BWW Interviews: Half & Half Productions Founders M. Scott Tatum and Julianna Wright Dish on Inaugural Show PASSING STRANGE

On May 2^nd, Austin's newest theater company, Half and Half Productions, will premiere their inaugural production, the rock musical PASSING STRANGE.

PASSING STRANGE, which features book and lyrics by Stew and music by Heidi Rodewald and Stew, is an ambitious piece of theater that will challenge the audience, the theatre scene, and the community to question and explore their own lives while rocking out to a landmark rock/punk score that joins HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW, and HAIR in redefining the American Musical. The groundbreaking musical was nominated for 7 Tony Awards in 2008, winning one for Best Book of a Musical. It was also nominated for 7 Drama Desk Awards, taking home awards for Outstanding Lyrics, Outstanding Music, and Outstanding Musical.

PASSING STRANGE was also a critical hit, with The New Yorker stating, "PASSING STRANGE is a brilliant work about migration" and with The New York Times calling it "a sprawling work of performance art, complete with angry rants and scary drag queens...wonderful, and a welcome anomaly on Broadway." In 2009, the show was filmed on Broadway by acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee.

Despite the critical acclaim and the collection of awards, PASSING STRANGE remains relatively unknown by audiences, and Half and Half's upcoming production will be the Texas premiere of the work.

Here's what Half and Half's founders, M. Scott Tatum and Julianna Wright, have to say about their love for theater, the challenges with starting a new company, and why they decided on PASSING STRANGE as their inaugural production.

PASSING STRANGE plays Half & Half Productions at the Highland Mall (6001 Airport Blvd, Suite 1020) from May 2^nd thru May 12^th. Tickets are $15-$35 and are on sale at www.halfandhalfproductions.org or at the door on show days or at 512-900-9016.

BWW: Both of you have impressive resumes and have been in the Austin theater scene for quite a while. What got you into the arts in the first place?

MST: I started as a dancer in a Native American Dance Troupe affiliated with Boy Scouts of America. I liked the ideas of telling untold stories, asking unheard questions, and challenging myself and those around me in the way we view others. This continued through my schooling, even as I began adding a pedagogical element as I pursued educational theatre at The University of Texas at Austin. My BFA in Theatre Studies prepared me to help facilitate, promote, and advance a highly rigorous, democratically principled, and intelligently aesthetic program at McCallum Fine Arts Academy. My work outside of the classroom continued through participation on projects at Second Youth, Zilker Theatre Productions, Blue Lapis Light, Doctuh Mistah, Summerstock Austin, among others.

JW: For me, the first place was high school. You know.....it's not at all surprising to me that a majority of artists posed with this question answer "high school" or thereabouts as the time they were first introduced to the arts. That's the time at which individuals are tapping into other things and doing a lot of searching so naturally, this would be the time that those who are inclined to do so become attracted to the arts. What does surprise me, is that with that knowledge, we as individuals, especially artists, don't tap into the demographic of younger, emerging artists in a more powerful and supportive way. As artists we understand the power the arts hold and how it can completely change lives and I feel there's a huge gap in needs/actions on the part of some artists. But...to answer your question....high school.

BWW: So Julie, why do you think the arts appealed to you when you were in high school?

JW: As an individual who grew up in a household that was not overly zealous or even very aware of the arts, when I did finally officially stumble into Theatre, I was an instant follower. The power in the art of storytelling; the ability to allow people the opportunity to question, to answer; the ability to physically and mentally become another person in another time, place, dimension that thereby allows others to "safely" explore topics they may not feel comfortable otherwise, completely mesmerized me. As a cultural anthropologist at heart, and my love of figuring out why and how we as humans do what we do, I've discovered that every question, every challenge, every and anything that we as a species have come across has been explored through and answered by Art. The basics from "Where do I find food"? "What's the best way to get it"? "Where is the best shelter"? "How do I make 'this' do 'that'"? to the existential; "Why am I here"? "What am I doing here"? All of it. Every decision we make. Everything we hear, see, taste, touch or feel, is directly related to Art. Look down. What are you wearing? Artists created that. Where are you standing? Artists created that space. What are you listening to? Watching? Eating? We are influenced and cannot get away from Art. We are made up and constructed by and for Art. We wouldn't exist without it.

BWW: Of your experience so far, what are you the most proud of?

MST: The highlight of my work, to date, is the creation of a program at McCallum to emphasize international travel and production among theatre students. With a newly adapted bilingual edition of EVITA, we traveled to Costa Rica's Auditorio Nacional and performed in front of audiences that have never seen such work done by students. Extension efforts through the U.S. Embassy and coordinated through Institute for the Digital-Performing Arts brought your students directly in front of other young people and thrust them into a position to help them tell their stories.

