“Bisney Boy” . . .
. . . written and directed by Kathryn Krull will be performed on Wednesday, June 11 at 7:00 p.m.
1. Where did you come up with the creative idea for your piece?
A few months ago, probably sometime in January, I was telling my parents that I really wanted to go to Disney World with a few friends for a graduation thing, seeing as I hadn’t done anything “big” like that for a while. They considered the idea (and are still considering it for a later time) but did not want me to go with friends because they didn’t want me to get lost, robbed, etc. After thinking about all the bad stuff that could happen on such a trip to “the happiest place on earth,” it hit me – WHAM! I should write a show about that. I also considered doing a show about dancing janitors and how after school ends, they have a huge party . . . but no, Disney, I mean, “Bisney Boy” allowed for more creative freedom and lots of variety.
2. Where do you think your piece succeeds, and where do you see challenges for yourself as a playwright or director?
I think that a key thing that is successful about this show is that people can relate to it. The ideas for “Bisney Boy” came not just from Disney, but all amusement parks, so the jokes are universal. For example, the entirety of the show focuses on a group of people waiting in line for a roller-coaster. That setting provides the structure for the characters to be anxious, crabby, or even bored while they wait in line. Things like the line business are what people remember doing and they can laugh about it.
My play posed two particular challenges for me as a playwright. First, I did not have this show totally complete until about a week ago, and that was because I needed to see how my actors made their characters work. This was tough for me as a director only because we needed the entire show done (blocked and on its feet) by a certain date, and well . . . it was tough! And second, this show is all about waiting for things to happen. To really give it that feel, I needed to have the audience understand that everyone onstage is “bored,” but in an entertaining way. That is not easy to do. As a director, I am very happy to be working with this cast of eight people who completely understand where my show is coming from
3. What is the greatest challenge you have found so far (writing, working with actors, tech, etc)?
The greatest challenge I have found so far with this show is probably with the idea of caribou. Disney has Mickey Mouse, and Bisney World has its own whimsical animal, “Quirky Jerky Cory the Caribou.” There were two main challenges with having a caribou (a reindeer) be the park’s representative. The first one was the fear of “Cory” looking too much like Mickey, and that would be confusing for the audience because Bisney Boy does not take place at Disney World, but at another typical amusement park. The second challenge, which is still being addressed by my two wonderful techies, is how the logo for the park should look, and how to incorporate the logo into the play. We may just put stickers of reindeer all over the stage, but people are going to have to see the show to see how this problem gets solved! ‘Tis a mystery!
4. Why were you interested in writing and directing a piece for SpringFest?
Every year I have been at Greeley, I have participated in SpringFest. I have loved seeing original pieces go up because you could hear what the playwright was thinking about before the show, and after you see the show understand how the playwright’s idea clicked into place. SpringFest for me was a real opportunity to act without a set schedule. Greeley has its main stage shows, like the fall musical, drama, comedy and senior musical. But for SpringFest, four nights of student written, student directed, and student performed one-act plays, the rehearsal schedules of these shows were made by the student participants. For people who played sports, studied for fall exams, or did anything else that prevented them from performing in main stage shows, SpringFest was a way to get experience.
As for why I wanted to try directing, while helping out as an assistant choreographer and an assistant director for the Bell Theatre Company I loved being able to have an idea of what a scene might look like and then seeing my idea come to life. It was absolutely fascinating. It’s like painting or drawing, but with the media being people taking on new characters. As for the writing side of it, when I tried to write, I really just pulled from personal experiences that I knew others could relate to. That technique operated as a safety net for me, knowing that my audience would understand the material a little more easily.
5. What other pieces, besides your own, are you looking forward to? Why?
I know this will sound a bit odd, but I am really looking forward to every single show that is going up that week. I really love to try to see every original show because within the playwriting and directing class that Mr. Schraufnagel teaches after school on Fridays, we hear everyone’s ideas before they become plays. To see those ideas come to life on stage is just amazing, simply amazing.
6. In addition to writing and directing, are you performing any other roles, performance or technical, in SpringFest?
Yes, in total, I will be performing in, directing, technically helping out with six shows. Senior year, you have to go out with a BANG! I am directing my original “Bisney Boy,” as well as a play for the Theatre Rep class’s director’s project series, called “Not Enough Rope” by Elaine May. I will be accompanying two shows on the piano, Ross Carsten’s original play with original orchestration, and the one-act of Sondheim’s “Company” that is being directed by Evan Ross. I also will be performing in two shows: The Theatre Rep class’s production of “Kiosk Man” and the senior show directed by Mr. Schraufnagel called “The Least Offensive Play in the Whole Darn World.”
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