Kim Batchelor

Writer of magical realism and other imaginative fiction

  • About Kim
    • Contact Kim
  • My Work
  • Monthly Newsletter
  • Blog
  • All Stories
    • Paris Diaries
      • Part I: Gander
      • Part II: On the Banks of the Seine
      • Part III: Centre Pompidou
      • Conclusion: Retirement Home for Gargoyles
    • Short Short Stories
      • In the Early Days
      • Aunt Agnes
      • Off the Beaten Path
      • That Day in Spring

May 17 2014

Vicki Caroline Cheatwood, Playwright

  •  
  • Share on Tumblr

Vicki CheatwoodVicki Caroline Cheatwood is an award winning playwright and screenwriter with seven full-length plays and several shorter plays to her credit, in addition to screenwriting projects that include one recognized at Cannes. In 2002, her screenplay Air (Escopa Films) won the Special Jury Gold Award at Worldfest Film Festival, and in 2005, the dark comedy feature 10:10 was a finalist in the Austin Film Festival. She has been a finalist for several national play writing honors, including the Heideman Award (The Risen Chris, Actors Theater of Louisville), The Julie Harris Playwright Award (An Hour South), and the Eileen Heckart Drama Award (Manicures & Monuments). 

One of her more recent plays is the powerful, Ruth, a beautiful re-imagining of the Hebrew/Old Testament story of Ruth and Naomi, set in contemporary America and focusing on the issue of immigration and displacement. 

While we talk, Vicki and I are sitting on the terrace of this beautiful home on Lake Como in Italy drinking frothy glasses of San Pellagrino and enjoying slices of a wonderful pie.

For those of you in the Dallas, Texas area, Vicki’s play “Manicures & Monuments” opened June 2014 at WaterTower Theatre in Addison.

 

KB: Vicki, talk a little about your work. What are the projects you’re most proud of?

VC: Right off the bat, PUP Fest comes to mind. It’s the annual young playwrights festival produced by Kitchen Dog Theater and Junior Players of Dallas. I’ve been involved with PUP Fest since the beginning, something like 13 years now. It’s amazing to think of how many young artists – writers and actors – who have been positively impacted by the program. Very cool!

KB: I like to focus on imagination and inspiration in our storytelling. What’s the most unusual thing that’s ever inspired you?

VC: Road trips have always been a big source of inspiration for me. My play “Manicures & Monuments” began as a “Hey, what if…?” question to my husband, as we were driving down the highway in his red Ford Ranger.

On another road trip – probably in that same little pickup – headed east from Dallas on some little two-lane highway, Mark was driving and I was looking out the window. We passed this little house situated right off the highway, a little old farm house, and there was a man sitting on the porch, a farmer, dressed in his work clothes, but he had a cane. We were going 60, 70 miles an hour, so it was just a flash of this image, but it really hit me. This old man, still getting up and putting on his overalls, hat, boots, jacket – but he’s not able to work anymore. I started thinking about all the other porches, and all the other people who sat on them, sidelined, unable to participate in their own lives anymore. I jotted down some notes, and went off and wrote a play about life, death and religion: “Fits & Starts: The Sacred Heart.” It ran on Off-Off-Broadway, and was reviewed in Variety. It bombed, but hey, it was reviewed in Variety!

KB:Wow! Off, off broadway and a review in Variety. That’s more than cool.

I’m intrigued to know more about your screenwriting projects. I’ve heard of Cannes. Never been there. Have you met George Clooney? Sorry, I digress.

VC: It’s one of the biggest honors of my life thus far, to say that I had a film that was screened at the Cannes Independent Film Festival. The producer/co-director of the film, Keith Oncale and Shawn Washburn, the other co-director, did fly to France for the screening of our film “break.” There was no way that I could go. Even if I’d had the money, my husband was very ill and in treatment for throat cancer. The day of the screening, I walked around at work struck by this odd, vague depression of having something so huge happening, and being so disconnected from it. I finally told one of my coworkers, “Hey I wrote a movie, and it’s screening at Cannes in France today.” She said something like “Wow, really?” and then we went on with our work.

That whole period of time seems like someone else’s very bad dream. And damnit, I didn’t get to meet George Clooney!

KB: I didn’t realize that this was all going on during that very difficult time in your life. That has to have been very tough–having something that you would have celebrated come right in the middle of that bad dream.

