Out of the Woods
A group of students enrolled in a technology-free wilderness camp find themselves lost in the middle of the woods. As darkness falls, a mysterious counselor that wasn’t introduced at orientation finds the students and sets up camp with them (“Backwoods Ranger”). Around the campfire, the students and counselor share ghost stories and tales of the mysterious creatures of the forest (“Sasquatch’s Lament” and “Chupacabra”). But not all creatures are big and scary. Gnomes also appear and sing that they are guardians of the woods. Will they ever get out of the woods? (“I Miss My Home”). When the real counselors finally locate the kids and everyone leaves, the creatures can celebrate (“Party in the Forest”).
See "Lost in the Woods" for the one-act play.
Productions
Behind The Scenes
With Stephen Murray
What inspired you to write this musical?
I grew up in a very wooded part of Northern Vermont. As a joke, my father put a plywood silhouette of a Sasquatch in our backyard. People were startled and amused by this decoration. I wondered what would happen if a group of hikers encountered an actual Sasquatch. From there I got the idea for this show.
What's your favorite part or line in the musical? Why?
My favorite part is Ranger Randy’s song, “I Miss My Home.” In my personal experience, I grew up in a rural area and moved to a city. Ranger Randy’s experience is the opposite. Randy grew up in the city and now lives in the woods. I enjoyed creating a memory for that character.
Where did the characters come from? Are they based on people you know?
There is a character in this show obsessed with chopping down a tree. This comes from an actual experience I had in summer camp as a child. One of my cabin mates begged for the opportunity to chop down a tree. The camp counselor gave him a hatchet and pointed to a large tree. We forgot all about him until ghost story time around the campfire. At the most frightening moment of the story, the tree falls and a laughing, hatchet-wielding figure comes bounding out of the woods. I loved translating this memory into a character for the show.
What did you try to achieve with this musical?
My goal with this show was to combine relatable characters with fantasy characters in a way that is fun for the performers and for the audience. Who doesn’t love a singing Sasquatch?
Do you have anything else you'd like to add?
I think directors will find this an easy show to produce. There is a simple, single unit set, flexible casting options, and a lot of fun music.