Adam Szymkowicz

Jul 2, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 961: Stacie Lents

Stacie Lents

Hometown: I'm originally from St. Louis, MO, but I also lived in London (UK) for a bit as a kid.

Current Town: Manhattan (Harlem), though I teach in New Jersey (at Fairleigh Dickinson University).

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I just finished a play, Run-On Sentence, which was a commission from Prison Performing Arts. It was one of the most revelatory and inspiring experiences of my life, never mind my playwriting career. PPA flew me to Missouri where I had the chance to spend time in the Women's Eastern Reception, Diagnostic, and Correctional Center in Vandalia. I worked with and interviewed a group of twelve women felons and, although the play is fictional, it was inspired by their experiences. The women were some of the most generous collaborators I've ever worked with; they were particularly generous with the truth. Check out more info at http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/new-drama-unfolds-vandalia-womens-facility-thanks-expanded-prison-performing-arts#stream/0. I was also given developmental support for the play by Writers Theatre of New Jersey/New Jersey Women Playwrights Project and Fairleigh Dickinson University, where the play was workshopped with performances by a tremendous student cast and crew in April. The play will be performed through SATE Ensemble Theatre in St. Louis in 2018.

I also just finished a short play commission from Project Y Theatre as part of their WIT (Women in Theatre) Festival. http://www.projectytheatre.org/

For The Hrosvitha Project, four women playwrights were asked to adapt a play written by Hrosvitha, the first known woman playwright, writing in the middle ages. My play, BRIGHT PRESENCE, was part of that project.

Q: Tell me, if you will, a story from your childhood that explains who you are as a writer or as a person.

A: In first grade, I dressed up as Juliet for Halloween. I was very excited about it. My mom and I even made a headpiece out of what I think was a yamacha and some tulle from a ballet skirt. I looked the part. All day long, people kept complimenting me on my "princess" costume. I was furious. I never trick-or-treated as a Shakespearean heroine again. Instead, I went as Brainy Smurf. Head to toe blue makeup.

Q: If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be?

A: I'd get more people to more theatre more often. I don't want to live in a world where people can't actually talk to each other "IRL." In this Twitter Age, it's important that we keep life LIVE. Theatre is an essential way of doing that.

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A: Ohhhhh, let's see. Geraldine Page, August Wilson, José Quintero, Rebecca Gilman, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Rachel Chavkin, Carolyn Cantor, Bill Esper, Kevin Kittle, Theresa Rebeck, Uta Hagen, Richard Hopkins, many others...

Q: What kind of theater excites you?

A: I like theatre (and television and film) which magnifies voices that might otherwise go unheard. I believe theatre can do some real heavy-lifting, particularly in today's social and political climate. We have to believe that every human being has a perspective worthy of being seen; theatre has a unique way of making that clear through the combination of comedy and drama and by showing rather than telling or lecturing. I would definitely say I appreciate comedy; whether it's a farce or a comedic moment in a dramatic piece, a sense of humor excites me. I think one of the most remarkable things about human beings is the way we are able to laugh about the experiences that are most painful...and I think nothing brings an audience together quite like laughter.

Q: What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?

A: My best advice may sound obvious: be nice; say thank you; be kind to peers and colleagues in your field; compliment other people on work you admire; when you can't pay actors, find other ways to compensate them (free pizza always goes a long way); find ways to support other artists' work. "Networking" is something we talk about a lot in this industry and it's really important, but the more you can connect from a sincere place, the more the connections will pay off. After all, before "network" was a sexy verb, it was a noun, meaning a group of people intertwined by a spiderweb of interest--in this case, a net of plays and theatrical passion. I was recently talking to a gifted playwright, Jack MacCarthy, who said that part of being successful as a playwright is "knowing your people." And he's right. Theatre is collaborative, so why shouldn't writers collaborate even before our work hits the stage.

Q: When not writing on a computer, what's your go-to paper and writing utensil?

