Glengarry Glen Ross is their latest production, which opens on June 6th at the Beaumont Stage. We spoke with Christina Wells Campbell to find out more about what Classic Chic Productions is and what it’s bringing to the Vancouver artistic community.

Can you start by telling us about how Classic Chic Productions got started?

I wrote a blog post about that very thing which you can read here. That’s the long answer. The short answer, and it’s less altruistic than you might expect, is that I really wanted to play Iago and realized the only way for me to be able to do that was to have a company where women played all the parts.

Of course there are great women’s roles in the classics, but so many of them (particularly in Shakespeare) are pleading for their lives, begging for justice, or goading men to act on their behalf; from Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing’s “Oh, that I were a man!” to even Lady M’s “When you durst do it, then you were a man” I wanted to be able to explore parts where the characters have agency in their lives—where they make choices based on their own motivations and desires—even if (or especially if?) the consequences of those choices turns out badly.

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What do you want actors in your productions and audiences who see them to come away feeling after experiencing a Classic Chic production?

I want the actors to come away with a better understanding of how men (in general) are in the world. It’s proved to be both a fascinating and a powerful thing to feel what it’s like to put on the costume of man because it points also to how we put on the costume of woman. Men (again in general) tend to occupy more physical and energetic space than women. They state their positions without apology. They are better at letting the world know what they want. And being able or not able to do those things has repercussions for women – from having your voice heard at a board table to having your testimony believed in court.

I want the audiences to feel that too. But I also want them to be taken along for the ride—to forget the gimmick of it being an all-woman cast and be engrossed in the story.

What can you tell us about the upcoming production of Glengarry Glen Ross?

It’s going to be good. It’s vicious, funny, and a little heartbreaking.

What are the biggest challenges with running a theatre production company today and how do you deal with them?

Same as it ever was: money, time and space and not enough of any of those. We’ve dealt with them through ulcers, insomnia and general anxiety. No, I jest. We deal by having small budgets, getting things donated or in-kind and putting great people on the tasks of fundraising and marketing. The key to most things in life is relationships – making connections with people you like and respect and building a network that eventually becomes like another family.

Are there any books or specific authors that have been influential to you so far in your creative journey?

As far as influencing my creative self and spiritual self, I look to these books.

• Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
• On Becoming an Alchemist by Catherine MacCoun
• The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
• How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams

Other authors and playwrights I love are: Morris Panych, Christopher Durang, Zach Helm, Charlie Kaufman, Robertson Davies, Jane Urquhart, and Carol Shields.

What can you share about any future projects that are in development?

Still evolving. I’m afraid there’s not much to report on that front. Soon though. Soon!

Where can we find out more about Classic Chic?

The Official Site, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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Glengarry Glen Ross runs from June 6th through June 27th at the Beaumont Stage. For ticket information, please visit TicketsTonight. You can also support the production through its Indiegogo campaign.

The post The Biz Interview: Christina Wells Campbell of Classic Chic Productions appeared first on Biz Books.

Can you discuss the creative process of your involvement in Lawrence & Holloman from the earliest days all the way to release?

Yeah, I grew up as an actor and writer in theatre and so I’d seen three productions of the stage play Lawrence & Holloman (written by the amazing Morris Panych, winner of 2 Governor General’s Awards for Drama). So when Matt asked if I wanted to do the play, I looked at it again, and went: Wait, this would make an awesome indie feature. Like the cult hit Withnail & I or Labute’s Sundance hit In the Company of Men. So we brought producer Paul Armstrong aboard, who had seen and loved the play at the Arts Club in 1999, and we got development funding from Corus Entertainment and then the Harold Greenberg Fund and BC Film (now Creative BC). After 3 years of adapting it into a screenplay, we then attached Exec Producers Mary Anne Waterhouse and Andrew Currie, then Telefilm came aboard with production financing, then we raised the rest of the money, got Super Channel involved, and made the thing. It sounds easy, but that’s only the Coles Notes. It was a humungous learning curve on me and Matt’s part. We had made a 35mm short together (The Janitors) through the NSI Drama Prize and he had made a few other shorts, but writing this feature, securing the money, and making the movie was a mind-bogglingly complex thing — and if you strive towards it being the best it can possibly be, it’s all-consuming. Oh, I co-wrote, am on the producing team, and play Holloman.

From your experience in co-writing the film, what are the most important elements that a feature film screenplay needs to be successful?

