Playwright Spotlight: Shayne Kennedy

An interview with Shayne Kennedy, written and conducted by Kith & Kin board officer Selena Milewski.

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Pixie and the Priest is a captivating historical fiction envisioning a meeting of three minds, each committed to living a faithful life according to their own definition. Engagingly written and naturalistic, this is a must-see for anyone who loves Tarot, the occult, or the history of divination in the U.S. and U.K. The play’s central character, after all, is none other than Pixie Coleman Smith, illustrator of the famous Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck. The main action centers around her dialogue with a Catholic priest.

MILEWSKI:

One of your other occupations is audio description for blind or low- vision people, and your central character Pixie experiences synesthesia. You seem to have an interest in sensory data as part of lived experience. Can you expound on the possibilities arising from including sensory information or unusual sensory experiences into dramatic narrative?

KENNEDY:

I spend a lot of my work time considering how different people perceive the world. I think that's a valuable pursuit, and one that affects my playwriting. In this case, the historical Pixie Colman was synesthetic, and I definitely wanted to include that, because having her literally perceive the world, through her brain and senses, differently than most people, underscores how her thinking mind also perceives things differently. Father Frederick's life experiences have left him not trusting his own ability to understand things, including himself, clearly. He is confronted, in Pixie, with the idea that the guardrails he has placed on his life's path may not have given him the stability and protection he was seeking. Her synesthesia is an early indication to him that he has met, not only someone who has some strange ideas, but someone who experiences the world in a way he has never allowed himself to consider.

MILEWSKI:

You’ve made the compelling statement on your website that “Every plot can be reduced to one sentence: A stranger comes to town.” What do you mean by this, and how does this idea relate to Pixie and the Priest specifically?

KENNEDY:

It's the oldest trick in the writing book, isn't it? Throw in a character who doesn't know anyone, doesn't know what's going on, then have those in the know bring them up to speed! Voila! Instant exposition. (Also, for this GnX'er, reminiscent of every 80s sitcom bringing on a child when the original kids aged up enough to not be adorable.) This idea, though, means more than that to me. The stranger can be a person, of course. It can be new information that causes characters to reevaluate who they are and what they believe. It can be an event. A war, a death, a hurricane, a marriage.--fanything that causes the protagonist to reconsider their choices. In the case of Pixie and the Priest, it flips itself a little, because while Father Frederick is the person who literally arrives somewhere new, he is actually the town and Pixie and her way of thinking are the stranger.

MILEWSKI:

Pixie expresses many ideas and viewpoints that are familiar today but would have been nearly unheard of during the time the play is set, 1911. What are some of the challenges and rewards of working with a character who stands somewhat outside of her own time?

KENNEDY:

1911 was wilder than you'd think, and the real Pixie definitely placed herself with a group of wayward artists and outside-the-box thinkers. The joy in creating this version of her has been that I've gotten to consider what I want her to express, then research to find out if I can justify it. (Writing is hard, research is fun!) I get to keep her grounded in the time period through her word choice and cadence, but allow her to express some every progressive and/or "out there" concepts. She and I are both learners. She and I both believe in magic. She and I share a passion for watching people joyfully come into their own. It's really fun to spend time with her.

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A segment of Pixie and the Priest will be presented during K&K New Plays, which runs October 2nd - 4th at Inspiration Studios in West Allis. Secure your tickets here.