A: Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but I write wherever is handy. I have pieces of dialogue and portions of scenes in the backs of paperback novels I happened to be reading and on receipts and post-it notes I found at the bottom of my bag. Of course, now that I actually use the "notes" feature on my phone, I deface fewer bibliographies and end up with fewer weird stacks of tiny paper.
I prefer to write with pen, preferably roller ball (my husband got me hooked), but I'm not picky; I'll use pencil or sharpie, or even crayon if I'm really stuck.

Q: When on computer, what's your font?

A: Arial Narrow, except when I'm using Final Draft, which I leave on its default setting (Courier Final Draft, I think).

Q: Plugs, please:

A: Check out my published plays at https://www.playscripts.com/find-a-play?keyword=stacie+lents

Watch out for the next iterations of Run-On Sentence.
For the next production, visit http://prisonartsstl.or/ or http://slightlyoff.org/ in 2018.

@StacieLents

PLAYS BY STACIE:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support The Blog
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events

Email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam's Patreon

Adam's New Play Exchange Profile (Plays to Read)

Books by Adam (Amazon)

Jul 1, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 960: Inda Craig-Galván

Inda Craig-Galván

Hometown: Chicago. South Side. The Chi.

Current Town: Los Angeles.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: At this moment, I'm writing songs for my play Black Super Hero Magic Mama. I had an idea to make it a play with songs and I fiddled around with lyrics during my last year of grad school. Now, I've got three weeks before we start my rehearsal period at the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference, so I have time to play around with the work. It may not be a permanent addition; it may just be something I hear once in rehearsal and never want to hear again. But this path of exploration gives me an opportunity to stay productive while I'm here. I'm also rewriting a drama pilot, a comedy pilot, two plays, writing a screenplay, and writing a 10-minute play because I don't know how to do one thing a time. I'm still in grad school mode.

Q: Tell me, if you will, a story from your childhood that explains who you are as a writer or as a person.

A: When I was in 8th grade, I had a tape recorder that I'd use to create what I guess would be called "radio sketches." I'd play this DJ character, and I'd play all these other characters who'd call in, some with intertwining stories, and songs in between. It was quite complex, now that I'm looking back on it. I had no editing equipment, mind you. Just the tape recorder. So I'd record, and record, and if something wasn't right, I'd back up to that part and record over it. I'd take the entire day to make this "show," with absolutely no intention of anyone else ever hearing it.

That, I'm realizing, is how I navigate tasks even now. I create something with whatever tools I have at hand. The more tools the better. But if I don't have access to, say, editing equipment, I'll push on and make do with what I have in order to create the weird little thing that makes me happy.

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A: Adrienne Kennedy for working through her personal issues and America's racist issues in such a beautiful, poetic, and political way. Robert Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Tarell Alvin McCraney for having such a firm grasp on their own aesthetics. Stephen Adley Guirgis. I read one of his plays for a class in grad school, then I read all of his other plays that weekend. His dialogue makes me so happy. Tanya Saracho, Bekah Brunstetter, and Molly Smith Metzler for their fluidity, working in stage and television. That Easter episode of American Gods was everything. And a playwright did that. That's inspiring and gives me hope that I'll be able to have a foot in both worlds that I love so much (and that I might be able to make a living).

Q: What kind of theater excites you?

A: I still hold that the boldness and danger of Chicago theatre is the best thing in the world. I always say, "They're not setting pubes on fire," if I see a staid play somewhere else. That's the standard I hold everything else to. I'm excited by fresh voices, modern language, hearing underrepresented perspectives. And theatricality! When a playwright decides that something impossible and surprising and magical is going to happen on stage, and then designers work to make that happen, that's incredibly exciting to me. In Rajiv Joseph's Archduke, an entire train comes onstage, then the whole freakin thing turns around to show you the inside of the train car?! Come on! Or Robert Askin's Hand to God. That's pubes on fire, right there.

Q: What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?