I guess I found that it needs to be able to excite the people with money or who are going to make it. That’s what it comes down to. Sometimes people wouldn’t jive with the script and you have to just say “Okay, they’re not going to help us make it.” It doesn’t mean it’s bad (necessarily), it just means the fit isn’t right. So what are the elements that attract that interest? Again, it depends who you’re talking to and pitching to. I’ve heard some producers say they want something that will sell in foreign markets, which usually means a genre picture with a bankable name actor. Story is less important. Other people, the ones we were dealing with, mostly look for that fresh idea, a different spin on a universal theme, a story that compels. But again, the alchemy is so important … really it’s all about finding partners who grab hold of what you’re writing, and how you’re writing it. So you’re always writing with an audience in mind, and then trying to find that audience. That’s what I do. When I’m structuring a story, I’m always thinking two things: Where is the character at in their journey/what would they do next? And 2: What is the reader/audience feeling now? What emotions am I invoking, where to do I take the audience next, and why should they care? Writing a story is a very manipulative exercise. I picture it like sitting around a campfire telling a story to sleepy people: it’s got to have twists and turns and take them on a visceral, emotional, and intellectual ride, and keep them awake! And hopefully, if it’s really good, also ignite in their dreams.

What was your most memorable moment from the making of Lawrence & Holloman?

Actually the moment that sticks out the most is being on the phone one-on-one with Karynn Austin, who at the time was the regional director at Telefilm Canada, and hearing her tell me how much she enjoyed the script. No major notes, just “I loved it.” I still remember where I was, what time of year it was, and the inflection of her voice. That moment was the culmination of me, Matt, and Paul’s 2-3 years of work thus far, and is what spurred the eventual greenlight towards production. In my mind it was probably the most important moment in the film’s history; without it, it may not be in front of you today nor getting all the awards and accolades. Thank you, Karynn.

You’ve worked in both film and television projects. How are they different as an actor and how does your preparation change?

This is an interesting question because I’ve been in TV but never made TV. But I made Lawrence & Holloman. So when I work in TV it’s very different than this. TV gigs for me have usually been like being a small cog in a big machine; you show up, do your acting, commit to the moment, and then go home and collect the cheque. Whereas for L&H it was all-consuming. That said, I’ve been in other films where I wasn’t making the thing, so they’ve been a lot more like a TV set too. Everyone knows their job, and the actor’s job is to act in the part. When it comes to doing that, both TV and film are the same to me. And even though every project is different, the preparation is pretty much the same: learn the lines by learning the moment to moment beats, while also making choices about character, intention, motivation, and stakes.

What books have been influential to your creative journey as a writer and actor?

Awesome, love to answer this one. Cuz I read books like this all the time! As an actor, the most thumbed-through ones on my shelf are True and False by David Mamet, Michael Shurtleff’s Audition, Larry Moss’ The Intent to Live, and A Practical Handbook for the Actor. As a writer, Robert McKee’s Story, Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat series, The Eight Characters of Comedy, and Syd Field’s The Screenwriter’s Problem Solver. Oh, I also loved the book The Activist Screenwriter and I keep a copy of One Less Bitter Actor on hand!

What advice would you give to aspiring actors and screenwriters?

Read the books above! Actors, if you want to act, act. Whether it’s classes or making your own stuff, just do it. Learn. I started getting paid to do theatre when I was 12, but I still went through a conservatory acting program, and that helped solidify a career for myself in the theatre. Screenwriters, I hear a lot of people say to develop a database of story ideas, and sure that’s important, I have that … but in my experience nothing beats sitting down and wrestling those one or two projects into the best they can possibly be in order to get them made. Writing is rewriting, I’m a firm believer in that — and you must listen to your audience. Oh, and if you want get paid to act or write, you have to treat them like crafts, but also businesses.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career and what have you done to overcome it?

Biggest challenge has been and continues to be transitioning from a theatre-only actor to an actor who works on screen as well. What am I doing to overcome that? Making my own movies! I should probably do more to overcome it, but this is a start.

What would you like to share about your upcoming projects?

Well beyond the theatrical release of Lawrence & Holloman — which is already amazing — and the fact that it’s won 11 awards in 11 festivals, received “must-see” reviews, 9 Leo nominations, and is currently nominated for 4 Canadian Comedy Awards (all right all right all right) — I’m also thrilled that my other feature script Any Night just won the nation-wide CFF Super Channel Screenplay Award, which means it’s on Canada’s It-List of the best as-of-yet-unproduced screenplays and receives a pre-buy offer from Super Channel, worth $30K-$50K or more depending on budget. So hopefully that one will get made soon!

