Meet the Director...

Name: Timothy A. McDonald

Role with the production: Director

What was the first play you were ever in?
It was home grown musical, created by my 7th Grade Choir teacher, Mrs. Bowman. It was a variety show of sorts, but with a theme. I played a very goofy husband-slash-agent of a diva opera singer--very high brow, for Anderson Middle School. My first legit show was Pippin, my first rehearsal was on my thirteenth birthday. I was the only kid in the show (besides the child who played “Theo” a girl, who went on to star in the “Small Wonder” television show. I went on to the role of Snoopy in Snoopy in High School. )

When did you know you wanted to work in the theatre?
I’ve always enjoyed the dramatic, I’ve always been drawn to people who are different, bigger than life, passionate and exciting, which means I’ve always been drawn to the thee-ater as they say in Northern California where I grew up…But that’s not the question, is it? The question is when did I know I wanted to “work” in the theatre. Funny, I’ve never thought of theatre as work. Work is shoveling sawdust out of a trailer in one-hundred-and-sixteen-degree heat, or cleaning toilettes, or roofing houses (I’ve done all three and more by the way.) Theatre is much more playful, imaginative, and exciting. The fact that we get paid is a wonder—much appreciated I might add—but a wonder none the less.

How did you decide to become a director?
My mom says that when I was a child I’d watch Sesame Street and say things like “they should have ended that song differently” or “Kermit should have done this and it would have been funnier” so I’ve always had a natural flair to boss people around. Not that directing is just about bossing people around, because it’s not. Directing is bossing people around in such a way that they don’t know they’re being bossed. At least that’s what my Dad told me. Like so many, I thought I wanted to be a performer when I was a kid. But as I got older, I didn’t like doing the same shows eight times a week. I also was one of those performers who thought most directors weren’t very talented, so I stepped up and started directing and by the time I turned thirty years old, I had directed well over a hundred musicals…so I must have been o.k. at it…

What was your first show in New York?
I spent years developing the Broadway Junior Collection at Music Theatre International, which is how I met Aaron who is asking me these questions. Aaron was a kid who worked with us at Palo Alto Children’s Theatre as a stage manager…I think on Bugsy Malone Junior, but I may be wrong. [EDITOR'S NOTE: It was actually Music Man Junior] Alas, I digress…my first New York shows were titles like Once On This Island Junior and Honk! Junior and yes, Dear Edwina Junior. My first “big boy” show was working with Jason Moore and Cameron Mackintosh on the finale for Les Miserables on Broadway. We brought in high school kids to perform a special 20 minute version of the show to symbolize the passing of the Les Miz torch. It must have worked, Les Miz re-opened a year or two later. Dear Edwina is my first Off Broadway show.

What was your experience with Dear Edwina? How did you get involved with the production?
I’ve known Marcy and Zina for a “year or two.” (To reveal an actual amount would be unflattering to us all…) and I’ve been a fan of Edwina since day one. I feel a bit like Edwina’s crazy uncle, who gives her out-of-the-box advice, kinda like that crazy Aunt that Jan had on the Brady bunch? (Does anyone know the Brady Bunch any more?) Anyway…Marcy called me out of the blue and asked if I’d meet with Daryl Roth, check out DR2 and see if Edwina would work in the space. I fell in the love with the space—it’s perfect for Edwina and I shared my enthusiasm with Daryl, and Adam and anyone who would listen. Next beat, I got the directing gig! We did a workshop, and the rest is living history.

What is your favorite part about working on Dear Edwina?
I love rehearsals and pre production--experiencing the actors and musicians find their way, seeing a show materialize from the designers’ imaginations—it’s just so exciting. Our entire Edwina production team—Marcy and Zina, Daryl (our producer) and her folks, the designers, actors, musicians, Steven and Rob (our choreography team)...everyone worked towards the same goal: creating the best Dear Edwina ever. And we did. And we continue to. And we not only worked hard, we also found fun and joy in our work.

What was the most challenging part of working on Dear Edwina?
Personally, I struggled staging the opening number. In fact, I staged it four or five different ways. For whatever reason I just couldn’t get it right…We did eventually, but I made it harder than I should have. Also teaching the cast to play ukuleles was a challenge. Everyone was willing to learn, but I’d never taught anyone to play a ukulele before…

What song/lesson from the show do you most relate to or enjoy? Was their one that you remember needed to learn when you were younger?
Put it in the Piggy is great advice and advice that I follow…I’ve always “Sang my own Song” but I think it’s good to remind yourself that our difference make us strong. I was a lot like Edinwa…so I needed to be reminded often “don’t think about prizes, just do what you love.”


Anything additional you would like to add?
One of my favorite things that we did in rehearsals for Dear Edwina was have the cast spend a Saturday afternoon with a cast of kids who were working on a pilot of Disney’s High School Musical 2 Junior. It was hysterical to see our professional actors find their own 11 year old “peers.” It was also super eye opening: We discovered that middle school kids aren’t that different from adults, and we didn’t need to “act like kids” in Dear Edwina, we just needed to let the characters be. It was a great day, the cast performed for the kids and the kids performed for the cast and, once again, the world was right because of the power of musical theatre.

If you have questions or comments for Tim, the rest of the cast and crew, or just about the show in general, please email them to Dear.EdwinaBlog@gmail.com or leave them as a message on this post.