“Untouchable”
When tasked with writing a show, I wanted to stay away from my personal life. Well … that clearly didn't happen. After writing multiple drafts of fiction ideas with no substance, Associate Professor Heidi Jones Eggert (on my Final Creative Project committee) encouraged me to "be brave" and I knew I had to go for it! And being brave resulted in one of the most rewarding and difficult artistic projects of my life. The script itself feels a bit unfinished, but this draft is not far off from what the piece could be.
The word "untouchable" has been sitting with me for years. I don’t think there’s anything revolutionary about what I’m presenting in this show. These ideas surrounding the "untouchable" continue to be constant themes in my life, summing up two contradicting feelings: loathsome vs. too distant to be touched. After purging old journals and notes, I found the exact moment when I started writing these Untouchable ideas on paper. I always felt that there would be a time when I could reflect deeper into these feelings in some creative capacity, specifically within a play, and this was the moment.
A big Thank You to my director/dramaturg/FCP committee member Bernadette Sweeney, and for guidance from Heidi Jones Eggert and Pamyla Stiehl, also on my committee. A big Thank You to Moira Keefe and Charlie Oates for their guidance. Thank You to Jason McDaniel and Mark Plonksy for their expertise. A special Thank You to my beautiful twin brother, David, for his excitement about the project and to my parents for their encouragement. And Thank You to friends for putting up with me and helping me verbally process what this show could be.
~Aimee Paxton
“Pop Pop Killed Hitler”
I want to dedicate this show to my Ma and Pop, to my family, and to the town of Franklin, Kentucky, a town in rural America that helped foster a love of the arts in this country boy. Too many small towns are bereft of a proper introduction to the arts and the only way to fix that is by sharing each other's stories. Grab a drink, sit on a porch, and get your story out there. Thanks for hearing me out.
Special thanks to Bernadette Sweeney for guiding me through this play and for the last few years; to Elli Caterisano for reading all of my drafts; to the 8 Virginia Drive Bubble; to Michael Legg, Charlie Oates, and Mark Plonsky for helping me get out of the rough-draft phase; to my brother, Noah, for making the music; and to my family for being there for me.
~Ben Park