A: Ha! I am a playwright just starting out. What do I tell myself? Keep writing. Stop playing online boggle. Forgive myself for playing online boggle. Maybe online boggle is what allows me to gestate ideas. Play more online boggle. WAIT! How'd this happen? Seriously, see and read plays. Read lots of different kinds of plays. Experiment with styles as you find your own. Have in-home readings so you can hear your work aloud and find what's working and what's not. And get notes from people you trust to tell you the truth; not just the people who'll tell you that your shit don't stink. Those people are lying to you.

Q: When not writing on a computer, what's your go-to paper and writing utensil? When on computer, what's your font?

A: I'm particular about the paper, although it's not expensive or fancy. I use these thin, lined notebooks. They're about 4"x6" and my favorites are the ones bound by thread (not stapled), maybe 50 pages thick, max. Each play gets its own notebook, with a different designs on each cover. I'm not picky at all about pen brands. A gel or a medium ballpoint, black ink. On the computer, I use Final Draft Courier. My title will get a unique font, depending on the story I'm telling.

Q: Plugs, please:

A: I have two readings at the O'Neill, July 26 & 27. You might hear some songs. You might not. http://www.theoneill.org/summer-conferences/npc/2017/

Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events

Email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam's Patreon

Adam's New Play Exchange Profile (Plays to Read)

Books by Adam (Amazon)

Jun 29, 2017

How To Not Write A Play

-->

How To Not Write A Play

People ask me, “Adam, how do I stop writing a play? It’s so fun and so easy and I forget to eat or have any fun because I’m always playwriting. How do I stop writing plays constantly?” So I wrote up this list to help you stop writing plays.

1. Take a walk. Don’t take any writing implements with you. Don’t think about plays. Don’t write dialogue on your phone and email it to yourself.

2. Why not binge a TV show on Netflix? There are so many. You could spend hours doing that and all that time you will make sure you’re not writing the play.

3. Have you had a snack? Have another one.

4. Now’s a good time to clean everything. That will prevent you from writing your play.

5. Read something. Stop writing. Read an article or a book or a funny list or the facebook status of your friend who is in an exotic place you will never be able to afford to go.

6. Start writing something else, like an article or a poem or a short story or an essay or a book. You should really write a book anyway. Or a screenplay. Or a pilot.

7. What if you were a cat? Cats don’t write plays. Pretend you’re a cat for a while.

8. Have another snack.

9. Go to the gym. Or have another snack. It's basically the same thing. Or alcohol!!

10. Wait a minute. Watch this funny video.

11. You should look something up on the internet. Like revolutionary war uniform buttons or the names of all the Teletubbies. Or the Wombles.

12. There are more funny videos to watch. Or what about the video for the Safety Dance. That’s fun. That reminds me of Labyrinth. Watch that. Oh, David Bowie! Sad. Let’s watch all his videos on youtube.

13. The day is almost done and you have successfully not written a play. Congratulations!

14. STOP! You were about to stay up and write a play, weren’t you? Don’t you have emails to respond to?

Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events

Email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam's Patreon

Adam's New Play Exchange Profile (Plays to Read)

Books by Adam (Amazon)

Jun 28, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 959: Amy Oestreicher

Amy Oestreicher

Hometown: Good ol’ Fairfield Connecticut

Current Town: Westport CT now…but officially just signed my lease in New York! Where I belong@

Q: Tell me about Gutless & Grateful.

A: Well…. I grew up thinking my life was a musical. Call it the “theatre bug”, call me a “drama queen” or a great big ham – I lived for the world of the stage. For me, singing and acting were ways I could connect with the world around me. When I took a deep, grounded breath from my gut, I sang what my heart longed to express. I found comfort in the words of my favorite composers. I read scripts like they were novels. I would play with my playbills from various shows I had seen like they were my Barbie dolls. Through theatre, I had a place in this world. I could make believe by inserting myself into characters from every era, situation and mindset, while still expressing my own individuality.

I was the kid who got sent to the principal’s office because when the teacher left the room, I would jump on her desk and start tap-dancing. I was the girl who forced every unwilling classmate to join me in a Les Miserables medley, assigning them their designated parts to pass the 30-minute school bus ride.

Growing up, I was the theatre-girl. It was my identity, my passion, my livelihood. I sacrificed my social life and gave up many opportunities to immerse myself in what I loved.

