Fort Wayne Youtheatre is gearing up for a fresh take on a classic literary adventure with its upcoming production of Peter Pan & Wendy, which opens on Feb. 20.
It's a perfect show to do any year, according to Youtheatre’s Artistic Director, because it's such an absolutely timeless story.
“It deals with the one thing that every single one of us except Peter Pan has to do,” he adds, and that's grow up.”
To add to theater-goers enjoyment, the performances will take place at the group’s favorite “third space,” First Presbyterian Theater, and guest artist Marissa Drew, a Youtheatre alum, has been working intensely with the cast on sword fighting technique and choreography.
Here WBOI’s Julia Meek discusses the project’s fine points with Murphy and Drew, and what’s involved in bringing the story’s magic from page to stage.
Event Information:
Fort Wayne Youtheatre's Peter Pan & Wendy
at First Presbyterian Theater
Friday, Feb. 20
7:00 p.m.
(Pre-Show Talk at 6:15 p.m.)
Saturday, Feb. 21
2:00 p.m.
(Tea with Tinkerbell Add-On Event at 12pm)
4:30 p.m.
(Relaxed Performance)
Sunday, Feb. 22
2:00 p.m.
(Post Show Talk)
Find ticket information at the Fort Wayne Youtheatre website.
This is a transcription of our conversation:
Julia Meek: Christopher Murphy, Marissa Drew, welcome.
Christopher Murphy: Thanks so much for having us
Marissa Drew: Hi.
Julia Meek: So, the drama! drama! drama! runs high over there in your new digs in the Park Lake Center, you have been there a little over a year, now in a word, what's the action like these days, and how is it working for you two?
Christopher Murph: In a word, I'm gonna say robust, because it's just really allowed us to start expanding our programming and add programming in ways that we just weren't able to do before.
Julia Meek: That's fantastic. And Marissa, last time we had you on a mic, you were a senior in the Youth Theater, now you are a senior at Ball State.
We'll be hearing more about that during the conversation. What does it feel like knowing all of that has taken place there while you've been away at school?
Marissa Drew: [laughs] it's really cool to come back and get to experience it. When I was a senior, we were just starting to move, so it's really cool to see what it's been able to become.
Julia Meek: And so, Marissa, a word on dedication. You are talented, you are determined, you're a theater major, literally getting ready to graduate, and yet you commute from Ball State to do this job.
Why the passion and how much is there in your soul, if you could measure it?
Marissa Drew: So much. Youtheatre has really been vital to my journey. I started feeling kind of invisible, and they were the first people to give me a chance and make me feel seen, and give me a voice.
It feels so rewarding to be able to come back and work with kids who are just like me.
Julia Meek: What an uplifting story. And Murphy, invisible ever, you think, really? [all laugh]
Christopher Murphy: No, I still...her first audition at Youtheatre was actually via video. It was when we did the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.
I'd never seen her before. When you audition via video, you're a lot of times at a disadvantage because you're not right in the room, you know. And I was just so taken with her right away.
Cast her in one of the lead roles.
Then she interned at Youtheatre, played a lot of really, really terrific parts. And I'm just so incredibly proud of the amazing young actress and the amazing young human being that she's become.
Julia Meek: Thanks to everyone, and yes, good for everyone as well. Okay, this season's another grad one, with a classic bit of literature on the very near horizon, that is Peter Pan and Wendy.
What is it about this particular piece of literature, there's all a lot of wonderful things out there, that made you choose to do it this year?
Christopher Murphy: I love the story of Peter Pan. I actually played Captain Hook when the Civic Theater last did the musical version with my dear friend Abby Ehinger as Peter. And to me, it's not about it being a perfect show to do this year.
It's a perfect show to do any year, because it's such an absolutely timeless story. It deals with the one thing that every single one of us except Peter Pan has to do, and that's grow up.
And you know, at Youtheatre, which is its own form of Neverland, in my opinion, [all laugh] you know, where everybody is young and everybody is playful and, you know, creative and doing their own thing.
But you know, we all reach that point in life where we are like Wendy, and we are stuck on that bridge between childhood and adulthood, having to make a choice of which direction to go.
Julia Meek: Well put, and Murphy, in case anyone out there needs it a one-sentence scenario, please?
Christopher Murphy: Right. Peter Pan is the story of Wendy Darling. She's a young teenage girl who lives in London; she's visited one night by Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up, who takes her and her brothers on an epic adventure to Neverland Island, where they battle the evil Captain Hook and his pirates, save the day, but then, of course, decide that it really is more important to go home, to grow up, to be with your family and to lead a productive, meaningful life.
