Woman turns time in 'Clink' into a two-act play
It began as a covert collaboration.
Playwrights Tom Cooper and his daughter, Kristi Cooper Herby, worked "in secret" for more than a year on their composition. That's because the play, a two-act musical titled "The Clink," is based on an actual experience, of which Kristi, a 48-year-old mother of two, is not particularly proud.
About 25 years ago, Kristi was arrested for driving under the influence and spent two days and two nights in the Kootenai County jail. The stint behind bars was humiliating and humbling, but also served as an inspiration to the former student of theater.
"It was brewing in the back of my head; wouldn't it be a great play? All the things that happened to me while I was in there... and to make people aware that drinking and driving is dangerous," she said.
So she called her father two years ago and suggested they work as a team. Tom took the bait and "The Clink" was underway.
But first Kristi had a hurdle to cross. She had to share her unsavory secret with her 14-year-old twins before she could share it with the world.
"I came out of the DUI closet," she said.
Her children reacted differently to the news that their otherwise respectable mother spent time in jail and was in the process of writing a play about it.
Her daughter, Katie, was "shocked," Kristi said, while her son, Cooper, was totally unfazed and didn't even look up from his dinner.
Katie and Cooper may now be aware of the impetus for their mother's play, but they probably won't be in the audience when it's performed on May 31 at the Meadowbrook Community Hall.
"The Clink" is an adults-only production. The dialogue is rough, which is to be expected from a play centered around the lives of four inmates. And the issues it deals with are sensitive to some - mental instability, lesbianism, drug addiction, violent crime and infertility.
"We believe this show will be controversial, at least in this community," said Tom.
Nonetheless, a public reading of the first act last fall in Coeur d'Alene was encouraging.
"It went really well," said Kristi. "It's partially a comedy, taking the darker things in your life and laughing at them and at yourself. We had a lot of laughs when we did that first reading... and a lot of tears. That's exactly what I was hoping for."
On one hand, the play is easily produced, as most of it takes place in a jail cell. On the other hand, it includes 17 diverse songs and multiple-role-playing by a cast of five.
For 71-year-old Tom, "The Clink" is a bit of a departure from his earlier years as a composer.
He and former North Idaho College instructor Tim Rarick produced a series of popular musicals in the 1980s. "1706 Front," "Noah," "Mae" and "The Go-Devil Boys" drew big audiences in North Idaho due to their historic themes, moving dialogue and compelling musical compositions. The team later won recognition in Seattle with "Riversong," an operatic tribute to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Their creative roles were pretty well defined during the Cooper/Rarick run. Keyboardist Cooper wrote and helped perform the music while Rarick wrote the script and lyrics.
Not so with "The Clink." While the concept for the play is strictly Kristi's, she and her father have worked very much in tandem both with the musical score and the storyline.
"We communicated daily at times on the phone, discussing nuances or ideas or trying out a reinterpretation of a melody or rhythm or whatever," said Tom.
And they agree about the purpose of the play beyond its entertainment value.
Since the surge of social media, Americans have increasingly lost a sense of community and meaningful interaction, Tom said. But in the confines of a jail cell, genuine exchanges about life's successes, failures and struggles are unavoidable.
"You can have four people in a small cell and they can bond and they can realize they are all human even though they don't have a lot in common," Kristi said. "Ultimately, they are all striving for the same thing: to be loved and respected and cared for. Hopefully, (the play) will make people reflect on that."
Father and daughter are also mutually happy with how they have worked as a team and with the results of their project. There was give and take, said Tom, but also congruity.
"Kristi's got a willingness right away to entertain something and go with it," Tom said. "And if she doesn't like something, she tells me, and I'm fine with that and we move on. And I do the same with her."
Their personalities clash, but in a complementary way.
"Kristi is even and steady," said Tom. "I'm emotional and flighty - the sky is falling."
"I calm him down sometimes," Kristi agreed.
Kristi shares her father's quick wit, sense of humor, engaging smile and his love for theater, which she believes is inherent in her family.
"I respect his ability, and how long he's been doing this and his talent," Kristi said. "And we respect one another's ideas. It just seems to work out when we're working together. It really has been a lot of fun."
Kristi said she's not only convinced that there will be another Cooper/Herby collaboration, but she has a couple ideas in mind. Ideas that won't require any secrecy.
But that's another story.
• If you go:
What: The musical, "The Clink"
When: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 31, and by popular demand, another show has been added, 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 30.
Where: Meadowbrook Community Hall, Cougar Gulch Road, Coeur d'Alene
How: Seats may be reserved in advance by contacting Tom Cooper at 208-667-3933 or email [email protected] ($15, adults only)
When: 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, June 13-14
Where: Spokane Stage Left, 108 W. Third Ave., Spokane, WA
How: Seats may be reserved in advance by contacting Tom Cooper at 208-667-3933 or email [email protected] ($15, adults only)