Killer Queen: Idea to April 26th
I sit here in my desk staring at another unfinished paper that's due tomorrow. It's one of the last papers I have to do as a student at San Jose State. So nostalgia has become my muse to procrastination. As I continue to sift through what I should write about I can't help but think of how Killer Queen came to existence. Ironically, my paper has to do with theories of creativity.
Over a year ago, I was infatuated with writing a story with Imelda Marcos its central character. After throwing ideas around I finally came up with a spec script. It was a story about Imelda meeting Death in the afterlife which was loosely based on Dante's Inferno. I eventually dropped the story because I simply fell out of love with it. As many writers do when a story is no longer fulfilling. Yet, I still wanted to write about Imelda.
Fast forward about four months later. I'm sitting on a plane to Paris still struggling to work with the Imelda and Death script. Then it occurred to me of an idea that I muttered to my roommates (Yes, the old men of the Meadowfaire). We were hanging out one night watching Queen's live performance in Montreal on Netflix and I said, "Wouldn't it be cool to do a Queen musical for PCN?" At the time I didn't think much of it, then I sat down and listened to Queen songs searching for something. Barely anything.
In Les Deux Magots, a cafe in the Saint-Germain area of Paris, I sat. Staring at my Moleskine as if I could summon the creativity of Ernest Hemingway who sat there before me. I flipped through my notes and found that little kernel of hope. A list titled "Songs for a Queen PCN: Bohemian Rhapsody, Somebody to Love, and Killer Queen." From there it grew into something greater than what I originally imagined.
Then there was the fairytale. A fairytale narrated by Jose Rizal with Queen and Imelda Marcos. That sentence alone should get people into the seats. But I know that isn't enough...
Thankfully I have a cast of actors who must be among the most talented in any PCN you will ever see in your life. This cast of dancers and singers feed off the beauty of their songs and passion of their directors. To see a show like this from any college student organization is unheard of. I don't call this over confidence, I call it a blessing.
If it's one thing I've learned after five Akbayan PCNs it is this:
We think we prepare for those who wait for us beyond the curtains, but we really do it for those we share the stage with.
At that moment of realization, energy flows off the stage and into the audience. I've seen it happen and many can attest.
To those who wait beyond the curtain: You are in for a treat.
To those who are behind the curtain: Consider this a word of advice.
"The story you are about to witness is greater than the average... It's a fairytale..."