Is there anything better than working with someone that you admire? For Martin Tackel, getting the chance to collaborate with his colleague at Hunter College, Barbara Bosch, was a unique and wonderful opportunity. Both avid travelers with a passion for learning and exploration, Bosch and Tackel hope to inspire future generations to appreciate and take advantage of all the magic and wonder (not to mention, the intense room for growth) that traveling has to offer in their new play Traveling Papers.

StageBuddy got the chance to speak with Bosch and Tackel about their partnership, their greatest travel memories and their hope for audiences during the course of the run.

Barbara and Martin, congratulations on the opening of Traveling Papers! Take me through both of your backgrounds and what led to the creation of Traveling Papers.

Barbara Bosch: Thanks so much! I had actually conceived another production called FOODACTS a few years ago about our connections to food. I wanted to do the same type of thing with travel, while also expressing my appreciation of literature and poetry. Traveling Papers is the result of that – capturing the internal and external journey while documenting literature over the ages in the realm of personal exploration

Martin Tackel: I had actually seen Barbara’s production [FOODACTS] a few years ago and was very much a fan. On a personal level, we both love to travel and are very connected to literature over the ages, so it become our priority to incorporate those elements into our work. We began gathering the material, and collected stories and poems that would fit into our script that we hoped would illustrate curiosity, humor and insightful discoveries.

Traveling Papers features a remarkable variety of quotes from memorable works of the greats – Edith Wharton, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, just to name a few. Is there one that stands out most for you, personally?

MT: I definitely feel that Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” -- even in this day and age of technology -- speaks to most people. Although it was published in 1916, so much of the material is relevant to the feelings associated with travel and opening yourself up to the unknown.

BB: I agree. Frost allows us to see things with new eyes and helps us view life as a jigsaw puzzle – leaving it up to us to connect the pieces.

Is there a travel destination that has changed your life?

BB: For me, it was my first time in Asia when I got a chance to spend some time in northern Japan. I remember walking through the rice fields and thinking to myself how it was the first time that I really saw life [and the world] so differently. While I was there studying, I lived with a family that didn’t speak English, and was so grateful for the experience to broaden my horizons and understand another way of life.

MT: Florence. It was my first time in Europe, right after college, and it’s that first taste that I’ll never forget. I wanted it all – to learn Italian, speak Italian, immerse myself in the culture – and it never ceases to bring me pleasure. The food, romance, beauty and history will never get old and will never leave people.

What is your hope for Traveling Papers, in terms of lasting impressions, on audiences?

BB: I simply hope that Traveling Papers motivates people to travel – makes them want to travel and broaden their horizons. I also love language and hope that this production stimulates both writers and anyone who attends in new ways. There truly is no greater gift than exploration.

MT: I hope that Traveling Papers inspires audiences to go back and read the greats. These literary masters have shared so many truths and lessons about traveling and life. I hope audiences will take this opportunity to become re-acquainted.

Traveling Papers is now playing through June 20th at The Lion Theatre – Theatre Row.