by Steve Peterson
When did you first
become interested in writing as a profession?
In 2010, I had four plays
published by Samuel French and they were playing in theatres all around the
country. I was also producing my own “Don’t Hug Me” musicals in the midwest. I owned my own set, and I had a group of
actors that toured for me. It was 2010 when I gave up my “day job” as a
financial advisor and went into writing and producing plays full time.
What was your first
paying writing job and what did you learn from that experience?
In the late 90s, I met a
guy at The Groundings who had contacts in television. He got a job writing a
treatment for an animated TV series. He asked me if I would help him. It was a
two page treatment and it took us a couple days to do it. I was paid $800. I
thought that was a ridiculously large amount of money for the amount of time it
took us to do it. What I learned was, writing for television is like winning
the lottery. If anyone out there wants
to give me crazy amounts of money writing for television, I’m available.
When did you start
writing plays? Do you have any
favorites?
I wrote my first play
“Crappie Talk” in 1997. I was 40 years old. I got a late start. I currently
have 14 published plays, 8 of them are published by Samuel French. It’s hard to
say which play is my favorite. They’re like children to me. With that, I have
to say, “A Nice Family Gathering” is at the top of the list because it’s such a
personal story. It’s about my family, and because it has played in 120 cities
around the world, I’m thrilled that so many theatres have embraced it. It’s
also been optioned to be made into a movie which is very flattering.
Did you have mentors and
muses along the way, and if so who?
My inspiration to write
plays came from Neil Simon. I performed in a bunch of Neil Simon plays in the
early 90s in Tampa, Florida, and it was like taking a seminar in writing. I
loved his comedy, his writing style, his characters. I came to Los Angeles,
trained at The Groundlings, wrote and performed sketches with Maya Rudolph and
other extremely talented people. I learned character development at The
Groundlings.
Lonny Chapman gave me my
first break as a playwright. He green lit my first play, “Crappie Talk,” to be
produced at the Group Rep Theatre in 1997. He then approved “A Nice Family
Gathering” for its world premiere in 2000. I can’t thank Lonny enough for
giving me my start.
I also have to give
thanks to Doug Haverty for being so generous with his notes on my plays. Doug
is a great playwright and a wonderful dramaturg. He’s given me so many great
notes on my plays and helped me keep focus in areas like story conflict and
stakes, basically things that make a good story.
What generated the idea
for A NICE FAMILY GATHERING?
“A Nice Family Gathering”
is based on my Minnesota Norwegian-American family. My dad actually told us he
was the Norwegian who loved his wife so much, he almost told her. I never heard
him tell my mom he loved her, ever. In fact, I never heard him say ‘I love you’
to anyone, including myself. Part of the reason I wanted to write the play is
because I wanted to see my dad say ‘I love you’ to my mom. When my mom came out
from Minnesota to see the world premiere at the Group Rep Theatre, she saw
herself on stage, with my dad, who had passed away a year earlier. It was a
very emotional scene. I was playing the role of the son, ‘Carl,’ and I couldn’t
help to look out and see my mom in the audience, tears running down her cheeks.
My mom loved the play.
Many of your plays
center around your family and the community of Minnesota Norwegians you grew up
in. How did the play come to be
re-imagined with an African American cast?
I saw Robert McCollum and
Cynthia Bryant perform in "Stories about the Old Days" and they were
wonderful. I realized we had great talent but not as many opportunities for our
African American members, so I asked Doug Engalla if he would direct a staged
reading of "A Nice Family Gathering" with Robert and Cynthia as
"Dad" and "Mom." They did the first act off book and it was
very successful. As luck would have it, a slot opened up for a full production,
and I'm very happy that we have such wonderful actors in the play and that my
family comedy, originally set in a Minnesota Norwegian-American household, is
so universally accessible.
You’ve
penned numerous plays and musicals, both solo and with your brother Paul Olson,
among others, that have been published by Samuel French. Have you been working on anything new you’d
like to share with us or have an event you might be attending in regards to
your playwrighting you’d like us to know about?
Because of the success of
“A Nice Family Gathering,” I wrote a new play, “A Nice Family Christmas.” It’s
the same family as “A Nice Family Gathering,” but two years later at Christmas.
I’ve been doing readings of “A Nice Family Christmas” all around the country,
and it will open in five cities this year, including the Group Rep Theatre. “A
Nice Family Christmas” will be my 9th play published by Samuel French. My next
reading will be in Port Clinton, Ohio, on May 17, and I’ll do another reading
in New York in June.
Is there anything you
wished had been asked about you or the play?
I have to thank Doug
Engalla for his tireless efforts in putting this production together. Doug has
directed three of my world premiere “Don’t Hug Me” musicals and he’s terrific
to work with. I’m usually a little more involved in rehearsals and the
production, but with “A Nice Family Gathering” Doug has done everything from
directing to cast photos to set design. I’m very fortunate to have someone like
Doug Engalla at the helm. He’s a blessing.
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