A musical about the US/Mexico border fence

Inspiration

The inspiration for the musical came, first and foremost, from listening to my two brothers’, John and Bob’s, original music written over the past fifty years. Being their number one fan (self-described) I’ve spent many hours listening to their rough tracks and/or performing live. A number of their songs would strike me as “this would make a good song for a musical.”

Then, in 2007, between a trip to Honduras in which I learned of a man who recently left his family in pursuit of a better life in America, and getting access to all my brothers’ songs, it didn’t take long for the storyline to develop. With songs like: Coming of Age, Fear No More, Wind, Underground Tears, and especially Fence and Aliens (neither of which have to do with border fences or undocumented residents) I quickly drafted a summary and pitched the idea to my brothers. Their lackluster response, basically humoring me with a ‘whatever’ attitude, prompted me to shelf the idea for a future time!

Five years later, after finishing the first draft of my second novel, I thought I’d take a break and finally write the musical. I estimated that since I had the basic storyline and all the songs, it would be a snap to write. Wow… was I off… way off! Had I known just how difficult it would be, and how long it would take, I probably wouldn’t have taken it on.

Research

I began researching:

• History of Border Patrol
• Border walls throughout history
• Undocumented residents
• Sanctuary Movement in the 80s
• The many non-profits and individuals who provide aid and support
• Ranchers
• Border towns
• Reasons for crossing: poverty, political asylum, etc.
• Risks of crossing: exposure, rape, death, etc.
• and more!

The research became all-consuming as I tried to do justice to all sides. Many times I became so overwhelmed that I would have to pull back and return to the original inspiration: the music. It was the songs themselves that moved me to tell the story of the walls we place between us and the devastating consequences that such drastic measures can invoke.

Writing and Revisions

My first draft had way too many characters and was 3.5 hours long! Ouch! Since then, I’ve gone through about 6-7 major revisions.

Two of these had readings at the Old Pueblo Playwright group here in Tucson. The first was in November 2015. Clocking in at about 2.5 hours, their feedback was very useful but also funny: One individual had called out a particular song, “I loved it,” while someone else said, “Really? I didn’t like it at all!” Also, at the recommendation of a retired former Hollywood set designer, in addition to the original full-production set with dance numbers, he suggested having a more stationary set with the band onstage. In May of 2016, with the caveat that there were still issues to resolve, my second reading with the playwright group was with this format in mind. I was pleased the consensus was it could be performed successfully both ways.

The musical has been on hold now since July 2016 for several reasons: 1) My editor finished with the revised edition of Defining Gray, and later with Ashes in Bloom, so I’ve been busy with edits and production on these books. 2) My brothers priority is to finish their CD before aiding in the final revision.

No More Walls/No More Deaths

My hope is that this fictional fence will be the only one built between the US and Mexico, this year, and in the years to come.