New Musical Featuring Puppetry, Harmony and a Feathery Flock of Fun
By Anne Reid
"Birdbrain" written by Craig Holland, playwright and Managing Director at The Wayward Artist, is a fun new family show featuring a wide variety of musical styles and laughs for both kids and adults.
“Birdbrain” is the story of Cora the Cockatoo, whose human friend is Grandma Aviary. When Cora gets in trouble, she turns to her friends for help. Featuring a variety of singing bird puppets including a cockatoo, duck, toucan, vulture and dodo bird, “Birdbrain” is a celebration of everything it means to be a bird and everything it takes to be a true friend.
The idea for “Birdbrain” was inspired by the author's love of puppetry and music. “I’ve always loved puppets. My mom used to take me to see puppet shows all the time when I was a kid,” said Holland. “I had been thinking about creating a musical with puppets that the whole family could enjoy for several years. I just needed the right concept.”
“One day I had the thought that all of the puppets could be birds,” Holland said.” Birds sing, right? So, it seemed natural to me that a young audience would enjoy a whole stage full of singing birds!” His next step was to figure out what types of birds would be the most interesting if they formed a bird council and tried to work together. He put together a slide deck of many different birds and showed children and adults to gauge their reactions. “Their feedback helped me narrow down the list to: cockatoo, dodo bird, vulture, duck and toucan. Once I had the characters, I developed the story from there.”
With a wide range of people in mind, Holland created a story that would test the limits of the main character, Cora, and keep the audience engaged. He also wanted to explore telling a story from the point of view of the animals. Cora has a human friend who considers her a “pet” but to Cora her human is a friend (the word owner does not cross her mind). Like most domesticated animals, Cora wants to please her human friend. She just wants to be liked.
Holland said Cora is a clumsy bird. “She’s always knocking over things at her human friend’s house. She gets into trouble (like a lot of pets do).” When Cora’s human gets upset with her, she calls Cora a hurtful name. Saddened, Cora sets off on a journey to earn back the love of her human friend. Along the way audiences meet Cora’s bird friends who all try to help her, but fail miserably. There are lots of laughs for kids and adults, and some catchy songs. “In the end, there is a good message for us all to remember,” said Holland.
An Orange County native, Holland has had several of his plays performed in the county over the last five years. In 2023, “Pirates vs. Leprechauns,” a theatre for young audiences musical comedy, enjoyed a two week run at The Wayward Artist. His one-act plays have been featured in many theatres, including productions of “JU1CE” in 2023 and 2024, a co-production of The Wayward Artist and the Orange County Playwrights Alliance. In 2019, Holland’s romantic comedy, “Love Is A Crocodile” was produced by the Misfits Theatre Group at Grand Central Art Center. Craig has a degree in English Literature from UCLA and an MBA in marketing from USC.
Director Sarah Ripper says The Wayward Artist as a company supports and encourages artists in their passions and heaps praise upon playwright Holland for having written a delightful, educational, and fun show for young audiences (and adults alike).
“It is so valuable to have these offerings to the Santa Ana community and Orange County and I wanted to be a part of that,” Ripper said. “I am a theatre educator and know what a powerful impact seeing live theatre can have at a young age. Also, the show has puppets and songs! We are having a blast and cannot wait to share the show with audiences!” Her favorite parts of the story are the lessons learned throughout. “The jokes are also great! I am laughing every day and having such a fun time!” she proclaimed.
Originally from Texas where she received her BFA in Musical Theatre from Sam Houston State University, Ripper received her Masters in Educational Theatre from New York University and a Master of Fine Arts in Directing at California State University Fullerton where she currently teaches. She has been a company member of The Wayward Artist since its inception, and serves as the Wayward Artist intimacy coordinator. She loves musical theatre, puppets, children, and animals so “Birdbrain” was the perfect match for her to direct.
Ripper says she expressed interest in directing the show earlier this year when the season was selected. “I recently worked on Avenue Q last season as the choreographer so I had that experience in working with movement and puppetry. Also, it had been a while since I directed something at Wayward.”
Ripper said the production has an amazing cast and team and that the story contains valuable messages and lessons. “Plus,” she said, “the songs are so much fun! We are laughing every day!” Holland agrees saying “We all need some joy today and to remind ourselves of kindness, acceptance, empathy, and saying sorry when you have been wrong.”
The musical numbers were developed based on the unique characteristics of each bird. The style, lyrics and melody change dramatically between all of the characters. The vulture sings a scary song. The dodo bird sings a surf rock song because he likes to catch waves. The toucan sings about his favorite fruit back in Costa Rica, where he is from. And so on.
This professional production of “Birdbrain” at The Wayward Artist is made possible by a generous “Investing in the Artist Grant” from the City of Santa Ana and will provide free admission to Santa Ana residents from specific zip codes which can be found on the theatre’s ticket website.
Anne Reid is a writer, public & community relations expert, and theatre mom.
“Birdbrain”
The Wayward Artist
125 North Broadway, #E, Santa Ana
August 9 - 18, 2024
(657) 205-6273, www.thewaywardartist.org
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