JW: Teaching High School Theatre, hands down. It's still fascinating to me as, before I started teaching, I was pretty sure I'd be terrible at it as I felt the patience level involved would be beyond my grasp, not to mention I had and continue to have issues with the way our current educational system is structured. Once I realized that empowering others with my current knowledge while consistently being challenged to garner more, and share in the success and learning process of others, was something that not only was I good at but something that I loved to do. I had the awesome pleasure of navigating some amazing young people through a very delicate time in their lives while ushering them into a time in their lives when their instinct and fundamental beliefs will shape the rest of their life's decisions. It's so much more than "being a teacher." It's about fulfilling an obligation as a human being to ensure our new, young human beings are set on a path to something better. I can't think of any better way to ensure that happens, than to introduce people to, and continue them on their artistic human journey.

BWW: What inspired the two of you to start Half and Half Productions?

JW: Scott and I have always worked extremely well together. We met as undergrads in the Theatre & Dance Department at UT Austin, continued to work together off and on after graduation, and then hit on something truly unique and amazing when we started teaching together. Fundamentally our ideals are very similar with regards to Art and education and it's place and power in the world. After leaving the academy sooner than initially planned, I was able to finish up my obligations as the Executive Director of The B. Iden Payne Awards Council, put to rest the theatre for youth company that another colleague and I had run for about five years, and focus my artistic attention on Half & Half. Scott also took that opportunity to move out of classroom teaching and begin pursuit of his Master's degree in the School of Education with a focus on Learning Technology and Curriculum design at UT.

Once free of certain chains, Scott and I were able to bring to fruition an idea or two that we'd had during our tenure as teaching artists at McCallum.

MST: Half & Half is an opportunity to sandbox the many ideas that Julie and I have spoken about through many years of working near each other. There is a deficit of best practices in much of the Austin theatre scene, some more obvious or present than others, that we felt would be best addressed through a model that allows us to attempt solutions. The hope is to then disseminate our findings to our colleagues and brainstorm methods for helping incentivize the use of best practices throughout the community. This doesn't mean we think we know best, but rather that we're attempting to figure that out.

BWW: I'm sure picking any show, let alone your inaugural production, is a tough choice to make. What drew you to PASSING STRANGE?

JW: I was initially introduced to the show by a colleague of mine, Brian Billings, Ph.D, with whom I'd written and published in 2006. He sent me the soundtrack as a gift and I thought, "Whoa, this is too much," in the most awesome sense of that. Fast forward to teaching at McCallum, and another brilliant colleague of mine re-introduced me to it. After thinking about and mulling over the show while teaching and trying to figure out a way to get it produced, it was a no-brainer that this would be the first show we produced through Half & Half. It's perfect on a variety of levels.

MST: Part of Half & Half's primary branding is the need to discuss identity. As can be seen in my origins as an artist, much of our interests are focused on the navigation of how people understand and interact with the presentations of ourselves, especially in complicated situations such as you find in PASSING STRANGE. How black is black? How do you be something you don't feel you identify with? How does being an artist impact that conversation? The story in PASSING STRANGE is dense, layered, and broadly about this balance between who you are, who they want you to be, and who you will be. That is a strong thread through the entire practice being created around Half & Half. And the music is beautiful, the dramatic structure is closer to performance art than traditional book musical, making it an intriguing win for the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, and it features an "othered" group of actors (African-Americans) that are not seen on stage in Austin nearly enough.

BWW: What is PASSING STRANGE about?

JW: Passing Strange is about life. Every life. It's about the journey that humans take as we try to answer those questions posed to us, questions we pose to ourselves, and the journey to just plain figure out how in the world we make sense of and justify our time on this planet. It's about identity, race, religion, sex, drugs, rock and roll, art, love, age, naiveté, wisdom, and so on forever. It is the ultimate journey to get to "the real." To find the root of what and why and how we do the things we do. The text brings us the journey of Youth, a young black male growing up in the 1980's South Central Los Angeles. It is his story as he struggles with his mother's idea of what makes up his identity, how religion plays a role in that identity, how black guilt plays a role in that identity, and how pure unadulterated love plays a role in that identity. As he continues his journey he literally journeys overseas in an order to find "the real." Through further demands placed on him, by himself and others, to identify who he is and what he's about, he discovers more about himself and begins to navigate through the many layers that make up identity, including love, loss, hope, disappointment, opportunities, choices, and consequences. It's about life.

MST: You know what's weird? You wake up one morning and realize that your entire adult life is based on a decision you made by a teenager.

B WW: How are rehearsals going so far?

MST: It's amazing to see a transformation of a space, a story, and a people so dramatically in such a short amount of time. Rehearsals have been inspiring in their efficiency and evocacy, their ability to forge a family out of disparate entities, and to generate interest in the project. It's looking pretty amazing.

JW: Absolutely amazing. I can not say enough good things about the powerhouse of a cast and design team we have. The talent alone makes this project worth it, but the fact that our team has embraced and gone so far above and beyond with regards to their involvement is truly something unique and indescribably beautiful. We are, with our first production, creating what will be a lasting family and that's something I hadn't expected. I'm so incredibly happy with the process thus far.

BWW: What can audiences expect from the production?

JW: Audiences should expect a lot. They should expect to be blown away by the talent on and off the stage. They should expect to be blown away with regards to production values. They should expect a piece that initiates discussion about all manner of topics. They should expect something they've never seen in Austin.

