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Playwright Spotlight features a new playwright every episode to discuss the tools of the trade and solutions to the obstacles we face as writers in hopes of making us all better and more successful playwrights.
104 Episodes
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Send us a text Filmmaker turned playwright, David Kohner Zuckerman, dropped into Playwright's Spotlight to talk about the World Premiere of his play Parallel Process. In this interview, we talk unpack his journey from film to stage and how it affect his writing, his approach to naturalism and honesty to his writing, and how his acting and directing applied to his writing. We also touched on his collaborating with his cast, how rehearsals affected his structure, and being a first time playwrig...
Send us a text Playwright Stuart Brown streamed into Playwright's Spotlight for a second time after technical difficulties with sound, but I hope delved a little deeper this time around. We discuss the Connecticut Theatre Market, being a critic and a playwright and how the former affected the latter, honesty as a critic, and advice to theatre companies on getting critics in seats. We also explore how being a critic helped his writing when he began to pursue playwriting, keeping your audience ...
Send us a text Playwright. Screenplay Writer, and Novelist Lawrence C. Connolly streamed into Playwright's Spotlight and, as always, we touched base on many topics not covered in previous episodes. It never ceases to amaze me. In this discussion, we delve into adapting a novel and the allegory of Frankenstein, staging multiple locations on stage, the process of outlining a five-act play, approaching cross-talk amongst multiple characters, and the musicality of dialogue. We also we unpack flow...
Send us a text Angelica Cheri swung by Playwright's Spotlight after leaving the rehearsals of her Broadway play Wanted only to jump into the rehearsals for the West Coast Premiere of her play Burta Burta. She was wiling to share her insights of the craft. We delve into the rehearsal process, approaching rewrites and the importance of dramatic truth, finding opportunities and landing an agent, changes to pieces from a thesis to premieres to publication. We also touch on the trick of raising st...
Send us a text Episode 100! Thanks for supporting us on this journey. We would love to hear how this podcast may have helped you with your creative endeavors. To celebrate this milestone, Rick Elice of Jersey Boys, Peter and the Star Catcher, Water for Elephants, The Addams Family, The Cher Show, and the upcoming Princess Bride Musical, was gracious enough sit in the Spotlight (TWICE) after a botched first recording. We owe this opportunity to Cameron Scott who put this entire thing into moti...
Send us a text Playwright and performer, Ashley Griffin, swung by the studio to sit in the Playwright's Spotlight before her West Coast Premiere of her Off-Broadway play The Opposite of Love. It's a compelling conversation that tackles so many aspects of playwriting, that the title of the thumbnail became a struggle. In this discussion, we breakdown her playwriting origins, learning lessons from mentors, overcoming technical challenges, magical realism and heightened language, and achieving t...
Send us a text I invited Joel Trinidad onto the Playwright's Spotlight after reading about his journey. He streamed in while on tour for his acting performance of Romeo and Juliet as part of a fringe fest in South Dakota. In our conversation, we discussed acquiring an artist visa, producing your own work, the definition of success, the structure of a musical, and the importance of networking and finding opportunities. We also discussed using your cast to fill seats, imposter syndrome, submiss...
Send us a text Broadway marketer turned playwright Cameron Scott came onto Playwright's Spotlight after I received his submission to PLAY Noir to talk about his later-in-life start to playwriting. In this conversation, we delve into what the definition of a writer is, a play being a living thing, audio plays vs stage plays and a play's transition from audio to stage, and setting time aside and finding opportunities to write. We also discuss staging in unconventional locations, being a minimal...
Send us a text Returning playwright Faye Widjaja and her cohort, Sohoni Sawant, dropped by the studio after having streamed in from her original interview just over two years ago to discuss the journey and evolution of her play A Minor Inconvenience from the Lenaea High School Theatre Festival to the Hollywood Fringe. It's an insightful journey I hope every playwright at any stage can pull a nugget of knowledge. We explore their journey from the original production and obstacles at Lena...
Send us a text John Farmanesh-Bocca swung by The Playwright's Spotlight to talk about his latest Shakespeare adaptation Lear Redux: A Quantum Fantasia. Throughout this conversation we discuss his journey into becoming an adaptive playwrights of the Classics, how he breaks them down, unpacks them, and the puts them back together to serve a modern audience without losing the original story and, sometimes, the original language. We discuss how much preparation he does before moving into collabor...
