Behind the Scenese: A Light in the Storm

A Light in the Storm - Behind the Scenes

Author/ Playwright/Director | Production Staff | Cast

Karen Hesse (Author) is one of the foremost children's book writers in America today. Her Scholastic novel Out of the Dust won the 1998 Newbery Medal, the Scott O'Dell Award, and many other awards and honors. In addition to A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin, Ms. Hesse has written the novels Just Juice and The Music of Dolphins, as well as the picture book Come On, Rain! illustrated by Jon J Muth. She lives with her family in southern Vermont.

"While growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, I dreamed of becoming many things: an archeologist, an ambassador, an actor, an author. In 1969, I attended Towson State College as a theatre major, but transferred after two semesters to the University of Maryland, where I eventually earned a B.A. in English with double minors in Psychology and Anthropology.

"From the time I was ten I thought of myself as "good with words," thanks to a perceptive and supportive fifth grade teacher. Mrs. Darnoff believed I could be a professional writer some day and because she believed, I believed too. Though I gave up all my other career dreams, I never gave up dreaming of publication. It took more than thirty years to see that fifth grade dream come true. I don't know whether that makes me extremely patient or just plain stubborn.

"I have earned wages as a waitress, a nanny, a librarian, a personnel officer, an agricultural laborer, an advertising secretary, a typesetter, a proofreader, a mental health care provider, a substitute teacher, and a book reviewer. In and around the edges of all those jobs I have written poems, stories, and books, books, books. The seed for Out of the Dust grew out of a picture book idea. Presented with an early draft of the picture book, Come On, Rain, my writers' group insisted I elaborate on why my characters wanted rain so badly. I began researching times when people desperately wanted rain and Out of the Dust blossomed into existence.

"I love writing. I can't wait to get to my keyboard every morning. I also love reading, hiking, spending time with friends and family, traveling, and music - both playing it and listening to it. National Public Radio is a frequent companion…the inspiration for the Music of Dolphins came from an interview I heard on "Fresh Air."

"Young readers are the most challenging, demanding, and rewarding of audiences. Adults often ask why I write for the younger set. My reply: I can't think of anyone I'd rather write for."

An Interview with Karen Hesse

Mary Hall Surface (Playwright) is one of the United States' most widely produced playwright/directors specializing in theater for inter-generational audiences. Ms. Surface's work has been featured at Seattle Children's Theatre, Dallas Children's Theatre, Arizona's Childsplay, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, as well as nine productions at the Kennedy Center. Touring productions of her plays Most Valuable Player (about the life of Jackie Robinson), A Perfect Balance (a fantasy about creativity inspired by the work of Alexander Calder) and Apollo: to the Moon (about America's race for space) have been presented in every region of the US, as well as in Ireland, France, Peru, Germany, Italy and across Canada. An anthology of five of her plays, Most Valuable Player and Four Other All-Star Plays for Middle and High School Audiences, was recently published by Smith and Kraus. She has been nominated for three Helen Hays Awards for Outstanding Direction -- for the Round House Theatre's TinTypes ('93), for Theater of the First Amendment's Grimm Tales ('00) and Sing Down the Moon ('01) and for the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play for Sing Down the Moon. A national leader in her field, she was the director of New Visions 2000: One Theatre World, a national festival of theater for young people and families, co-produced by the Kennedy Center and ASSITEJ/USA (the International Association of Theatre for Children and Youth) in May 2000. Her fourth collaboration with composer David Maddox, Mississippi Pinocchio will open at Theater of the First Amendment in March 2002. And she is co-creating a new piece for family audiences with the National Symphony Orchestra, Custard the Dragon, which will premiere at the Kennedy Center in May 2002. She was a 2000 Aurand Harris Fellow of the Children's Theatre Foundation of America.

What were some of the challenges you faced while adapting A Light in the Storm for the stage?

The big challenge was figuring how to build a story for the stage-with action, dialogue, conflict, spectacle - from a book that is written in journal form, has many characters and covers a year in time. I had to decide what events to include and what characters to include. Then I had to envision whole new scenes to tell the story.
Which characters were the most interesting to you as a playwright?

