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

Alright, Meg thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

On October 1st, 2010 James Apple, died of accidental suicide due to an undiagnosed mental illness; the day after his 24th birthday. Six months prior (May 4, 2010) he had climbed to the top of a billboard in downtown Fort Worth. For seven hours he paced back and forth, sat and stood, threatened to jump and conducted an orchestra he heard in his mind. Lisa and her family stood watching while the police and rescue team tried to coax him down.

In the fall of 2017, Meg’s husband was admitted to an in patient program for suicidal ideation.

Meg: Lisa and I were working together at the time, when my husband was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed. I knew about Lisa’s story. About a year later I was listening to one of her albums on Spotify and her song to her brother James really resonated with me. The need to talk about our experiences and share them with others weighed heavily on me and I asked if she would be interested in writing a musical. It must have sounded so strange to her! But, we did it and here we are. We can’t tell you how many people are finding hope in the story and opening up now about their own experiences with family and mental illness.

Meg, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Written by Composer Lisa Apple and Director Meg Parker Wilson, Boy on Billboard the Musical aims to provide hope, healing, and a call to action. Lisa and Meg have more than 35 years of combined performance and creative writing experience and bring to the stage a gripping, true story about James Apple and troubles that went unseen.

Our hope is that others will find courage to talk about and write about their experiences. The path hasn’t always been easy, but we have had a lot of encouragers along the way! Every person who performed in a workshop or preview or donated to the shows or album has left a positive mark on us and on this show! They are like family to us.

Lisa Apple is a teacher, songwriter and creator with a passion for musical theatre. She has performed in multiple Dallas cover bands, led the Dallas chapter of Chick Singer Night, performed at SXSW in Austin and written and recorded two full-length albums. Lisa holds a BA in Music Business & Management from Belmont University and is a member of BMI. She’s studied voice both classically and commercially and has been composing for 20 years.

Meg Parker Wilson holds a B.A. in Speech Communications and Theatre from SBU. She also studied at the Los Angeles Film Studies Center and interned for 20th Century Fox in their Features Casting department. She has been on stage and in film both as an actor and director. After moving to Dallas, she began her work writing and directing for Genesis Children’s Theatre and producing film content as a Board member for Light in Action. Film credits: Seasons of Grey, A Modern Day Joseph Story (Kate Welling) (Echolight Films) and Aliens in the Attic (Brook) (20th Century Fox). Meg has been writing, acting and directing for fifteen years.

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

Telling meaningful stories in new ways is really special and a lot of creative people would agree, but one of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist is “problem solving”. People might not realize how frequently creativity involves solving problems! It can be a problem with the story line, a character or a song and scene change or how to get an audience to buy into a musical about such a somber topic and still give them a good laugh during the show. Finding solutions when you encounter a problem with your story or art is so satisfying.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Dallas has a lot to offer artists and creatives, but can still feel like silos in many ways. We have found some really great creative community, but there is more we can do to work together and not in competition against each other. With every performance of Boy on Billboard we have seen an expansion of kindness and collaboration. It is such a beautiful thing to watch friendships form and go on to work on other projects beyond our musical.

It’s important for the community to also support new works! Go see NEW musicals, NEW films and NEW artists! You might be surprised and you will definitely be educated. Supporting new emerging works develops a culture and society of thinkers and beauty!

Contact Info:

• Website: boyonbillboard.com
• Instagram: @boyonbillboard
• Youtube: @boyonbillboard
• Other: TikTok: @boyonbillboard

Image Credits
Nate Allen Wilson Steve Sickman