The Internal Organ Hall of Fame

The big news is that the play is done, and should begin mailing on Monday, October 16. That's two weeks late, and I'm sorry.

But I think you'll be really pleased with the show. It hits the science standards pretty hard and at the same time it's quite funny.

John and I spent hours arguing fine points such as whether the Internal Organ Hall of Fame is located in Cooperstown, NY (near the baseball hall of fame) or whether it's in some other location. Hours were spent debating whether the play would be at the annual induction ceremony or merely a tour of the exhibits. And what body parts counted? Was it internal organs only, or systems, such as the digestive system, the cardiovascular system and so forth?

Most grown men don't debate these questions.

Do internal organs actually sing and dance? (This is kind of like asking how many angels can sit on the edge of a pin, but our answers will be reflected in the play we write. Very, very weird.)

We long ago concluded that we have one the strangest jobs in the country. What we do is take information that students are SUPPOSED to learn and find some way of making it stick in their brains. Catchy music, rhymes, and humor usually do the trick.

John and I went to high school together, and when we were seniors, we had a little booth at a school arts fair. We would write a song about any topic within five minutes. I can't remember the price---probably a couple of dollars. John had a manual typewriter and I brought my guitar and we bashed out a bunch of songs that day for students, teachers and parents.

It's just very hard to believe that we're still doing that, and the goofy stuff we write has been done in at least 40 countries.

We've flown completely under the education establishment radar. We've never been mentioned in any teaching magazine, no state department of education has ever talked to us, no education foundation has ever heard of us. And yet we estimate there have been 80,00 productions of Bad Wolf Plays over the last eleven years.

It's been an interesting ride. What's next? Well, the play Pirates of Grammar Island is due about December 1st, and I guess we better get busy and start writing. But first John and I will have to discuss how this play will work. You should be able to imagine the arguments. However strange you think they'll be, they'll actually be even weirder.

Another day in BadWolfLand.