Voices of BTM XXI: Cliff Odle
Tell us about your play.
The play is about the relationship between a father and daughter. Although ten minutes, it covers several years of their lives in three stages using an annual trip to a National Park garnet mining site as a frame for showing how this relationship develops.
What made you want to tell this story?
The story had been fermenting in my brain since my family took a trip to Northern Idaho and the Emerald Creek Garnet mine where they let you dig for star garnets after you pay a nominal fee. The trip was a reunion for members of my late wife’s family. It would be their last reunion before she passed away after a three-year long battle against cancer. Although I won’t call this a biographical story, I did cannibalize parts of my life for the plot. I made sure to use the tastiest parts only.
Who (or what) inspires you as a writer?
I decided that this was my easiest path to fame and fortune, of course. Why else would anyone do this? Um…why are you laughing?
What’s next for you as a playwright (or producer, actor, etc.)?
Currently, I am working on an interactive historical piece for The Old State House museum. It will concern Pre-Revolutionary War attempts to end the slave trade in Boston. I’m also working two other plays that focus on Black life in Pre-Revolutionary America. One is called A Deerfield Homecoming that tells the story of an African-colonial slave and a White woman who was kidnapped by Native Americans as a child and later forcibly “redeemed” by her father. The other piece is untitled, but examines the relationship between three Black writers of the time: Phyllis Wheatley, Jupiter Hammon, and Ignatius Sancho. Once I can get my head out of the 18th century, I may write more about jazz… Or aliens…or tofu…I dunno…
What are you most looking forward to on Boston Theater Marathon day?
Once I get through the part where I berate myself for not being as good as the other writers, I’m really looking forward to seeing if the words I’ve written make sense to the actors and the audience. I’m really hoping my work provides a transformative experience for the audience and gets them to think about their own relationships in a positive way. Oh, and of course the aforementioned fame and fortune…seriously…stop laughing…
Don’t miss A Garnet in the Rough—and 49 other amazing ten-minute plays—in Boston Theater Marathon XXI on May 19! Tickets