Partners in Rhyme

BY LANCE SCHWARTZ ’86 • CHIEF COMMUNICATION OFFICER

Bethany Professor of Theatre Peter Bloedel and his son Hans (’19) found themselves in a familiar spot this fall. The two, for the second time, adapted a wellknown work for the stage by putting a special Bloedel touch to the script of the classic The Adventures of Pinocchio. The adaptation premiered on the Sigurd Lee Theater stage in November 2022.

The father/son duo first adapted Washington Irving’s classic, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, four years ago, and the two most likely not by coincidence, proved to be very compatible partners. Their writing style could be described as fun, sometimes whimsical, and often dependent on rhyming which adds a unique humor to the dialogue that generally connects with audiences of all ages.

“In 2018, my father and I had the opportunity to adapt The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, for the stage. In this process, he and I became well acquainted with each other’s artistic voices, and quickly found ourselves to be easy collaborators. Between cracking jokes, rhyming, speaking in caricatured voices, and making each other laugh for minutes on end, somehow, we were able to put out a script. As men who aren’t particularly outdoorsy, we began to refer to these sessions as our “Father/Son Fishing Trips,” explained Hans Bloedel.

Pete Bloedel, who’s been writing plays for years welcomed the collaboration, but the process might not be what it seems on the surface.

“Not all of my creative ideas can get Hans’ attention. He isn’t always interested in co-writing with me. But when he’s excited about a project, then he’s all in, and his excitement really puts the wind in my sails too. Our two adaptations of Sleepy Hollow and Pinocchio have been as much fun in the writing of them as they have been in their production. When audience members enjoy our plays, I like to imagine that they picture a father and a son laughing in a room together, who just can’t wait to share the fruits of their labor with all who care to watch and get caught-up in their storytelling.”

Despite not always being on the same page, the elder Bloedel certainly does enjoy the time to write with his son.

“Obviously, the best thing about writing together with Hans is simply the quality time that a father and a son love to enjoy. I tend to dig Hans’ sense of humor and there is nothing like sharing creativity and a bunch of laughs with your son. I’ve done plenty of script writing, and it can be pretty lonely work when done by one’s self. Writing with another person, though still a lot of work, can sort of turn into a social occasion. It’s great to bounce ideas around and to test jokes off of one another. We can really crack each other up, and I will remember some of those bouts of laughter until the day I die.”

The process leading up to writing the adaptation of Pinocchio came about during the height of the pandemic in late 2020.

“Neither of us quite remembers why the idea to adapt Pinocchio came to our minds. Growing up, I remember my family having an extravagantly illustrated book of Carlo Collodi’s original story, but I had never ventured to read it myself. After reading the first few chapters, I became very excited about what my dad and I could do with a potential adaptation,” explained Hans Bloedel.

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Interestingly, Pinocchio saw something of a renaissance in 2022. Three different movie adaptations of the story were released by the end of the year. Hans explained his take on the allure and magic of the story.

“I think the reason we hold the puppet near and dear is, despite his woodenness, Pinocchio is very human. In all his endeavors, no matter how much he builds himself up, or tries to set himself straight, he deliberately goes back to his old, rascally ways. If anything, we commiserate with the puppet boy and his wooden condition because it isn’t too far off from our own attitudes in life.”

And the father and son both revelled in the opportunity to work together again.

Hans explained, “Seeing this project come to fruition is very exciting for my dad and me. As writers, there’s a sense of magic in seeing the scenes we dreamt up on a "Father/Son Fishing Trip," become a reality.”

For Pete, the idea of a son following in his father’s love for theatre wasn’t always that apparent but he’s thankful for it.

“I don’t remember overtly encouraging Hans to follow in my theatrical footsteps, but I didn’t really discourage it either. Hans was in a few of my shows at BLC when he was a kid, and showed some real talent and discipline for the stage in high school, and then to an even greater degree in college. Hans’ decision to pursue an MFA in theatre was strictly his own. As a matter of fact, I was sort of surprised when he announced his plans.”

Another thing the duo has is common is their outlook for Christians interested in theatre.

“Hans and I love to talk about the state of the arts today and where Christians need to fit into that everchanging landscape. We are both grateful to BLC for being such a wonderful venue and springboard for Christians in the arts.”

And whether or not the duo ever teams up again is a question that will linger for a while. Peter sums it up this way.

“We definitely hope to collaborate again, but we don’t know what and we don’t know when. I mean, we do have a few ideas bopping around. So we’ll just follow Hans’ illustration that we are fishing buddies and someday we’ll have to actually go fishing again. We’d probably scare all the fishes away though!”