Q. What made you decide to write a musical?
A. I've always been fascinated by musicals. I love music and I love telling
stories, so telling a story with music is interesting to me. Merryl Goldberg, a
professor at CSUSM, proposed the idea of a Luann musical as a way to get school
kids involved in an artistic project. It just grew from there.Q. Do you have favorite musical shows, some that
maybe inspired Luann: Scenes From a Teen's Life?
A. The first musical that caught my youthful attention was "The Music Man." I
love tunes like "Trouble" that are fun and different.
Q. Do you sing, act, dance, or play an
instrument?
A. None of the above. I have rudimentary keyboard skills. Just enough to
plunk out melodies and simple arrangements, but not enough to actually perform
my work. Don't ask me to sit at a piano and sing, "I'm a moron."
Q. What message would you like the audience to
take away with them after seeing "Luann: Scenes From a Teen's Life"?
A. This is a pretty "messageless" show, beyond the standard "there's always
hope", "follow your dreams" sort of thing. Mainly, I want people to leave
feeling totally entertained. I wrote this show to be fun to perform and fun to
watch. Everyone loves to laugh and there's lots of humor in this show. I hope
people leave the theater smiling, maybe humming a tune, saying "that was SO
fun!"
Q. When your musical makes it to Broadway, do
you have any famous actors in your mind that you would like to see play certain
characters?
A. "When." I like that! But I have a feeling that if my show ever reaches
Broadway, the girl who will play Luann is just being born today.
Q. Did your kids or currently your grandkids
ever give you a hard time for making a cartoon of their life? Do they edit
their lives so they can stay off the funny pages, or do they enjoy the
limelight?
A. Now that they are all out of the house, I have to make up trouble for Luann
and Gang. So there's little in the strip to embarrass them. When my daughter
Karen was a teen, I did find inspiration in her life. But none of my kids are
much like the characters in the strip. Generally, my family has enjoyed the
limelight, such as it is.
Q. When you were growing up, were you always
pretty focused on your art, or did you dabble in many activities?
A. I was a total Cartoon Nerd. My older brother was Mr. Athlete. I was the
pale wimpy one, sitting in my dark room drawing Mickey Mouse. I think my
parents were concerned.
Q. What do you do when your deadline looms and
you've got nothing, and nothing is coming either?
A. Go wash the dishes. Take a nap. Water plants. You have to let your mind
shut down. At least I did. My brain doesn't like to be pushed. I find that the
best ideas aren't forced out. They come naturally. Although I have to admit
I've plenty of weeks where the deadline is here, I have nothing, the dishes are
spotless - and I've ended up sending off less than stellar stuff. All strip
cartoonists face this. A daily deadline isn't the best fertilizer for
creativity.
Q. Do you have a grammar editor or are you on
your own?
A. Why, did you see something? I have an editor at United Features (the
company that markets Luann) who eyeballs every period and comma. They
automatically fix little things, but e-mail me on bigger things ("did you MEAN
to say 'booger'?"). But they don't change content or meaning. No one tells me
HOW to write my stuff. It's entirely up to me to offend and annoy my readers.
Q. In what ways have teens changed from when you
first started writing Luann? What do you think will always stay the same?
A. So much has changed, so much has stayed the same. The biggest change is in
the WAY teens communicate now. But the THINGS they communicate - embarrassment,
confusion, panic, uncertainty, jealousy, anger, frustration - will never change.
Q. What are you most looking forward to with
Fallbrook Players production of Luann: Scenes From a Teen's Life?"
A. Cartooning is a solitary profession. Working with other creative, artistic,
talented people is something I just don't get to do. So I am looking forward to
the collaborative aspect of putting on a show. And I love seeing kids perform.
All that joy and energy has a way of rubbing off on you. I can use all the
extra energy I can get.
Q. I understand you want to attend some rehearsals.....be honest; you are just
looking for new material on the way teens behave, right?
A. Darn. Busted. Actually, I DO find inspiration in watching
real people portray my characters. On paper, they're just ink lines.
When I see them come to life, the performers bring new aspects and nuances to
the characters that I often incorporate into the strip. This show has made
my strip better. |
