About the Play:
Set in post-second world war Montreal, The Complicated… is the tale of Hades St. James, a trumpet player with a shady past who gets pulled into a world of dark secrets, twisted politics, dumb goons and dangerous dames.
About the Authors:
Andrew L. Smith – Hailing from Montreal, this Concordia University Theatre graduate is a theatrical “Jack-of-all-trades”. From acting and directing through to fight choreography and writing to design and modern dance, he enjoys it all. Andrew has performed in various theatrical pieces ranging from Glass Menagerie to playing Hamlet. Living in Toronto, he is currently working on writing his WWII Trilogy.
Jessica Lafrance –Actress/playwright Jessica Lafrance holds a BFA from Concordia University. Her experience ranges from performing in shows such as the Nouveau Theatre Anglais’ production of Harry Standjofski’s play Here & There in Montreal to teaching drama classes in the Dominican Republic. She is presently producing and directing her first short film.
Jessica and Andrew’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?
Jessica Lafrance (JL): As an actress I’ve worked as part of several writing collectives that were performed, and during my studies at Concordia University I wrote a couple of short plays. The Complicated… is my proudest accomplishment thus far.
Andrew L. Smith (ALS): I’ve been writing since college, and have always been inspired by those around me. My proudest accomplishment has been to see my friends perform in The Complicated… and to hear the positive feedback our play produced.
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?
JL: I had just returned from a trip where I had been teaching drama classes for a couple of weeks in a small community called Munoz in the Dominican Republic and I wanted to help raise funds for an organization called Beyond the River that was building a small school there. I figured the best way to raise funds was to do a really fun show that would draw in a diverse crowd and I thought a Film Noir style Radio Drama would be perfect.
Andrew is really knowledgeable when it comes to that genre and is an incredibly talented playwright so I commissioned him to write it for me. Between our busy schedules we would meet up at pubs or a coffee shop to discuss the play, and then finally we just ended up writing it together. It really became this amazing collaboration with each of us weaving in our different ideas and creating different voices for the characters. As for what the festival audience takes away, I hope it is pure pleasure. I think it gives you the same thrill you get from watching an old James Bond movies… although dare I say a tad heavier on the wit.
ALS: I had wanted to work on a play like this for a while, having grown up listening to The Shadow and similar radio shows. Hades is a unique combination of Carey Grant and Groucho Marx, with a little Bond shaken into him. I hope the audience sits back, closes their eyes and enjoys the ride with Hades.
OOB: I think your radio play might be the first for our Festival! Can you talk a little about the challenges that come with producing this type of play? What do playwrights need to consider with a radio play that they might not think about with traditional scripts?
JL: I think in some ways producing a radio play is easier than a regular play if it is well written. There is very little to stage in terms of movement. It is really in the hands of the actors; the journey they bring the audience along on and the intimate relationship they create with them. And that is the challenge in writing a radio drama – to make it as visual or even more so then a regular play that would have everything acted out.
You really need to create imagery through the dialogue and find clever ways to communicate everything that is taking place. At the same time you have a lot more freedom to choose settings and scenarios that would normally be too complicated to stage.
ALS: I suspect the challenge of the producer is to have produced a soundscape that grabs the audience’s imagination, rolls up their collars and takes them to Hades’ world. As a playwright, one of the main challenges is to remember to somehow explain to the audience what the character’s actions are. Traditionally we accept that during a play we will see the actors performing their character’s actions and the counter reactions, but in classic radio plays the audience has to figure out what is going on through the sound effects and the tone of the words coming from the various characters.
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?
JL: The play was produced as a fundraiser in Montreal. It was a one night event with great opening acts and DJ performance afterwards with video streaming of clips from the community the fundraiser was for. The play itself feels magical to me and I don’t foresee any changes. We got the chance to have it rehearsed by a great cast (Kerry Thompson, Charles Bender and the two of us) and I think the characters, although stereotypical in many ways, are very unique.
ALS: Ditto Jess.
OOB: I’m really interested in the team writing process; could you talk a little more about writing as partners? What are some of the challenges and advantages in forming a partner writing relationship. Additionally, you both are actors. How did you find that your experiences as performers changed the way you approached the script?
JL: The second we started creating the world of The Complicated… we were both kind of in love with it. We only wanted it to be an awesome show that people would want to see. We challenged each other to bring better and better ideas and we only kept the good stuff that each of us brought to the table. I really liked working with Andrew because I could be really honest with him and I think he could be really honest with me.
Other than a couple of excerpts most of the play was written the two of us sitting down together and putting it down on paper by hand. The one real challenge was scheduling time to write, especially because we were on a very tight timeline. It did help that we are both actors because right away we were bringing the characters to life with different voices and speech patterns and that influenced the writing. Andrew writes very witty dialogue. That sharpened me because I wanted to step up and be witty too. I think sometimes it was a bit of a friendly ping pong or fencing match. We challenged each other.
ALS: Team writing is about honesty – if you don’t like it, say so. Jessica and I have no hang ups about saying we don’t like something. Working with Jess was fun because double edged wit is always more fun when you run it off someone, which was what we did. We challenged each other by elevating the wordplay and double entendre. Trying to beat the clock is always easier with four hands and two brains. The main challenge was when to meet, but as with most theatre “challenges”, that somehow worked itself out. Writing this radio play as an actor was fun because the characters’ manners of speech came out right away.
OOB: Tell us a little about your producer? How did you come to form your relationship together?
JL: This was the first production I had ever produced. I really wanted it to be an experience that felt fresh and vibrant and almost seedy at the same time. We did the show in this great venue in Montreal called the Main Hall and it had a bar with lots of little tables but also had a proscenium arch style stage. Andrew had more experience in producing so I consulted him on almost every detail.
ALS: Jess is both energetic and keeps her eye on the end product. We both went to school together and share a lot of the same ideas and training. When The Complicated… was produced it had the exact audience reaction we had hoped for, and I couldn’t ask for more.
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?
JL: You know I think this production was one of the highlights for me. We had a great time writing the play and then playing Veronique, this femme fatale character, was such fun. Our cast was amazing as well…we’re a group of friends from Montreal and we were joined by Philippe Battikha, an extremely talented trumpet player. The fact that everyone committed so much time with all the proceeds going to the community in the D.R. and that we had such a great turnout and response… for me it was the coolest thing ever.
ALS: While working at a hotel, I had the privilege to talk to R.H Thompson and Eric Peterson, both iconic figures in Canadian Theatre. During our discussion I realized that playing with levels makes everything more interesting in theatre. With that in mind I wrote this play with Jessica. Performing it with Jessica, Charles and Kerry was among the best experiences of my life.
