Who is Linden Arden? by Rose Desena
At an event one night over champagne and cookies, Colin Mitchel and I were discussing the Fringe Festival. I mentioned I was interested in producing a show at the festival and the next day I get a script in my inbox: “Linden Arden Stole The Highlights.”
If I remember correctly that was a song from Van Morrison. I am a fan of Colin’s writing and I love Van Morrison, so I was willing to move aside the other scripts in my inbox and give it a read. Wow! Just like that, with one read I was hooked. His script “Linden Arden Stole The Highlights” completely intrigued me.
Some of us know Colin as the curt and sometimes antagonizing guy behind the popular theater web site Bitter Lemons (bitter-lemons.com). I did an interview with him about a year ago so I knew he was a successful NYC actor, but I didn’t know he was a playwright as well.
As I said, it’s a good story, and I knew it would be of interest so I decided to go with it. We talked and all of a sudden I was involved in the Fringe, producing a script with this guy named Leon Shanglebee about a guy named Linden Arden.
So who the heck is this Linden Arden? He seems to be a cantankerous Scottish-American who does quite a bit of soul searching in this powerful one-man show, there’s booze, bibles, hatchets, drugs, murder, music, but that’s all I know.
So here is a little Q and A to whet your appetite and to help me to understand him better, if that’s possible.
Rose: Hey Colin
Colin Hi Rose.
Rose: The three of us make a motley crew wouldn’t you say?
Colin: Most definitely
Rose: Christian Levatino, is your director why did you choose him?
Colin: I saw his work with the critically acclaimed “Sunny Afternoon” at Theatre Asylum.
Rose: It’s been a while since you were on stage, how are you feeling?
Colin: Ready.
Rose: How long ago did you write this script and why?
Colin: 20 years ago. You’ll have to see the show to find out why.
Rose: Will you share some things about Linden Arden?
Colin: No. Absolutely not. Come see the show and you’ll know everything you need to know about Linden Arden.
Rose: How do you relate to him? What is the connection?
Colin: I created him. And then he created me.
Rose: I hear you pass out whiskey to the audience. I guess you’re not a drink alone kind of guy. What is it about whiskey?
Colin: All the best double malt scotches in the world are from Scotland. Ultimately this show is an educational opportunity for those lacking in the art of scotchology.
Rose: Well, I am looking forward to seeing what you and Christian do with Linden, not only as your producer but I’m sure the critics can’t wait to sink their teeth into you as well.
Colin: I’m very tasty. Especially after a couple of drinks.
Well folks, he seems to be a guy of few words, not sure I know much more then I did before but I can promise it will be an interesting show. So log on to the fringe site and get your tickets.
“Linden Arden Stole The Highlights” will be at the Hollywood Fringe, starting Monday June 9th. Get your tickets, it’s going to be fun and they will sell out quick. http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/1589
