Hello, and a lovely #TechTuesday to all of you Encore fans! We hope that everyone had a safe and fun long weekend. Our cast and crew certainly appreciated the extra rest, as they begin tech week for The Talented Clementine tonight. The production team will be putting the final touches on this project that has been over two years in the making. Today, we sit down with Paul Reisler, the man who got the ball rolling all those months ago. Paul is the composer, lyricist, and book writer for our upcoming production of The Talented Clementine.
Encore: In your own words, could you describe the story of The Talented Clementine?
Paul: The story follows the misadventures of Clementine, an eccentric and lovable yet unintentionally devious eight-year-old, through third grade as she struggles to discover her talent in time for the school talent show. Clementine doesn’t think she has any talent. As the night of Talent Palooza draws closer, Clementine grows desperate for an act, any act, she can perform. But the unexpected talent she demonstrates at the show saves the show and surprises everyone–most of all herself. The story reminds us that everyone has a talent, everyone has a gift, and our gift back is to encourage them and help them find it.
Illustration by Marla Frazee.
Encore: What got you excited to adapt Sara Pennypacker’s book into a musical?
Paul: Sara is a good friend of mine who I met at an artist colony years ago. After meeting here, I read a couple of the Clementine books and was totally charmed and captivated by the character.
Encore: Can you describe the songwriting process for the show and what makes it so special to collaborate with children?
Paul: We wrote most of the songs after I had written the script. We’d read and discuss what was happening in the show at the places we wanted songs. Working with the children, script became song. It is a collaborative process. Together we come up with both the lyrics and the music. Over the last 20 years, I’ve written about 2,800 songs with 65,000 children and all that experience really helps when you want to write something specific.
Encore: What was your first interaction with music?
Paul: Like Clementine, I didn’t think I had any musical talent. Though I loved music, I was discouraged from pursuing it as a child. Then, in the mid 1960’s, I started working at the Alexandria Folklore Center. It changed my life as I met many wonderful musicians like Bill Monroe, Linda Ronstadt, Joan Baez, and many others.
Encore: What would you say to yourself as a young musician/artist?
Paul: While natural talent is helpful, it only takes you so far. Desire can take you through a lifetime. I don’t think I started with any natural musical talent, but the desire burned hot and has kept me growing and learning over the decades.
Encore: Why do you think music and the performing arts is important for children?
Paul: I don’t want to talk about all the studies that show how music helps kids perform better in school. It does, but for me that’s not the point. The arts teach us how to create, how to make something out of nothing, how to connect disparate elements to make something new. Kid Pan Alley is there to inspire kids to be creators of their own culture and to rekindle creativity as a core value in education.
Performance Dates and Showtimes for The Talented Clementine
Meet the Script Writer, Composer and Lyricist, Paul Reisler
Paul Reisler is a composer, songwriter, recording artist, performer, producer, and teacher. He’s the founder and artistic director of Kid Pan Alley, Trapezoid, A Thousand Questions and his current band, Paul Reisler & Three Good Reasons. Over the past 45 years, he’s performed in over 3,500 concerts, recorded dozens of albums, music for numerous plays and films, and the script and songs for two musicals, Bouncin’ and The Talented Clementine.
Photos and graphic designs by Aileen Pangan Christian. Clementine illustration by Marla Frazee. Blog contribution by Shannon McCarthy.