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1100 Playwright Interviews

1100 Playwright Interviews A Sean Abley Rob Ackerman E.E. Adams Johnna Adams Liz Duffy Adams Tony Adams David Adjmi Keith Josef Adkins Nicc...

Feb 6, 2013

550 Playwright Interviews (alphabetical)

Sean Abley
Rob Ackerman
Liz Duffy Adams
Johnna Adams
Tony Adams 
David Adjmi
Keith Josef Adkins
Nastaran Ahmadi   
Derek Ahonen
Kathleen Akerley
Daniel Akiyama   
Zakiyyah Alexander
Luis Alfaro
Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro 
Lucy Alibar
Joshua Allen
Norman Allen
Mando Alvarado 
Sofia Alvarez 
Christina Anderson
Eddie Antar
Terence Anthony
David Anzuelo
Rob Askins 
David Auburn 
Micheline Auger  
Alice Austen 
Elaine Avila   
Rachel Axler
Jaclyn Backhaus
Jenny Lyn Bader
Bianca Bagatourian   
Annie Baker
Trista Baldwin
David Bar Katz
Jennifer Barclay 
Courtney Baron
Scott T. Barsotti
Abi Basch 
Mike Batistick 
Brian Bauman
Neena Beber

Nikole Beckwith 
Maria Alexandria Beech
France-Luce Benson
Kari Bentley-Quinn 
Alan Berks
Brooke Berman
Susan Bernfield
Jay Bernzweig 
Hilary Bettis
Liza Birkenmeier
Mickey Birnbaum  
Barton Bishop
Martin Blank
Radha Blank
Lee Blessing
Jonathan Blitstein
Adam Bock
Jerrod Bogard
Emily Bohannon
Rachel Bonds
Margot Bordelon
Deron Bos
Hannah Bos
Leslie Bramm
Jami Brandli
George Brant
Tim Braun
Deborah Brevoort  
Delaney Britt Brewer
Jessica Brickman  
Erin Browne
Julia Brownell  
Bekah Brunstetter
Aaron Bushkowsky
Monica Byrne
Dan Caffrey
Renee Calarco
Zack Calhoon 
Sheila Callaghan
E. J. C. Calvert
Robert Quillen Camp  
Darren Canady
Ruben Carbajal
Ed Cardona, Jr.
Jonathan Caren
Aaron Carter
James Carter
Lonnie Carter
Nat Cassidy 
David Caudle
Laura Maria Censabella 
Emily Chadick Weiss
Eugenie Chan
Anupama Chandrasekhar  
Clay McLeod Chapman
Christopher Chen
Kirsten Childs 
Jason Chimonides
J. Julian Christopher
Andrea Ciannavei
John Clancy
Eliza Clark
Alexis Clements
Paul Cohen
Randall Colburn
Bárbara Colio 
Alexandra Collier
James Comtois
Joshua Conkel
Jennie Contuzzi  
Kara Lee Corthron
Kia Corthron  
Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas
Erin Courtney
Cusi Cram
Lisa D'Amour
Gordon Dahlquist 
Wendy Dann  
Heidi Darchuk
Bilal Dardai 
Stacy Davidowitz
Adrienne Dawes 
Philip Dawkins
Dylan Dawson
Colby Day  
Gabriel Jason Dean
Vincent Delaney
Devon de Mayo 
Emily Dendinger 
Emily DeVoti
Kristoffer Diaz
Jessica Dickey
Dan Dietz
Lisa Dillman
Ivan Dimitrov  
Zayd Dohrn
Colman Domingo  
Bathsheba Doran
Anton Dudley
Christopher Durang 
Laura Eason
Nate Rufus Edelman 
Fielding Edlow
Reginald Edmund 
Erik Ehn
Yussef El Guindi
Michael Elyanow  
Libby Emmons
Jennie Berman Eng
Saúl Enríquez 
Christine Evans 
Jennifer Fawcett 
Joshua Fardon
Halley Feiffer 
Lauren Feldman
Gina Femia  
Catherine Filloux   
Kenny Finkle
Stephanie Fleischmann
Kate Fodor
Sam Forman 
Dana Lynn Formby
Dorothy Fortenberry 
 
