In the director's chair with Katie McFadzen, making her directorial debut at Childsplay with SNOWY DAY

Katie McFadzen

by Monica Sampson

Opening today at Childsplay, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, features the Childsplay directing debut of local actress Katie McFadzen.

PHX Stages sat down with McFadzen, Associate Artist for Childsplay, to get a special look into her newest show, artistic history and learn how that influenced her first time directing.

This colorful show is based on four books by the author (and illustrator): "The Snowy Day," "Whistle for Willie," "Goggles!," and "A Letter for Amy." The play follows young Peter through adventures and experiences in growing up. When asked to describe the plot, McFadzen stated that the main character explores playing outside in the freshly fallen snow which is where the plays namesake comes from. The Snowy Day is all about the hallmarks, joys, and challenges of childhood.

This original colorful world of author Keats inspired the overall artistic look for the show. As Director, McFadzen used Keats' illustrations in the books as inspiration for the look of the show.

The production incorporates three projection screens that are creatively used for shadow puppetry and projections of drawings. These child-like dancing shadow puppet silhouettes come directly from the way Ezra Jack Keats drew his characters.

In regards to the artistic and visual process of the play McFadzen said, “We did a lot of problem solving in the rehearsal hall trying to figure out when and where we should incorporate shadow puppets and how best to tell this story using only three actors who have to play many characters.

For McFadzen, being in the directing chair is a fun and new experience, she says, adding that her first love as an artist is acting, “I love to watch other artists work. I think my approach and style are based on my own acting instincts and from working with so many incredible directors and actors over the years.”

the cast of Snowy Day at Childsplay
photo by Tim Trumble 

Although this is McFadzen's directing debut with Childsplay, she has been with the company since 1993 and has collaborated with Valley actors, directors, designers, and technicians over the years all leading up to this show. That collaboration and passion is what McFadzen says has inspired her work and helped her work grow, as McFadzen has been professionally acting for more than 25 years.

McFadzen is no newcomer to Arizona stages, her acting work has been seen all around the Valley in shows like the recent Mamma Mia! at Phoenix Theatre, The Wedding Band with Black Theatre Troupe; Speech and Debate and The Year of the Rooster with Stray Cat Theatre; and Little Queen with Teatro Bravo.

This creative network is what lead McFadzen to her own directing style. When asked about her thoughts on being in the directing chair for the first time at ChildsPlay, McFadzen says she drew on her artistic roots, “I've directed many youth productions over the years and had the pleasure of directing Ron May in The Trump Card for Stray Cat Theatre in 2016.” McFadzen continued by saying,” When The Snowy Day was chosen to be part of this season, our Artistic Director Dwayne Hartford thought it would be a good fit for me.”

Hartford may have thought this because McFadzen has a lot of experience with puppetry and working on productions for younger audiences (The Snowy Day is geared towards young people ages 3-8)

Over all McFadzen stressed, that for her this whole process was about creative teamwork, collaborating to get the job done, and the end result of seeing smiling audiences watching this new Childsplay production. 

“I'm a collaborative artist. I rely on the people I work with to be contributors to the creative process," said McFadzen,  I enjoy directing but I'm definitely not a director who comes into rehearsal with everything set and all the problems solved.” Why? Well in her own words all creative projects should be looked at one way, as McFadden said while closing her thoughts on the show, “I'm a team player!”

CLICK HERE for more information on The Snowy Day at Childsplay, which runs through March 11th.