About the Play:
Just because it’s glitters, doesn’t mean it’s pretty- SKIN DEEP, a scathing comedy about the world of child beauty pageants.
About the Author:
Skin Deep recently received its premiere in Porch Light Productions Playwrights Festival. Last summer, Mary Lynn Dobson’s play, Two on the Aisle, Three in a Van, was performed in the NYC Fringe Festival garnering the Summer Theatre Citation for Outstanding New Play as well as being awarded Best Ensemble Cast. The play was also honored at the University of Northern Kentucky as a winner of the Y.E.S. New Play Festival and went on to receive its professional premiere at the Henlopen Theatre Project. Mary Lynn’s other work, Dracula, the Untold Story was staged at the NKU Summer Theatre where it received its professional debut in a sold out run. She has also penned the family comedy, The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood, which is published by Dramatic Publishing. Robin Hood has had productions mounted all throughout the US, the UK, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Austria, making her one of Dramatic Publishing’s most produced playwrights. As a director credits include: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood, She Loves Me, Sylvia, Two on the Aisle, Three in a Van, My Fair Lady, Rounding Third, Urinetown the Musical, Once Upon a Mattress, The Pillowman, The Odd Couple and Guys and Dolls.
Mary’s Forty Days to Forty Plays Interview:
OOB Festival (OOB): Tell us a little about your playwriting career. When did you start writing plays? What are some of your proudest accomplishments as a playwright?
Mary Lynn Dobson (MLD): I dabbled in writing comedy after high school. A local theatre did a “Theatre for Young People” series, so—along with friends—I’d write some of their scripts. They were half-scripted/half-improv and usually spoofed the fad du jour. About 10 years ago, my producer, Peter Riga, approached me about writing a main-stage family show. On a fluke, I revamped an old script, made it full-length, gave it a Monty Python feel and changed its title to The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood. It was a hit, was published, has been performed in every state in the US and is now global.
It’s kind of like The Blob; it’s eating the minds of the youth of the world and it’s just wrong on so many levels. But it bought me a car, so I can forgive it. Funny thing was, when I entered it into a playwriting competition for young audiences in Indiana, they called me “the Howard Stern of children’s theatre.” I was beat out by a play called, Why Did Grandma Die? Yeah, there’s an ego-booster for ya! Indiana hates me. They do. I don’t think I’m even allowed to drive through the state.
OOB: Wow– ‘The Howard Stern of Children’s Theatre?” We’d love to hear more about you other plays! Can you tell us about a few? Are most of your plays comedies, or do you write in all genres?
MLD: To be honest, I’ve only written four plays and they’ve all been comedies. I greatly admire any playwright who pens a drama. Any writer can tell you, you feel what you write. If your piece deals with a tragic theme, you’ll feel a part of that pain every time you sit down at the keyboard. I’m not brave enough to do that (or at least not yet), that’s why I opt to write comedies. In the beginning, I wrote adaptations because I was comfortable with that form of writing. My first play was, Dracula the Untold Story and my next was, The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood. My Robin Hood is done all over the place, but I really haven’t put the Dracula piece out there. I would only send a copy out when someone would request it. But each time I did, it booked a production. Two on the Aisle-Three in a Van came next and shortly after I finished it, I began booking a lot of directing jobs. Almost without realizing it, the plays got shelved and the writing was put on the back burner. This past year I directed five shows in a row and really needed a break. That’s when I wrote Skin Deep.
And just for the record – as far as Indiana calling me “the Howard Stern of Children’s Theatre” goes, let me say, that happened back in 2000 and it’s still pissing me off. I have yet to figure out what it was I did that so heinously wronged Indiana. I even went to their official state page to try a get clue. And you know, aside from giving us Letterman (who I truly believe was secretly born in New York), Indiana has a racetrack, a zoo, a couple of lakes and that’s about it. Not only that, but one of their whiz-bang promotional quotes is, “Indiana – Named for the Indians.” Thanks for that, Indiana. We here in the rest of the country would’ve never figured that out. (And they pick on my writing.)