I’ve always been warned not to put all of my eggs in one basket, but theatre ran through my veins – it was all I thought about, lived and dreamed. I’d write songs in my assignment notebook as I waited for the school bell to ring, then hop on the train to the next open call I’d read about in Backstage. When I fought with my brothers, I could only debate with them if we could do in the spirit of a musical theatre duet. They weren’t so keen on that.

So what do you do when you’ve invested everything into your passion and you can’t follow it anymore? I’ve always thought about what would a world-concert pianist would do if he injured his hand, or a dancer breaking a leg. but sprains heal and wounds can eventually mend. Dire circumstances felt much more long lasting; when at 18 I awoke from a coma. Although the medical staff—that suddenly became everyday faces—was more concerned about keeping my organs and me alive, I was still trying to grapple with one frightening new concern:

Would I ever be able to sing and dance on stage again?

With a ventilator and a tracheotomy, I couldn’t even talk. From months of bed-rest, the first time I was able to stand up, I was alarmed at how they trembled, as if my legs were Jell-O. I lost the energy to even think about what I loved, and being unable to eat or drink in these new medical circumstances turned my once-steady focus to mush and irritability.

I remember asking every person I could find in the hospital if they thought I would ever be able to sing and dance again. I was faced with many apologetic “I don’t knows”, sighs, shrugs, and awkward changing of the topic. However, I remember one occupational therapist gave me words that to her, felt like words of encouragement. She looked at me compassionately, and said, “You never know – the human body is amazing. I had one patient who showed no signs of hope, and a year later, when he was discharged, he only needed a wheelchair!”

(These were not exactly the words of encouragement I was looking for.)

With time, patience, and dogged determination, I was eventually discharged from the hospital. What I’m glossing over are the multitudes of surgeries, setbacks and frustrations, because what was the most important was my passion – I never forgot how I missed the stage. Even not being able to talk or stand up on my own, I still visualized me singing and dancing. Without theatre, I felt disconnected, purposeless, a has-been. I missed the vibrant girl I remembered being the first to sign up for auditions, now condemned to a realm of medical isolation.

I had always had a dream of combining song and dialogue in a show of my own design. I love the idea of storytelling through theatre, but as a teen, I didn’t really have much of a story to tell. But sometimes, a setback is an opportunity in disguise. Suddenly, I had a tale of hurdles, triumph, and heart.

Eight years after my coma, I was finally headed towards a life of medical stability. I learned through experience that things can heal with time, and that’s not always the prettiest or easiest way. It was an extremely difficult journey, yet when I started to put together a musical of my life, things felt like they had happened for a reason.Now I had a story to tell, a message to share.

My one-woman musical autobiography, Gutless & Grateful, started out as stapled pages of my journal – a few pages from the thousands of journal entries I had completed when unable to eat or drink for years. I selected 16 songs—some of which I had written – that had always resonated with my journey and me, and loosely strung them together to sing for my own therapy. I’d perform Gutless & Grateful for my parents, my dogs, but mostly for myself. Through the songs, I could allow myself a safe place to feel the charged emotions I was still trying to process from years of medical trauma.

https://youtu.be/DztxEDZjNPI

I called it my “world in a binder”. My parents called it “Amy’s little play.” It was no surprise when I had many looks of concern and gentle warnings when I decided to book a theatre in New York for my world premiere!

I performed Gutless & Grateful for the first time in NYC in October 2012. It was a frightening, bold, vulnerable, and breathtaking experience. In it, I told everything – the pain, the medical, the joy, the infuriating – with music, drama, and humor, most importantly. I had played “roles” before, but for the first time, I was honestly revealing my own medical and emotional struggles for hundreds of strangers every night. It was a risk to lay my soul bare, but the reward was in how my own vulnerability caused others to become vulnerable and moved by my own struggles.

