BWW Interviews: Del Shores Brings His SORDID BEST To The Copa Palm Springs 11/6-7

Del Shores has established himself as one of America's top playwrights and screenwriters with a string of critical and cult hits including the award winning plays "Daddy's Dyin' (Who's Got The Will)" - a subsequent hit film version starred Beau Bridges and Beverly D'Angelo - "The Trials And Tribulations Of A Trailer Trash Housewife", "Southern Baptist Sissies" and the critically acclaimed "Yellow". He is best known for his play "Sordid Lives" which has spawned over 300 additional stage productions, a feature film, and a successful television series for LOGO which starred Olivia Newton John, Rue McClanahan and Leslie Jordan. The Los Angeles Times has called him "a master of Texas comedy". Shores brings the most recent iteration of his one-man-show, MY SORDID BEST, to The Copa Palm Springs for two performances, tonight and tomorrow night, at 7:30 pm. I had the chance to chat with Mr. Shores about his upcoming Palm Springs show and, well, his Sordid Life in general. Here are a few excerpts from that conversation.

DG: I have read, and heard, such incredible and lovely things about you. You have been described in so many ways - how would you best describe yourself?

DS: Umm... damaged. F**ked up. (he laughs) Fortunate...To make a living doing what I do. You know, I have such an eclectic career and many people don't know how to define me, but I guess if I had to say "what am I?" - I am a storyteller. Basically that's what I do. I tell stories and I do it through writing, through acting, through my stand up and through directing. All the hats I wear - producing, as well - ultimately I am a storyteller.

DG: How did you get started as a playwright?

DS: Well --ahh. -- going way back - my mother was a high school drama teacher, and my dad was the town First Baptist Church minister - he was the preacher in town. So, my mother gave me a huge love for theatre early on. She actually went to college when I started first grade and majored in theatre, and the theatre became my babysitter, you know, after school. I would literally go and do my homework and watch the play rehearsals at Howard Payne University. And, it was at that early age that I started loving theatre. And then she became a teacher - she was the high school drama teacher -- and so every summer the Samuel French plays would arrive and we would just devour them, my Mom and I. And she made me feel that I had a say in what she chose to do that year. And that was the early beginnings. Then when I came out here (Los Angeles) to act I always wrote a lot of scenes for my acting classes to showcase myself as an actor with original material. And everyone responded very well to it. So, I was doing a small role - a recurring role - on the soap opera "Days Of Our Lives". I played a bartender - named Seth - who had amazing lines like "Here's Your Drink" and "You Have A Phone Call" - and I just wanted to have more of a role than what was being offered me here in Hollywood because I was just doing bit parts and under fives - and commercials where I would toast the camera with a Coors beer. And, so I thought "you know what ... just for fun, I'm gonna write a play that my frienda and I can be in". And so I wrote a play called "Cheatin" and borrowed four thousand dollars from my Mom and found a director and a producer that I had seen their play - actually Newall Alexander and Rosemary Alexander that eventually became Wardell and Doctor Eve - and became my first set of inlaws. Umm, they were in that play. That play ran eight months. And while that play was running I had this family incident - I stumbled into a territory that was very comfortable and familiar with me - and my mother's family was the story that I chose to tell, about my grandfather dying and the siblings all coming in - and it was based - well, loosely based --- on my Mom's family. That play sort of redefined my career as a writer - and that was "Daddy's Dyin' (Who's Got The Will) . There was no role for me in that play, so for the first time I was just the writer. I just got really lucky, you know? The L.A. Times proclaimed me "a new voice in theatre", it ran for 22 months and MGM optioned it - it became a movie, and Warner Bros. signed me to s development deal. And, it was a big whirlwind of a year.. And that's how it all started. I just continued to write for television, film and stage for the next many years. I just celebrated -- just a couple of weeks ago - October the 18th, 1984 my first play opened - so I celebrated 30 years of writing.

DG: You are probably best know for Sordid Lives, but you have such a substantial body of work. Which of your plays or screenplays do you feel closet to or do you think best represents you?

DS: Well, I think the one that still touches my heart and is close to my heart more than any of them - and, "Sordid Lives", ofcoarse, will always be a very special child because it was my coming out play - it was the first time I publicly acknowledged I was gay and that play celebrated my coming out in a way that was a gift to myself, basically, because it allowed me to really accept who I was by telling that story and seeing the reaction, in many incarnations of theatre and then the movie and the series - But, it's "Southern Baptist Sissies". That's the one. I mean, If you look at "Southern Baptists Sissies" and you look at the role of Mark - and ironically it's coming out on DVD a week from today - that play really - it shows who I am. I was the preacher's kid and my mother was the high school drama teacher. So, for me to write a theatre piece about the church and about my damage - I use that word a lot - and, how I got to where I am right now by questioning and by continuing to poke holes in religion and -- and, redefining my spirituality through that play. I don't know that I'll ever write another one that is that close to my heart.