For more information about Lawrence & Holloman, please visit LawrenceandHolloman.com.

The post The Biz Interview: Daniel Arnold of Lawrence & Holloman appeared first on Biz Books.

What inspired you to take on this production?

Alison Chisholm: I’ve been wanting to write a musical for a while now but I put that dream aside once I came to the conclusion that I had no ability to pull it off on my own. But when I started doing musical improv with Jen and Peter I realized that there was a chance for that dream to come true after all. So after one of our workshops I threw the idea out to them, and like any good improvisers they accepted the offer and we went from there.

Peter Abando: When Alison suggested we create and present an original musical, it was exactly the sort of wild and crazy idea that gets us musicians and improvisors excited. While I have composed for musicals before, the chance to write a new work with Jennifer Pielak and Alison Chisholm isn’t something that comes along every day.

Jennifer Pielak: I’m crazy? Writing an original musical has always been a dream of mine. I’ve been doing musical improv for the past 5 years, and knew that the timing was right to use the skills I’ve learned to put toward writing. Combine that with the musical genius of Peter Abando and the messed up comedic writing style of Alison Chisholm and I knew we’d have a stellar team.

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Can you briefly walk us through your creative process for this production, from the early stages all the way to opening night?

Alison: It began with weekly meetings to discuss what kind of a show we wanted to do. We knew we wanted it to be a more character-based project but we thought it would take the form of a song-cycle. But after we started talking about ideas our theme of connections came all the more clear and around the time we started meeting a lot of articles were coming out that were saying that Vancouver was a lonely city and that people lacked connection. So we took that idea and some of the other quirky ideas we came up with and the general story of Connected: The Musical was born. We knew as soon the story was created that we wanted to bring on fellow improvisers and castmates Richard Meen and Brad Rossington, and fortunately they said yes. Then we pulled the rest of the creative team together and since having everyone together its been so great to have this be a true collaborative process. The three writers may have come up with the basic story and songs, but we’ve made a lot of edits since our first read through and those edits have been at the suggestions of the collective. It’s pretty great knowing that on opening we won’t just be putting up the show that Jen, Peter, and I wrote, but something that we created collectively. That’s a pretty awesome feeling!

Peter: We started simply by brainstorming ideas based on the idea of connection, and all that may imply. Once we had some concepts down, Alison created a story structure, which we used as a base for improvisation to create scenes and song sketches. I created musical motifs for characters and based song ideas on their drives and emotions at particular plot points. Then it was catering the songs to our cast and fleshing out arrangements with the musicians. There was lots of editing to be done, with changes in script and character development, but it was a fantastic process.

Jennifer: It all started one day after a musical improv workshop that Peter, Alison and I are a part of. Alison came up to Peter and I and asked if we’d like to write a musical, and we simply said, “Yes”. So we started meeting weekly at 8am on Friday mornings to brainstorm ideas. We originally thought it would be more of a comedic song cycle featuring a variety of characters. But as we continued brainstorming we ended up finding a deeper story that we felt people could relate to today in a city like Vancouver. We used a variety of techniques, sometimes we would individually take the script and work with it for a little while and bring it back to the group. Other times we would write or work scenes and songs together. We used improv a lot to hash out ideas and made new discoveries through musical improvisation and free association. In May we brought in the two other actors in the show (Brad Rossington and Richard Meen) and put the scenes on their feet to see if they played out well. We also brought in Chris Lam our director to do some dramaturgy so we could get the best story possible. As many know, a work may never ever be finished, and so we have been re-writing and adding things to the script even up to today, and it’s a week before opening night! As of June, we have a great production team now. Our stage manager, set designer, choreographer, lighting designer, director, musical director, musicians – all including the actors are putting their stamp into this show. This is the first time it’s going up, so everyone is responsible for a piece of it in a way. It’s has been collaborative from the start, and I feel very lucky that it’s been with such an amazing team.

What can audiences expect from Connected: The Musical that will make for a unique stage experience?

Alison: I think the best thing about this show is that our improv backgrounds really shine through in the story-telling. It’s a fun quirky show, featuring some highly relatable characters who can be both over-the-top and extremely grounded all in the same scene. And that’s where this show lives. It’s silly, serious, sexy with songs that will break your heart and make you want to get up and dance.

Peter: It’s a show that people will be able to relate to, given how we explore relationships and their issues in many ways. The music isn’t fixed to a specific genre, and there’s both touching and ridiculous moments, often in the same scene. Maybe a little like looking through a series of similar profiles on an online dating site – things you know, with a twist of things you didn’t expect to find there.