MST: Likely, to cry, to not know what just hit them, to wonder why they've never heard about this Tony Award-winning musical before, and to expect more from Half & Half, Stew, and our amazing cast.

BWW: Why do you think the show, as praised as it was in New York, hasn't yet become a regular fixture of regional theatre?

MST: There hasn't been much advocacy for it in the Regional Theatres. It's interesting to wonder why the Best Musical of 2008, IN THE HEIGHTS, has become a bit more successful, especially in high schools. Ostensibly presented as two "non-White" and forward thinking, non-traditional musicals, these shows and their related successes post-Broadway have much to do with the fidelity to narrative structure in places where audiences haven't been developed otherwise. Plus, it has a lot of African-American actors in it and they are, by and large, not invited to be a part of the theatre community in the U.S. The Asian American Performers Action Coalition's recent study on the disparity in belief in color-blind and ethnic casting interests and actual practices provides a really interesting view on how people, mostly older, mostly male, mostly White Artistic Directors routinely choose to not include such stories or bodies in their season.

JW: Regional theatre is just that. It's regional. Dependent upon the motivations and ideas behind the decision to cast this, or a show like this, it can be challenging to produce. Questions that some regional theaters may pose to themselves might include: how do we do what might appear to be a black centric story in a town with literally little to no blacks? Do we do it anyway because we want to? Will changing the physical make-up of the cast change this story? If so how? Are we able to deal with the response we may/may not get from the community? Any regional theatre, regardless of the piece, should be asking themselves all manner of questions about the what/why/how with any show, but oftentimes, it's just easier to produce OKLAHOMA and call it a day.

BWW: What are the challenges involved in doing an original production of such an autobiographical show?

JW: You know...I don't find it challenging in the least. I fundamentally believe the playwright, Stew, has done such an amazing job of relaying his personal story in such a universal way. I very often forget that it is, in fact, an autobiography of just one man's life. One of my major pet peeves, and a reason that's kept me for a very long time from writing anything autobiographical, is the ego factor involved. Who gives a s---? I'm not that interesting. For me, one of the most beautiful things about this piece is that Stew has taken the most egotistical subject manner one might and made it not only approachable but completely and totally digestible. You are neither beat over the head nor offended that it's autobiographical. I love that.

MST: The challenge has been almost absent. So many people feel connected to the story, in whatever way it hits them, that it's not difficult for everybody to feel comfortable in the space of the show. Additionally, being in communication with Stew over e-mail about the production has helped understand better the vibe, pace, and impact of the show in a more broad way as we craft our own.

BWW: Tell me about the space. What's it like creating a space out of a mall storefront?

MST: I've grown up creating spaces for productions. It was the training I received from my earliest days in the theatre, so I thrive on it. Operationally, it's a blackbox or warehouse space, something very common in the Austin scene. We're crafting the space for what fits best for this production and theatre generally, but it is exciting to exist within the context of a community (the mall) in transition as Austin Community College reimagines the Highland Mall.

JW: We are so incredibly excited about our space at Highland Mall. There are some beautiful things happening at Highland Mall, under the direction of the Austin Community College, and Scott and I are monumentally excited to see what they do with it. Outfitting the Half & Half within the mall is just as exciting. As a designer with a strong background in facilities, Scott has taken the lead with regards to ensure the space is completely and totally up to all manner of city/state codes. We are currently on a short term lease for this production but as we work on the operational aspects and begin the more aesthetic outfitting of the space, the idea of this being a permanent home for us becomes more and more desirable. We are putting everything into that space as if we intend to keep it for as long as we can so even in the event Half & Half moves to another physical location after this inaugural production, the space itself will be perfect for any other performance art space to plop right in and be in pretty good shape. We want to keep it though.

BWW: Is there anything else you want to share with BroadwayWorld readers?

JW: We sincerely hope that folks will be able to attend this production. This production isn't about us making a buck or trying to prove anything to ourselves personally as artists, or to prove much of anything to anyone. The one goal for all involved, I can safely say, is to tell a story; to utilize our individual desires and passions to spark and ignite desires and passions in others. We want people to experience an honest to goodness, authentic theatre experience and the only way to do that is to be honest and forthright. It's all about finding and experiencing the real. We hope that folks find a bit of the real with us.

MST: Share this with your friends and family. Mother's Day specials, Front Porch Talkback nights, VIP reception, and other awesome events can be found at halfandhalfproductions.org or facebook.com/halfandhalfaustin

1st Photo: The cast of PASSING STRANGE in rehearsal.

2nd Photo: Vincent Hooper in rehearsal for PASSING STRANGE.

3rd Photo: The exterior of Half and Half Production's home in the Highland Mall.

PASSING STRANGE plays Half & Half Productions at the Highland Mall (6001 Airport Blvd, Suite 1020) from May 2^nd thru May 12^th. Tickets are $15-$35 and are on sale at www.halfandhalfproductions.org or at the door on show days or at 512-900-9016.

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