Kevin R. Free
Matthew Freeman
Edith Freni
Patrick Gabridge 
Fengar Gael
David Gaitán
Nick Gandiello
Anne Garcia-Romero
Gary Garrison
Melissa Gawlowski 
Philip Gawthorne
Madeleine George
Meg Gibson
Mira Gibson
Sean Gill
Lucy Gillespie 
Sigrid Gilmer 
Peter Gil-Sheridan
Gina Gionfriddo
Kelley Girod
Megan Gogerty 
Michael Golamco
Jessica Goldberg
Will Goldberg
Brian Golden
Daniel Goldfarb
Jacqueline Goldfinger
Jeff Goode
Idris Goodwin
Tasha Gordon-Solmon
Christina Gorman
Craig "muMs" Grant
Katharine Clark Gray
Donnetta Grays
Elana Greenfield   
Kirsten Greenidge
D.W. Gregory 
David Grimm
Rinne Groff 
Jason Grote
Sarah Gubbins
Stephen Adly Guirgis
Lauren Gunderson
Adam Hahn
Laurel Haines 
Jennifer Haley
Ashlin Halfnight   
Christina Ham
Sarah Hammond
Rob Handel
Trish Harnetiaux 
Jordan Harrison
Megan Hart 
Leslye Headland
Ann Marie Healy
Julie Hebert 
Marielle Heller
Charity Henson-Ballard 
Amy Herzog
Ian W. Hill  
Andrew Hinderaker
Cory Hinkle
Richard Martin Hirsch
Ron Hirsen  
Lucas Hnath
David Holstein
Ike Holter  
J. Holtham
Miranda Huba  
Quiara Alegria Hudes 
Les Hunter
Sam Hunter
Monet Hurst-Mendoza 
Chisa Hutchinson
Arlene Hutton
Lameece Issaq 
Tom Jacobson  
Laura Jacqmin
Joshua James
Julia Jarcho
Kyle Jarrow
Rachel Jendrzejewski   
Karla Jennings
David Johnston
Daniel Alexander Jones
Marie Jones
Nick Jones
Julia Jordan
Rajiv Joseph
Ken Kaissar 
Aditi Brennan Kapil
Lila Rose Kaplan
Stephen Karam  
Jeremy Kareken 
Lally Katz
Lynne Kaufman
Daniel Keene 
 
Greg Keller
Daniel John Kelley 
Sibyl Kempson
Jon Kern 
Anna Kerrigan
Kait Kerrigan
Lyle Kessler
Jeffrey James Keyes  
Boo Killebrew
Callie Kimball
Alessandro King 
Johnny Klein 
Krista Knight
Josh Koenigsberg 


Kristen Kosmas
David Koteles
Adam Kraar  
Sherry Kramer
Carolyn Kras
Andrea Kuchlewska
Larry Kunofsky
Aaron Landsman 
Eric Lane  
Jennifer Lane
Deborah Zoe Laufer
Jacqueline E. Lawton 
Ginger Lazarus
J. C. Lee
Young Jean Lee
Dan LeFranc
Forrest Leo  
Andrea Lepcio
Victor Lesniewski 
Steven Levenson
Barry Levey
Mark Harvey Levine  
Michael Lew
Alex Lewin  
EM Lewis
Sean Christopher Lewis
Jeff Lewonczyk
Kenneth Lin
Evan Linder 
Ethan Lipton 
Michael Lluberes
 
Matthew Lopez
Tim J. Lord 
Alex Lubischer 
Stacey Luftig
Kirk Lynn
Taylor Mac  
Mariah MacCarthy
Heather Lynn MacDonald 
Laura Lynn MacDonald
Maya Macdonald
Samantha Macher 
Wendy MacLeod 
Cheri Magid
Jennifer Maisel
Martyna Majok  
Karen Malpede   
Kara Manning
Mona Mansour 
Warren Manzi
Chelsea M. Marcantel  
Israela Margalit 
Ellen Margolis
Ruth Margraff
Laura Marks
Sam Marks
Mark Mason
Katie May
Oliver Mayer
Tarell Alvin McCraney
Mia McCullough
Daniel McCoy
Jayme McGhan
Caroline V. McGraw
Ruth McKee
Gabe McKinley  
Ellen McLaughlin 
James McManus
Charlotte Meehan
Carly Mensch
Molly Smith Metzler
Dennis Miles
Charlotte Miller 
Jane Miller
Susan Miller 
Winter Miller
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Yusef Miller 
Rehana Mirza
Michael Mitnick
Chiori Miyagawa 
Anna Moench
Honor Molloy
Luis Enrique Gutiérrez Ortiz Monasterio  
Claire Moodey
Concepción León Mora
Alejandro Morales
Desi Moreno-Penson
Dominique Morisseau 
Susan Mosakowski  
Hannah Moscovitch 
Itamar Moses
Gregory Moss
Megan Mostyn-Brown
Kate Mulley 
Paul Mullin
Carlos Murillo  
Julie Marie Myatt
Janine Nabers
Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
Brett Neveu
Don Nguyen   
Qui Nguyen
Don Nigro
Timothy Nolan  
Dan O'Brien
Matthew Paul Olmos 
Dominic Orlando
Rich Orloff
Marisela Treviño Orta
Sylvan Oswald
Jamie Pachino
Kristen Palmer
Marc Palmieri 
Tira Palmquist

