Backstage Spotlight: The Best Halloween Ever

Meet playwrights, Jahnna Beecham and Skye Hillgartner and get your tickets for this family-friendly show running through November 1st!

What inspired you to become a theater maker and playwright?

JAHNNA: I spent my life in the ballet studio from age six until 18, when I got cast as Susan the Silent (an actress who dances) in the show, Finian’s Rainbow.  I was hooked! I hung up my toe shoes and decided to become an actress, no longer silent but telling stories with words! That decision opened the door to the big wide world of plays. But it was seeing the tour of “1776” that made me fall head over heels for musicals. And now, a lifetime later, Malcolm Hillgartner and I have written 11 musicals. I’m opening one Off Broadway in NYC on October 28 Off Broadway. Parcel From America: The Irish Musical!

SKYE: I grew up in the the theatre. My brother and I were dragged to exotic locations like Austria and Michigan, and  were always underfoot, running around during rehearsals, falling asleep on the floor at opening night parties, and occasionally (to my mom’s surprise and horror), joining the cast onstage for curtain call. When I was a teen, I was often the vocalist for first demos of songs my dad was working on for different projects, and when my parents had jobs during the summer, I’d be put to work in the costume shop or as an extra body on stage for crowd scenes. Having parents that are also writing partners means that every day moments like sitting around the dinner table or long car rides to soccer games all become a writers room. I started joining in the conversation very early on, and then actually started working with my mom as a first reader and (very unofficial) editor when I was about 13. 

It was in my final year of college when I realized that writing plays wasn’t just the family business, but truly my favorite form of writing. But clearly, my fate was sealed from the get go! 

What kind of education prepared you for this career?

JAHNNA: I received a BFA in the professional theatre training program at The University of Utah, teaching children’s theatre, performing with a puppet troupe and acting on the  mainstage at Pioneer Theatre and in the University’s children’s theatre troupe. I wrote my first play for that company: “Tales from A Trunk.” That experience of creating my own project for other actors to perform planted the playwright seed.  After college, I pursued my acting career, working in regional theatres and several Shakespeare companies around the country and continued developing my writing skills. I wrote radio spots and TV commercials for a company in Oregon when I was acting at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. And I wrote more commercials and Industrial films for a company in Washington D.C.  I realized it was all story-telling and even a 30-second radio spot is a tiny story with a beginning, middle and end. It was only natural to proceed from there to writing books, which became a whole new career. For the last 35 years, I have been writing with my husband-actor/writer/ composer/audiobook narrator: Malcolm Hillgartner.  Under the pen name Jahnna N. Malcolm, we have written more than 130 books for juveniles and young adults, including Scholastic’s very popular series, The Jewel Kingdom. Books, plays, musicals, commercials—it is all storytelling.

SKYE: My upbringing was honestly the best education in playwriting a person can get, but I also have a BA in English Language and Literature from Smith College, and an MFA in Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. 

What school subjects that our students may be studying do you use every day? 

JAHNNA: Creative writing, of course. Typing is an important skill, as is spelling. In school I loved Literature the most—reading all sorts of books—mysteries, fantasy, romance, horror, science fiction and of course the classics. Now I read short stories and poems before I go to sleep, just to be inspired by other writers. Continuing to study science and biology has been fascinating.  Malcolm and I wrote a book about toxic slime mold or myxomycota—which is like a giant slug that moves under the ground devouring bacteria. That was called “The Slime that Ate Crestview.” I read history books aimed at kids because they often include weird facts from the Middle Ages, Victorian England, and the founding fathers of our country.  Every subject comes in handy, even math!

SKYE: When it comes to writing, you really use everything! History, chemistry, biology, art… Anything that helps you understand the world around you contributes to good writing. We even originally had an algebra joke in this show! Everything is copy.  

What is your favorite part about being a playwright? 

JAHNNA: Writing a play is like working on a puzzle—trying to put the pieces in the right order, sometimes losing pieces and then finding them. My favorite part is that moment when that last piece of the story falls into place.

SKYE: I’ve always been fascinated by the ways people communicate indirectly. Humans are complicated folks that have a very hard time saying what they mean, and often don’t fully understand what they mean themselves, even if it’s obvious to everyone else. It’s so fun to play around with all those layers! It’s also so much easier to be quick witted when you have a few days to workshop the perfect quip. 

What does writing a play together actually look like for the two of you? Are you in a room working through every scene together, or do you divide, write and come back together?

JAHNNA: Skye and I start with a brainstorming session together, throwing out ideas and writing them on a yellow pad.  Sometimes we sit side by side on my bed, with one of us talking and the other typing. Then we make assignments and go away and write. And we come back together and sit side by side on the bed to read aloud what we’ve written. For Best Halloween Ever, which jumps around in time in the book, Skye did a giant story board. 

SKYE: It’s a process. We definitely start by throwing a bunch of ideas back and forth while one of us takes notes. When we find a thread that feels right, and we both instantly know when that happens, I go write a very rough first go, then my mom goes through and alters and edits, and then we sit together on her bed, just like we did when I was 13, and read through and make adjustments until it feels right. I would say that I’m often the one that keeps track of the big picture and overall structure, while my mom popcorns around to different specific details, and does the finishing touches. We definitely flip flop between talking like writing partners and talking like a mother and daughter. My favorite moment was when my mom told me that we needed to cut Oscar from the show, and I had to tell her that there never was a character named Oscar. 

What was it about The Best Halloween Ever that made you think, “This belongs onstage”?  

JAHNNA:The shortest answer is because it’s about the Herdmans– “The worst kids in the history of the universe” – and Halloween. Think Scary and funny costumes, night time, pranks, candy, pumpkins and big surprises.

SKYE: Barbara Robinson captures the way kids actually speak so perfectly! Which is such a rare and wonderful thing. When you read the hilarious dialogue and descriptions in this book, you hear each character’s unique voice so clearly, it feels like you’re reading a script at times. 

What is one thing you hope the audience feels or learns when they watch The Best Halloween Ever?  

JAHNNA: I hope they learn that kids come from all sorts of homes and circumstances and they’re doing the best they can.  Kindness is everything. 

SKYE: One of the joys of Halloween is that you get to try on a different persona for a day! You learn new things about yourself, as well as surprising things about those around you. I hope that sense of curiosity and empathy is what the audience takes away with them. 

What are three words you would use to describe this production? 

JAHNNA: Funny. Touching. And true.

SKYE: Tricks, treats, and heart!