Camden fringe Interview: Fools Were Meant to Sing

Jaspar Albright and Danny Galvez talk about the musical and community inspirations behind Fools were meant to Sing

When Fools were Meant to Sing is set within the Latino community against the gritty backdrop of late-80s/early-90s Los Angeles. The action follows the personal relationship between Robbie, (a Latino from LA), and Louis from the rural American Mid-West. Ahead of its Camden Fringe run, Jaspar Albright and Danny Galvez told Red Bus Londinium more about the show and how it came about.

Red Bus: Fools Were Meant to Sing draws on Mexican music from the mid-twentieth century alongside American folk-rock and the grunge movement. That’s a striking combination to weave into a single song cycle. How did those threads come together, and did any of them surprise you by pulling the story in an unexpected direction?
Jaspar Albright: Sharing music is a love language for both Danny and I. It brought us very close together when we met and even closer when we moved in together during school. We were able to connect over music we both enjoy, grunge in particular, but also share music that we hoped the other person would be really interested in. The front step of our house, where we often sit to regroup after days at work or rehearsal, has this great communal energy that’s fueled by music. My songwriting process for the show largely came from choosing within the music shared between us the influences that Robbie and Louis would also latch onto. I’m not sure I’d say if they pulled the story in an unexpected direction, but using those differences was definitely a story tool. Thinking of the song “Stranger,” for example: having been written predominantly by Louis, it draws on the jangle-rock, folk-y Americana feel instrumentally to match the nostalgic “missing home” notions implied by the lyrics at a time in the story when Louis is desperate to get away from the chaos of Los Angeles. It was beneficial to match the musical style of each song to the present state of the character(s) writing them within their fictional timeline.

Red Bus: The show is set within a Latino community in late-eighties/early-nineties Los Angeles, but Wrong Key Productions is a British company. What research or relationships shaped how you approached that world, and how did you make sure the community felt specific rather than a backdrop?
Danny Galvez: As a Mexican-Salvadoran American, telling a story with Latino, more specifically Chicano influence, in a place like London is unique all together. My living in Los Angeles for over 28 years has also given us a tool through lived experience to tell a story of this magnitude. The history of Chicano culture comes from a place of systemic oppression, unity, and power, and each Latino character in this play is a product of what came from this history as well as a reference to my own life.
The story itself is inspired by a real story involving a famous Mexican corridos singer named Chalino Sanchez. There is a famous video of him receiving a death threat on stage during a show in Sinaloa, then putting the note away and continuing to sing. He was found dead the next morning. We drew a lot of inspiration from not only his music, and the incident itself, but also the decision to keep playing even after death felt imminent. The story also draws inspiration from people from my life. The character Felipe is a former Los Angeles Mexican gangster, or cholo, trying to get his life on track and not be pulled into the gang lifestyle. This character was inspired by the life of my older brother, who is still going through that same journey of seeking a better life after his time in the gang lifestyle. The character, Luna, is a representation of how women in the Latino community are obligated to take on maternal roles earlier in their life than the average American woman. Luna is a nurse who also takes on responsibilities in a house with two men (Felipe and Robbie) and has a strong loyalty to her family and her community. We drew inspiration from the life of my younger sister, who is currently going through school to become a doctor. These characters are a representation of my life and also a reminder of the strength and resilience Latinos carry when faced with adversity.

Red Bus: You’ve already professionally recorded one of the songs, Gods, Heroes, Fools & Kings, under the fictional band name Rob & Lou. What was it like to release music that exists in the world of the play before the play itself has been seen? Does it change how you think about the characters?
Jaspar: It definitely gave us an insight as to how Rob & Lou’s professional process would look. I’ve recorded in studio extensively with different bands and projects, and one of the great things about it is it’s never exactly the same process. The musicians and producers you’re working with, the material, and the technical capabilities a studio has all make each project unique in its own right. In this case, it was almost like we were in character throughout the recording process.

Obviously studio technology is very different today versus the late 80s/early 90s- it’s not like we were recording to tape or anything! But the precision with which we worked, the musical choices we made throughout the studio sessions, even my own writing process of the song itself were based on choices Rob & Lou would have made, not what Jaspar and Danny and Kiera Longley (our fabulous producer/engineer) might have done for our own projects.

We don’t spend too much time on stage with Robbie and Louis going through the nitty gritty studio processes, so it definitely gave us more to work with as actors in terms of understanding the intensity their work specifically demands

Red Bus: The press release mentions that the secrets between Robbie and Louis eventually come to light, and the play asks where the line sits between naivety and deserved guilt. Without giving too much away, where did those questions start for you? Is this a story about forgiveness, or something more complicated than that?

Jaspar: I would say it’s a story about what is or isn’t worthy of forgiveness. We have Louis, a well-intentioned young man from the midwest looking to expand his narrow worldview, and Robbie, who is seeking to find his own place within the vastly diverse city he calls home. Having come from (admittedly very different parts of) the states, both Danny and I have had the experience of moving to a world that we grew up unfamiliar with by moving to London. Based on that experience, I think it’s unreasonable to make a move like that and expect your new city and community to change the spirit of itself just because you’re in an adjustment process; just as it’s unfair for that city and community to ask you to abandon the personal practices and qualities of wherever it is you came from that make you a unique individual for some purpose of assimilation. It takes work on both ends.

I think those questions came from exploring what the outsider can and ought to take responsibility for when their unfamiliarity is a factor within a conflict, versus what the resident can and ought to take responsibility for in the same scenarios.

Red Bus: Last year’s Who Else Did Sam Hill Kill? sold out at the Courtyard. What did you learn from that run that you’re carrying into this one — and how does the Bridewell Theatre change what you’re able to do with Fools?

Jaspar: On a surface level, the Bridewell is one of the spaces being used for Camden Fringe this year that could realistically accommodate a live band without blowing out an audience’s eardrums. You’ve got to pick and choose your technical battles!

In all seriousness though, Sam Hill did a really great job of bringing out the spirit of community that exists within fringe theatre- especially in London. The vast majority of folks involved with that piece were alumni of Drama Studio London, but each individual has their own personal and professional networks we rely on to fill the house and form the community around a project.

With Fools, the team is coming from largely different educational and cultural backgrounds, so we’re embracing the hope that the community that will surround the piece in the theatre each night will be reflective of that diversity. It’s absolutely something to lean into, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the piece itself has a lot to do with that sort of principle

Fools Were Meant to Sing plays at Bridewell Theatre on 27, 28 and 29 August at 7:30 pm, tickets £10. Suitable for ages 14 and over.

Note: The show contains a sequence which contains flashing/strobe lights which may disturb some viewers.

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