Dear Cate, Aysha, Stephanie, ELIZABETH, Shaun and Caitlin,
I hope you don't mind my writing one letter back to you all, but old Prospector Parker gets tired easily at the computer. I mean after all I am (500 divided by 50 + (4 times 5) + (25 - 21) + the square of 5) years old......So how old am I?
Those of you who guessed Simple Simon are correct. This was a real challenge to write a whole musical because the poem is so short. Most of my shows are based on short stories and so I have to leave things out. Caitlin Rimkis mentioned the "Fisherman and His Wife" as a favorite and that was a much longer story than Simple Simon, so I didn't have to imagine too much. I just took the story, make up more dialouge (talking) and added some fun songs.
When I read Simple Simon a thought came to me. When Simon can't buy the pieman's "wares" becuase he didn't have a penny, I thought suppose he is so "simple" that what he actually has is a bag of gold and doesn't understand that he can buy things with that--even though he doesn't have a penny.
But any good story has to have some kind of conflict--not necessarily fighting--but a struggle somehow. So I added one more new idea to the story. Use you imaginations. You now know that Simon isn't very smart, and that he has a whole bag of gold. What do you think the struggle in the play will be..Use your imaginations and see what ideas you can think of...... Write back soon with your thoughts..
Your Friend,
Prospector Parker
Patricia A. Weeg