I originally had an interest in screenwriting, but it seems so dog-eat-dog-steal-idea business, something I don’t worry so much about when writing fiction. What’s your take having been closer to that business?

VC: I like writing screenplays, but I don’t think I’m a screenwriter. I like the challenge of writing pictures, visuals, but my gift is writing dialogue. As far as the business goes, other than my two produced short films, I’ve had very limited success in screenwriting. I have two feature-length screenplays that got circulated around and got great feedback, but that’s as far as it went. I was a finalist one year in the Austin Film Festival, which gave me close access to some big name producers, writers, actors and agents, a couple of whom seemed interested in my work…and that’s as far as I got. My friend Stephen Dyer, a producer and screenwriter who’s had good success, likes to say, “Hollywood is the only place where you can die of encouragement.” He didn’t originate that quote, but he’s sure lived it. As have my other friends who have done very well in films and television.

Probably the best advice about screenwriting that I’ve had as a writer came from the very fine actor Donal Logue, who brought a film that he’d directed to the AFF that same year that I was there. He told me to play to my strengths, to keep writing plays, and that they – meaning Hollywood –would come looking for me. And he was right, to a point. After the Austin festival, they did. Nothing came of it, so far, but I’ve had a couple of thrilling phone conversations. There’s not much more exciting and strange than taking a call from big-name producer, while you’re at work crouched behind a counter, wearing a zoo uniform and praying that nobody comes in.

 KB:Maybe someday you can wear that zoo uniform to the Tonys when you accept your award for best play. It paints a great picture.

Since I’m currently working on my own Biblically-based novel, a re-imagining of the life of Mary (Maryam), the mother of Jesus, I’m most interested in how your play, Ruth, came to be. How was it originally conceived?

VC: The seeds of “Ruth” came from my participation in a Disciple, an intensive and brilliantly designed study course that looks at the Bible as literature and history, as well as theology. I had such a rudimentary understanding of the Bible before going through Disciple. The stories really came alive for me, especially Ruth’s.

KB: In addition to “Fits & Starts: The Sacred Heart,” have the Bible/religion or Biblical characters inspired you in other ways?

VC: I wrote a short play about Jonah, a vaudeville/comedy. I love Jonah. He’s so me. Pissed off at God, and constantly running off in the opposite direction. And the story of Jael, the housewife who drives a tent stake through her enemy’s head. That one really stuck with me. Pun intended.

KB:Ha! I must learn more about this Jael. I, too, sometimes feel like I’m being pulled dragging and screaming toward my own Nineveh.

Of all the plays ever produced, what play do you wish you’d written?

VC: A cash cow! One that runs forever, and ensures that even if my sons grow up to marry women who can’t stand me, I’ll never end up living in a government-funded nursing home.

Seriously – I wish I’d written “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Something that real, charming, funny, and grounded. And, fundable by the wife of a major celebrity.

KB: Finish the following: “I someday want to see a play of mine produced starring _________ and ______ .”

VC: Me and George Clooney, but of course.

Take a minute and sign up for my monthly newsletter. First issue starts in September 2014. See the sign-up at the right.

Gratuitous photo of George Clooney
Gratuitous photo of George Clooney
  •  
  • Share on Tumblr

Written by Kim · Categorized: Creativity, Featured, Imagination, Inspiration, Interview, Movies, Playwrighting, Playwrights, Writers, Writing · Tagged: Cannes, George Clooney

Feb 14 2014

Imagining Neverland with Heather Killough-Walden

  •  
  • Share on Tumblr

Heather Killough-WaldenHeather Killough-Walden counts 6 series and trilogies and multiple books within each of these in her body of work as an independent author. I got to know her first Neverland book while researching the market for my own book, The Island of Lost Children , based on the Peter and Wendy story. Heather’s Forever Neverland is for young adults (YA) while I intended my book for middle grade readers. I enjoyed reading her modern take on the story, with Peter on a motorcycle and Wendy and her brothers dealing with the aftermath of their time with him.

Heather and I are visiting in a virtual Victorian parlor something like this one drinking hot Irish Breakfast tea (Heather’s with soy milk) and nibbling on sugar-free dark chocolate bars. Come and sit down, have a cup, and listen in on the conversation.

