Before Snazaroo Was Everywhere, It Was One Family's Wild Gamble
The story behind Snazaroo sounds too wild to be true. Before it became the world's most recognizable face paint brand, it was a risky idea born in rural England by two people who had no formal training and every reason to fail. Playwright Joe Staton brings that remarkable family story to the stage in Snazzy, reflecting on creativity, loss, and the surprising legacy behind a product that has brought joy to millions.
STEPHANIE: The story of Snazaroo already sounds like something someone would make up for a play. But you're fortunate enough that this is your real family story! At what point did you realize your family's story wasn't just unusual to you, but something audiences would actually want to watch?
JOE: Well, what happened was that my mum wrote a book called A Snazzy Tale, which I read during my second year of drama school. Being an actor, I obviously love a good story, and the story of my parents was always a bit of a mystery to me because I was too young to remember when all that stuff was happening. What really struck me was the humanity behind the story. It's essentially two people who had a wild experience that led to a wacky idea that nobody had tried before and that many people didn't think was even worth pursuing. That wacky idea started a phenomenon that is now so normal that people take it for granted. The struggle of doing that was so real and so vivid in my mind. Admittedly, part of it was not wanting my parents' achievements to go unnoticed or forgotten, but I also think the story is just so brilliant that I knew it would draw people in.
STEPHANIE: Your parents built an international company out of your family home in rural Somerset. Growing up, did that feel normal, or were there moments when you realized your childhood was anything but?
JOE: No, my childhood was anything but normal, and I knew it very well growing up. My dad died when I was two years old, so already there was that. But my mum decided to move me to France when I was six years old, and then to Spain when I was 10. I was also deeply aware that the money my mum made from selling Snazaroo was allowing us to do things that few of my childhood friends could do. For example, my mum took me to Kenya and Tanzania when I was five years old, and we have pictures of her painting the faces of the locals there. As a five-year-old, I remember thinking, No one else does this. And, of course, every Halloween party I went to was deeply, deeply colorful!
STEPHANIE: This is your parents' story, but it's also your story. Was there anything you discovered while writing Snazzy that surprised you or changed the way you saw your family?
JOE: The things that surprised me most were the things I learned about my parents that I never knew before. I had extensive conversations with my mum about her relationship with my dad because I knew that would be the heart of the show. I was shocked by some of the things I heard, like my dad being really shy and my mum not knowing where their relationship stood at the beginning. But the thing that shocked me the most actually happened yesterday.
You see, I've been doing a lot of research and uncovering material from the past to help me better understand what I'm writing about. My mum found a cassette tape from the late '90s, recorded just before my dad died, of him giving an interview. She had it digitized for me, and when I listened to it, it was the first time I'd ever heard my dad's voice. It was so different from what I imagined. So different, in fact, that I realized the version of him I'd been writing was drastically different from the person I was listening to. That was really hard to come to terms with. When I do rewrites in the future, I'll be listening to that tape extensively to better capture his voice.
STEPHANIE: The play is based on real events. How did you decide where to stay faithful to history and where theatre demanded that you compress, reshape, or even invent moments?
JOE: Fantastic question. Because this play isn't a documentary, it's a theatrical telling of the story, and I knew there were some things that had to be changed. Some of that came from rehearsing the play, and our fantastic director, Chloe, has actually made a few changes for directorial purposes. Things like a very important penny being found on the floor when, in reality, it was found in a pocket. Those changes are necessary because they're better justified on stage.
With the face-painting angle, the story already has a fantastical element, but the big problem was the number of characters. The play takes place between 1984 and 1997, so there are lots of players. I had to cut people from the story if they didn't serve the drama, and I had to combine two real people into one because it simply made sense. What became clear after reading the first draft was that there needed to be a chorus. I was inspired by the West End play The 39 Steps, in which two actors play multiple characters. So we have four chorus members doing exactly that, and they have to embrace the heightened reality of the piece to bring these characters to life. As long as the spirit and message of the story remain alive, we just have to be okay with some things not being 100 percent accurate.
STEPHANIE: With an international creative team and a story that begins in a small English town but ends up resonating around the world, what do you hope New York audiences walk away thinking about after the curtain comes down?
JOE: I really hope the story inspires people as much as it's inspired me. We live in a world where ideas are often shut down, and people can be very scared to express themselves. My parents were not trained makeup artists. Neither of them went to university or college. My dad left a high-paying job in London, and my mum was constantly underestimated and put down, both for being a woman and for being passionate about something that was thought to be silly. But they pushed forward and created a global product that made millions, is sold all over the world, and has brought joy to millions of people, especially children. How inspiring is that?
STEPHANIE: Follow-up. I get so many emails about new plays, but this one made me stop in my tracks. Undoubtedly, you're an exceptional storyteller and creative. But besides that, what do you think it is about this story that has earned such international acclaim?
JOE: I was shocked by the international response. We've had media coverage in England, France, Spain, New Zealand, Holland, and America. It's amazing. I think it's because the story is really intriguing, but also because people know the brand. I have a colleague from the Philippines who told me that Snazaroo is really popular there, especially in the theatre world. The product means something. Every time a child gets their face painted, it brings them joy and magic, even if Snazaroo isn't the paint being used. And my parents started that. In a world where there's so much sadness and misery, how wonderful is it to have a story about something so happy?
STEPHANIE: Be honest. How are your face-painting skills?
JOE: Terrible. I've always been awful at it. But I'm very good at doing scars and bullet holes!
STEPHANIE: This might be my most American question of the day, but between Snazaroo and Kate Middleton's family's party business, I'm starting to think the UK has a secret birthday party economy. Are Americans leaving money on the table? Why does Britain seem to take children's parties so seriously?
JOE: That's fascinating to me because I've always thought America goes hard when it comes to the party industry. Have you seen New York during Halloween? It's bonkers. But I do think Britain has an affinity for make-believe. Remember, we're the country that brought you A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Christmas Carol, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and Doctor Who. Our strong theatrical culture definitely extends to children. I know I was always given the best parties, where imaginative play was extremely important. I can't speak to what it's like to be an American child, but that was definitely my experience.
STEPHANIE: I'm just so impressed every time I look at this cast list. What was everyone's reaction at the first read-through? What drew everyone to this piece?
JOE: Well, for one thing, some of the actors are British, and bringing a British story to the stage obviously appealed to them. Ronan Spierenburg, one of our vital chorus members, is actually from the same town I was born in, Taunton, which is next to Minehead, where Snazaroo was born. I didn't know that until I auditioned him. I think it must be incredible for him to travel all the way to New York to work as an actor and then find himself performing in a story set in his hometown. Very wild.
Then we have Naomi, who has lived in London, Australia, and New York. She has such a great presence in the show with her chorus track, and I think she really enjoys the artistry behind it. We also have two other British actors, Truman Gaudoin, who is in the chorus, and Ross Mason, who plays my dad. I think that, because they both live in New York, they rarely get the opportunity to perform new work written specifically for the way they speak.
Laura, our Dutch chorus member, I have no idea what drew her to the show, except that she's a little nutty and got very excited about having her face painted as a clown. And that's the spirit of the show, so I'll take it.
Brenna, who plays the younger version of my mum, and Jen, who plays the older version, are both American actors who do fantastic British accents. I know Brenna loves British culture, so I'm sure she was really drawn to that as well.
During the first read-through, I just remember a lot of laughter, until the sad parts came, of course.
