J:
Where did everyone from the cast now come from?
KG: Michelle O’Connor, who played the barker, is Kimmy’s good friend
from college. They’ve been collaborating on theater projects together
for many years, and they write a lot of music together. Jacob Brown is
in my improv class, and is on the Sid Viscous improv team at The PIT.
Him and I became close through our improv classes at The PIT. Jared is a
good friend of Nitra, the co-writer, and they do improv together for
at-risk teens, about bullying and drugs and things like that.
J: Most of the characters go from start to finish and you see them all
at once, although Jared does a character that reappears at points. Why
do you go back to just that one character or why don’t you follow the
others through more?
KG: Just to get as much diversity as possible. Jared did make a specific
choice -- it’s one character that you see different aspects of. That is
the pot-head lady guy [insert explanation] and the subway guy from the
beginning. He chose to tie those two people together, where you see the
guy frustrated on the subway and then smoking a joint at home on his
patio. That was an experiment. But mostly we wanted to do the complete
opposite … different characters to show diversity of who uses Craigslist,
what are the reasons, are they escaping something from their lives, are
they looking for attention? Why are they going on Craigslist?
J: I wondered when reviewing the show whether, in how Michelle hosted
the show, whether you were thinking about ‘The Twilight Zone’?
KG: The creepiness of it, yes. We wanted an eerie, creepy feel to the
barker, which is interesting from her because she’s a pretty woman. To
see her be a sexy seductress but also kind of a hard ass, and also the
taskmaster of Craigslist, and everyone’s her minions to do what she
says. So in that aspect, yes, the stream of consciousness of the piece
is very much like The Twilight Zone, and the creepiness and eeriness of
it. You want the audience to question what they’re seeing. That’s the
‘Twilight Zone’ aspect of it too -- ‘Did they just … oh they did!’
J: What’s your a criteria for what you’re putting into scenes or what
you find funny?
KG: When we look at them now, we’re just looking for diverse stories
from individuals. At this point, the show is love and sex heavy. That’s
a major change I want to make for the future of the show. Especially for
New York, I need more apartment posting stories, or finding roommates.
We touch on it in the show but we don’t dive in as much as we should,
especially for New York. They don’t use Craigslist as much for that in
Austin. … Now when I talk to people in New York, the most interest is in
“Missed Connections” or one-night hookups -- ‘come over to my house
right now,’ much more so than apartments or roommates.
I guess for criteria, we’re looking for people who have a point of view
and just a crazy, kooky wackiness that’s out there. You get everything
from those looking to sell their Beatles collection to ‘I cheated on my
wife, what should I do?’ So diversity, and people who have a story to
tell.
J: Are there other shows that you’ve written or are thinking about
doing?
KG: I’ve written others and produced others. They’re usually always
comedy. The dramas I’ve written aren’t very good. I’m into short comedic
plays, or more vignettes than actual plays, but also not quite sketch
either. I like it to have a theme or through line so it’s not just
random sketches. The next show I’m working on is a one-woman show. I’m
writing it thinking of myself but I probably wouldn’t perform it in the
long run. It has different wacky characters. It’s about a Texas girl
who’s transplanted into Yankee land.
J: Most performers who write a one-person character showcase show do it
for themselves. Why are you thinking about transferring it to someone
else?
KG: I would probably direct that show. I would want to find someone who
could have the diversity of different characters. … That was my big
problem with acting. It was always your director telling you what to do.
You can explore things as an actor and try different things but at the
end of the day, your director decides. I want to be the one who actually
creates it and puts it out there for people.
J: Most performers find comedy more difficult to do than drama, but you
find drama more difficult.
KG: It’s more difficult for me to write. I’m not sure how to even
explain that. I find that comedic dialogue is easier for me to write
than dramatic dialogue. In dramas, the climax has to be so solid, and
all the elements of the story, like your introduction, rising action,
climax and falling action all have to be so clear and set for it to be
effective. In comedy, anything goes. That’s the difference to me. That’s
why it makes it easier. You can put something down on paper as comedy,
and if it stinks, throw it away, or it can be the most brilliant piece
of comedy you’ve ever seen in your life. Drama doesn’t work that way. It
either works or it doesn’t. In comedy, you can find something that works
about it, or change it.
J: What comedic performers, movies or TV influenced you?
KG: Growing up it was always Gilda Radner. Everyone says that, but
watching old Saturday Night Lives, the Gilda Radner sketches were
definitely what I wanted to do. She did physical comedy which was
unusual for women back then. As to films, “Clue” is one of my favorite
movies of all time. I like the different characters and different types
of people all coming together for a murder mystery, or the dinner party,
or whatever the case may be.
J: That’s why you’re doing “Craigslist” -- because you’re inspired by
“Clue.”
KG: I guess you could say that. “Clue” is one of my definite favorites.
Another favorite is “Waiting For Guffman” -- again, such different types
of people thrown together in a situation. That’s comedy gold if you ask
me. |