It’s a strange idea, turning Svetlana Alexievich‘s  interviews into a play, and even stranger to think of a children’s script. I know because of the looks I get from people when I say it.

This particular script has been in development a few months, and on the day after our first real rehearsal, I’d like to honor all of the artists whose encouragement and collaboration leads us to the Fringe.

First, Rachel Stoll, who re-ignited this idea in the back of my brain that the stories of Chornobyl will be lost if we can’t open our audience to children. History books certainly aren’t covering it.

Next, the ensemble members who braved our first read-through: Brad Beacom, Katie Sweeney & Kappa Victoria Wood from our so-called ‘adult’ script. Due to unexpected scheduling conflicts, Brad & Katie couldn’t continue on the journey, but their feedback , along with Dramaturg Karen Jean Martinson, Actress Caroline Sharp & Blog Editor Jane Whitty (behind the camera), sparked exactly what I needed to move our script to the next draft.

Enjoy!

Maybe on purpose, maybe not, but I cut a lot of my own feedback out of it.

So the moral is: surround yourself with great talent so you can sit back and drink Fat Tire!

And just in case you want to see some quick excerpts of the adult script before part 2: