Career Development Grant
Career Development Grant
New stage adaptation of "Treasure Island" to be performed by Wise Fool Shakespeare theater company.
Janeen Carey: vocalist, retired Hibbing Community College librarian and information media specialist; Adam Guggemos: graphic designer, art events promoter; Michelle Ronning: jewelry designer and maker; Tara Makinen: Executive Director of Itasca Orchestra and Strings, musician; Moira Villiard: visual artist; Jeanne Doty: Retired Associate Professor of Music at University of Minnesota-Duluth, pianist; Amber Burns: choreographer, dancer, actor, middle school art teacher; Margaret Holmes: visual artist, poet, former Children's Theatre employee; Tammy Mattonen: visual artist, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Quentin Stille: student liaison, College Music Director at KUMD.
Tammy Mattonen: visual artist, co-founder of Crescendo Youth Orchestra; Paula Gudmundson: Professor of music at University of Minnesota-Duluth, flutist; Walt Raschick: music director at KUWS; Judy Budreau: writer and editor; Jeffrey Kalstrom: sculptor and printmaker, Professor of Fine Art at University of Minnesota-Duluth.
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
My goal is to write a great adaptation of Treasure Island. Too many scripts for young audiences condescend to children. They think kids can't handle sadness, or frightening situations, or that everything has to be funny even if it doesn't fit with the story. I disagree with those points on every level. Kids are SMART and have brave, beautiful hearts. I won't need to make the pirates silly, bumbling creatures. Long John Silver is a scary, manipulative man. Frankly, he's a man kids might meet someday in real life - at first he's a great friend to young Jim Hawkins, but he quickly proves dangerous. Without trying to be an after-school special, I absolutely want to expose children in the audience to the realest people possible. Nothing gratuitous, nothing that isn't in the original novel. I don't think these classics would have survived so long if they weren't so real. Allowing myself to dedicate an extended period of time to this project will help to make me a better writer. The quality of my adaptation of "Treasure Island' can be judged in several ways. First, I will use my own gut reaction. How do I feel hearing the actors say my words out loud? Am I mortified during the performances? Am I excited to have audiences see my show? An artist knows when his or her work has value! Second, this will be used for live performances so I'll be able to observe the audience's reactions. And finally, I can ask the producing company, Wise Fool Shakespeare, for feedback. They can tell me what worked or didn't work in regards to being easy to stage, pulling the best elements out of the original story, and being a play they found worthwhile to produce.
Other, local or private