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?
MLD: When I write, I have this thing I call a “blurb page” where I jot down ideas. Then if I feel like writing (for a long time I didn’t), I’ll pull out my blurb page and see what’s there. So this time, I noticed there were a few things about pageants and I wrote three pages of dialogue. With the resurgence of the kid pageant shows on cable, I decided to give it a shot.
This time I didn’t want to write something that was just funny (and were this festival being done in Indiana, nobody would think it was — did I mention that they hate me?) Anyway, I wanted to weave just a little social commentary in between the punch lines. I think, or at least I hope, I did that.
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?
MLD: I was very fortunate to have had Skin Deep performed this May in the Porch Light Productions Playwrights Festival. It went very well, but I will be tweaking it a little. One of the things I love the most is when one of your actors does something or says a line different from the way you’ve always heard it and it’ll spark an idea. Sometimes some of the funniest things can be derived from a flub (not that I base the majority of my dialogue on people screwing it up).
OOB: Skin Deep has already received a large number of awards and accolades—just in the time that we chose it to be a part of our Festival. For our playwright readers who might be looking to find out more about submission opportunities, can you talk about the contest submission process? What are some of the awards you’ve won thus far?
MLD: Most recent my play, Two on the Aisle – Three in a Van won the Summer Theatre Citation for Outstanding New Play and Best Ensemble Cast in the 2009 FringeNYC Festival. Skin Deep has won the Frostburg University’s One-Act Play Competition and will receive a full production there in September and the play was just named a winner in the Shortened Attention Span One-Act Festival. I did have to turn down two other festivals and two awards because the theatres needed exclusivity to the piece, and that meant I would have to drop out of the OOB Festival. But it’s good that it’s being well received. Who knows? Maybe plays about pageant loving pre-school girls wearing more make-up than Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest will be “the new black.” It could happen. As for playwrights looking to submit their work to festivals or competitions, I would recommend getting the Dramatists Sourcebook because they list almost all of the competitions and developmental opportunities. You can also do a search on the Backstage website as well. Just be leery of competitions with entry fees. If a competition is asking you to send ten bucks, that’s one thing. I have no problem with a theatre or venue covering their costs. But some want twenty-five to fifty dollars and I’d be careful of entering those. And if you do win a competition, always check to make sure who retains the rights to your work. Never be quick to sign a contact. It doesn’t cost too much to join the Dramatists Guild, if you can do that, the Guild can be very beneficial to new writers. They also have a legal department that can help you with contracts.
OOB: Tell us a little about your producer? How did you come to form your relationship together?
MLD: Peter Riga is my producer and I think this is our ninth show together. He’s helmed two of my previous works as well as a bunch of musicals and plays I’ve directed. I adore him, he’s wonderful and I was thrilled and grateful when he agreed to come on-board for this. I think we have a great working relationship because Peter is very experienced, smart, savvy and not from Indiana.
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?
MLD: I have two memories that are dear to my heart. Last summer, Two on the Aisle, Three in a Van was featured in the Fringe Festival NYC. Everything happens so fast in the Fringe and it’s crazy–like being on a terrifying roller coaster ride and you’re not sure you’ve had fun until it stops. I was so deeply touched because so many friends immediately volunteered to work on it. It got some pretty incredible notices and a big part of that was because of the generosity of my friends. I also had an amazing cast who believed in the piece and that meant a lot as well.
The other was when Two in the Aisle won the YES Festival at the University of Northern Kentucky. That was the first time I ever saw the characters come alive. It was surreal, kind of like the voices in your head coming out to play. But the audiences were wonderful and the university did an amazing production. The YES Festival played a major role in jump-starting the play and for that I will always be grateful. And I’m very happy to say that, unlike Indiana, Kentucky seems to like me.
