Review Fix Exclusive Planet Connections Theatre Festivity Coverage: Kristen Lowman Talks ‘The Island of No Time (A Timeless Tale)’

Review Fix chats with The Island of No Time (A Timeless Tale) director Kristen Lowman, who discusses what’s like to be a part of the 10th anniversary season of Planet Connections Theatre Festivity at the Theaters at the Clemente.

About the Production:

Mother Time has stormed off leaving Father Time to his technology.
Time has stopped on the Island.
Hour, Minute & Second are unemployed.

With time to control them, Deliadeath and Adamort – two Macbeth-style witches – can now wreak havoc for all eternity. But just in case, they are now trying to inhabit the souls of two shipwrecked children in case Mom & pop Time patch things up.
With help from Badass, Natterjack, Nutty Tree, and the Queen of Stink, the race is on.

Will the children be saved, along with mankind and the planet? 
Will Father Time and Mother Time be reunited?

Only Time will tell.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?

Kristen Lowman: I had a two-week job in Maui, teaching kids acting.  The final presentation was looming – and I just couldn’t do ‘The Three Little Pigs’ – so I wrote one scene with two witches, in verse.  Put it away, forgot about it. And some time later I came across it…and I just let it tell me, take me.  The characters came to me – it seemed I did not create them.  I wrote for the sheer fun of it.  And, of course, it was a mess, and over time I shaped it, put it away, took it out again, put it away, took it out again…and here it is – to be worked on again.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Lowman: My creative process is much like my acting process.  Start with the truth, the feeling of something true in the belly.  And go from there, not looking too hard on the insistent straight-ahead but, if this makes sense, looking/listening to the peripheral voices, images; they often lead you to what’s right for the story and not necessarily what you initially thought was ‘right.’  Often, too, you’ll spend a lot of time writing, working and stewing, only to discard it, and then (begrudgingly) thanking those papers in the trash can for taking you to the right creative entry, to what was really needed, sought, but could not have been found without that initial work and  investment of time.  After all that – shape, trim, have an aerial eye.

Review Fix: What makes this different or special?

Lowman: Different or special from…what?  I do know this is different from anything I have written before and I suspect it will stand alone in my work.  It is unto itself, with its imperfections.  It is special only in that it delighted me, surprised me – and reassured me that my imagination was ‘the well’ to be drawn from.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?

Lowman: Hm, I was surprised at my passion for the planet, life; surprised at my anger about what is being done to the planet, to the living.  Yes, most of us have those feelings, voice them, but when writing, I was surprised at my ferocity, and, yes, there is humor –  have to have humor in life;we all do or we wouldn’t survive.  I learned to trust my imagination.

Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?

Lowman: Like all playwrights, I’d like to see a production, with a big budget; would be moved to see people enjoying it, taking something memorable away.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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