Meet Meg Parker Wilson | Playwright & Storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Meg Parker Wilson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Meg, what role has risk played in your life or career?
When you work in and decide you want to be successful in a creative field, “risk” is unavoidable. Putting your product into the world for audiences will always be frightening. Telling stories like “Boy on Billboard” is especially risky because of how personal they are in nature. With so much time, emotional energy, and finances invested, the risk seems scarier when it comes to feedback. Will they respond well to the work I’ve spent years creating? Will my voice be rejected? And, the more practical question, “Will they pay for it and ask for more?” But, in addition to my natural inclination for storytelling, in truth, that risk is why I love to create. When the stakes are low, the ambition to work hard fades because there is no potential for a high reward. The adrenaline of knowing the stakes are high has pushed me this far and it’s that feeling I crave each time I’m given opportunities to create experiences for other people. During the four-year process of developing our musical, my writing partner, Lisa Apple, and I felt the struggle of writing something that was true, that would appeal to a broad theatre-going crowd, and that was in line with our own personal artistic aesthetics. We did not want to compromise our creativity for the sake of a safer outcome because inevitably neither of us would be satisfied with the result. In the end, I’m confident that what we’ve created is truly authentic. The self-doubt will paralyze you, or become a tool for refining your work if you make the decision to keep moving forward. No risk means no reward and I couldn’t see my life or my work as successful without it.


Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
In college, I studied Speech Communications and Theatre and spent my last semester abroad in Los Angeles. My goal was to finish film school and my internship with 20th Century Fox in their features casting department and move to Hollywood indefinitely. My time at Fox was one of the most influential stops on my personal and career path. During my internship I was introduced to the casting process and what it would take to “make it” in the world of film and entertainment. After being cast in a non-speaking role in Aliens in the Attic, which earned me SAG eligibility, I had plans to remain in LA to pursue acting as a career. The fates decided at that time to introduce me to my husband, also a Dallas-based writer and photographer, and we were engaged shortly after. After completing my undergrad we moved to Mckinney, TX to start our life as a couple– a couple of creatives with big dreams and no money! The next few years handed me opportunities to land a lead role in a local feature film, Seasons of Gray, sign with The Mary Collins Agency, and be part of the Genesis Children’s Theatre start-up. In 2012 I gave birth to my amazing son, Jack, and three months later became pregnant with my sweet Jude, which I thought would put some of my career pursuits on hold, but thanks to my husband’s sacrificial nature and pushing me to continuously strive for my creative dreams, I was able to continue to write, costume build and direct shows with Genesis, work with a Brazil-based film production company, become a fulltime educator and Director of Communication Arts for a large private school and ultimately recognize my dream of writing and directing a Broadway-bound musical!

None of it has been easy. Every year and project has its challenges because life is full of both joy and pain. Once I accepted that our lives will always be a combination of difficulty and ease, I could work toward my goals with optimism and work through obstacles with the peace of knowing that hardship doesn’t mean failure and failure doesn’t mean it’s over. I heard Alan Menken say something like, “Enjoy the process and don’t get so focused on just the end product because it might not be successful in the way you think it should be.”

What I took from his words, is that I want the process of creating to be fruitful and meaningful, therefore if people reject the story I’m trying to tell, or don’t agree with my communication style, if I’ve learned from and positively affected people’s lives through the creation process, then it’s been a successful endeavor.

That’s why I believe my latest project, Boy on Billboard, will be a success and has already been wildly successful. The subject of mental health and its effects on families is slowly becoming a more acceptable conversation and during this creation of the show, we’ve been able to hear and share so many stories of others impacted by mental illness. This show is intensely personal to me and to my writing partner and honestly has touched everyone we’ve had the pleasure of working with. Collaborating with other Dallas-based artists like ThanxZoe and Geoff Case Creative has been intensely rewarding as well. Because the true story of James Apple took place in Fortworth and our entire cast, crew, and creative team are DFW-based Lisa and I feel a sense of pride and gratefulness for how the artistic community in the metroplex came together to launch this production. Lisa and I believe in bringing people together to create beautiful art that is honest, meaningful, and shines a light in dark places. While the content is heartwrenching and even traumatic at times, we’ve woven threads of humor and levity throughout the show because we believe in the power of authenticity as artists, and we are about as goofy as two girls can get.

As an actress, writer, director, or costume designer I strive to be fearless. I love to create visuals that are bold, authentic, and full of subtext that enriches the story. Recently, I had the opportunity to play the character of a mechanical in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; we perform again this year during the Shakespeare in the Park Mckinney festival, and as a humorous character who speaks very few lines, my aim is still to make strong physical choices that make the audience laugh and empathize with the simple-minded ‘Snug’. As a costume designer and director, I want the visuals to immerse the audience in another world and although our musical is set in modern realism, we have woven these magical elements of technology through the use of projections which is an integral part of the Boy on Billboard storytelling approach.

There have been moments in my life when I thought that to be a true artist, one had to be serious and intense always, and while we are seriously focused, we could not have finished the B.O.B. script or the music without allowing ourselves to live into who we really are as humans, which is multidimensional and pretty hilarious. We share common humor that allows us to take the sadness that life gives us and make it bearable.

We are so excited about the next steps for Boy on Billboard and our journey as a female-female playwrighting/composing team, and we know the right partners will step up along the way to make the show accessible for more audiences to see! When people watch our show, we have heard that everyone can find a character or theme that’s relatable. The best compliment we receive is from those who say, “I’m still thinking about your show and processing.” Processing. Life is a process and we want our art to point out the hope in that journey.


Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Vagabond Vintage Dallas for a little thrifting (I love thrifting when I’m on vacation!)

TEN RAMEN – 5808 Windhaven Pkwy, The Colony is an absolute must. Not only do they have the most amazing comfort food, but they have a great little dog park and venue. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

If you need some coffee and a cool place to visit, check out Karina’s shop over at Habitat Plants in downtown McKinney.

Theatre Three is a great place to catch new shows and talented artists

Dallas Theatre Center will give you a stellar performance

Genesis Children’s Theatre for a good family show and children’s theatre

Head over to 60 Vines Dallas for a gorgeous venue and a great menu

My husband and I have enjoyed concerts at ATT Performing Arts Center and of course the DSO

The Frisco Public library is one of my favorite places to take the kids on a summer afternoon

The Canvas Hotel (formerly NYLO Dallas) has charming rooms, great views, and a fantastic rooftop bar and pool restaurant. One of my favorite places for a staycation.

If you are in town during the Lone Star Film Festival in Ft. Worth you need to check it out.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It goes without saying that without my partner, Lisa Apple, and co-founder of Boy on Billboard the Musical, LLC we would not be in the incredible position we are now. Four years ago I asked Lisa to join me on this creative journey and it has been our collaboration, her story, and talent as a composer that brought our show to life. Additionally, I would have to thank Megan Demsky and Neicole Woodall, founders of Genesis Children’s Theatre, for surrounding us with resources to perform the previews and giving us invaluable feedback as we developed the production. Working with these insanely talented women to realize a lifelong dream of mine has made the journey fun and absolutely worth it.

Website: boyonbillboard.com

Instagram: @boyonbillboard @m.parkerwilson

Twitter: @megparkerwilson

Image Credits
Steve Sickman Jerry Grizzle Kelly McLeod