Since then, I’ve been performing it in theatres, hospitals, and groups in need of any kind of inspiration and encouragement. When I realized how combining powerful firsthand experience could transform lives, I developed my little-show-that-could into a mental health advocacy and sexual assault prevention program for students. Nearly losing my life at 18 years old, I’m now reaching out to students at that same pivotal point in their own lives.

Medically, my life is far from perfect, but now when a surgery goes wrong, I use it as more material for my show – if we cant learn to laugh from hardship, we cant learn anything. And for me, when I learn, I feel alive – that just as trees grow, change and evolve with every season, I can too.
Through Gutless & Grateful, I’m sharing my story and helping others find the gifts and the gratitude in the hardships. And in healing other people, I heal my own self a bit more every day. I’m not there yet, but just like my show – I’m on the road.

As a performer, all I want to do is give back to the world. Being up on stage and singing is one part of the joy, but what brings the process full circle is knowing that somewhere in the audience, I am affecting someone and making them think in a different way. That is the power of theatre – stirring you to see things differently.

Now it's been 6 years touring Gutless and Grateful - the 70 minute musical that started from a hospital.

Q: What else are you working on now?

A: A lot of great projects! I’m always touring Gutless & Grateful, not only to theatres, but to colleges, conferences, organization, military support groups, temples advocacy groups – you name it – as a mental health, PTSD, disability, sexual assault and leadership program, so this show is always in my heart…but more exciting for me, I’m developing plenty of new shows at once! . I’m developing a musical, LEFTOVERS with director and dramaturge Susan Einhorn, which is a musicalized version of my “Musical chair-like” transition out of the surgical ICU. Other projects include a multidisciplinary solo play, “Trust/In Development,” based on my most recent TEDx Talk, using Joseph Campbell’s archetypal hero’s journey to portray the “heroic adventures” in recovery, and after completing a residency at Art Kibbutz, I created a documentary drama based on 300 pages of transcribed oral histories from my grandmother and her nine siblings, after surviving Auschwitz. Judaism has been an overflowing source of playwriting inspiration, and its resilient stories have also inspired two short plays, “Factory Treasures” and “We Re-Member,” based on the garment factory that my grandparents established after immigrating to New York.

But most importantly…I fell into a coma the week I received my college acceptance letters (that’s in Gutless & Grateful for all the deets) For a while, I thought college was not in the cards for me.
But I graduated in May from Hampshire College. It showed me that there is truly no “It will never happen.”

Anything is possible and I look forward to defying more of my own expectations.
Oh, and finishing up editing on my book, My Beautiful Detour. Out December 2017!

Q: Tell me, if you will, a story from your childhood that explains who you are as a writer or as a person.

A:
- In third grade, I got sent to the principal’s office for tap dancing on my teacher’s desk
- I wrote a one-woman musical for my bus driver and got really offended when she didn’t want to perform it. I called it Michelle the Mensch. She said it was distracting her from driving. I didn’t get that.
- I was so obsessed with the musical Les Miserables as an eight-year-old, that I bought the huge unabridged Victor Hugo novel and intended to read it. However, I got much more pleasure bringing it to school every day and leaving it on my desk, so people could think I was really artsy and deep
- My babysitters were petrified of me because they knew every time they’d come over they’d be a victim of my latest skit.

Q: If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be?

A: Submission fees (aren’t all playwrights broke???) and equity auditions…I’m non-equity but auditioning for Les Miz is on my bucket list. I played Eponine in two non-professional productions and I HAVE to play it one more time before I’m too old!!!

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A: Adam Guettel -- Floyd Collins changed my life. And so did Anne Bogart as a director.

Q: What kind of theater excites you?

A: Anything multimedia/multidisciplinary – using art, music, movement, projections, puppetry, you name it! I just saw “Soot and Spit” directed by Kim Weild, Written by Charles Mee at New Ohio Factory Theatre – I had the privilege of writing up an interview I did with Kim on the show for Huffington Post and BroadwayWorld. I left simply speechless. I still am. AMAZING!
Also anything collaborative, devised, immersive, site-specific…I spent the fall studying at the Eugene O’Neill Theater center and let’s just say I had no idea so much was possible through theatre!