A playwright must be interested in all of her characters. If not, then the play will be imbalanced. All of the characters are struggling with conflicts within themselves and with the world, which makes them fascinating. In many ways, the Mother was the hardest character to write, because she is the hardest to understand from a contemporary point-of-view. It is hard for us to sympathize with someone who is pro-slavery. But she was far from alone during the time in which she lived. Many people were satisfied with the way things were in Southern society and were unwilling for them to change. Plus, the Mother has faced great personal sacrifice because of her husband's abolitionist actions. Now she risks losing her daughter to those views as well. So looking at her from a more personal point of view makes her more likable.
Did you do extra research about life during the Civil War before writing the play?

Yes. I did a great deal of research. The songs in the play, the quote by Frederick Douglass, the quote from the declaration of independence, the headline from the Charleston newspaper, the description of the battle of Mannassas, all came from my historical research.
How much of the original text of the book was used in the play?

I love Karen's writing. I tried whenever I could to retain her voice and she is very present in the character of Wickie. The book actually has very little dialogue, so it was my job to make the characters speak on stage. I also tried to build on images and moments from the book - Oda Lee as a crow picking through the flotsam on the beach, Wickie's feelings being like a storm. But plays and books are two very different things.

Rick Davis (Director) has been Artistic Director of theater of the First Amendment (a professional company based at George Mason University in Fairfax) since 1991, during which time the company has received ten Helen Hayes Awards and more than twenty nominations. He has directed many world premieres and rediscovered classics for TFA, most recently Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea. From 1986-91 he worked at Baltimore's Center Stage, first as resident Dramaturg and then as Associate Artistic Director. He has also directed for Players Theatre Columbus, Delaware Theatre Company, American Ibsen Theater, Opera Idaho, Lake George Opera Festival, Capital City Opera, the IN Series, and other companies. A graduate of Lawrence University and the Yale School of Drama, Rick teaches directing and dramatic literature at George Mason University where he serves as Associate Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.

How closely did you work with the playwright regarding the script regarding the script during the development process?

We were very fortunate to have access to a group of talented young actors, the Kenan Kennedy Education Department Actors in Residence from North Carolina School of the Arts, who workshopped the play first with Mary Hall Surface, the playwright, and then with me and Mary Hall together. We had various readings of the developing script followed by discussions of the characters, the structure, and the historical background-- all of which helped us to refine the script before rehearsal. Then Mary Hall was frequently available to attend rehearsals of the workshop production which I directed with these same young actors, and we were able to fine-tune the script during that process.
What are the differences between directing a show for adults and one for children?

The goal for both audiences-- for any audience-- is to tell the story clearly and with emotional truth, visual interest, and attention to meaning. For young audiences who may have less experience with live theater, the emphasis must be on clarity and liveliness. Sometimes an adult audience will let you get away with a couple of minutes that aren't so interesting, but a young audience will let you know in many ways that they're tuning out.
What are the challenges, and rewards of directing a new play?

I love working on new plays, especially when I have access to the playwright. It's great to be able to ask questions and exchange ideas before and during rehearsal. I enjoy being able to create something for the first time, knowing that I'm helping bring a new play into the world. And of course with a new play you don't have the option of building upon a previous production's solution for a certain scene-- you have to make it up for the first time. That's both a challenge and a reward.
What type of research did you do to prepare to direct A Light in the Storm? How many times do you read the play, and the book?

I read the play practically every day; I found that reading the book once was sufficient. I was very glad I read the book to give me a feeling for the texture of the world that Karen Hesse creates so beautifully, but of course my task was to direct the play, so I concentrated on that. Beyond those resources, I always find it helpful to listen to music of the period, to study the visual images that are available (whether in early photographs or in paintings and drawings), and to read the literature and history of the time. Luckily I've been reading about the Civil War era for years, and I was able to bring some of that historical information into the rehearsal process.

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Illustrations by Ray Cruz.Used with permission by Anthenum Books.