“I’m a Brazilian writer who has been based in NYC since 2016. In my formative years in Brazil, I was part of a traveling troupe of clowns for a couple of years before I came to NYU to double major in Drama and TV Writing.”

WELL!

International writer comes to America after years as a traveling clown to write at NYU1

Now, that’s how you introduce yourself as a murder mystery writer!

Peppering his MFA with the desire to write farcical stories, Fernando Buzhar Segall “hides his veggies” — as a professor of his once said about the deep meanings encased in his whimsical stories — in plots involving mythical small towns in mythical small countries.

But — we countered when chatting with Fernando — there is a math that goes with murder mysteries. Fernando regaled us in his answers and aired some detail of his latest triumph … THE WORLD’S MOST BORING MURDER MYSTERY.

THE WORLDS MOST BORING MURDER Written by: Fernando Buzzar Segall Director: Patrick Swailes Caldwell July 11 – 28 (Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 7pm, Sundays at 3pm) at The Players Theatre115 MacDougal Street between West 3rd and Bleecker streets New York City TICKETS HERE When the world’s most boring small town experiences its very first crime — a violent murder — an inexperienced police inspector and her two bumbling assistants must interrogate the towns’ most colorful characters to uncover the killer…who could very well be the person everyone least suspects! The World’s Most Boring Murder is a wild and irreverent dark comedic send-up of the classic Agatha Christie style murder mystery genre with bits of Commedia and Brazilian Clown traditions thrown in. All of this at a breakneck 90 minute, no intermission pace, The World’s Most Boring Murder will keep you laughing and screaming till the end. The cast includes Sheridan Stevens, Rebecca Ho, Krishna Doodnauth, Ashley Everhart, and Catherine Waller. Design team inclues: Scenic & Props — Vincent Gunn; Lighting — Asa Lipton; and Costume & Sound — Patrick Swailes Caldwell. Emily Elizabeth Wasenda, stage management. Visit @mostboringmurder on both Tiktok and Instagram for more info.The Steve & Marie Sgouros Theatre (Players Theatre 3rd floor loft) A, C, E, B, D, F & M trains to west 4th street. Exit at west 3rd and walk one block east to Macdougal street. The theatre is located on the corner above Cafe Wha. The theatre is located on the third floor up two flights of stairs. No elevator available at this time.

How do you write an effective murder mystery?

I’m a big research guy, and think that the first thing necessary when it comes to writing in a medium as structurally sound as a murder mystery, is research. A good murder mystery needs lots of twist, as well as multiple characters that need to be simultaneously engaging and possible suspects. If the audience ever gets ahead of the author in this genre, it’s a huge problem. Information needs to be uncovered in a deeply structured way, so the audience never knows what may happen next, and if they think they know, you better be sure their assumptions are red hearings. Then it’s always good to have a protagonist with a rich inner and outer life. If on top of having a detective who simply “needs to solve the crime”(for its their job), it’s always more interesting to have someone who “deeply wants to solve the crime” for they have some kind of inner connection to it. As this is a farcical murder mystery, I am able to use comedy to misguide and distract the audience, but at the same time the comedy can never get so heavy handed that the core of the play, “who did it and why?” gets lost.

Who are your inspirations in the genre?

As I mentioned, I think research is everything. Though the very first inspiration to this play was a Brazilian comedy from the 60s, O Bem Amado, it was more of an inspiration in tone than in subject matter. Once I realized I wanted to write a farcical murder mystery, I first researched the base: Your usual Mousetrap, Poirot, Columbo, Sherlock Holmes, etc… Then I moved to the more specific farcical mysteries: Clue, Murder by Death, Arsenic and Old Lace, Pay That Goes Wrong, Pink Panther, etc.… I’ve been lucky to have spent part of the last two years working as an assistant to the playwright of the immensely successful Clue stage adaptation, Sandy Rustin. She, as a writer, and her work certainly served as an inspiration as well, and working with her was something that definitely helped the play take the shape it has today.

What do you hope the audience takes away from this show?

Above all else, I want the audience to have a really good time. We have a lot of inspirations from Brazilian clown traditions and Commedia, along with a cast and crew of incredible comedians. I hope the audience has an evening that breezes through, filled with laughter, intrigue, and joy… Until they have the rug pulled from under them and they have a nice serving of veggies. Therefore, hopefully a good time at the theatre, with something to talk about on the ride home.

What’s next for it and you? 

It’s hard to say what’s next for this show after we wrap up our 12 performances but there are suddenly many wild dreams, from a transfer to a site-specific touring company… But we’ll have to wait and see! As for myself, right off graduating from my MFA this May, life as a working writer in NYC seems very promising!  I have some film projects coming out soon in Brazil that I am very excited about, have recently finished translating a collection of plays from two-time Pulitzer winner Lynn Nottage, which will be published in Brazil later this year as well. But above all else, I want to focus on my theatre projects here in New York as much as I can. I’m led to believe some exciting developments will come from that end soon too and I’m looking very forward to sharing more then!