OOB: Unlike some musical writers who opt to divide the work associated with writing a musical, you are responsible for all three components—book, music, and lyrics. How do you approach the creation of your plays? Do you begin with the book and then the music and lyrics follow? Do you begin with the music first? Or is it a little of everything at once?

MGS: Many times my musicals start with story concepts. Sometimes I’ll then brainstorm about the musical approach which makes most sense for the story, and other times the inspiration for the musical style arrives simultaneously with that of the plot. On still other occasions I might come up with a song I really like and try to think backwards, in effect asking myself “What kind of musical would this song belong to?”

Lyrics generally come later in the process. Occasionally I’ll have a rush of inspiration where the words seem to write themselves, but usually I’ll hack away at the lyrics for an eternity, writing twice as many verses as I need and throwing out everything but my favorites.

In the case of Climb the Smallest Mountain I thought, “Hey, wouldn’t it be funny to make a miniature musical about miniature golf, set in an alternate reality where mini-golf is taken as seriously as the Olympics?” The rest came from there.

OOB: You also compose for film and video games; how did you get into this as a career? How has composing for film and video informed the way you write musicals; or does it?

MGS: I emerged from Carnegie Mellon knowing a lot about computers but wanting to do something with music. I stumbled upon a brochure for USC’s film scoring program (no Google search in those ancient days) and was awestruck with the realization that you could actually go to school to study film scoring.

While at USC I scored some ambitious masters thesis films, which were well funded enough to support medium-sized orchestral recording sessions. This gave me some great demo material, which I was able to parley into full feature-length scoring projects – in some cases with my former student collaborators, now professional filmmakers. Video game scoring came through a more roundabout route. I landed a job as an in-house composer at a game company during the dot com boom, which let me segue into doing freelance game music for other companies.

One way my film work has impacted my theater music is that it’s given me a tremendous respect for the importance of underscore. I’ll always write the underscore for my musicals when possible; even though it’s not as omnipresent as in film, it can do wonders in creating an atmosphere or effect story pacing.

Media scoring has also given me a lot of practical knowledge about recording, orchestrating, mixing, and so on, and has given me excuses to try my hand at a number of different musical styles. I’m very comfortable with the acoustic orchestra, and hope to eventually bring that kind of ensemble into my theater work.

OOB:  Talk about your entry to this year’s festival. How did you come to write this play? Was there a particular inspiration behind its creation? What do you hope festival audience will take from your play?

MGS: The show is in part an homage to the rock musical tradition in general. This style of music seems perfect for accompanying over-the-top, self-aggrandizing characters.  There’s definitely musical influence from Jesus Christ Superstar, Tommy, and other classics of that genre. I also took some inspiration from Jef Bek’s recent Evel Knieval rock opera, which I thought was tremendous fun.

As for what I’d like the audience to take home…obviously with a show like this, priority number one is providing entertainment.  I’m poking fun at the narcissism of professional sports, but in a playfully-teasing rather than axe-grinding way.  If I can drum up some laughter and perhaps get a melody stuck in a few heads, then mission accomplished.

OOB:  What is the history of your festival entry? Do you plan to hone and further develop the play in upcoming rehearsals? Has it already been produced?

OOB:  Tell us a little about your producer? How did you come to form your relationship together?  MGS: I am remote-control producing from Los Angeles, which can be slightly scary.  (Even though in the age of email the experience is not as different from producing locally as you might imagine.)  I’m happy to have veteran director Bobby Cronin running things on the ground for me.

I have self-produced my own miniature musicals on several occasions, and have deep awe of those who have the resourcefulness and gumption to produce a full-length show. May I never join their ranks! I’m quite content to be a writer/composer.

OOB:  Looking back over your personal history in the theatre, what emerges as your favorite memory? Is there a particular story you’d like to share?

MGS: Receiving my first award (for an earlier mini-musical in 2007) was definitely a giant thrill. But I think my favorite memory remains of an ill-fated performance where a circuit-breaker in the theater blew, and my band was suddenly without power. The musicians frantically flipped the switches on their amps and keyboards, while with mounting horror I counted down the few remaining seconds before the first song. That song arrived, and the band was still in the dark. The lead actor/vocalist launched into the number, and without batting an eye, did the whole thing a cappella with such conviction that the audience didn’t realize anything had gone wrong. The theater managers got the juice back in time for the second number, and we had thunderous applause at curtain. That was definitely my “welcome to live theater” moment.