‘Sky’ Writing : Idle Musings on a Country Road Gave Dramatist the Pieces for His Wartime Drama

“Pieces of the Sky” deals with some weighty issues, anti-Semitism among them. But the inspiration for David Paterson’s new drama didn’t come during a night of philosophical searching.

Paterson, who works as a carpenter in New York when not writing, had just finished a job and was driving home over a rough country road when he looked skyward and was struck by an image.

“I thought about pieces of the sky, how things fit, and that seemed like a good title for me,” Paterson said. “I thought about puzzle pieces and how people work on puzzles just to pass the time. From there, I began to think about the [Second World] War [and about] how some people had different things to deal with.”

The 29-year-old playwright’s mix of impressions and notions lead to his story of a middle-aged woman living in a small town in Nebraska during World War II and the Jewish mailman she befriends and eventually scorns. “Pieces of the Sky” premieres Thursday at the Grove Theater Center following tonight’s preview performance.

In Joshua, the mailman, Paterson thinks he’s created a character who, in many ways, embodies the negative side of the Jewish experience. He wanted to explore something of the historic antagonism toward Jews.

“They’ve always been the whipping boy, and I can’t find a reason for it; it’s inexplicable to me,” Paterson said by phone from the theater. “I’m not a playwright with an agenda; this isn’t a Holocaust play, but [the subject] is intriguing.”

During his research, Paterson was startled to come across a survey done in the United States in the early ‘40s, before the public knew of the Holocaust. “They asked people what was the biggest threat [to America], and Jews were No. 3, behind only Germany and Japan. Italy was No. 4, [and] that amazed me.”

Joshua, who is in his 50s, is not only ostracized because of his religion. His job has also left him with the worst task of all, delivering notices announcing the deaths of young soldiers to their families. (Historically, however, such deaths were communicated to families via Western Union telegrams.)

“Whenever they see him coming, they shut their doors because they know what he’s bringing,” Paterson said.

But Sarah, the owner of a small, all-but-deserted diner, decides to help him, partly out of compassion and partly because of superstition. Her own son is fighting overseas, and she feels Joshua can protect him somehow.

“Sarah believes in her desperate mind that if she befriends this angel of death, it will help her son,” he said. “They start working on complex jigsaws together, [and] she becomes the only one who invites him into her life.”

The close relationship, though, is tested when Sarah thinks Joshua has betrayed her concerning her son’s fate. The second act of “Pieces of the Sky” focuses on how the two come to accept each other and how their lives have changed.

“Pieces of the Sky” represents a new direction for Paterson, who usually writes comedies. His previous play was “Finger Painting in a Murphy Bed,” a light romantic jaunt that premiered at GTC last March.

“I don’t say I’m the second coming of Neil Simon or [Edward] Albee, but I do think I’m a playwright people can enjoy,” he said. “With ‘Pieces of the Sky,’ I do want to educate the audience, but I don’t want it to seem like an education. Even with the serious tones, I would still like to classify this as entertainment.”

Although he’s not sure how people will react, Paterson is clear on his relationship with GTC. Paterson lives in Manhattan but has found a theatrical home in the small Orange County playhouse.

He said his working relationship with artistic director Kevin Cochran and executive director Charles L. Johanson was productive on “Finger Painting in a Murphy Bed,” and the same can be said with “Pieces of the Sky.”

Paterson and Cochran met when Cochran was directing a workshop production at New York City’s Lincoln Center. The project was a musical adaptation of “Bridge to Terabithia,” the children’s novel by Paterson’s mother, Katherine Paterson. Cochran and David Paterson soon began collaborating on writing and acting projects.

“I know Kevin, so that helps working here,” Paterson explained. “Everything is relaxed [at GTC], and there is a form of trust. Really, it’s theaters like GTC that keep writing alive for playwrights like me. They give you a way out.”

* David Paterson’s “Pieces of the Sky” previews tonight at 8 and opens Thursday night at 8 at the Grove Theater Center, 12852 Main St., Garden Grove. Performances continue Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. through Feb. 17. $14.50 for the preview, $16.50 to $24.50 for the regular run. (714) 741-9550.