Review Fix Exclusive: Max Perry Talks ‘Treehouse of Dreams’

Review Fix chats with “Treehouse of Dreams” playwright Max Berry, who discusses the production and what inspired it.

About “Treehouse of Dreams”:

Reliving old memories and defining moments in a Treehouse of Dreams. Max Berry’s parable of friendship and confronting powerful feelings premieres as part of NYWinterFest (Hudson Guild Theater, 441 W 26th St, New York City on January 7 @ 6:15pm; January 11 @ 9pm; January 13 @ 3:30pm). Taking his career in his hands, emerging playwright, Max Berry walks both sides of the street. One moment he’s a reviewer for OnStageBlog roaming NYC for some great works, the next, he’s writing great works of his own. His current play, Treehouse of Dreams is the story of three best friends, Winnie, Scout, and Mark as they navigate grief, loss, and drastic change at the cusp of young adulthood.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?

Berry: The inspiration for “Treehouse of Dreams” came from multiple places. Before I left for college, I was given some advice that really stuck with me: “Never discount where you came from.” It was this advice that made me want to set a play (and perhaps multiple) in a small Ohio town much like where I grew up. Though, this is very much secondary to the situations and themes of friendship, love, loss, guilt, and new beginnings, in “Treehouse”, it was one of the first things I thought of when considering my next project. 

The characters of Scout and Winsten came out of a sort of mismatch of characters that I saw being performed in my freshman year acting class. Though, I can’t recall the specific plays the scenes were from, I remember one scene in particular dealt with a character, after having slept with the other character, and building that up far beyond what that other character intended. This dynamic, coupled with the setting of the small town and the metaphor of the treehouse, became the first concept of what would later become “Treehouse of Dreams.”

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Berry: Honestly, still figuring that out. I’ve noticed I can’t write in the late evening or early morning, so whenever I have a free afternoon, I try to get as much of what’s in my head on paper. I tend to just write whatever scene I feel is the strongest in my head regardless of order. With “Treehouse”, this lead to some fun discoveries regarding time and how/when we can travel forward and backward in time. 

I am definitely becoming a “get it all written and worry about how it sounds later” kind of person. 

Review Fix: What makes this different or special from the original?

Berry: The initial concept for “Treehouse of Dreams” was a very different story. Initially, Mark (the boyfriend of Scout and best friend of Winsten), wasn’t even in the play. At first I wanted the play to simply be about Winsten coming home from college after having slept with their long-time crush, Scout, full of expectations of a future relationship, only to be told by Scout that to her, it had simply been a one time thing. The story was going to deal with the ideas of expectation vs. reality in relationships.

It wasn’t until I went looking for an excuse to bring Winsten back home from college, did Mark enter the picture. See, I didn’t want them to be coming home for any sort of holiday, as the celebrations would muddle the story. So I came up with the idea to have Winsten return home after the passing of one of their friends. This idea spiraled into what eventually became the current “Treehouse of Dreams”. It is, in my opinion, a much more interesting story.

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

Berry: One of the biggest things that I continue to learn is to let my young age be an asset rather than a hindrance. Being nineteen and still in college, many of the people that I am working with and interacting with are older and more experienced in the professional world than I am. At first, I felt pressured to make myself appear older and more experienced than I was but this often led to me being inauthentic. 

I’ve learned and continue to learn, that I am who I am. I have to remind myself that my youth is an asset because it allows me to have a point of view that other people, who are older, might not have. “Treehouse” is, itself, about young people experiencing change and loss and love, and I think, being the age that I am, I am able to communicate those feeling in a way that others might not be able to.

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

Berry: I hope “Treehouse” will continue in some capacity. Where, I’m not sure yet, though I know once this run ends I will be returning to my computer with a stack of notes, editing little things here and there that were opened up to me through this process, and be eagerly looking for the next chapter in this play’s life.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Berry: Again, nothing specific planned at the moment. Though, I am continuing to play with various flawed relationships and have several scripts in the works that explore these ideas in ways similar and different than “Treehouse.”

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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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