Kyoung H. Park
Jerome A. Parker  
Peter Parnell
Caitlin Montanye Parrish
Julia Pascal
Steve Patterson
Greg Paul 
Daniel Pearle
Matt Pelfrey
christopher oscar peña
Anne Phelan 
Greg Pierce
Greg Pierotti 
Begonya Plaza
Robert Plowman
Brian Polak 
Daria Polatin
John Pollono
Larry Pontius
Chana Porter
Max Posner  
Craig Pospisil
Jessica Provenz
Michael Puzzo
Brian Quirk
Marco Ramirez 
Yasmine Beverly Rana
Adam Rapp
David West Read 
Theresa Rebeck
Amber Reed
Daniel Reitz
M.Z. Ribalow
Molly Rice
Tania Richard
Kiran Rikhye
David Robson  
Mac Rogers
Joe Roland 
Elaine Romero
Greg Romero
Lynn Rosen
Andrew Rosendorf
Kim Rosenstock
Ben Rosenthal 
Sharyn Rothstein
David Rush  
Kate E. Ryan
Kate Moira Ryan
Trav S.D.
Riti Sachdeva  
Erica Saleh 
Sarah Sander
Tanya Saracho
Heidi Schreck
August Schulenburg
Sarah Schulman  
Mark Schultz
Jenny Schwartz
Emily Schwend
Jordan Seavey
Adriano Shaplin 
Erika Sheffer
Katharine Sherman
Kendall Sherwood 
Christopher Shinn
Rachel Shukert
Jen Silverman
David Simpatico 
Blair Singer
Crystal Skillman
Mat Smart
Alena Smith
Matthew Stephen Smith  
Tommy Smith
Ben Snyder
Sonya Sobieski  
Lisa Soland
Octavio Solis
Steve J. Spencer
Stephen Spotswood 
E. Hunter Spreen 
Peggy Stafford
Diana Stahl 
Saviana Stanescu
Susan Soon He Stanton  
Nick Starr
Deborah Stein
Jon Steinhagen
Caitlin Saylor Stephens
Vanessa Claire Stewart 
Victoria Stewart
Andrea Stolowitz
Steven Strafford 
Lydia Stryk 
Lloyd Suh
Gwydion Suilebhan  
Gary Sunshine
Chelsea Sutton 
Caridad Svich
Jeffrey Sweet
Adam Szymkowicz
Daniel Talbott
Jeff Talbott 
Kate Tarker 
Roland Tec 
Lucy Thurber
Paul Thureen
Melisa Tien   
Josh Tobiessen
Joe Tracz
Catherine Trieschmann 
Dan Trujillo
Alice Tuan
Jon Tuttle
Ken Urban
Enrique Urueta
Jean-Claude van Itallie
Karen Smith Vastola 
Francine Volpe
Kathryn Walat
Ian Walker
Michael I. Walker 
Malachy Walsh
Kathleen Warnock
Anne Washburn
Marisa Wegrzyn
Anthony Weigh   
Ken Weitzman
Sharr White
David Wiener  
Claire Willett
Samuel Brett Williams
Beau Willimon
Pia Wilson
Leah Nanako Winkler 
Gary Winter
Bess Wohl
Tom Matthew Wolfe  
Stanton Wood
Craig Wright
Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig
Anu Yadav
Deborah Yarchun
Lauren Yee
Steve Yockey
Kelly Younger
Stefanie Zadravec
David Zellnik  
Anna Ziegler
Martín Zimmerman
Don Zolidis


