Photo credit: Dave Zylstra
John Maclay of First Stage
First Stage is presenting the world premiere of The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors, an adaptation of Drew Daywalt’s children’s story of the same title, with book and lyrics by John Maclay, as well as music and lyrics by Eric Nordin of Oregon Children’s Theatre. Maclay has contributed mightily to First Stage as a Shakespeare teacher, director of the Theatre Academy, founder of the Young Company, associate artistic director, director, playwright and now as a playwright-in-residence.
What does it mean to be playwright-in-residence for First Stage?
Well, I’ve also written for other companies, and some of the plays I’ve written for First Stage have been co-commissions. But even when I’m at other places, and even though I don’t get a check here anymore, this place is still my home. And that will always be true. The title is a way to keep an official, ongoing relationship. I think of this place as the place that does the work that I primarily want to be doing, which is to write smart funny plays for families. I like the idea of family theater. Young people are obviously the priority, but I think this company cares about the whole family.
Did you study playwriting?
I was trained as an actor, and I did that for about 10 minutes before I got into producing and directing. A few years ago, at the first workshop of the first thing I’d ever written, we had a conversation with some very smart Milwaukee theater people. I was so genuinely happy to hear everything they didn’t like about it. And this was not true of me as an actor! I was so happy to hear what wasn’t clear and what might be different before it opened! And I had just enough ego to not always agree. Fortunately for me, I was working at this unbelievably supportive home of new work and of me. I’m not one who believes in fate, but I do believe in luck. I’ve had really good luck.
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So, First Stage is where you learned to write?
Absolutely. It started because I was directing new plays here. So, in the workshops, I was trying to guide other people. I never thought I could write. But at some point, I recognized that I was pretty good at helping to fix things that are really, really flawed. And of course, I then had the obvious realization that that’s all that writing is! You write something that is imperfect, and then you edit it and edit it and edit it. It’s a long, sometimes arduous process.
How did Rock, Paper, Scissors come about?
Rock, Paper, Scissors is primarily a picture book, so there aren’t more than a couple words in it. Each of the main characters has a couple little battles and then the three of them are battling each other. One of the challenges of turning it into a family musical is that, in the over-the-top picture book, there’s a lot of fighting, and I didn’t have any interest in writing a show that had violence in any way. So, our show is about dance battles and singing things. We’ve really leaned into the ridiculousness of conflict. But there’s also competition as a playful thing, not an inherently evil thing. It’s figuring out how to manage competition in a good way, and how winning or losing shouldn’t affect the sense of self. The main challenge was to make to something fun and responsible that also kept the spirit of the book. For me, with adaptations, I always try to preserve the spirit and intention of the book rather than making it something that’s uniquely mine. That happens, but I like to start by trying to make it into a truthful representation of the book.
Is playwriting your focus now?
Stan Foote, the recently retired artistic director of Oregon Children’s Theatre, commissioned this play, and then First Stage became a part of it, as well. Stan said something that is a really big deal in my career. We were working on another play—my first commission that wasn’t from First Stage—and he said, “Do you ever feel like a poser because you got into this late in your career?” And I said, “All the time! However, no more than I’ve felt in every other thing I’ve ever done.” And he said, “Yeah, that’s natural. And you’re a natural playwright, if you were wondering. This is what you should do.”
The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors will be performed March 6-April 5 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center’s Todd Wehr Hall. For more information, visit firststage.org.
Correction: A typo in last week’s Off the Cuff incorrectly identified a play directed by May Adrales for the Milwaukee Rep. The play in question was George Orwell’s Animal Farm.
