Amy Thompson interviewed about her Cul de Sac play premiere

From Page to Stage: How Cul de Sac Was Adapted Into a Play

Playwright Amy Thompson and Encore Theater's Sara Duke talks about adapting the hit Washington Post comic strip.

Mike Rhode

May 24, 2016
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/blog/20780902/cul-de-sac-interview

Cul de Sac play coming soon - the first interview

"Art Imitating Life" Coming Alive

• Debra N. Diener 
• 
  05/17/2016
  
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/debra-n-diener/art-imitating-life-coming_b_9995582.html

Cul de Sac the play - coming soon

Based on Richard Thompson's comic strip, and written by Amy Thompson, the play premieres in Arlington, VA next month.

The World Premiere of “Cul de Sac” the play (press release)

Encore Stage & Studio Proudly Presents the World Premiere of "Cul de Sac"

Arlington, VA – Encore Stage & Studio is delighted to present Cul de Sac, the world premiere play adaption based on the nationally syndicated Cul de Sac comic strip by Richard Thompson. Thompson and his comic strip won the 2010 Reuben Award, the highest honor given by the National Cartoonists Society. The play follows four-year-old Alice Otterloop and her older brother, Petey, as they learn about friendship and the importance of being yourself. When Alice decides to help Petey become more exciting she risks sending Petey further into his shell. With the help of their parents, teachers, and new and old friends the Otterloop children just might be able to learn something from each other.  This production runs June 3 through 12 at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre (125 S. Old Glebe Rd. Arlington, VA 22204).

"He never wanted to be anything other than a cartoonist," says playwright Amy Thompson in describing her husband Richard Thompson. Richard, a long-time Arlington resident, had created thousands of illustrations and cartoons for dozens of magazines and newspapers before Cul de Sac debuted in The Washington Post Magazine in 2007.  Thompson drew on incidents from his own childhood ("there's a lot of him in Petey, the withdrawn artist" says Amy), and the lives of his family, including two daughters, Emma and Charlotte. Everything from Charlotte's unbounded exuberance, to Emma's discovery that a manhole cover made a great stage, to the reluctant introduction of a guinea pig in their home was fodder for Thompson's re-imagined suburban Washington.

Thompson's Cul de Sac drew the attention of comic fans worldwide including some very famous fans. Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson was so impressed that he wrote the introduction to the first Cul de Sac collection.

 "[The comic strip] is one of those rare visions that shows how surprising the ordinary world really is.  Richard Thompson's wonderfully peculiar Otterloop family is closely observed with deep sympathy and rings absolutely true," stated Watterson, "I'm a huge fan."

Children's book author Mo Willems (Knuffle Bunny, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Elephant & Piggie series) wrote the introduction to the second collection. "If Cul de Sac isn't French for 'wonderfully loopily sincerely life-affirmingly stupendously hilarious' then there is something wrong with the French language," stated Willems.

Pixar director Pete Docter invited Thompson to collaborate on character development for his most recent film, Inside Out.  "Cul de Sac is the funniest strip to appear in decades," writes Oscar-winner Docter, whose other films include Monsters, Inc. and Up. "It's full of great characters, well-observed truths that most of us have forgotten about, and is so beautifully and funnily drawn that it is an absolute joy to look at even if you can't read.  (Of course, if you can't read, then you'd better stop right now.)"

 In 2009 Thompson was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease and began treatment. Thompson's friend Chris Sparks solicited other artists to contribute to a book collection, Team Cul de Sac: Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson's, to raise money for Parkinson's research through the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Encore Stage & Studio will hold a special fundraiser in the theatre lobby in to contribute to this effort.

On September 23, 2012, Cul de Sac ended its run of original strips, and Thompson retired. He kept up his Cul de Sac blog for some years afterward, but otherwise, published no new work.  An offer was made to buy the rights to Cul de Sac and continue the strip with a new writer and artist, but Thompson declined. It seemed the world had seen the last of Alice, Petey, Madeline, and Peter Otterloop, as well as their friends Dill, Beni, Andre, Loris, Miss Bliss, and all the others.