Jennifer: It’s relatable. It’s comedic with some very poignant moments. Without giving too much away, there is a little bit of everything in this musical – love, sass, fights, comedy and awesome songs. Plus the cast is super sexy.

What were your reasons for getting involved with acting, writing, and producing/directing?

Alison: I realized at fairly young age that theatre is what I wanted to do. I started off as an improviser and then took a break from improv as I pursued my BFA in Theatre. I realized through my degree that I actually really enjoyed the behind-the-scenes work in putting up a show which is why I pursued a career in theatre administration. But I do get the urge to do those things like write, act and improvise. I love being behind the desk, but it means a lot to me to be able to get back up on stage.

Peter: I got into theatre after high school, as a rehearsal and performance pianist. I began composing music shortly after that, when working with youth on play building, crafting original musical theatre productions.

Jennifer: This creative field chose me. I don’t feel like I have a choice. I have to do it or I will not be whole. It is my way to connect with people in the strongest way possible. Ha ha, see what I did?

Are there any books or specific authors that have been influential to you so far in your creative journey?

Alison: There are a number of playwrights who inspire me including Christopher Durang, and local playwright Morris Panych. Their knack for comedy even in dark situations is something I really appreciate and look up to.

Peter: There were definitely composers who have been influential over the years. Stephen Sondheim, Jonathan Larson, Jason Robert Brown, Igor Stravinsky, Marvin Hamlisch, Robert Lopez, Duncan Sheik, Marc Shaiman, John Kander and Fred Ebb… the list could keep going!

Jennifer: The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell. Kierkegaard. Keith Johnstone, Del Close and Charna Halpern. Musical Improv Comedy by Michael Pollock.

What were the biggest challenges for you in your respective roles in developing this production and how did you deal with them?

Alison: The biggest challenge has been balancing a full-time job, with the various roles I’ve taken on in this production, including writer, performer, producer, production manager, and others. There have been a lot of long days at Pacific Theatre, but fortunately I can’t think of anywhere else I’d want to spend so much time. Especially when I’m surrounded by an amazing group of people every time I’m there. If it wasn’t for the people I’ve had the privilege to work with, this process would have been a whole lot harder.

Peter: Toughest part? Getting all the music written and scored in time for the actors and musicians to learn and perform it. So, I managed to find a few days when no one could interrupt me, and focused in on writing and composing – some much needed alone time.

Jennifer: Having to wear multiple hats – writer, producer and actor and keep a balance without going crazy. I am dealing with it by breathing and taking things day by day and enjoying the moment. Eating. Sleeping. Exercise. Listening to myself. It’s stressful, but in the best possible way!

What advice do you have for other performers who want to develop or act in their own musical?

Alison: Do it. Don’t let your doubts or insecurities get in the way. There were a number of opportunities for us when it might have been easier to give up, but we got through it and now we have a show we can all be proud of. I’d say surround yourself with people you trust who will encourage you and hold you accountable, but who will also understand that life gets in the way and that sometimes deadlines need to shift and that’s okay. If it’s something you really want, you’ll find a way to make it work.

Peter: Don’t give up on your idea, and schedule time to work, even if you’re not feeling up to it. Jennifer, Alison, and I are all very busy people individually, let alone as a team, but we met regularly to discuss ideas and try things out.

Jennifer: Just jump into the deep end. Don’t think about it. Be open to possibility. Take everything as an opportunity. Stick to a regular schedule, and you’ll be surprised with how much you can get done. Alison, Peter and I are some of the busiest people, and we managed to write a musical in a year, just because we met up every week no matter what.

What can you share about any future projects that are in development?

Alison: Well fortunately our regular improv shows at Second Storey Theatre and our Off Key Musical Improv shows are ongoing. It’s a relief knowing that I’ll still be creating with Jen and Peter on a regular basis. But as for another project of this scale – time will tell. All I can say is that I look forward to more.

Peter: Future projects? Is someone planning a sequel? We might be too busy with improvised musicals, teaching, and other theatrical commitments at the moment. But who knows?

Jennifer: We have created a monster. There will be more. Muah ha!

Connected: The Musical is now on at Pacific Theatre. For tickets, please visit BrownPaperTickets.com.

The post The Biz Interview: Alison Chisholm, Peter Abando, and Jennifer Pielak of “Connected: The Musical” appeared first on Biz Books.