Q: What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?

A: Start from anywhere. Seriously – just WRITE! Don’t edit as you write. Do that after!
Don’t compare yourself and work with what you have. But don’t accept what you start with. Visualize what you’d like to be and manifest it – will it. The most important thing is to really tune into your passion and work from there – wherever it may lead you – no matter how crazy. If it is authentic, it’s real. And with a bit of dedication, it will happen.

Q: When not writing on a computer, what's your go-to paper and writing utensil? When on computer, what's your font?

A: I love pacing around in circles texting to myself. I wrote a whole script that way! I’m a chronic pacer – antsy as heck.

My Font? Oh, you know, that pesky stage formatting requires Times New Roman!

Q: Plugs, please:

A: Website: www.amyoes.com
Facebook: facebook.com/amyoestr
Twitter: @amyoes
Instagram: @amyoes70
You Tube: youtube.com/amyoes70
Watch my TEDx Talks at amyoes.com/tedx
READ ABOUT THE OTHER PLAYS I'M DEVELOPING! AMYOES.COM/PLAYWRIGHT

I’m so excited to be bringing this to Feinstein’s/54 Below. It’s a beautiful venue and I thought it’s especially fitting since the food is amazing…and this is a musical (comedy) about how my stomach exploded and I couldn’t eat or drink for six years! Spoiler alert – I can eat and drink now. So let’s just say I am REALLY looking forward to grabbing a meal afterwards!

Show Information:
When: June 30th at 9:30pm
Where: Feinstein’s/54 Below (254 West 54th Street)
Use the discount code AMY35 but only if you make reservations beforehand!
Buy tickets at https://54below.com/events/amy-oestreicher-gutless-grateful/
There is a $25-$35 cover charge and $25 food and beverage minimum.
Tickets and information are available at www.54Below.com.
Tickets on the day of performance after 4:00 are only available by calling (646) 476-3551.

I also book Gutless & Grateful myself not only to theatres, but to colleges, orgs, conferences, temples, as a leadership, mental health, arts program/workshop - learn more at amyoes.com/gutless!

Oh...and about that audition for Les Miz...I'm in New York now and I've got my headshot/resume handy :))

Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events

Email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam's Patreon

Adam's New Play Exchange Profile (Plays to Read)

Books by Adam (Amazon)

Jun 27, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 958: Patrick Vermillion

Patrick Vermillion

Hometown: Basking Ridge, NJ

Current Town: Brooklyn, NY

Q: Tell me about Jessica.

A: Jessica goes up July 22nd-August 6th at IRT Theater and it’s being put up by the absolutely phenomenal people at Sanguine Theatre Company. The play’s about a group of people attempting to bring back a close friend with Artificial Intelligence. But before long it becomes apparent they have different ideas of who this person was and what elements are important in reconstructing her. Thematically, it’s about consent, friendship, and how we allow our friends to define us during and after our time with them.

The play started as a genre exercise because I wanted to try my hand at writing science fiction for the stage. I really enjoy old sci-fi movies where limited technology and budgets required a greater level of creativity in how these larger than life ideas were displayed. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever written or explored before and it’s consistently surprising to me how personal the play has become. It’s simultaneously frightening and exciting.

Q: What else are you working on now?

A: I’m finishing up a play called Circle of Friends, about abuse and social cliques, which will have a reading through the Pantry Theater Company in the near future. I’m part of a sketch team called New Greta and we’re trying to put up a brand new sketch show in the next two months. And I’m working on a bunch of other new plays but the one I’m most excited about involves exploring the surprising amount of crossover behind YouTube Celebrities and the Alt Right.

Q: Tell me, if you will, a story from your childhood that explains who you are as a writer or as a person.

A: First thing that comes to mind is visiting my grandparents in Arizona at the age of 6 or 7. My sister and I used to put on elaborate puppet shows and I mean really elaborate. These things had multiple scenes, continuous plots, and were at least thirty minutes long (my poor parents). I remember distinctly we did like a season finale at my grandparent’s house once where one of our puppets gave birth to another puppet in a six year old’s interpretation of a labor scene. There’s video of it and you can hear my dad say “where did they learn about this?” Somewhere between the joy of making those shows with my sister and the fact that everyone had to pay attention to us for at least thirty minutes explains the person I am today.