Encore Stage & Studio, with efforts to build its performances highlighting local and original work, approached Amy Thompson about writing a play. Amy Thompson has worked for Encore as a drama teacher and director for some years, and has written several shorter works for summer camps and classes. Amy's Encore show credits include direction for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 2013 and Much Ado about Nothing in 2015.   She was eager to write a full-length play, and suggested that Cul de Sac would make a perfect choice for children's theatre. Over the years, Richard had turned down all requests by other writers to adapt the strip for the stage, while asking Amy why she didn't do it herself. Encore accepted, debuting Cul de Sac's for its early summer show of the 2015/2016 season.

We are excited to announce Chuck Leonard as director for this production.  Production staff also includes Matthew Heap (Composer), Thomas Boudreaux (Technical Director), Amy Thompson, Kristen Jepperson and Marji Jepperson (Set Designer/Builder and Props), Debra Leonard (Costume Designer/Builder and Make-up Designer), Gary Hauptman (Lighting Designer), Caitlin Orzechowski (Assistant Lighting Designer), and Drew Moberley (Sound Engineer). 

Performance Dates and Showtimes:
Fridays, June 3 and 10, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturdays, June 4 and 11, 2016 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Sundays, June 5 and 12, 2016 at 3 p.m.

Every effort has been made to preserve the look, feel, and heart of the original strip. Fans of the strip will recognize the Otterloop house, Mr. Otterloop's tiny red car, Dill's kiddie car, and Alice's manhole cover. Young audiences who have never seen the strip will recognize the world of some typical (but dramatic) preschoolers and third graders. And everyone, no matter his or her age, will get to experience what it's like to be a child. We recommend this production for ages 4 and older.

Tickets are $15 for Adults; $10 for Children, Students, Military and Seniors. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at www.encorestage.org or by calling our box office at (703) 548-1154.

About Encore Stage & Studio

"Theatre by Kids, for Kids!" Founded in 1967, our mission is to build a lifelong appreciation for live theater by involving young people in all aspects of theater arts --onstage, backstage, in the classroom, and in the audience. Encore strives to educate and entertain by offering productions each season that are by and for young people, and through enriching classes and workshops with qualified, enthusiastic teaching artists. We believe that participating in live theatre builds problem-solving skills, teamwork, creativity, literacy, and self-confidence. We are cultivating the next generation of active and engaged art lovers.

Encore Stage & Studio's 2016 season is sponsored by Fairlington Dental and  
 is supported in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Arlington Cultural Affairs Division of Arlington Economic Development and the Arlington Commission for the Arts.

For more information visit www.encorestage.org | (703) 548-1154 | PO Box 969 Arlington, VA 22216

Richard Thompson & Bill Watterson in French?

Bill Watterson's conversation with Richard from The Art of Richard Thompson has been translated by Stephane Beaujean, a French Cul De Sac fan, and is apparently now available. Bonjour!

The rest of the magazine looks good too.

June 3-12: Cul de Sac play premieres in Arlington

Cul de Sac

Play by Amy Thompson
Adapted from the Comic Strip, Cul de Sac by Richard Thompson

http://www.encorestageva.org/2015/05/19/cul-de-sac/

Four-year-old Alice Otterloop and her older brother, Petey, learn about friendship and the importance of being yourself in this world premier play adaptation of Richard Thompson's nationally syndicated Cul De Sac comic strip. When Alice decides to help Petey become more exciting she risks sending Petey further into his shell. With the help other their parents, teachers, and new and old friends the Otterloop children just might be able to learn something from each other. We recommend this production for ages 4 and older.

Performance Dates and Times:
Friday, June 3, 2016 at 7:30pm
Saturday, June 4, 2016 at 11am and 3pm
Sunday, June 5, 2016 at 3pm
Friday, June 10, 2016 at 7:30pm
Saturday, June 11, 2016 at 11am and 3pm
Sunday, June 12, 2016 at 3pm

All performances are held at Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre (125 S. Old Glebe Rd., Arlington, VA 22204)

Tickets: $15 Adults; $10 Children, Students, Military and Seniors with valid ID. Includes all box office fees. Click here to purchase your tickets online, or call our box office (703)548-1154.

