Nate Rufus Edelman
Hometown: Northeast Los Angeles
Current Town: Loz Feliz, by way of New York and Ireland.
Q: Tell me about The Belle of Belfast.
A: "The Belle of Belfast" is a comic tragedy about a forbidden love affair between an orphaned seventeen year old girl and her parish priest in 1980s Northern Ireland. It was a part of Cherry Lane Theatre's Mentor Project and is receiving its world premiere at EST/LA in Atwater Village. I wrote an article for LA Stage Times that illustrates its journey that can be found here:
http://www.lastagetimes.com/2012/10/an-angeleno-examines-the-belfast-troubles/
Q: What else are you working on now?
A: I have several plays in different stages of development. I have written a trilogy of black comic plays about murder in the contemporary American West that I hope to polish and one-day get staged. I have also just finished producing and co-directing the inaugural production for the Savage Players, a new company in Los Angeles of which I am a founding member. It was a terrific collaborative experience and I am eager to help mount something with the company in the winter. I also have a couple of screen projects in the works that one day I would like to direct.
Q: If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be?
A: I wish that theater in America was subsidized federally. It is a vital part of our national culture and should be treated with the respect it receives in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?
A: John Millington Synge. Sean O'Casey. Samuel Beckett. Harold Pinter. Anton Chekhov. Lady Gregory for founding the Abbey Theatre and the many people who followed in her path-- courageous Artistic Directors who have dedicated their own money and lives to showcase new work on stages across the globe.
Q: What kind of theater excites you?
A: Theater that fully transports me somewhere I never expected to go.
Q: What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?
A: Try and write your favorite play-- no one else's. And I am partial to courier as a font.
Q: Plugs, please:
A: "The Belle of Belfast" opens on October 6th at Ensemble Studio Theatre LA. It runs in rep with Keliher Walsh's powerful "Year of the Rabbit." Please come and check them out!
http://ensemblestudiotheatrela.org/
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