Q: If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be?

A: It has to be more accessible. Not just in price, but subject matter, length, and actual physical accessibility. Anyone who wants to see a show should be able to see one, and anyone who’s skeptical should at least be given the chance to make an opinion in person.

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A: I got two. Annie Baker and J.B. Priestley. I know that a playwright saying they like Annie Baker is like a dude from 90s Seattle saying he likes Nirvana but she’s affected me the most. Her plays ring so true for me and I’m eternally inspired by her ability to make dialogue that’s so real and awkward but still manages to devastate you when you least expect it. Her play at Signature this year, The Antipodes, has encapsulated what it feels like to be alive the past year and a half better than anything else I’ve seen.

J.B. Priestley was introduced to me by my professor and mentor, Stuart Spencer. Every one of his plays is like a master class in form and everytime I want to explore a new way of telling a story, I’ll revisit his works to see how it’s done. This is going to sound really silly but Time and The Conways might have been the first time I “got” theater? Or at least the first time I read a play that I knew couldn’t be performed anywhere else besides the stage.

Q: What kind of theater excites you?

A: Plays with momentum. I’m a sucker for all one place and time if it’s executed well. Also, plays that find new ways to invoke the audience whether it be a different seating arrangement or full on participation. I studied audience participation for a semester in college and it’s actually really sad how negative our association with audience interaction can be. Some of the best work I’ve seen have involved the audience in new and exciting ways. Back in school, these two students Jesse Heffler and Joe Faragher put on a wonderful piece about Jesse’s experience on his Birthright trip. I remember purposefully sitting in a non-participatory zone at first but became involved before long and loved every second of it. Every piece of audience participation contributed to the greater idea of discomfort on this trip and it was told in such a brilliant way. Now I seek theater that gets the audience involved in ways that are not only fun, but significant to the story being told on stage.

Q: What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?

A: Ok, with disclaimer that I am probably not the best person to give advice to anyone, I’ll say these are the things that have helped me the most so far:

Write every day, it doesn’t have to be good. It doesn’t have to be a lot. Crappy first drafts are actually sometimes a better base than nothing!

Be friendly! This one is actually just directly advice to myself because I psyche myself out a lot. Go to readings, befriend other theater makers, introduce yourself, offer to help others in their artistic pursuits.

Good friends are the single most important thing to your career. I can’t tell you how many things I’ve booked thanks to a watchful friend who was looking out for me. Having people who will read your play and give you feedback, who will help direct or act in your small productions. These are the most important people in the world and they’ll be the people you work with the longest.

Self-produce! And I don’t mean waste all your life savings on one production and hope it’s your big break. Put up small stuff. Take advantage of your surroundings. Put up cheap theater, take photos and video. Don’t produce just to have a production. Put up stuff you’re excited about. If it’s exciting to you, it’ll be exciting to others.

Q: Plugs, please:

A: Jessica goes up July 22nd - August 6th and tickets can be found here: http://irttheater.org/3b-development-series/jessica-by-patrick-vermillion/

The Pantry who I’ll be working with on the reading: https://www.facebook.com/thepantrytheatre/

And my troupe, New Greta, we got a monthly show at The PIT Loft! Come check us out: http://thepit-nyc.com/event/2017-06-28-new-greta-has-friends

Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events

Email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam's Patreon

Adam's New Play Exchange Profile (Plays to Read)

Books by Adam (Amazon)

Adam Szymkowicz

Featured Post

1100 Playwright Interviews

Jul 2, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 961: Stacie Lents

Jul 1, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 960: Inda Craig-Galván

Jun 29, 2017

How To Not Write A Play

Jun 28, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 959: Amy Oestreicher

Jun 27, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 958: Patrick Vermillion

For Playwrights

For Actors

Theater Jokes

Press

Film

Search This Blog