Chester Poon
Hometown: Springfield, MA
Current Town: Brooklyn
Q: Tell me about The Hardest Goodbye.
A: The Hardest Goodbye is my very first play. I've always wanted to write a play, but never knew how to start or what to write about, but I guess you could say I had a light bulb moment. It started as an idea I came up with one night while watching YouTube when I was stoned. I was watching these two ghosthunters doing random things in an abandoned hotel and they were doing a collab with these other two video game content creators. The whole thing looked absolutely ridiculous and it was obvious at least to me that a good portion of it was somewhat scripted in the way that reality shows are scripted. So I thought it would be hilarious if a play was written depicting this. I've also desperately wanted to see more ghosts and ghost stories in plays in general. Maybe it's what I'm exposed to in the theater, but it's rare for me to come across a ghost story come to life on the stage. I picked one ritual that the real-life Youtubers did and just started writing. It quickly evolved into what I think ghosts are really about and what captures our imagination. I have a hot-take. I don't believe in ghosts, so for me, ghosts are really just something that our senses can't quite identify or understand. That "not-knowing" is what sometimes fuels our fear of ghosts or the ghostly. But to me, ghosts are also intriguing in that they have a tendency to represent grief and loss in our imaginations. And that's the story I wanted to tell.
Q: What else are you working on now?
A: Well, writing this play got me going, so I'm writing another one. For a period of time, I got really into the concept of lucid dreaming. That's about all I'm willing to share at the moment.
Q: If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be?
A: More ghost plays! More plays about ghosts! More plays with jump scares!
Q: What kind of theater excites you?
A: I'm pretty basic. I like a good time. I wanna experience both the laughing and the crying/sad mask that's associated with theater.
Q: What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?
A: I mean, I'm just starting out myself, so I don't really know anything, but if I could talk to a younger version of myself that hadn't started writing yet, I'd tell him to just start writing. What held me back for so long is that I thought I sucked at writing dialogue. And honestly, the earlier iterations of this play did kinda suck, but I kept working at it. So, don't be afraid that your play is going to suck. It probably will at first, but just keep at it. It'll get better. I also found that it helps to let go of the ego and allow yourself to be vulnerable in your writing.
Q: Plugs, please:
A: Plugs? Like, as in promo something? I have a public staged reading for this on Dec 2nd!
A: I mean, I'm just starting out myself, so I don't really know anything, but if I could talk to a younger version of myself that hadn't started writing yet, I'd tell him to just start writing. What held me back for so long is that I thought I sucked at writing dialogue. And honestly, the earlier iterations of this play did kinda suck, but I kept working at it. So, don't be afraid that your play is going to suck. It probably will at first, but just keep at it. It'll get better. I also found that it helps to let go of the ego and allow yourself to be vulnerable in your writing.
Q: Plugs, please:
A: Plugs? Like, as in promo something? I have a public staged reading for this on Dec 2nd!
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