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Book Store
Books by Adam

550 Playwright Interviews

Donnetta Grays
Anupama Chandrasekhar
Matt Pelfrey
Caroline V. McGraw
Kiran Rikhye
David Koteles
Lyle Kessler
Jaclyn Backhaus
Chelsea Sutton
Laura Marks
Don Zolidis
Concepción León Mora
Saúl Enríquez
Bárbara Colio
Liza Birkenmeier
David Gaitán
Stephen Spotswood
Erica Saleh
Mira Gibson
E. J. C. Calvert
Nick Gandiello
Tania Richard
Lloyd Suh
Robert Koon
Ron Hirsen
Jayme McGhan Timothy Nolan
Steve J. Spencer
Carolyn Kras
Scott T. Barsotti
Ike Holter
Chelsea M. Marcantel
Adam Hahn
Devon de Mayo
J. Julian Christopher
Aaron Bushkowsky
Brian Golden
Greg Romero
Luis Enrique Gutiérrez Ortiz Monasterio
Colman Domingo
Lucy Gillespie
Randall Colburn
Bilal Dardai
Will Goldberg
Robert Plowman
Emily Dendinger
Dan Caffrey
Mark Mason
Martín Zimmerman
Christopher Durang 
Susan Miller
Ben Rosenthal
David Auburn
Jean-Claude van Itallie
Tom Matthew Wolfe
Halley Feiffer
Marie Jones
Ivan Dimitrov
Gordon Dahlquist
Evan Linder
Steven Strafford
Anne Phelan
Vanessa Claire Stewart
Diana Stahl
Gina Femia  
D.W. Gregory
Samantha Macher
Laura Maria Censabella
Megan Gogerty
Colby Day
Jeffrey James Keyes
Carlos Murillo
Yasmine Beverly Rana
Greg Pierotti Megan Hart
John Clancy 
David Zellnik
Lonnie Carter
Sarah Schulman
Micheline Auger
Greg Pierce 
Susan Mosakowski 
Chiori Miyagawa
Daniel Akiyama
Caitlin Saylor Stephens
Greg Paul
Jacqueline E. Lawton
Nastaran Ahmadi 
Max Posner
Tim J. Lord
Adrienne Dawes
Susan Soon He Stanton
Kendall Sherwood
Wendy Dann
Ken Kaissar
Norman Allen 
Larry Pontius
Rinne Groff
David Robson
Zack Calhoon
Jennie Contuzzi
Monet Hurst-Mendoza
Marc Palmieri
Adriano Shaplin
Adam Kraar
Trish Harnetiaux
Michael Elyanow
Forrest Leo
Ginger Lazarus
Daniel John Kelley
Fengar Gael
Katharine Sherman
Alex Lubischer
Robert Quillen Camp
Lauren Feldman
Dorothy Fortenberry
Ethan Lipton
Riti Sachdeva
Melissa Gawlowski
Aaron Landsman
Joe Tracz
Nat Cassidy
David Rush 
Josh Koenigsberg
Philip Gawthorne
Eddie Antar
Begonya Plaza
Lameece Issaq
Reginald Edmund
Erika Sheffer
Kristen Kosmas
Jennifer Lane
Tasha Gordon-Solmon
Leah Nanako Winkler
Matthew Stephen Smith
Jerome A. Parker
Caitlin Montanye Parrish
France-Luce Benson
Kirsten Childs
Jennie Berman Eng
Anu Yadav
Sherry Kramer
Ian Walker
Sean Abley
Emily Chadick Weiss
Charity Henson-Ballard
Idris Goodwin
Hilary Bettis
Melisa Tien  
Julia Brownell
David Anzuelo
David Wiener
M.Z. Ribalow
Neena Beber
Joe Roland
Radha Blank
Kelley Girod
Sean Gill
David Bar Katz
Daniel Alexander Jones
Taylor Mac
Sharyn Rothstein
Jon Kern
Sylvan Oswald Mickey Birnbaum
Jeff Talbott
Deborah Brevoort
Rob Askins
Paul Cohen
Stephen Karam 
Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig
Karen Smith Vastola
David Grimm
Claire Moodey
Bess Wohl 
Wendy MacLeod 
Kate Mulley
Octavio Solis
Ian W. Hill
Monica Byrne
Don Nguyen 
Dana Lynn Formby
Dennis Miles
Marco Ramirez
Warren Manzi 
Mia McCullough 
Ellen McLaughlin
Tom Jacobson
Rosanna Yamagiwa Alfaro
Hannah Moscovitch
Alessandro King
Alex Lewin
Laurel Haines
Renee Calarco
E. Hunter Spreen 
Michael Lluberes
Kathleen Akerley  
Sonya Sobieski 
Gwydion Suilebhan 
Jane Miller
Eric Lane
David West Read
Katie May
John Pollono
Mona Mansour
Miranda Huba 
Lydia Stryk
Rachel Jendrzejewski 
Karen Malpede 