Julia Meek: What a story [all laugh and cheer] covering all bases!
Christopher Murphy: It's the Chris Murphy story, really [again all laugh]
Julia Meek: Now from a Youtheatre angle, what is it about this perennial favorite, as has just been very well described by Murphy, that strikes you, Marissa?
Marissa Drew: I've always been enamored with the story of Peter Pan. It's always one that I've wanted to get involved with.
But kind of like Murphy said, I think the idea of keeping that childlike spark alive, I mean, that's kind of the epitome of what we do as actors and theater makers. It's so important.
Julia Meek: So, that's you are perfecting right now in your studies, to be sure.
Marissa Drew: Yes.
Julia Meek: And your field of expertise otherwise being fight choreography. What kind of a challenge is this and just what are you planning on doing? [all chuckle]
Marissa D: It's, it's challenging, because sword fighting is sort of a lost art. It's not something that we do anymore.
So, teaching these kids, it's teaching them a completely new skill, all of the details from how to hold the sword to where to put your feet and how to stand. It is choreographing. It's sort of like dancing.
Julia Meek: It is dance, certainly, with a sword in your hand. [all laugh]
Christopher Murphy: Yeah, and it's an art that Marissa has oddly been fascinated with from a very young age, even when she was a Youtheatre student.
When we would do something like Midsummer, she could bring her own sword to rehearsal. [all chuckle] I've got all these plastic and foam swords around. She's got real swords that she's bringing.
Julia Meek: That she also knew how to wield. Wow!
Christopher Murphy: Yeah, nobody messed with her. [all chuckle]
Julia Meek: We could all use a little bit of Marissa power, that way too. Now Murphy for everything in this production, non-sword fight oriented, what did you have to come up with, fine tune with these youth performers to capture this classic story?
Christopher Murphy: Yeah, so we had a really great time creating this theatrical version of the story in a way that I think is very inherently theatrical.
And our basic take on the story is that, as J.M. Berry says in the original novel and the play, that Neverland exists sort of in a dream-like state.
And so, we've devised this production where everything that you see in the Darling's nursery, their beds, their chairs, their fireplaces and everything, later you see all of those same things in Neverland, just used in different and unique ways.
The example I always use is all of the beds come together to form the pirate ship in Neverland.
So, it's it's just been fun to tap into all of these young actors creativity and my creativity, and create something that I think is uniquely our take on the material and different than any movie you've ever seen, any cartoon you've ever seen.
And also, the J.M. Berry story of Peter Pan is a little darker than a lot of the like Disney-fied versions that we're used to. And, my gosh, these young actors love biting into that little bit of darkness.
Julia Meek: Interesting indeed. And so, what would you say the trickiest part of tackling a larger-than-life classic, exactly like this one, is?
Christopher Murphy: Yeah, I think the hardest part of it is just making it your own, because it is material that everybody at least thinks they know.
And so, to do your own version of it is, at once, it's the hardest part, but it's also the most satisfying part of doing it.
Julia Mee: Often the case we hear from local community theater, to be sure, but Youtheatre in particular, which is really a compliment to you all.
Christopher Murphy: Absolutely, that's, you know, part of what we're trying to teach them is not just how to put on this show, it's how to be creative in general.
Julia Meek: And you're working with a sophisticated group of kids in a sophisticated society, if that's the way it would be there.
Christopher Murphy: Oh, 100, a 100%, way more sophisticated than I was at their age.
Julia Meek: Oh now, Christopher. [all chuckle]
Christopher Murphy: Or maybe even now. [all laugh}]
Julia Meek: Well, what were the requirements? I mean, must one be able to fly? Were there any secret powers required? [Murphy laughs] Was it difficult to cast?
Christopher Murphy: Oh my gosh, it was, as it almost always is, at Youtheatre, incredibly difficult to cast. We had an amazing group of about 100 young actors from eight to 18 who came out for this show.
I could have cast it six ways. They all would have been different. They all would have been amazing. What I asked of them in the audition was to just make choices, and I told them, I said, I don't care if the choice is good or bad.
I don't care if it's what I'm going to want for the actual show. I just want to know that I'm going to be able to walk in this door with 30 young people who will be able to be creative and come to play every single day.
And boy, did they show that to me, and they continue to show it every single day in rehearsal. They're just the most amazing group of young people.
Julia Mee: And Marissa, now that you have been working with all of them, well, do you agree with Murphy's assessment?
Marissa Drew: Oh, absolutely. They've been so eager and just so excited to bite into it, which is always fun.
Julia Meek: And then are they all catching on to sword fighting?