This production is sponsored by Michael Rogers, DDS.

Compleating Cul de Sac book's latest contributions to Team Cul de Sac

Thanks to everyone who bought Compleating Cul de Sac and thus supported Team CdS in fundraising against Parkinson's disease. For the last quarter of 2015, you raised $144.41 which was deposited into Team Fox's account today.

The book is now out of print because we're adding to it and will have an actual publisher. Look for the 2nd edition of the book in Summer 2016 from Lost Art Books. Any profits from the book will continue to go to Team Cul de Sac.

Mike Rhode

Antonin Scalia caricature by Richard Thompson

At some point, Richard drew Justice Scalia. The original was given to Art Wood and is now in the Library of Congress.

Compleating Cul de Sac first edition goes out of print

Compleating Cul de Sac's first edition is now out of print, and it's good news!

We're pleased to announce that we (aka The Thompsons) are just about to sign the contract with Picture This Press for them to publish the grandly-themed Richard Thompson Library. Compleating Cul de Sac version 2.0 is being expanded by editor Rhode and designer Bono Mitchell with more interviews, more Thompson art and more Team Cul de Sac art, even as we type. Any profits from this book will continue to be sent to the Michael J. Fox Foundation to fund Parkinson's research, as we had arranged to do with the first edition.

The draft of The Incompleat Art of Why Things Are with an introduction by Joel Achenbach is in the hands of the publisher who's working with his designer on the book. Scott Stewart is continuing to work on a new collection of caricatures.

In the meantime, all of Richard's Cul de Sac books, and The Art of Richard Thompson are still available from his traditional publisher, Andrews McMeel.

We hope you'll enjoy the new books as they come out over the next several years .

Mike Rhode

Can you name these men?

Philip Mangano, (the Bush administration's "homelessness czar") done for the June 2004 issue of The Atlantic (thanks to Mary Parsons!

As mentioned earlier Scott Stewart is going through Richard's caricatures with the aim of doing a book of them. This involves identifying the subject of hundreds of drawings.  As an experiment in crowd-sourcing, does anyone recognize these two characters?

John Kasich (thanks to blog reader Sam, 

and editorial cartoonist Nate Beeler)

More Richard Thompson in Food News

Here's a list of all the issues that I noticed Richard's work in. While we show the covers, Richard also has interior artwork in them. Hat-tip to Scott Stewart who first found this resource for the issues.

3:3: Summer 1986 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316026

3:4 Holiday 1986 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316027

4:1 Spring 1987 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316028

4:2 Summer 1987 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316029
4:3 Fall 1987 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316030

4:4 Winter 1987 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316031

5:1 Spring 1988 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316032 (internal illos)

5:2 Summer 1988 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316033

5:3 Holidays 1988 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316034

5:4 Winter 1989 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316035

6:1 Spring 1989 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316036

6:2 Summer 1989 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316037

6:3 Holidays 1989 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316038

7:2 Summer 1990 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316041

7:4 Winter 1990 - https://archive.org/details/CAT82764316043 (page 15)

Another illustration from Food News, Spring 1987

Here's another image by Richard from the bygone days of the last century. One can really see his Searle influence here

.

'Food News' Cover of Cows and Chickens

Scott Stewart is working on going through Richard's caricatures with the aim of doing a book on them. He pulled this quote out of an interview Richard did with Mike Rhode and went digging until he found this picture.

RT: Well, if people see you in the Post, they think of you especially if it's local … around Washington there are a lot of associations and every association has a magazine or a newsletter or some print venue (this is in the '80s when everything was print). They have holes to fill too, so… You could support yourself on that, whether you want to or not. The government too – I did something for the publication Food News at the Department of Agriculture drawing some cows and chickens. If you get a chance to draw a cow, you can't turn it down. (Audience laughs).

MR: Wildly-collectible now…

RT: Yeah, exactly.

