Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Denise Gallagher. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Denise, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

“A Tip Tap Tale: The Musical!”

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve worked on has been “A Tip Tap Tale: The Musical!,” a theatrical adaptation of my picture book “A Tip Tap Tale.”

My mother was a kindergarten teacher and even as I grew older, I loved to visit her classroom library and pore over the picture books. I loved the illustrations as well as the language. Later, I got a degree in art and, while I worked as a graphic designer for many years, I never gave up on my dream of illustrating picture books. I eventually began to focus on that dream. I joined children’s writing groups and began attending workshops and conferences to learn the ins and outs of the craft.

My first picture book, published by UL University Press, was “A Tip Tap Tale.” The story follows a hound dog named Bouzou as he travels from a muddy swamp to the glittering stages of New-Aw-Leens. Holding the final printed book in my hands was a dream realized.

Little did I know that that was just the beginning of an even larger dream come true.

I love music, theater, and live performances. There is something about the human element that thrills me. Music is an art that inspires me to create. It moves me and fills me with emotion. When I write, I hear the music in my head. The stories I write and the illustrations I create often have a musical element.

I’m also inspired by some of my favorite children’s creators, Maurice Sendak and William Joyce, who used their talents in many different mediums such as costume and set design and film and animation.

There has always been a tiny part of me, deep down inside, that wondered what it would be like to see one of my stories grow beyond the page and become something even grander. Something that accompanied the music in my head.

In 2024 that deep down dream became a reality.

After some encouragement from a friend who owns a small local theater, I decided to apply for a grant in order to turn “A Tip Tap Tale” into a musical for children.

ArtSpark is Acadiana Center for the Arts’ Individual Artist grant program, generously funded by the Lafayette Economic Development Authority and National Endowment for the Arts. Their goal is to help individual artists fund specific projects and push them outside of their comfort zones by doing something a little different. It also allows artists hire other artists and work with them to realize their vision.

I received the grant in the spring of 2024 and started to work on my plan of staging the musical on August 31, 2024.

I hit the ground running, rewriting my story as a play then writing the lyrics to five original songs to accompany the play.

As I mentioned, I love music, but I cannot even carry a tune. Luckily, the grant allowed me to hire a musician who worked his magic and turned my lyrics into the perfect boogie-woogie, Louisiana Cajun swamp pop tunes.

I was also able to hire a director who gave me a crash course in putting on a theatrical performance. Together we held auditions and found fourteen young actors. Those kids put their entire hearts into their roles. We had two weeks of practices before the big night.

I was also able to hire a costume designer, sharing sketches and mood boards with her. Using her skills, she created costumes that were even better than I’d hoped.

I then hired a set designer to create cardboard guitars, swamp scenes and even a roaring Cadillac car, all based on illustrations from the book.

I also hired a guitarist, a lighting designer and sound director. And I was in charge of them all.

It was definitely a step WAY out of my comfort zone. As a graphic designer and illustrator that tends to work alone in my studio, working with a gaggle of creatives and actors was a challenge. But it was a challenge I was happy to greet with open arms.

Working with a team ended up being a wonderful experience. I was able to hire other artists and pay them what they were worth. Those artists helped me see the realization of “A Tip Tap Tale: The Musical!”

In the end, we had one sold out performance. The audience laughed and cheered. The actors sang and danced. And I may have shed a tear or two.

And it is an experience I will never forget.

And in case you are wondering, I now have a musical script with music and lyrics. I am working on packaging the musical and licensing it to schools, camps and theaters in order for “A Tip Tap Tale: The Musical!” to live on. And I guess I can add playwright, lyricist and producer to my resume.

Denise, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hello! I am Denise Gallagher, a Louisiana-based author, illustrator and artist. I am inspired by folktales, music and unusual animals.

As a child, I drew constantly and created nonstop. I studied the encyclopedia for new creatures to draw, read every book I could get my hands on, and created my own stuffed animals.

When it was time to consider college, it was obvious that there was no other path for me than art.

I enrolled in the University of Southwest Louisiana as an art major with no idea of what a career in art looked like. One day, I happened across the graphic design department and knew I had found my home.

I embraced graphic design and flourished as an art director for many years. But my love of drawing and illustration kept calling me. Eventually, I gave in to the call, took a scary leap, and went out on my own. This leap allowed me to follow another dream—that of illustrating for children.

I love children’s books and you can often find me surrounded by a pile of them with far-off smile and a cup of tea. Children’s picture books are one of my favorite art forms. They are a child’s first introduction to both art and literature. Taking this belief very seriously, I chose to study the process by attending conferences and workshops. I also discovered my love of writing.

After much hard work and many years, I am now proud to say that I am the published author and illustrator of two picture books. I’ve illustrated folktales from Louisiana and Canada and am the author of a yet unpublished middle grade novel. I am currently working on an illustrated collection of folktales from around the world that I can hardly wait to reveal.

Somewhere along the way, by sharing my devotion to arts and literature, I became a speaker on the topic. I have taught art and writing classes to students of all ages. I’ve held creative workshops and I’ve been featured on speaking panels at book festivals. I’ve even returned to my alma mater as an adjunct professor of graphic design.

I also surprised myself recently by saying yes to a project that was outside of my comfort zone. Although the end result was a dream come true, it was a dream that I barely realized had existed. Last year, I received a grant to turn my picture book, “A Tip Tap Tale,” into a musical. I rewrote the story as a play and wrote five original songs to accompany it. The grant allowed me to hire a director, a musician, a costume designer, a set designer and other technicians. I worked with 14 talented young actors who put their hearts into their roles. I still get overwhelmed with joy just thinking about the performance—the children singing my words and the crowd laughing and clapping and cheering. And I can barely believe that I can now add playwright, lyricist and producer to my resume.

I truly love being a professional artist. Each day brings along a new creative challenge. I greet each one with excitement and sometimes even a few butterflies. But I will always be grateful dive in and to share my passion for creativity and my unique outlook with the world.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Being an artist allows me to look at the world in my own way. I am now even celebrated for the very things that make me unique.

That was not true for me when I was young. As a child, I was often misunderstood. I wasn’t pretty. I wasn’t athletic. I was too smart and too weird. What I didn’t realize was what made me so different is what made me special.

It took years to learn that standing out from the crowd is a good thing.

Now, I see that my unique view of the world is a gift and am proud of the very things that made me feel so different as a child.

Learning this lesson has made me love myself a little more and to embrace exactly who I am.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I am lucky to live in a community where the arts are celebrated. I also do my part by being involved in programs held by Acadiana Center for the Arts, a community-supported nonprofit organization that fosters art and culture.

Art is important to a thriving community, and it is important for each community to support its artists.

One way by doing so is to pay artists for their work. Unfortunately, artists are often seen as doing their work simply because they love it. We are often asked to create art simply for “exposure.” Companies and organizations should realize that “exposure” is not an incentive for artists work or fair to the artist.

Supporting artists can also mean purchasing art and attending exhibitions or events and telling others about them.

Social media can help artists by increasing their visibility. Even following your favorite artists or leaving a comment can help.

And as an artist, a friendly comment can often make my day!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.denisegallagher.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denisegallagher/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeniseGallagherDesigns
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denise-gallagher-ab45203/
• Other: https://www.threads.com/@denisegallagher

Image Credits

Donny Gallagher