St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival ~ Maid for a Musket ~ Inspiration & In the Action

www.stlawrenceshakespeare.ca

Ian Farthing, Artistic Director, St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival

Lucia Frangione, International Award Winning Playwright

“THE INSIDE SCOOP” is excited continue with the “SCOOP” from the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival, Prescott, Ontario about their upcoming performance “MAID for a MUSKET”, a brand new comedy by Lucia Frangione, Original music by Melissa Morris. Ian Farthing, Artistic Director of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival has kindly introduced us to Ms. Lucia Frangione, internationally produced award winning playwright and actor, we continue …

Inspiration!!! & “In the Action”!

Fragione shares with us …“When I was a young writer I grappled with some of my own questions about identity: what is it to be a Canadian, what is it to be the daughter of an Italian father and an English mother. What is it to be a feminist Christian: what is prayer, pilgrimage and ritual to me in this modern world? Now that I’m older and a parent my scope has widened, my spirituality has broadened and my questions are not so self-centred. I am looking rather closely at community responsibility right now: how we work collectively as citizens, what amazing feats can be accomplished and how and why some victims fall through the cracks. I think I’m also moving into a phase of having some silly good fun too. Sure Maid for a Musket is about the war of 1812 and love and family. But it is also very physical, bright, lively and utterly ridiculous. I had so much fun writing this.

I like a good challenge. Sometimes a theatre will call me and offer me a commission to write whatever I want and sometimes they will call with very specific guidelines. In this case I had to write a play about the war of 1812, it had to be comedy with some music and allude to Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost. I had to share a cast with Hamlet, write for the outdoors, set the play in Prescott and I had to wrap up my storyline before the sun goes down the mosquitoes come out!”

I thought you might like to know about Lucia’s interests that may have had some input in her career and life. I asked Ms. Fragione what her favorite production was and why? Who was her favorite performer and why? And, finally, did she prefer to be “behind the scenes” or “in the action performing”

She tells us … “I have many favorites but here are some: The Overcoat: a wildly beautiful play with no words, one of the Vancouver Playhouse’s finest achievements. SEEDS by Montreal’s Annabel Soutar, directed by Chris Abraham from Crows Theatre in Toronto: important docu-drama. My favorite production I’ve ever been in was Streetcar Named Desire as Stella. A terrific cast, directed by my dear friend, a true Southern gentleman who has now left us for the other side, Jeremy Tow.”

Frangione’s favorite performer … “Anita Wittenberg is one of my favorite performers. She’s actually at Thousand Islands Playhouse this summer in Boeing Boeing. She’s gracious, honest, brave. One minute plain, the next minute she’s the most beautiful woman on earth. My favorite fellow is still Tom McCamus. He seems to carry with him a loyalty, a commitment to the moment, the story and his scene partners. It’s always a generous, unpredictable performance.”

Lucia states … she prefers to be “in the action, I often write myself into my own plays”

Stay tuned for more exciting “SCOOP” from Lucia Frangione and Ian Farthing, St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival! Check out their website for the details (www.stlawrenceshakespeare.ca), plan on a fun, and great, memorable time!