‘Pirate’s’ bounty : Locally written and produced play selected for national publication
Posted on Sunday, July 13, 2008
Pirates are cool. Or maybe, that would be better said like this: pirates rrrrrrr cool.
With movies such as the "Pirates of the Caribbean "series still having an impact on pop culture, local playwright Mark Landon Smith decided it was as good a time as any to write a comedy about high-seas marauders.
His play "The Pirate Show"debuted in November with a production by Arts Live Theatre, where the Fayetteville author serves as artistic education director. Now, more than six months later, Smith has learned the play will be published by Baker's Plays, a division of Samuel French, a worldwide company that has been publishing plays since the mid-1800 s.
It will be the eighth play or musical of Smith's that has been published, but his first for young actors.
In writing the piece, he tried to take advantage of an unflagging interest in all things pirate.
"I thought it was extremely marketable."
And extremely fun for the kids, said Jules Taylor, the Arts Live Theatre faculty member who directed the debut.
"They had such an excellent time," she said. "It's real fun, real contemporary, playing on the whole pirate thing … It's just so funny. It got so many laughs."
The play is about a brother and sister who decide to run away together from a London orphanage but are kidnapped by dueling groups of pirates. As it turns out, both groups are seeking the same treasure: the Caribbean Ruby. The race for the jewel, and what happens when it is discovered, is the main source of humor.
The play, like the bulk of Smith's work, is a comedy. It is very much a parody of other pirate adventures, a period piece with contemporary references.
A group of more than 30 young actors from Northwest Arkansas were cast in the original production, which was staged in November at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville.
Immediately, Taylor could tell the play had potential.
"There was just such a positive response," she said. "It's such a great thing to be involved in."
Not long after the completion of the production, Smith re-touched the script. The local production included music, disco-era songs Smith had written new lyrics for. Because of copyright issues, he opted to remove the music for the international version.
The play was submitted along with newspaper articles, ads and other material generated around the time of the debut to show there was local support for the production.
After a review by several play readers, it was accepted by Baker's Plays, which has previously published Smith's work. After paying a fee, any theater company in the world can now produce "The Pirate Show."
It is already scheduled for production by the Royal Players, a community theater group in Benton.
Having directed the show before, Taylor believes the play will have traction beyond Arkansas, too.
"It's just topical," she said. "Everyone wants to do pirates, especially kids."
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
