Girl Gumshoe & Detective Dad: Meet Troy Davenport
Anyone who's met my father-in-law will instantly recognize Troy Davenport (G. Zachariah White). Jerry's a bit more pragmatic than Troy, but the general sense of a fun-loving goofy guy who doesn't always realize when he's pushed the joke too far will definitely be familiar.
I originally conceptualized the character as a love letter of sorts to my father-in-law. My relationship with my mother-in-law is strained at best, and Jerry's been a rock these past 11 years, subtly inserting himself into fraught situations, using humor to defuse tense situations and soothe ruffled feathers. He's great. But because a play needs conflict, I started to think about the downside of being a guy like Jerry. Being myself a person who uses humor as a front line of defense, finding the downside was all too easy: taking the joke too far; not noticing when a situation is too serious for a joke; having your humor come across as mean-spirited; no one taking you seriously, even when you're not trying to be funny.
Moving day puts Troy in a tight spot. He wants so much for his little girl to be happy. But in this instance, the conditions that lead to her happiness conflict directly with the conditions that lead to his own. That tension leads him to make several highly questionable decision-bad for interpersonal relationships, great for theater!
I originally conceptualized the character as a love letter of sorts to my father-in-law. My relationship with my mother-in-law is strained at best, and Jerry's been a rock these past 11 years, subtly inserting himself into fraught situations, using humor to defuse tense situations and soothe ruffled feathers. He's great. But because a play needs conflict, I started to think about the downside of being a guy like Jerry. Being myself a person who uses humor as a front line of defense, finding the downside was all too easy: taking the joke too far; not noticing when a situation is too serious for a joke; having your humor come across as mean-spirited; no one taking you seriously, even when you're not trying to be funny.
Moving day puts Troy in a tight spot. He wants so much for his little girl to be happy. But in this instance, the conditions that lead to her happiness conflict directly with the conditions that lead to his own. That tension leads him to make several highly questionable decision-bad for interpersonal relationships, great for theater!