Daniel Pearle
Heather Lynn MacDonald 
Gabe McKinley
Keith Josef Adkins 
Brian Quirk
Israela Margalit
Kia Corthron
Christina Anderson
Jenny Lyn Bader
Catherine Trieschmann
Oliver Mayer
Jessica Brickman
Kari Bentley-Quinn

Daniel Keene
James Carter
Josh Tobiessen
Victor Lesniewski
Abi Basch
Matthew Paul Olmos
Stephanie Fleischmann
Chana Porter
Elana Greenfield 
Eugenie Chan
Roland Tec 
Jeff Goode
Elaine Avila 
Ashlin Halfnight 
Charlotte Meehan 
Marisela Treviño Orta
Quiara Alegria Hudes
Kait Kerrigan
Bianca Bagatourian 
Kyoung H. Park
Honor Molloy
Anna Moench 
Martin Blank
Paul Thureen
Yusef Miller
Lauren Gunderson
Jennifer Fawcett
Andrea Kuchlewska

Sean Christopher Lewis
Rachel Bonds
Lynn Rosen
Jennifer Barclay
Peggy Stafford
James McManus
Philip Dawkins
Jen Silverman
Lally Katz
Anne Garcia-Romero
Tony Adams
christopher oscar peña
Lynne Kaufman

Julie Hebert
Aditi Brennan Kapil
Elaine Romero
Alexis Clements
Lila Rose Kaplan
Barry Levey
Michael I. Walker
Maya Macdonald
Mando Alvarado
Adam Rapp
Eliza Clark
Margot Bordelon
Ben Snyder
Emily Bohannon
Cheri Magid
Jason Chimonides 

Rich Orloff
David Simpatico
Deborah Zoe Laufer
Brian Polak
Kate Fodor
Sibyl Kempson
Gary Garrison
Saviana Stanescu
Brian Bauman
Mark Harvey Levine
Lisa Soland
Sigrid Gilmer
Anthony Weigh 
Maria Alexandria Beech
Catherine Filloux 
Jordan Harrison
Alexandra Collier
Jessica Goldberg
Nick Starr
Young Jean Lee
Christina Gorman
Ruth McKee
Johnny Klein
Leslie Bramm
Jennifer Maisel
Jon Steinhagen
Leslye Headland
Kate Tarker
David Holstein
Trav S.D.

