Author and alum Eileen Boggess has adapted one of her books into a play, which will receive its world premiere performance here at DJT February 18th-26th. Mia the Melodramatic, set at a touring summer children’s theatre, echoes Eileen’s time as part of DJT’s Summer Repertory company and class programs (1981-1985).

What excites you most about returning to Junior Theatre?
Junior Theatre had a tremendous impact on my adolescence so I am excited to have written a play for the current Mainstage actors at Junior Theatre. Pictures of past performances line the theatre and it is surreal to know that pictures from Mia the Melodramatic will be posted for future generations.

How has Junior Theatre helped shape your life today?
Junior Theatre has helped me to become more confident. I signed up for Junior Theatre in 7th grade because a friend had recently joined. I was cast as Queen Snooty and being the lead helped me gain a lot of confidence at a time when I needed it. In 9th grade, I asked [DJT Founder] Mary Fluhrer Nighswander if I could teach and direct the younger students’ classes and plays and unbelievably, she agreed. From there, I joined the stage crew. Since my time at Junior Theatre, I have continued taking on careers and challenges I wasn’t necessarily trained for, but have succeeded in none-the less.

What is one of your favorite Junior Theatre memories?
My favorite memories are the summers I spent working on the stage crew. What could be crazier than sending a bunch of teenagers out to different parks to put on children’s plays? Each morning, we would load up the props, costumes, set, and the Show Wagon and travel to a local park. One member of the stage crew would be Showtime Pal while the rest of the crew did sound, set, and helped the kids get on and off stage at the right time. When the plays were finished, we would load up again and go to a different park. Some days were so hot that Showtime Pal’s make-up would melt. In the afternoons, the stage crew would make costumes, props, paint, and hang out. I had so much fun hanging out with Peggy, Mike, John, Rob, Kris, Joanie, and Mary. (I know I am forgetting more people.) That was the perfect summer job!

Why did you decide to write the book Mia the Melodramatic?
I left Junior Theatre in 1985. When I heard that [former Artistic Director] Bonnie Guenther was retiring in 2005, I knew it was time to return to congratulate her. So, I took my family to the Annie Wittenmyer complex for her retirement party and as soon as I walked into one of the cottages, the smell brought me back to when I was sixteen years old. I had just completed writing Mia the Meek and knew right then and there that I needed to have Mia begin working at a children’s theater for my next book. I began writing Mia the Melodramatic soon afterward.

What do you love most about writing?
I love spending time with my characters. When I was a full-time writer, my husband would come home at the end of the day and I would say, “Guess what Mia did today.” He would have to remind me that my characters were not real people. But to me, they are very real and I loved finding out what they were going to do next. That makes me sound crazy, doesn’t it?

How do you hope Mia the Melodramatic will impact young people?
I hope to make them laugh. If I can make an audience of children laugh for an hour, I have done my job.