SHAWN NORTHRIP

August 3 , 2006
Interview by Deidre McFadyen

Shawn Northrip wrote the book and music for Titus X: The Musical, a punk rock adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy. He received his M.F.A. from New York University's Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program. As an undergraduate, he attended Catholic University, where he studied drama education. In Washington, D.C., he has contributed regularly to the Madcap Players' Winter Carnival and to the Kennedy Center's Page to Stage Festival.

What is your show about? It's an adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus as if it were performed by a punk band. As a kid growing up in D.C., I played in garage bands. I don't have the typical training of a composer. I can play guitar, bass, and a little drums. So when it came to writing a musical, I knew the style of music I can write, and I set out to find a story that would match that style of music.

I wrote the first draft six years ago, but we've been performing the show regularly for the past four years. The tough thing about Titus is that it's hard to sell. A lot of people don't see the commercial appeal. It's a loud show. Many theaters don't have the sound system to carry it. We spill a lot of blood on the stage, too. We were mopping up for an hour after the show last week.

What’s next for you? Last night I was at the opening of my play Ramona and Juliet at the Buffalo Infringement Festival. It's another Shakespeare adaptation. It's Romeo and Juliet with a lesbian twist. In my play, what begins the family feud between the Montagues and Capulets is an illicit relation between the two daughters.

I'm gearing up to present a show in September at the New York Musical Theater Festival, called Lunch. It's a wholly original musical about students during the last week of eighth grade.

What theater do you see? I live right outside Washington, D.C., so I see mostly regional theater. I like to check out the Washington Shakespeare Company. D.C. has a lot of small theaters. Our first Fringe Festival was this year. There were about 80 shows. We were worried about the festival drawing an audience, but people really turned out. My show, Lunch, was standing room only for four out of six performances.

I also see a lot of my friends' shows, because you have to support each other in this business.

Who or what are your influences? Shakespeare, of course. The Marx Brothers. I love the Flying Karamazov Brothers. They are so funny and unique. I love to juggle, though you don't see that in Titus.

Musically, I'm influenced by D.C. punk bands like Fugazi, Bad Brains, Teen Idols. When I was young, D.C. had such a great music scene. Outside clubs, I'd see lines of punks down the street. I'd stand outside sometimes and hear the music bleeding out into the streets. I joined a band as soon as I was old enough. We were playing the clubs just as they were closing down. That scene was ending, though a new scene is starting to grow now.

How would you describe your approach? I try to write stuff that I would like to see, and I'm picky about what I like to see. A lot of stuff reads to me as cheesy. Chuck Jones was asked once how he writes the Looney Tunes cartoons. He said, "I write things that I think are funny." He was writing for himself. I try to do that.

I love stuff that has energy to it. I like some of the old musicals, though the style of music is not always to my taste. I love shows by people who did The Donkey Show and Swimming With Watermelons. Their shows always have that awesome energy. When a show has energy, you can't help but look. It's almost like a car wreck.