Argus: Where did you get the idea for this opera?
Ben Bernsteint ’10: My parents read William Steig’s “Bad Island” to me as a kid. I revisited it last year when I was thinking about what to write for my senior thesis. I had such a great connection to it from reading it as a kid. I knew instantly that it was the right thing to do.

A: How are you going to make opera accessible?
BB: It’s in English, which is a step ahead of most operas. It’s also easy to relate to because you can read the story on a lot of different levels, and, even if you don’t care about the story or the music, you can be engrossed with the visuals, which I’ve been totally blown away by.

A: Why an opera, why not a mu¬sical?
BB: I think the term “musical” carries a stigma. Opera is much more malleable, it’s more about music and libretto, and it has a broader stylistic potential to it. I love all types of opera. I’m using opera more as blanket term so people can take what they will from it.

A: How long have you been work¬ing on this show?
BB: I got the idea right after working on “Rage” last year. I got re¬ally inspired and started thinking about my thesis. I wrote about a third over the summer, a third last semester, and a third about a week before rehearsals started. So I’ve been working on it for about a year.

A: Did you write all of the lyrics?
BB: It’s complicated. I wrote an opera earlier, which was composed of blog posts I found online, then chopped up. For this show, some lines are directly from the book and others were added by me. Then I sketched some moods I wanted to convey and searched blogs until I found quotes that would fit. The result is a cool syn¬thesis of my ideas, Steig’s, and random people from the Internet.

A: Was it challenging to create your own score?
BB: Definitely. The question is how can you honor a tradition and add your own touch at the same time? I hope people will look beyond the dif¬ferent styles and think about what I’m trying to convey as a whole.

A: Who is your favorite character?
BB: I don’t have a favorite, but I will say that the characters have changed in a way I did not anticipate. The actors have really made them their own. For example, Molly McPhee came up with a really interesting idea after we gave her rehearsal notes. She decided her character was blind, took the idea, ran with it, and has created something really engaging. The cast has not been passive at all. They have even come up with their own monster vocabulary. It has been such a team effort. I would have been dead in the water without my cast and crew!

A: The story is based on a chil¬dren’s book, but is there something more than entertainment that you want the audience to draw from your production?
BB: I hope that audiences will look at the show and latch on to one thing, because it is impossible to take it all. Our message is communicated in whatever way the audience chooses to receive it, whether it’s through story, music, or visuals.