Send us a text Longtime-listening playwright Brad McEntire streamed into the Spotlight to discuss his experience and approach to the craft. We discuss the exercises and lessons from studying under Will Power at Southern Methodist University and the Dallas Theatre Center, playing with the rhythm of dialogue, what beginning playwrights don't do or practice, and whether or not you can achieve impossible stage directions with a small budget. We also delve into his background as a literary manager...
Send us a text Rickerby Hinds swung by the Playwright's Spotlight prior to the premiere of his "last' play. We unpack various topics including Hip Hop Theatre, being a self-taught playwright, writing without arrogance, earning your audience, and the use of poetry, spoken word, rap, and movement and dance. We also discuss lessons in editing, metaphors and similes, achieving layers, character introductions, unwritten dialogue, and what choreography on the page looks like. We wrap it up with his...
Send us a text Just over the week before the World Premiere of her first play celebrating the Centennial celebration of Coral Gables, Florida, multiple Emmy-winning journalist June Thomson Morris beamed into the Playwright's Spotlight. In this interview, we discuss attempting one's first play, overcoming obstacles, and experiencing your work come to life for the first time. We also explore how journalism nurtures playwriting, learning from Masterclass vs Academia, narrowing framing and forego...
Send us a text Playwrights Lisa Rosenbaum and Ronda Spinak sat in the Playwright's Spotlight to discuss the evolution of their play The Violin Maker from its Sydney, Australia production to its US premiere from its origin from The Violins of Hope through its process up to rehearsals. We delve into the styles of salons, approaching flashbacks and overwriting, respect and valuing while collaborating, getting to the emotion and infusing your writing with heart, stage directions as road maps and ...
Send us a text British L.A.-based playwright Stephen Laughton came sat in-house in the Playwright's Spotlight before the West Coast Premiere of his play One Jewish Boy. In this interview, we discuss the differences in the London, New York, and Los Angeles markets, London gatekeepers and the draw of the London Fringe and its difference to the Edinburgh Fringe, taking advantage of Covid, and the responsibilities and how playwriting applies to the Astrophysics Team at the American Museum of Natu...
Send us a text Before the World Premiere of his very first play, Judson Jones streamed into the Playwright's Spotlight. We discussed his background in theatre, film, and television and his journey to writing his first play and any challenges he overcame. We dove into hitting the flow state, introducing new ideas, the appreciation of new works, storytelling through Post-It notes, working with deadlines, collaborating with designers and the benefits of simplicity and justification as well...
Send us a text Playwright Megan Gogerty streamed into the Playwright's Spotlight right before the opening of her one-woman show and reimagining of the story of Beowulf. It's a fascinating episode with tons of wisdom to take in, unpack, and apply. We discuss one-person adaptations and letting the play be itself, the importance of intuition, the use of two ideas that collide, and knowing what the question is. We delve into the structure of a one-person vs multi-actor piece, the structure of a o...
Send us a text Audrey Cefaly streamed into the Playwright's Spotlight after I had the pleasure of seeing the production of her play Alabaster at The Fountain Theatre in Los Angles. This is first time I've had the opportunity to talk to the playwright after seeing their work. We discuss asking big questions, making changes throughout the play's evolution, how much design is on the page, knowing the rules of the card game, and refraining from hardwiring stage directions to allow creative freedo...
Send us a text This is a very important episode shining light onto a subject a lot of us don't realize our fellow creatives are struggling with and how it may affect their craft - disabilities. Peter Anthony Fields sat in the Playwright's Spotlight and shared his experience fighting Parkinson's and how his diagnosis changes his creative pursuit. We discuss not only the physical afflictions of the disease but also the mental symptoms, his transition from filmmaker to playwright, advice for oth...
Send us a text Before the World Premiere of her play, Georgia and the Butch, playwright Carolyn Gage streamed into the Playwright's Spotlight. As happens with most episodes lately we explore something new about the craft and delve into the documentary play, in this case the relationship between Georgia O'Keefe and Maria Chabot. We discuss framing and censorship, theatre critics, creative license. We also chat about her experience approaching musicals and adaptations, the purpose and rules of ...
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