Fellows Spotlight: David Gomez
Welcome to the DGF Fellows Spotlight.
This series of interviews put the spotlight on individual DGF Fellows and invites you to take a behind-the-scenes look at our program.The 2020-2021 class of fellows was asked a series of questions exploring where they’ve been, what they’re up to now, and what they hope for the future.
We thank you for following this series and supporting the work of these talented writers. We continue the 2020-2021 Spotlight series with the following interview with DGF Fellow, David Gomez.
What was your first experience with theater?
My first experience with theatre was being taken to a production of The Nutcracker when I was a toddler. Apparently, I decided to join the dancing snowflakes and hopped out of my seat and began twirling and leaping through the aisles of the theatre. I’m sure my mother was horrified, but I remember the feeling of just wanting to jump in and join this fantastical world that had come to life in front of me. Now as a storyteller, I try to create enticing, thrilling, or whimsical worlds that come to life through music. I always hope audiences want to jump right in and join the magic.
When did you decide to become a writer? Is there a writer, show, or piece of writing that was particularly influential on your path?
I was always writing songs and lyrics to entertain people or make my friends laugh. It’s just something that always felt natural to me. In school, I would always ask teachers for opportunities to create a script or a musical adaptation of what we were studying instead of having to write an essay. I have always loved collaborating with my friends and finding ways to get their talents to shine. Getting to work and create with my dear friend John-Michael Lyles during the Fellows programs has been an ideal process involving collaboration at the center of what we make. As a queer kid, growing up I was always really attracted to songs by Cole Porter, Lorenz Hart, and Noel Coward. There was something about the sadness and the unrequited love mixed with wit, cynicism, and sophistication that I was just drawn to. I think there was this sensibility that I could really identify with. I’ve always felt that musicals have this unique ability to transform messy feelings of anger, grief, or chaos into a more manageable 32 bars. Those songs from the 1930’s have been very influential to me and I still sing and consider about their context and history all the time.
How do you describe your work overall? What sets your work apart?
I consider my artistic practice to be that of a corrido storyteller. Corridos are old Mexican folk songs which celebrate heroes, remember forbidden lovers, and demand revolutions. It’s nearly impossible to know how far they’ve traveled or who added which verses. As a Chicane theatre maker, I am eager to add my own verses and my own personal history into this tradition. Whether I reference reggaeton rhythms, plancha-musica, or rancheros I am always communing with the music that played in my family’s car as I sang along in the back seat.
I want to use my career as a writer to prove that musical theatre can be as accessible as a public mural. I want my songs to have a life that also happens outside of the theatre on party playlists, in karaoke bars, or at funeral gatherings. Someone recently asked me: Does the term “Showtune” seem like a pejorative way of describing theatre music? I don’t feel that way. In my experience, songs from the musical theatre cannon become our own private language that we use to celebrate the queer community’s history and spirit of endurance.
Can you tell us a little bit about the work you’ve been developing as a Fellow?
As a Fellow, I’m working with my collaborator John-Michael Lyles on a show called Shoot for the Moon. Shoot for the Moon takes place in Harlem, 100 years ago. It explores a forbidden gay love affair between Mercy Wheatley, a Black prizefighter, and Federico Garcia Lorca, a celebrated Spanish poet who is studying abroad. While they’re falling in love amidst the Harlem Renaissance, they’re forced to overcome cultural barriers, the cut throat boxing world, and Mercy’s impending wedding. It’s a sexy, sweaty, surreal musical that leaves you wondering: how hard would you fight for love? We started writing it in 2017 and have used the feedback we’ve received from the Fellows program to inform and create a 3rd draft of our show. The Fellows program was such a rare and wonderful opportunity to get to meet other playwrights and musical storytellers. In a difficult year for all of us, this experience has been a beacon of hope and inspiration.
What do you find most rewarding about your work as a writer?
The most rewarding part of being a musical theatre writer is the moment when you get to give a song to an actor for the first time. That shared moment of discovery and collaboration has always been my favorite step in the process. I relish the chance to have a performer be associated with a song I’ve written.
Do you have any upcoming work you’d like to share?
I do! I’m participating in the Latino Arts Festival of Kansas City, KS and returning to perform in person for the first time in two years, on Friday, September 24th. You can find more information on my social media as the date grows closer. I’m thrilled to be sharing work from my newest musical: Adelita.
Thank you, David, for contributing to the blog! Follow David’s work @gomez_zdavid on Instagram and @gomez_david on Twitter.