Ruben Carbajal
Martyna Majok
Sam Marks
Stacy Davidowitz 
Molly Rice
Julia Pascal
Yussef El Guindi
Meg Gibson
Daniel McCoy
Amber Reed
Joshua Fardon
Dan O'Brien
Jonathan Blitstein
Dominique Morisseau
Fielding Edlow
Joshua Allen
Peter Gil-Sheridan
Tira Palmquist
Sarah Hammond
Charlotte Miller
Deborah Yarchun
Anna Kerrigan
Luis Alfaro
Jonathan Caren
Jennifer Haley
Sofia Alvarez
Kevin R. Free
Ken Weitzman
Michael Golamco
J. C. Lee
Ruth Margraff
Kirk Lynn
Tanya Saracho
Daria Polatin 
Delaney Britt Brewer
Alice Tuan
Alice Austen
Jeffrey Sweet
Dan LeFranc
Andrew Hinderaker
Brett Neveu
Christine Evans
Jon Tuttle
Nikole Beckwith
Andrea Lepcio
Gregory Moss
Hannah Bos
Steven Levenson
Molly Smith Metzler
Matthew Lopez
Lee Blessing
Joshua James
Chisa Hutchinson
Rob Ackerman
Janine Nabers
Cory Hinkle
Stefanie Zadravec
Michael Mitnick
Jordan Seavey
Andrew Rosendorf
Don Nigro
Barton Bishop
Peter Parnell
Gary Sunshine
Emily DeVoti
Kenny Finkle
Kate Moira Ryan
Sam Hunter
Johnna Adams
Katharine Clark Gray
Laura Eason
David Caudle
Jacqueline Goldfinger
Christopher Chen
Craig Pospisil
Jessica Provenz
Deron Bos
Sarah Sander
Zakiyyah Alexander
Kate E. Ryan
Susan Bernfield
Karla Jennings
Jami Brandli
Kenneth Lin
Heidi Darchuk
Kathleen Warnock
Beau Willimon
Greg Keller
Les Hunter
Anton Dudley
Aaron Carter
Jerrod Bogard
Emily Schwend
Courtney Baron
Craig "muMs" Grant
Amy Herzog
Stacey Luftig
Vincent Delaney
Kathryn Walat
Paul Mullin
Kirsten Greenidge
Derek Ahonen
Francine Volpe
Julie Marie Myatt
Lauren Yee
Richard Martin Hirsch
Ed Cardona, Jr.
Terence Anthony
Alena Smith
Gabriel Jason Dean
Sharr White
Michael Lew
Craig Wright
Laura Jacqmin
Stanton Wood
Jamie Pachino
Boo Killebrew
Daniel Reitz
Alan Berks
Erik Ehn
Krista Knight
Steve Yockey
Desi Moreno-Penson
Andrea Stolowitz
Clay McLeod Chapman
Kelly Younger
Lisa Dillman
Ellen Margolis
Claire Willett
Lucy Alibar
Nick Jones
Dylan Dawson
Pia Wilson
Theresa Rebeck
Me
Arlene Hutton
Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas
Lucas Hnath
Enrique Urueta
Tarell Alvin McCraney
Anne Washburn
Julia Jarcho
Lisa D'Amour
Rajiv Joseph
Carly Mensch
Marielle Heller
Larry Kunofsky
Edith Freni
Tommy Smith
Jeremy Kareken
Rob Handel
Stephen Adly Guirgis
Kara Manning
Libby Emmons
Adam Bock
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Liz Duffy Adams
Winter Miller
Jenny Schwartz
Kristen Palmer
Patrick Gabridge
Mike Batistick
Mariah MacCarthy
Jay Bernzweig
Gina Gionfriddo
Darren Canady
Alejandro Morales
Ann Marie Healy
Christopher Shinn
Sam Forman
Erin Courtney
Gary Winter
J. Holtham
Caridad Svich
Samuel Brett Williams
Trista Baldwin
Mat Smart
Bathsheba Doran
August Schulenburg
Jeff Lewonczyk
Rehana Mirza
Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
David Johnston
Dan Dietz
Mark Schultz
Lucy Thurber
George Brant
Brooke Berman
Julia Jordan
Joshua Conkel
Kyle Jarrow
Christina Ham
Rachel Axler
Laura Lynn MacDonald
Steve Patterson
Erin Browne
Annie Baker
Crystal Skillman
Blair Singer
Daniel Goldfarb
Heidi Schreck
Itamar Moses
EM Lewis
Bekah Brunstetter
Mac Rogers
Cusi Cram
Michael Puzzo
Megan Mostyn-Brown
Andrea Ciannavei
Sarah Gubbins
Kim Rosenstock
Tim Braun
Rachel Shukert
Kristoffer Diaz
Jason Grote
Dan Trujillo
Marisa Wegrzyn
Ken Urban
Callie Kimball
Deborah Stein
Qui Nguyen
Victoria Stewart
Malachy Walsh
Jessica Dickey
Kara Lee Corthron
Zayd Dohrn
Madeleine George
Sheila Callaghan
Daniel Talbott
David Adjmi
Dominic Orlando
Matthew Freeman
Anna Ziegler
James Comtois


--
Book Store
Books by Adam

I Interview Playwrights Part 550: Donnetta Grays


Donnetta Grays

Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina

Current Town: Brooklyn, NY

Q:  What are you working on now?

A:  I am working on two plays of my own ‘The Review or How to Eat Your Opposition’ which is currently being developed as part of terraNova Collective’s Groundbreakers Playwrights Group and ‘Sam’ a play about an 11-year old girl (Sam) who is unexpectedly transplanted from her home in Georgia to NYC. It’s a coming of age story with several emotional stumbling blocks for this kid placed there by her very young and ill-equipped parents. I am also collaborating with some tremendously talented friends on a few of their own personal projects. I won’t go into detail but the work they are doing is gorgeous and I can’t wait for people to hear what’s being created in living rooms all over the city!

