The following is an interview with playwright, director, producer, and writer Jason Neulander (The Intergalactic Nemesis, Fugitive Dreams) regarding the upcoming launch of his live-action graphic novel production, Treasure Island Reimagined: Jane Hawkins and the Pirate’s Gold, at Austin’s historic State Theatre. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Neulander about the genesis behind the mixed-media adaptation, what he hopes that audiences will take away from the production, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the upcoming launch of Treasure Island Reimagined: Jane Hawkins and the Pirate’s Gold! As the playwright, director, producer, and writer, what can you share with us about the genesis behind this mixed-media adaptation?
Jason Neulander: Many years ago, some friends and I created a radio play called The Intergalactic Nemesis. It caught on a bit in Austin, where I live, and we adapted it into a live stage show. That version caught the attention of the folks who ran the Long Center, our local performing arts center, and they invited me to bring it into their 2,400-seat theater. I was floored by the opportunity, but knew that a venue that size was way too big for the scale of what we were doing. A crazy vision came into my mind – what if we created a comic-book version of the story and projected that as a visual spectacle to fill the room while we did our radio play thing on the stage? Well, turns out the Long Center had just bought a fancy projection system, so they jumped at it. We toured the world with that production through the 2010s. So, that’s how the “live-action graphic novel” format was born.
For this production, I had transitioned into independent film directing and was looking for a new project. An old friend of mine from the touring theater world, Simon Shaw, suggested I think about creating a new touring show along the lines of The Intergalactic Nemesis. I thought it might be fun to adapt a classic, and I put together a list of titles. The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, John Carter – adventure stories, that kind of thing. I brought the list to my family to get their opinions, and my younger daughter piped up that I had to do Treasure Island. I had read it aloud to her when she was nine. Now she was 18 but had never forgotten it. So, not only did that seal the deal for the title, but I thought it would be fun to base the protagonist on her. So now, we have Jane Hawkins and the Pirate’s Gold!
BD: Your previous work in theatre, film, audio drama, and the sequential art medium has been the basis for media franchises and sci-fi multiverses. How would you describe your shared creative process in bringing Treasure Island Reimagined to life on the page and the stage?
JN: I love collaborations. If I get lucky enough to work with people with world-class talent, it forces me to make my own work better. And that’s exactly what happened here. I wanted the art on this project to have a mid-20th century comic-book feel – lots of detail in the inking, half-tones in the coloring. Johnny Dombrowski absolutely nailed that. And he taught Lee Duhig, who has made a career coloring for Marvel, how to do the half-tones. The three of us had an absolute blast working together on it. Add David Hutchison’s beautiful lettering and then Johnny’s final pass to “age” the pages so they look like some old book you found in your grandpa’s attic, and, voilà, a graphic novel. Which simply wouldn’t be possible without the joy that everyone brought to the table.
Sound is one of the key elements that makes the live show different from the printed book version. Our sound designer Buzz Moran and I have been working together for 30 years this year! We practically read each other’s minds. But on this show, unlike any other we’ve worked on together, the three voice actors are also creating all the sound effects live and in front of the audience’s eyes. So, we spent hours and hours poring through the script and art to figure out what sounds would be in the mix and how the heck we would create them. That was fun! And it’s been incredibly fun and hard putting that together in rehearsal with the performers. Then, I wanted the show to have a cinematic soundtrack. Sam Lipman, an Austin-based composer, stepped up and absolutely nailed it. The score is full orchestra and sounds like the soundtrack for a $200-million movie. It’s mind-bogglingly good.
The final step is rehearsal. I’ve never directed something that I’ve had such a big acting part in. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything that’s activated so many synapses all at once! But I’m so lucky to have two actors, Dane Parker and Cheyenne Gibbs, who have dived in headfirst and been open to figuring out how to perform this together and with panache. Can you tell I love what I do?!
BD: Likewise, do you find that your process varies based on the project, or do you follow similar creative pathways no matter the medium in which you’re working?
JN: It does vary. The basis of what I do is writing, which is solitary. So, for example, my narrative podcast SALT (which everyone should check out at oneofus.net) mainly involved me at the computer and then me recording my voice. I did hand it off to Buzz Moran to create sound effects for it, but we were working on it so quickly that there wasn’t a ton of back and forth. In film, almost all the work happens before and after you shoot, and most of the process after the shoot is really with just one other person, the editor. So, it does vary.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that the show may resonate with today’s audiences, and what, if any, conversations do you hope that the production may inspire?
JN: Now you’re getting to the heart of why I’m doing this project! For one, this story is about girl power. Jane is smarter and wittier than all of the adults around her. But she has a formidable opponent, which really is her own desire to live a life of adventure. The map and the treasure in this story have a sinister corrupting power that affects nearly everyone, including Jane herself. The treasure is worth $350,000,000 in today’s dollars, enough to kill for. And people do! So, in our new gilded age, I think this story has a lot of relevance. As Dr. Livesey, Jane’s mentor (the Gandalf of this story, if you will), says, “The worth of a man – or a woman, or even a girl – is not in how much they own, but in what they do with it.”
BD: Following Treasure Island Reimagined’s run at the State Theatre, do you have plans to tour the production in other cities?
JN: Yes! We have a 20-city tour in our first season of touring. And we’re already booking our second season’s tour. All the dates are here: www.treasureislandreimagined.com/performance-dates
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
JN: Yeah, if folks are interested in this type of storytelling, PBS made a fantastic video version of The Intergalactic Nemesis that you can find on YouTube. And for something very different, but very beautiful, my film Fugitive Dreams can be streamed on Apple TV and Amazon.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell readers who want to learn more about Treasure Island Reimagined: Jane Hawkins and the Pirate’s Gold and your other work?
JN: Definitely check out www.treasureislandreimagined.com. Even if you can’t see the live show, we’re selling the graphic novel on the site. The art is just incredible. And I’ve posted a little explanation on the site under the “about” tab about the various inspirations for the project. We also have some great short videos to check out. And everyone should read the original Robert Louis Stevenson novel! It’s so much fun! I’d love to hear back from people who experienced my version and read the original book to find out what they thought of the changes I made. I did have a lot of fun with the adaptation.
