Jacob Craigo-Snell is from Louisville, KY. Previous work premiered during the Young Playwrights Festival at Commonwealth Theatre Center. His plays, Where’s My Smoothie? (2019) and Trials and Tribulations (2020), premiered at Wrights of Spring Festival. He is currently working on a Playwriting major and a minor in Screenwriting. His next play will be in the Wrights of Spring Festival in May of this year.
Milkshake Beach closes May 30th at 2:00 pm CST. Tickets are free and available here.
Jacob's note to readers: Support queer stories! Challenge the notion that queer people’s stories are all about suffering. Love and live. Uplift Latinx stories that aren’t just by Lin-Manuel Miranda, there are more of us out there!
What is this play about?
Milkshake Beach is about a group of teenagers struggling to keep their secrets and wits in the crux of the 2008 presidential election.
Where did this play come from?
This play stems from a few different places. It was a response to the lack of representation of people of color in queer media. Similarly, the lack of uplifting gay narratives that aren’t coming out stories. Most gay stories are about coming out, AIDS, dying, or skinny white boys. This play also stems from the question- is it worse to lie or to be yourself? The answer is that it is worse to lie. I hope people see that. Everyone in this play gets hurt because society asked these two boys to lie about who they are. However, when writing this, I was very clear that this would not be a coming-out story. The most uplifting part of the gay stories that are told is always the end where the protagonist comes out. Coming out is usually the beginning and it’s not all sunshine and rainbows after that. We see Julio (portrayed by Colin Huerta) struggle to accept himself. He doesn’t have a coming-out moment. What was more important in this story was for him to feel like he can love Pablo (portrayed by Daniel Suarez). Pablo cares about his friend and doesn’t want him to get hurt. When writing this play, I thought about all the kids growing up who don’t think they can love whoever they want. I thought of the children of color who don’t see themselves celebrated. I wrote this for them.
Where is this play going? What impact do you hope it leaves on its audience?
I hope the audience falls in love with love. I hope they find some joy, have a laugh or two, and really celebrate life.
How does this play fit into your mission/ethos/aesthetic as a playwright? How did it challenge what you thought you knew about yourself as an artist?
As an audience member, I was beginning to feel suffocated by sad stories. I was hungry for more uplifting narratives; more love, romance, and comedy. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and I still saw theatres trying to produce these sad stories. That is when I began to realize I want to tell stories about joy and love. Life is too short to be filled with the fear and upset of death. Yet, this is what we see most often in theatre. I wish to change that for the person who yearns for life. Death is a fact, life is a choice.
Were there any moments or scenes you loved but had to cut? Tell us about them!
I had to cut a whole character! Her name was Kylie. She was another cheerleader who threatened to take Brittany’s (portrayed by Savannah Youngblood and Caylah Johnson) place on the squad. Ultimately she didn’t fit in this narrative arc because she wasn’t adding much to the story. However, she did help me find out more about Brittany as I continued writing.
If your play was distilled down into a scent, what would it smell like?
A calm ocean breeze.
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