Heather’s latest book in the series, Beyond Neverland, is available on Amazon.

heather killough-walden book coverKB: You have an impressive body of work—series on werewolves and warlocks and other beings that lurk in the night. I understand that you started with a vampire series and your writing career took off from there. Where did your original vampire(s) come from?

HKW: I fell in love with The Count from Sesame Street when I was very little. My fascination with the night-dwelling be-fanged just grew from there.

KB: What I like to focus on in my blog conversations is exploring what inspires us and where our imaginations take us. What would be the most interesting inspiration you can describe for any of your numerous books/characters/settings?

HKW: Well… I’ve been all over the world, but I guess there’s no place truly as interesting as a person’s imagination. My dreams give me a lot of ideas for characters. Sometimes inspiration just strikes out of the blue, with no provocation. Music can also trigger images, as I like to create music videos in my head when I listen to songs. I was listening to Mitternacht when I saw Roman D’Angelo for the first time – gracefully hacking and slashing his magnificent vampire way through his enemies to reach the throne he occupies now.

KB: I’m interested most of all in your two Neverland books: Forever Neverland and Beyond Neverland, which you recently released. What sparked your interest in re-imagining that story?

HKW: I’ve always felt unsatisfied with the book. I felt as if it opened a door and then wouldn’t let anyone through. It was full of possibilities left unexplored, and fantastic things undiscovered. Especially when it came to Hook. I had never in my life read a more two-dimensional character. I very much felt there was so much more to him than, sadly, because of the way the book was written, anyone even cared to learn. And then I saw the 2003 production of Peter Pan with Jason Isaacs, and that sealed it. It was time for me to tell Neverland’s real story.

KB: How did you decide to age and “modernize” those characters?

HKW: You write what you know. I didn’t live in Victorian times and I had no desire to reawaken the overly romanticized version of them – they were anything but romantic, after all. They were misogynistic, ignorant, disease-ridden, and backwards. So I brought the characters into a time where they could fully develop and then I sat them down and said, “Okay. Tell me your stories.” And so they did. Hook’s was especially gratifying.

KB: One of the most compelling aspects of your book—and this is something that struck me after I finished reading it—is how Wendy’s storytelling is being stripped away from her. I find that aspect of the story powerful and incredibly tragic. So Wendy’s “story inspirations” (Peter, Hook, etc.) rescued her. I’d like to hear your thoughts on that aspect.

HKW: It’s exactly what you said. Society attempts to strip away the magic from us, the imagination. The result is a kind of death. This happens to millions of people every day and no one gives a thought to how tragic it truly is. I wanted people to see it – and understand it. Fortunately for Wendy, her imagination was strong enough to step in and save her.

KB: I realize after reading your work how Wendy’s storytelling ability has mostly “flown” under the radar.

HKW: There are so many talented people out there whose stories will never be read due to the circumstances of how our literary society is set up. Traditional print publishing made it next to impossible. EBook reading devices made it a little easier, but now that market is so flooded, all of those truly talented people are drowning in a sea of people who think they are talented but perhaps are not so much. So the result is the same. Thousands, if not millions, of magical imaginations go unnoticed. I just wanted to shed light on one – just one – and hopefully help some readers to comprehend that if Wendy’s stories are never heard by society, then maybe there are others who aren’t being heard? Perhaps we should attempt to listen a little harder?

KB: Given that Kathy Rigby is still touring in Peter Pan, what do you think makes this story so compelling?

HKW: Well, to be honest, I can’t see the appeal in a woman playing Peter Pan. At all. However, I think just about everyone sitting in the audience has experienced the desire to fly. All it takes is faith, trust, and pixie dust, right? Who wouldn’t get on board with that?

KB: What would your Neverland look like?

HKW: If you’ve read the book, then you know. (smiles) But if you’re asking me what my own fantasy world would look like… wow. I’m afraid even I am not a good enough storyteller to convey such wonder.

  •  
  • Share on Tumblr

Written by Kim · Categorized: Creativity, Featured, Imagination, Inspiration, Interview, Neverland, Novels, Peter Pan, Storytelling, Wendy Darling, Writers, Writing · Tagged: featured

Welcome.

I write for children. I write for adults. I write fiction short and long, real and fantastical, foreign and domestic.

Here you'll find my stories and links to my novels.

Thanks for stopping by, and pick up a snack on the way out.

Copyright Kim Batchelor

  • My Work
  • Paris Diaries
  • Short Short Stories

Copyright © 2018 · Altitude Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in