A Richard's Poor Almanac "Star Wars"

This just in from a curator at the Air & Space Museum who owns the original. Richard did it when there was a Star Wars exhibit in the museum.

Even more Cul de Sac stocking stuffers - playing cards!

Suicidal Clown Playing Cards by Thompsoniana
Look at another Deck of Cards online at zazzle.com

So You Think You're Lucky? Playing Cards by Thompsoniana
Check out Luck Classic Playing Cards online at zazzle

Tragedy and Comedy Playing Cards by Thompsoniana
Shop for another Deck of Cards online at zazzle.com

Cat in a Sombrero Playing Cards by Thompsoniana
View other Playing Card Decks at zazzle.com

Need a last minute holiday card?

Check out Thompsoniana cards on Zazzle. They're 1/2 price through Sunday with the code EXPRESSCARDS

You'll be glad you did. Where else are you going to get a "Cat in a Sombrero Card"?

Happy Beethoven's birthday

Richard Thompson traditionally wishes all his fans a Happy Beethoven birthday. On his behalf, I do so today (a day early as it turns out so you got TWO days of best Beethoven wishes). - Mike Rhode

New holiday Thompsoniana swag available

Richard has always stood for giving his fans what they want* so today we unveil some more Christmas ornaments and other swell gift items. Coincidentally**, they're also on sale, today only, for 50% off with before-Christmas delivery. Use the code: ZGIFTSBYXMAS. - Mike Rhode

Saint Santa ornament by Richard Thompson by Thompsoniana
Shop for Christmas Ornaments online at Zazzle.com

May all your Christmas sweaters be warm & ugly Square Ornament by Thompsoniana
Shop for a new Christmas tree ornament

Cul de Sac: This Exit ornament by Thompsoniana
Design your own ornaments at Zazzle.

Silly Cosmology Ornament by Thompsoniana
Check out other Turtles Ornaments at zazzle.com

Team Cul de Sac Ornament by Thompsoniana
Make your own ornaments at Zazzle

May all your Christmas sweaters be warm & ugly Mug by Thompsoniana
Browse more Cul de sac Mugs at Zazzle

The Dickensian holiday party puzzle by Thompsoniana
View more Charles dickens Puzzles

Cul de Sac and Adjacent Places Puzzle by Thompsoniana
Find other Cul de sac Puzzles at zazzle.com

*Not really. Especially when they're his editors.
**Also untrue.

A Cul de Sac Thanksgiving, 2008

 

originally appeared in the Washington Post Magazine, Nov 27, 2008.

David Bragunier

David Bragunier was principal tuba player for the National Symphony Orchestra  for 43 years. He was also my friend Bono Mitchell's neighbor for 37 years; neighbor, friend, brother-she-never-had. [He passed away in July - here's his obituary in The Post. I believe he commissioned the Mstislav Rostropovich caricature that Richard shows below - MR].
                

A video.

This blog is not abandoned...

... sometimes it just feels that way. I spoke with Richard today, and he would like his readers to know that while he's having trouble physically being able to blog, he still likes to hear from people. (We're also trying to set up a workaround so he can use the blog again.)

Here's a  recent photo of Richard at a showing of The Art of Richard Thompson short film. Director Bob Burnett posted it on Facebook, writing "Alexandria Film Festival (where RT received a standing ovation after the screening) the producer Andy "Hamdinger" Hemmendinger makes an appearance too."

Here's Richard with Pixar director Pete Docter, who hired him to work on Inside Out.
 

And here's an image or two from the upcoming book, The Incompleat Art of Why Things Are." Details to follow when they're finalized.

-- Mike Rhode

An Eisner

Well, two,  but one's enough. I want to thank the judges,, everyone who voted,  especially  for me, and for courage in the face of wicked witches above & beyond I'd like to thank Nick Galifianakis, David Apatoff and Chris Sparks, who had to accept the Eisner on my behalf (photo below) because I'm scared of public speaking and was busy that night.

  

Ham-Fisted Plagiarism or What?

Offered here without comment is this story and this cartoon, which predates it by more than a decade...