A local native’s ‘Maiden’ voyage: Happily ever after

Once upon a time there was a girl named Nina. She had a story to tell.

But, oh, what a creative tale playright Nina Morrison unfolded in her “Forest Maiden.”

“The play is about a Maiden who has been living in the forest for the past year with her elf girlfriend,” Morrison said. “The Maiden has to return to the Kingdom to explain to her mother where she has been.”

But on her way home, she is captured by a Knight.

“The Maiden and the Knight are then joined by the Host of a Reality Show,” Morrison explained.“The Host was hired by the King to assess all the maidens of the kingdom for marriage to the Prince.

“The three of them don’t get along well at first, and they have a huge physical fight, which causes them to temporarily drop into the underworld.

“In the underworld they become friends and help each other to escape.”

Morrison, who grew up in Albemarle County, said it took her a year to pen her creative tale.

“I wrote it while in residence with Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, in their Workspace residency program.”

She neglected to mention that nearly 1,000 apply each year for a residency in one of the coveted Wall Street studios. Morrison was one of 20 selected for the nine-month program.

Her work, “Forest Maiden,” didn’t take long to gain notice. She was invited to join the New York International Fringe Festival, where her play was featured Aug. 14 to 22 at the Here Arts Center on Sixth Avenue.

“I got into the festival by submitting an application, a copy of the script and references,” Morrison said. “The N.Y. Fringe Festival is known for being a whirlwind experience, and occasionally it was overwhelming, but mostly it was fun and wild and exhilarating to know that we could pull together a show so quickly.”

It’s sort of like the stage version of the Virginia Film Festival’s Adrenaline project, except that Morrison already had a tale to tell.

“The staff of the festival is incredibly supportive and helpful and very excited about new theater,” she said.

Critics were pretty excited by the work from the new playwright and director.

“This play is absolutely hilarious,” wrote a reviewer from nytheatre.com. “I had such a good time. Morrison’s staging is clear, fast-paced, and many times just as funny as her script.”

But where did this budding talent take root?

Was in back in Charlottesville? At middle school at St. Anne’s? During high school at Western Albemarle? In college at Mary Washington?

“I was in one play at Western, but my interest in the arts in general was mostly inspired by Janet Moore-Coll, the photography teacher at Western.” Morrison said. “It was in her class that I became interested in visual storytelling.

“I remember I created a lot of photo series in her class, and learning to think that way still influences the way I work now with actors and designers.

“When I create theater I always start with images and stage pictures first.”

One of her designers for “The Maiden” was an old friend from back home. Jimmy Helvin served as the costume designer for the production.

“Jimmy Helvin and I have been friends ever since Western and stayed friends through college and afterwards, and so we actually didn’t have to reconnect.”

It was an automatic partnership.

“I didn’t tell him what I wanted with the costumes, and neither did the art director.

“He is such a great designer and we wanted him to have as much freedom as possible with his design.

“We just gave him the script, and then he presented his ideas. We both gave a little bit of direction as far as color and practical needs, like, ‘This costume needs to make it through a big fight scene.’

“Beyond that, he came up with the designs himself.”

She said she felt “incredibly lucky” to be able to work with him as a designer.

“He has been working on very high-end projects, and he was a finalist to be a contestant on the most recent season of ‘Project Runway,’ so if we weren’t friends I’m sure I wouldn’t have had access to someone as talented as Jimmy.”

Their collaboration was a success.

“I was so thrilled about the reception of ‘Forest Maiden,’ ” Morrison said. “The festival was wonderful, and I am so, so grateful to them for the opportunity to present my work.

“I would love to do it again.”

In the meantime, Morrison said, she would love to stage her play elsewhere.

“I’m looking into how and where ‘Forest Maiden’ could be put up again in New York, and I’m working on a new play about two female surrealist artists in Paris in the late 1920s.”

But that’s not all.

“I’m also working on a new screenplay about three 12-year-old girls who go on an adventure and discover a huge hidden treasure trove in their hometown.”

Much like we did in Janet Moore-Coll’s photography class.

Only time will tell if they all live happily ever after.

The Reality Show Host sure hopes so.

on the web

http://www.ninamorrison.com/ forestmaiden