Planet Connections Q&A: Cat Gets Credit Card! / Sunrise, Sunset Or Breakfast With Julia

The Happiest Medium — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 01:12:00 +0000

Planet Connections Theatre Festivity is New York City’s premiere eco-friendly theatre festival, connecting artists and audiences with diverse dynamic charitable organizations. The Planet Connections experience entertains, enlightens and informs.

The Happiest Medium (proud sponsors of The Planet Connections Festival), will be running Q&A throughout the festival.

Today we ask one question each of Mark William Butler writer of Book, Music & Lyrics of Cat Gets Credit Card! and Julia Sandra Rand writer of Sunrise, Sunset Or Breakfast With Julia. As different as two stories could be, one is a musical romp about, well . . . a cat getting a credit card, and the other story is Julia Sand’s personal journey as she deals with her mother’s failing health.

Cat Gets Credit Card!

answers by Mark William Butler

Here’s Antonio’s question -

If you would have to single out a quality between dialogue, plot or character, which one is the strongest in your play/piece, and why?

Plot, because of the fantastic nature of the story. A cat gets a credit card and becomes a “person”!

Here’s Karen’s question -

What has been the most surprising or unexpected thing that’s happened during this play? Did that wind up taking the play in a new direction?

I realized that the protagonist wasn’t really the cat — it was another character who was taking advantage of the cat. Yes, this realization took the play in a completely different direction.

Here’s Anne’s question -

What do you think is the central theme and reason this play was conceived?

The central theme is self-identity and how it’s affected by an increasingly ridiculous pop culture. The reason the play was conceived was so that I could poke fun at that pop culture.Here’s Stephen’s Question -

Why should the audience (we) go to your play? What will the audience learn about the “human condition” by going to your play?

You should go to see my play because you’ll have a lot of fun. You’ll learn that the “human condition” is becoming less human.

Here’s Sarah’s Question -

What is your favorite line from the play?

“Google ‘yesterday’s news’ honey. You’ll find your picture there.”

Here’s Diánna’s Question -

What about this play do you feel most drawn to personally, and because of that, what message do you hope the audience walks away with?

I’m drawn to the absurdity, which is actually not that much more absurd than what’s actually out there. Because of that, the message would be that our ability to laugh at ourselves is as important as just about anything else.

* * *

Sunrise, Sunset Or Breakfast With Julia

answers by Julia Sandra Rand

Here’s Antonio’s question -

If you would have to single out a quality between dialogue, plot or character, which one is the strongest in your play/piece, and why?

I would say dialogue, since this is a one character play with 11 duologues to an imaginary audience.

Here’s Karen’s question -

What has been the most surprising or unexpected thing that’s happened during this play? Did that wind up taking the play in a new direction?

The surprising or unexpected thing that has happened since I wrote this play is that I only submitted to two festivals, without any personal contact with the producers, and both times it had been chosen for participation. It has a new direction this time, with a new director, Nicole Potter, that has a greater sensitivity to the topic and coming from an acting background helps a lot too.

Here’s Anne’s question -

What do you think is the central theme and reason this play was conceived?

The play is about a caregiver’s survival. It was born out of my personal 10 year journey with my mother Eva and Alzheimer’s disease.

Here’s Stephen’s Question -

Why should the audience (we) go to your play? What will the audience learn about the “human condition” by going to your play?

The audiences in the first festival performances in 2008 at the Women’s Arts Festivial/Black Box theatre in Asbury Park, NJ, all responded positively even though their situations or experiences may have been different. They felt a release and hope. They said things like “my mother sang me that song,” and they felt they could relate. It is all about the human condition, and the circle of life that we all go through-sunrise to sunset.Here’s Sarah’s Question -

What is your favorite line from the play?

“Thank, god for the NYTimes, or I might simply blow my brains out”-in the first duologue. Reading the NYTimes while being isolated in NJ was my link to my “real life” in NYC.