And how are we getting along, you two?

ASHTON:  Just peachy, Mrs. Farthingstone. 

SNIVELY:  Oh, yes. Peachy indeed.

LILITH:  I just knew you two would hit it off!

You know, it's funny. A Fine-Feathered Murder and The Worst Fairy Tale Ever, which came out in May, are the first one-acts I've written since my first two plays got published thirteen years ago.

I honestly don't know why I've waited so long. These plays were a blast to write. The writing went very quickly. And if early results from The Worst Fairy Tale Ever are any indication, they should do very well. 

Yep. I'm going to have to write some more.

Building up Bringing Down the House

I have to give one more plug for the production of Bringing Down the House at Maui OnStage. And that's because it just received a very special review.

Sure, the review is a rave. But that isn't what makes it special. What makes it special is that it's the very first video review I've ever received.

It's part of a weekly YouTube series titled Curtain Call and hosted by the very distinguished Paul James-Brown, a theater lover who makes his home on the Valley Isle.

Director Tina Kailiponi

James-Brown had some embarrassingly nice things to say about the script, pointing out that every member of the cast gets a chance to shine, which is something I always strive to do so I'm glad it worked here.

But what I really want to focus on is his praise for directors Tina Kailiponi and Francis Tau'a. James-Brown admired how they managed to take a huge group of actors (30 in their production) and turn them into "a well-tuned theatrical ensemble." He added, "This was a clearly well-rehearsed group who were all having fun, and so were we."

Assistant Director Francis Tau'a

The critic saved his greatest praise, however, for the program as a whole, saying, "Maui Onstage has built an exceptional theatre training center for our young people. This program continues to grow and produce quality youth theater."

But don't take my word for it. Watch the video above for yourself. You'll see lots of great production stills and even a short clip from one of the performances.

Enjoy!

On leads, supporting characters, and robots

I got an interesting email today. A director in Illinois said their theater had produced The Enchanted Bookshop Musical and he wanted to submit a couple of the actors for their local theater awards. The problem is he didn't know which award to submit them for. Were Eddie and Fingers leads or supporting characters?

Now before we go any further, I want to clarify something. May people argue that the lead, or protagonist, is the character who demonstrates the greatest arc during the course of the story.

Social media, for example is rife with examples of people arguing that Cameron is the real hero in Ferris Bueller's Day Off because Ferris himself never changes. He's the exact same character at the end of the film that he was at the beginning.

Well, that's just silly. A well-designed play (or movie or novel) will feature several characters who demonstrate an arc. It makes the story more interesting. It makes the story more realistic. And it gives the actors something to sink their teeth into.

Does that make all of them the protagonist? Of course not.

The protagonist is simply the character who drives the plot. And a well-designed play (or movie or novel) will feature exactly one of them. It just makes for a more focused, more compelling story.

The Enchanted Bookshop is an interesting case, however, because it features not one, but two separate plots. There's the daytime plot, in which Margie struggles to keep her bookshop in business. And there's the nighttime plot, in which the book characters come to life to battle the smugglers.

Clearly, Margie is the protagonist of the daytime plot. But who's the protagonist of the nighttime plot? After all, the six main book characters who come to life all play a role in defeating the smugglers who threaten to destroy Margie's shop.

But if you read the script carefully, you'll see that it's Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz who acts as the conscience of the group. She's the one who continually urges the others to do the right thing.

So, no, Eddie and Fingers are not the leads of The Enchanted Bookshop. They're supporting characters. 

Sure, they have their own goals they're desperately trying to achieve. But those goals are not the main goals of the plot and are in direct opposition to our hero's goals, which makes them the antagonists. The bad guys, so to speak.

And that brings me to my final point. Just because a character isn't the lead, just because they have fewer lines than the main character, doesn't mean they're not important. 

As a matter of fact, every character in every one of my plays is important, even vital to the story. Seriously, I always plot my plays like a house of cards. Remove any one card--or character--and the whole thing comes crashing down. 

So rest assured, whether you have 331 lines like Jenkins in The Butler Did It! or 0 lines like the dancing robot who appears (and usually steals the show) at the end of  George Washington Ate My Homework, you have a very important role indeed.

Enjoy it. Savor it. And don't ever let yourself forget it.

Maui Bringing Down the House brings the funny

Sometimes theaters choose a play because of the plot. Sometimes they choose it because of the characters or theme.

Maui OnStage chose my backstage comedy Bringing Down the House because it could use the same set as their mainstage show.

I'll take it.

As this article in the Maui News relates, this theatrical group based at the historic Iao Theater in Wailuku has a hugely active youth arm. And their production of Bringing Down the House is a prime example of that, drawing students from nearly every high school on Maui.

When director Tina Kailiponi went looking for a fall play this year, she was drawn to my backstage comedy by its unique concept and non-stop humor. But what really clinched it for her was the fact that it could be performed with some simple scaffolding on an otherwise bare stage, the same set they're using for their production of The Rocky Horror Show, which is running at the same time.

Kalliponi went on to say that assistant director Francis Tau'a--a local talent she describes as "the king of comedy"--is working with the students to make sure they nail that humor. "He's teaching them how to deliver the joke, and how to make it land--all the elements of comedy."

Did I mention this is my first live production in Hawaii? A theater on the east side of Maui produced You're Virtually Driving Me Crazy! in 2020, but as the title of the play implies, that show was performed completely online.

Fortunately, I won't have to wait too long for my second live production as a school on the island of Kauai will be doing The Enchanted Bookshop in October.

As the article makes clear, Kailiponi and the other staff member are extremely proud of the hard work that the students put into their shows. And they should be.

If you're ever vacationing on Maui, you should definitely stop by this gem of a theater to see one (or more) of their shows. I guarantee you'll have a fantastic time!