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

A:  I was an extremely shy kid. Hardly spoke. Got picked on a good bit in middle school. In fact I call middle school “three years of my life I can’t get back.” Anyway my mother - always ready for a good story - would, everyday after school, ask her three kids about our day. Both my sisters were extremely articulate and damn near loquacious going into elaborate details about who did what to whom, at what time AND what they were wearing. I, on the other hand, would shrug and usually answer, “It was okay.” My mom would see through this though. She read my frown and furrowed brow and could tell something else was going on with me. So, one day she did this sort of miraculous thing where she wrote me a letter and left it on my bed for me to find. It read something like, “I know you are sad.  I don't know why you are sad but I think it might be hard for you to talk about. I want you to know that I am here if you ever do feel like talking about it. And, you know, sometimes it’s easier to write your feelings down than to say them out loud. ” Etcetera etcetera tears tears tears... ANYway, it was this truly wonderful thing that I totally took advantage of and she and I started writing these little letters to each other where I would open up about all this kid angst and she would advise and console me. It was our little secret exchange and it cracked my heart wide open. And so, I guess I am still putting some form of kid angst on paper and trying to express those very complicated emotions that most of us would rather hold on to in private.

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

A:  If a theater artist can’t afford to see a show then the ticket is too damn high.

Q:  Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A:  Allison McNeely and Joy Vandervort-Cobb. My high school drama teacher and college mentor respectively. Allison taught me what theater was, how to love it and how to create it. Joy made me believe that I could actually do this for a living and nurtured that hunger in me from the moment we met. They were and still are gorgeous actors, directors and teachers. And I am not sure if they know this, but for as much as they taught me about my craft I spent just as much time watching them lead. Turning students into actors and crumpled scripts into productions. They knew how to take command in this way that elevated the work of those around them so I always has this sense that theater wasn't something that was created while I just sat back and watched. It was something that I could actually take the lead in creating.

Q:  What kind of theater excites you?

A:  A variety of things. Really it’s too much of a variety to go into but I will say if there is a foul-mouthed sexually confident but emotionally delicate woman of color involved I’ll probably be there watching that.

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

A:  Please, I am still in the asking for advice stage. No comment...yet.

Q:  Plugs, please:

A:  'The Review or How to Eat Your Opposition' will have a workshop presentation this spring along with plays by Lynn Rosen, Andrew Rosendorf, Jen Silverman, Susan Soon He Stanton & Anna Ziegler in terraNova Collective's Groundworks New Play Series. Check the website for details: www.terranovacollective.org/

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Feb 5, 2013

Video: Interview with Nastaran Ahmadi



http://youtu.be/6aKiOW1d8ek

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Interview with Nastaran Ahmadi about playwriting, her lesbian theater company,  and her upcoming show at the Cherry Lane. http://www.cherrylanetheatre.org/programs/mentor_project/

Previous playwright interview with Nastaran:  http://aszym.blogspot.com/2012/06/i-interview-playwrights-part-462.html

Nastaran Ahmadi's plays include Molly's 25th (art.party.theater.company, 2012), Exile (Finalist, 2012 O'Neill Fest; Honorable Mention 2012 Jane Chambers Award), The Bet (Workshop in Oregon Shakespeare Festival's 2012 Black Swan Lab), Doctoring (Finalist, 2010 O'Neill Fest; Honorable Mention 2010 Jane Chambers Award), The War Is Over (Yale Cabaret, 2006), Strangers (The Ontological-Hysteric Theater 2009 "Incubator" Series), and Layla and Majnun (Carlotta Festival, 2006).  Nastaran attended The Exchange's Orchard Project in June 2012 to develop her new play with original music, Rocket Song. Nastaran was a 2011-2012 Writing Fellow at The Playwrights Realm in NYC and a 2011-2012 Writer-in-Residence in Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's Workspace program. She received an Honorable Mention in 2010 for the Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award. Nastaran is delighted to have been invited to serve on The Lark Play Development Center's Artistic Advisory Board for the 2012-2013 Season. Member Playwright: Lark Play Development Center (Monthly Meeting of the Minds, 2012/13). MFA: Yale School of Drama, Playwriting (ASCAP Cole Porter Prize). www.nastaranahmadi.com

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