Marissa Drew: Yes, they are! [laughs]
Julia Meek: And being pirates and all that?
Marissa Drew: Yes! [chuckles]
Christopher Murphy: Well, the cool thing that we did, we actually did before we even began rehearsals, we did a public workshop with Marissa and her friend Lily Cantor, who's one of her classmates at Ball State.
They came up and you could sign up to take this Pan versus Hook workshop, where they taught anybody who wanted to come to the workshop the choreography that's going to be in the show.
And Peter and Hook, the actors playing them in our production, also came to that workshop, and that's how they started learning their choreography, was in that workshop.
Julia Meek: How clever and bringing the public right in at the front end of things.
Christopher Murphy: Right, education is always at the forefront of what we're about at Youtheatre.
So, to be able to accomplish what we needed to do for the show and open up that educational opportunity for the public was really, really special.
Julia Meek: And once again, you are in your favorite "third place," we like to call it, First Pres Theater. Why is that special for you all? Why does it work so well with this production?
Christopher Murphy: I think first pres is a really beautiful place to present most theater. It's just a great space, I think, for this.
It has an intimacy about it that we can bring in, and we can seat almost 300 people to come and experience this show, and yet nobody is going to feel like they are terribly removed from the stage.
You're going to feel like you are a part of the action, that you are flying off to Neverland along with everybody else.
Julia Meek: And you've been on that stage, Marissa, now you're directing for it, and particularly interesting fight scenes. Are you feeling the energy and the power from your viewpoint?
Marissa Drew: Yes, absolutely. Like Murphy said, it's so intimate, and I think that's a very fun thing with combat. Is when it can feel very dangerous, when you're so close, but everyone on stage feels safe.
Julia Meek: Okay, exactly, how does this production work to make "the magic" happen?
Christopher Murphy: [chuckles] Well, to some degree, if you want to know the answer to that question, you're gonna have to come and see the show, because we do have a lot of tricks up our sleeve.
I think a lot of people think in order to do a production of Peter Pan, you have to have all of the rigging and the wires and the things to make people fly and all of that stuff.
But again, for a show that is dedicated to the idea of imagination, and for an organization like Youtheatre that is dedicated to the idea of creativity and imagination, it's actually been more fun to come up with different theatrical techniques, some of them incredibly simple things, to make the magic and to make the flying happen without all of that technology.
Julia Meek: And I am curious, what about relevancy, perennial classic status aside, how do you make it 21st Century savvy?
Christopher Murphy: [chuckles] Again, I think that's the beautiful thing about the story, is that it is so timeless.
And our young people are walking into, and our young audiences are going to walk into this story looking at it from one perspective. They're going to look at this show from the perspective of the Darling children.
Their parents are going to come into it looking at it from the perspective of Mr. And Mrs. Darling and even Captain Hook. Because, you know, that's the thing about the show, is Peter Pan is the literal embodiment of youth and childhood.
It's good things, but also it's bad things. It's selfishness, you know, it's irresponsibility. Wendy represents that time in our lives when we realize we have to grow up and Captain Hook represents adulthood, and in particular, the scary things that kids think about adulthood.
And he, of course, is being chased by the one thing that all adults fear, and that is time, literally, you know, in the form of this crocodile with a clock in its belly chasing him around.
So, to me, this show satisfies what I always refer to as the Bugs Bunny approach to theater, in that a parent can bring their kid to it, and there is some level for every single one of them to enjoy and take something away from the show.
Julia Meek: Does that include the fight scenes, also, would you say, Marissa?
Marissa Drew: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, hopefully in real life, you never come into contact with swashbuckling pirates. [all laugh]
Christopher Murphy: But if you do, Marissa can teach you how to fight.
Marissa Drew: Yeah, you do things that are scary, and you face challenges, and you, you have to be brave. So, I think it absolutely does.
Julia Meek: Again, in larger-than-life. Yeah, great point. Okay, the year flies by, and this will be a memory quite soon. What else is on Youtheatre's roster for this season?
Christopher Murphy: Yeah, we're really excited. We have one show left in this season, and we've actually made a little bit of a change due to some logistical reasons.
We were originally supposed to be presenting Mr. Popper's Penguins, and we have switched gears, and we are now presenting a really delightful adaptation of the children's book, Corduroy, that's based on the book Corduroy and its sequel, A Pocket for Corduroy.
That's in collaboration with the Allen County Public Library. Every year we do a show that is based in a children's book, and they pull a lot of materials together with it.
We present it there in that wonderful theater down in the main library. And the best thing is that it is free of charge to anyone and everyone who wants to come.
