By Harrison Young
Gayle Childress Greene is a playwright, actress, director, dancer, choreographer and children’s book author with enough good cheer to back all of those up. We first acted together in 2009 at the Oak Ridge Playhouse for a stage adaptation of the classic film “The Graduate.” Her plays “Tic Toc” and “The Cast List” were produced by the Tennessee Stage Company during the 2014 and 2016 editions of its New Play Festival. Most recently, she wrote and self-published three children’s books.
BLANK Newspaper: What is the earliest thing you remember writing?
Gayle Childress Greene: I got a diary for Christmas when I was 9 years old. I wrote in it faithfully. It started a lifelong love of journaling. My father thought I should be a writer, but I wanted to be a dance teacher.
BN: You graduated from the Institute of Children’s Literature in Connecticut and have self-published three books. What matters for you when it comes to telling stories for children?
GCG: Something that has a good message. Something that addresses some of the challenges that children face. “The Rat’s Race” addresses themes of friendship, bullying, honesty, courage and being different. “Because You Are Mine” is a comforting picture book about belonging. “A Snail’s Pace” is a parable about an underdog.
BN: You wrote two stories for “The Climbing Angel Christmas Treasury.” What makes a good Christmas story?
GCG: I think a good Christmas story stays true to the meaning of Christmas: faith, family, maybe a little bittersweet and heartwarming at the same time.
BN: You’ve written plays for religious audiences before, such as “Killing Time” with Knoxville Christian Artists Ministry and “A Christian Memory,” which was commissioned by the WordPlayers. How has your faith informed your writing?
GCG: My faith informs everything I do. Writers have a huge responsibility. There’s a lot of power in the written word. Everything I write passes through that filter. At times I have felt like the conduit God is using to get a message out, especially for “A Christian Memory.”
BN: Do you have a playwright who inspires your writing?
GCG: Neil Simon. His plays are lighthearted and comedic, but they have emotional depth, too. I saw his film “The Goodbye Girl” before I ever saw one of his plays. I cried my heart out in the theater.
BN: Do you remember your first victory as a playwright?
GCG: Yes! I submitted “Tic Toc” to the Tennessee Stage Company’s New Play Festival. I was shocked when [TSC’s artistic director] Tom Parkhill called and asked to meet for lunch to discuss it. His first question to me was, “How do you handle criticism?”
BN: You’ve performed many times as an actress and dancer before you wrote your comedy “Tic Toc.” What lessons did you learn from acting to improve your craft as a playwright?
GCG: Being an actress really helped me in writing dialogue. I always read my dialogue out loud and try to make sure it sounds natural, like how that character would really talk.
BN: You wrote another comedy after that called “The Cast List” about a theater company putting on a production of “Romeo and Juliet.” How did that story come about?
GCG: That story came about from my experiences as an actress in community theater plays. I always thought that what happened during rehearsals and backstage was a lot more interesting than the actual performances. I wanted to give an audience a sneak peek into what happens behind the scenes from auditions to opening night.
BN: Your daughter Tiffany Tallent used to act and direct in Knoxville before moving away, including creative work with your own plays. What was your experience like working with family so closely on your creative works?
GCG: It was so special to get to act and work with Tiffany. I always say that she took most of my talent when I birthed her. She directed “The Cast List” twice, and I loved seeing what she brought out in the actors. We did the two-woman show “Night Mother” years ago. If you know that play, it’s very emotional and doesn’t have a happy ending. I was so sad when that show closed that I decided I was going to write a play where everything worked out in the end. That’s when I wrote “Tic Toc.” One of my favorite stage memories of her was when she was Wendy and I was grown-up Wendy in a production of “Peter Pan” at the Oak Ridge Playhouse. I remember we would pass each other in the dark during the scene change in Act 3, and I would think she’s going to grow up that fast, and she did.
BN: Your next play was “When Blackbirds Sing,” a beautiful drama and change of pace from your previous work. I remember being impressed by its mostly two-person structure. Can you describe what brought that show out of you?
GCG: That was the most emotionally draining play I’ve ever written. I don’t even know where the idea came from. It just came, and once it did it wouldn’t let me go. I had to write it. It was hard because I didn’t like where the story was going. I knew it was going to be sad. I cried while writing it – I cry a lot. I think feeling things strongly and deeply is part of what makes us writers and artists. I call it the “blessed curse.”
BN: Do you have any plays you’re working on currently?
GCG: I don’t have any plays on the horizon. To be honest, I’m not sure if I’ll ever write another one, but I’m currently working on writing “When Blackbirds Sing” as a novel. I’m about 17,000 words in.
For more information about Gayle Childress Greene’s children’s books, visit littledickensbooks.com.
harrison@blanknews.com
