One of my favorite things about running thewriteteachers.com is getting to interview brilliant artists from across all disciplines. Not only do they inspire with the work that they give this world, they are the type of artists who give back, who are willing to sit and talk about their work, and share their pearls of wisdom with our readers. And that, to me, is amazing.It’s my honor and privilege to introduce Kirsten Childs (lyricists, composer, bookwriter) to this Q&A Series. Kirsten is the award-winning writer of the musicals The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, Miracle Brothers, Fly (with Rajiv Joseph and Bill Sherman), Funked Up Fairy Tales, and Bella: An American Tall Tale (directed by Robert O’Hara).So, without further ado, Write Teacher(s) Readers meet Kirsten Childs!
MM: First things first, when did you realize you wanted to be a playwright? What drew you to writing for musical theatre?
KC: My entrée into playwriting was totally a necessity-is-the-mother-of-invention situation. I used to be a performer and was frustrated by the paucity of musical theater books for African-American performers. I decided instead of complaining, I would write a book musical. On a side note: I also figured some arrogant theater know-it-all would probably come to a reading of my work, sneer and say, “you call that a musical book? I could write a better one in my sleep! Stand aside and let a master show you how it’s done.” And then he or she (but more likely he) would write a book for a musical. Maybe a really terrific one. Which would be great, because then there would be TWO book musicals for African-American performers, ha ha! That was my sneaky plot. Anyway, once I dipped my toe into the musical theater writing waters, I haven’t stopped enjoying the swim!
MM: Of all the stories you’ve been a part of creating, is there one in particular that’s closest to your heart
KC: I think the story that is closest to my heart is the one that was the least critically successful. It was a fanciful tale called MIRACLE BROTHERS, set in 17th century Brazil. The story was very loosely based on a Brazilian myth of river dolphins who transform into human beings. But what it was really about was how we humans transform ourselves into something less than human, based on absurd and divisive rules we construct for ourselves. Two brothers, (one of them society has labeled black and the other has been labeled white) share a father in common. The bonds of their brotherhood at bring them joy at first, but ultimately tear them apart. The story of black and white relatives has resonance in my own family (and I would wager in virtually every African-American family descended from ancestors subjected to America’s “peculiar institution”). What I loved about MIRACLE BROTHERS was getting the opportunity to explore the gorgeous Brazilian cultural landscape. Even more, I loved having the distance to talk about race in a way that is not the way one is expected to examine it in the United States. And even more than that, I loved creating my own brand of magic realism. But apparently, some people couldn’t suspend their disbelief enough to accept that river dolphins were the protagonists. All I have to say to that is, I don’t want to hear none of y’all singing “Part Of Your World” or “Poor Unfortunate Souls”!
MM: When one walks into your home, what books are permanently on your bookshelf?
KC: They’re not on my bookshelf anymore. I’m a Kindle reader.
MM: If you were stranded on a desert island, what television shows and/or movies would you want available to you, (assuming of course you have a television and Internet connection?)
KC: I took my TV out to the lobby many years ago, and went cold turkey off the small screen, which I had to do or I’d never do any writing. And although I have recently enjoyed DRUNKEN HISTORY(the things you learn!), I don’t watch TV. Unless I’m at a hotel or on a retreat where there’s a TV. And sad to say, even then I don’t watch it for long.
MM: What’s the best piece of advice you’d want to offer aspiring lyricists, composers, and book writers
KC: Don’t be afraid to: Be cliché, be too smart, be too dumb, be joyful, be offensive, be vulnerable. Don’t be afraid to say “yes.” To say “no.” To ask for help. To believe in yourself. Don’t be afraid.
MM: What sound do you love? What sound do you hate?
KC: Whatever those sounds are, I’ll probably change my mind about how I feel about them. Well, except for Aretha singing “Ain’t No Way.” I’ll never change my mind about that.
MM: What literary or musical theatre character is most like your personality? Least like your personality?
KC: I have not a clue. Although, for the longest, I have always cheered on Cinderella’s stepsisters, especially when they sing “why can’t a fella ever once prefer a girl who’s merely me?” Don’t worry sisters, if he (or she) is worth it, you’ll be appreciated and there won’t be any “merely” about it!
MM: Time for shameless self promotion! Tell our readers what you want to brag about, what you’re excited about in your career at the moment.
KC: I have a commission for a musical from Penn State, I’m working on a musical adaptation of a film with director/bookwriter Gordon Greenberg and The New Group, I’m finishing up a CD of my recent musical BELLA: AN AMERICAN TALL TALE, and I have a few other projects that I’ll be more at liberty to talk about at a later date.
MM: In today’s economic state, arts education programs are being cut. What reasons would you give to a school board or politician for preserving arts education programming in schools?
KC: We cannot survive without the food that nourishes our bodies. We cannot survive without the education that nourishes our minds. We cannot survive without the work that nourishes both our sense of self-worth and our nation’s great economic strength. And we cannot survive without the art that nourishes our hearts and sustains our souls.
MM: Who is/was your greatest teacher? (Can absolutely be more than one)
KC: There are many, but here are two I will always remember:
1) My first grade teacher, Miss de Marco. She was a hipster white lady with blindingly red lipstick, cat-eye sunglasses, bottle blond hair in a pageboy, and a big motorcycle that she rode to work. You heard that right. My first grade teacher rode a hog to school! Miss de Marco made all us little black children at Marvin Avenue Elementary School in Los Angeles lie down at nap time and listen to Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras and Copeland’s Appalachian Spring. And then she would take us on field trips to the Shrine Auditorium to hear performances of our naptime concerts. She. Was. A. Badass.
2) My twelfth grade high school English teacher, Arthur Shugard. Referred to everyone as “Miss” or “Mister”. Brilliant, supportive, challenging scholar who made us all want to learn not because we would get a higher grade, but because learning was fantastic. A wonderful human being.
Thank you, Kirsten! And Write Teacher(s) Readers – catch some of Kirsten’s music at Women of the Wings: A Celebration of Female Musical Theatre Writers on March 2 at Feinstein’s/54 Below. Additional information is available here.
Live, Love, Learn,