Julia Meek: Put it all together, and you all make a wonderful, wonderful package with your various programs, also a piece of modern children's literature, quite contemporary fiction, that good old Corduroy.
No spoilers or anything, will it be a toy bear or a real bear, or do we have to also go to find out?
Christopher Murphy: [chuckles] Oh, it might be a little bit of both!
Julia Meek: Oh, all right.
Christopher Murphy: Theater magic, you know? [chuckles]
Julia Meek: Now, this last year has been tough, especially for nonprofits. We've gotten through Covid. We've had a lot of hard times. This has been yet another one. How are you all faring over there at Youtheatre, and why do you think you're doing as well as you're doing?
Christopher Murphy: Yeah, I think we're being very smart and very resilient. We're really lucky that we have a wonderful, dedicated board of directors.
We have an amazing executive director in Heather Closson, and just a really wonderful team of people who are trying to be very thoughtful and very smart and deliberate. To ride out some, you know, financially hard times in the world.
But I think as long as there are young people who want to create and be creative and create theater, and as long as Youtheatre can provide that in a safe environment for them, then I think hopefully we always have a strong place in this community.
Julia Meek: Indeed, and always inclusive. And you're not going to ever, ever change.
Christopher Murphy: Everyone is always welcome at Youth Theater.
Julia Meek: Now the industry is also being threatened by AI these days.
How does this impact students like yourself, Marissa, as well as organizations like yours, Murphy, more actors, more talent, more everything than ever before, and perhaps less parts because of AI?
Marissa Drew: Yeah, it's scary because it threatens to take jobs away from people like us, because people want to replace what we do with something that feels easier.
But I think that the beauty of what we do and what makes art, art is that it's human. And that's what brings us together and makes it special. So I think it's really irreplaceable what we do.
Christopher Murphy: I agree with that, and that would be my hope, is that at some point everyone will realize that the human factor is irreplaceable in performance and in art.
And at Youtheatre, I choose to at least embrace our AI overlords as a tool for our creativity. We actually, I'm teaching a class right now that's Acting with AI.
But we're very, very careful to use it as a tool to help the actors to, you know, maybe generate some ideas, some materials, some things like that, and never let it take the place of an artist who, you know, wants to write, who wants to act, do something else.
Julia Meek: Good luck. Good luck with all of that. And live theater is trending worldwide. That's a happy statistic. It's been, and hopefully always will be, a huge staple locally.
With you all providing a rock solid base for it all, your name comes up more and more and why we are the way we are here, theatrically.
What's Fort Wayne's secret, in your mind, and most especially, what's yours? What's Youtheatre's secret to this amazing stability and growth rate?
Christopher Murphy: You know, we are really lucky in Fort Wayne to have a really strong theater community for a city our size, especially.
And at Youtheatre, I think our secret really is that creation of a safe space. People come to Youtheatre not fully formed human beings, yet, you know, they're at a really vulnerable part of their lives.
And so, we're just really very careful and very deliberate about making sure that we are not only giving them opportunities to do what they want to do and to try the things that they want to try, but to do it in a really safe, secure place where they know they can walk in and out of that door feeling welcomed and loved and supported every single minute.
Julia Meek: Okay, you have been doing that, doing exactly what you're doing, and doing it very, very well for just over 90 years now, your're doing something right.
So, last question, what's key to your lasting success within this community you love and within the population you work with every day? Marissa, we'll start with you.
Marissa Drew: Yeah, I think you theater does a great job of being a family and a safe place, of connecting people, making people feel seen, like myself. It's just a great community.
Christopher Murphy: Murphy, I, you know, at the risk of sounding dull, I have to just ditto Marissa's answer. [all chucklle] It's, it's, it's, it's the perfect answer, and Marissa is sort of the perfect example of that.
I hope it's okay to say this, but we have a letter that Marissa wrote to Youtheatre her senior year talking about the impact that Youtheatre had had on her.
And all I know is that for every Marissa that you get to touch, unfortunately, there are 10 Marissas that you don't have the ability to reach.
And my goal is to continue to grow Youtheatre to the point where you know all 11 of those Marissa's get that opportunity and that place to find their place in the world.
Julia Meek: Christopher Murphy is Fort Wayne Youtheatre's artistic director, and Marissa Drew, well, she's Youtheatre alum, she is the guest artist, the expert resident teacher of sword fighting and a senior theater major at Ball State.
Thank you for the work you do, both of you, and your story of it. Continued success. Do always carry the gift.
Marissa Drew: Thank you.
Christopher Murphy: Thank you, Julia, and thanks for being such an amazing friend to Youtheatre.