DG: Coming form the writer's perspective, can you talk about the importance of casting the right actor to breathe life into your characters?

DS: Well, it's everything. Let's look at Mr. Leslie Jordan and how he has defined roles in my work. And people always say "Oh my god, you gave Leslie Jordan such a break" - or "you gave him such roles" blah blah blah - but I always say "No, Leslie Jordan made the roles that I wrote on paper SO much better". If you cast the right actor, it not only compliments your work, it elevates your work. And, that's what Leslie has done - and so many of the other actors have done. I guess that's why I get comfortable with actors and I repeat and I ask them to come back and work for me, because - when I've not trusted my gut, when I've given a role to an actor that shouldn't have gotten it, that's when my work suffers, as well as theirs.

DG: With all of your many accomplishments, do you count one as a proudest accomplishment, so far?

DS: Umm .. you know, I actually don't. I feel like as each one is launched I just sort of breathe a big sigh of relief every time. You know, with my play "Yellow" I thought, Oh my God, this is such a risk departing so far from the genre - from the tone that I am known for. And I was so lucky that it won me Best World Premiere by the LA Drama critics - that's the second time I've won that award - I'm proud of all of them. I love my play "The Trials and Tribulations Of A Trailer Trash Housewife" because I get these letters from all of these women who literally have left their spouses who were abusing them. You know, I'm just breaking up marriages right and left. But, that need to be broken up. It's those moments that make me want to be a better writer and to tell stories that are important - and then, sometimes, just to make you laugh, you know? So, I celebrate each and every one of them.

DG: What's something people might be surprised to learn about you?

DS: That I have a journalism and Spanish Degree - especially, the Spanish Degree - people would be shocked that I speak fluent Spanish and grew up in south Texas, speaking Spanish --- so, yes, my emphasis was in South American Literature, if you can believe that - maybe that would be shocking. I think sometimes is the gay community they're shocked that I'm not just attracted to younger guys, just simply because I was married to one for so long - so I say. "no, no, no ... I'm good with everybody".

DG: What can audiences expect from this evening with you at The Copa?

DS: Well, again, being a storyteller - first of all, they can expect that it's sort of the "church of Del" and it is a warped, warped, twisted night of humor that embraces all that I am. I mean, literally talking about the church, talking about other characters that I've created and, of course, talking about my mother. (he laughs) Good southern boys always have this connection with their mom. And my mom was - she was Latrelle! Many times, with love, I've said she is a loving, controlling bitch. Or, was. She's passed away now. But she gave me so many stories to tell. And so I will be talking about family. And, you know, I always like to include a few "p.s. f**k you letters" to the haters... (he laughs) ... and, then I'm going to do - I've been doing, since Joan Rivers passed away - Ive pulled out the most politically incorrect two stories that I think I've ever told and do a little homage to Joan Rivers ... so that's some of the stuff you can expect. I'm really looking forward to returning to the desert. They are always such amazing audiences for me - I have so much love for Palm Springs. You know, I always say you made me a star - or I should say you made me a half-ass star - because I'm not a star but I sure feel like one every time I go to Palm Springs.

DG: What advice might you give to aspiring actors or artists or writers who want to pursue a career in professional theatre?

DS: Don't wait for it to happen. Create your own opportunity. If I had waited for someone else to be giving me opportunity I would probably still be doing under five lines on a soap opera or, you know, tiny roles that are not so meaningful. I have literally never thought of doing anything else. I never thought about " I'm going to give myself five years to make this happen". I just said, this is who I am and I'm going to create my own opportunity. And, if you look at my career - I mean I've been given jobs like working on "Queer As Folk" for three years and being one of the Executive Producers of that show at the end - but, in that, the reason I got that job is that the producers saw "Southern Baptist Sissies" which I wrote and produced and directed. So, I always say, make your own opportunity. You have to think outside the box. It's not going to come - there's too many of us - there's some actor who is just as good as Meryl Streep at a tiny little theatre in Paducah, Kentucky, but nobody is seeing them. So, if you want to be seen - you have to make yourself be seen.

DG: Final question. When all is said and done how do you want to be remembered?

DS: Ummm ... well. I'd like to remembered as someone who cared about others - and that my work reflected that. And, that people can say "he made me laugh - hard!!"

An interesting side note: Sordid Lives (the movie) became a cult phenomenon and became the longest running film in the history of Palm Springs with a record ninety-six weeks!! Don't miss Del Shores MY SORDID BEST at The Copa Palm Springs. It's not too late - there are very limited tickets remaining. Visit www.coparoomps.com.