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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...

Nov 3, 2015

800 PLAYWRIGHT INTERVIEWS



Dear friends,

For about 6 years I've been doing these interviews.  In total, I've probably spent somewhere between 200-400 hours of my life in service of these interviews.  I love that people read and enjoy them.  I'm glad they exist.  But I know I won't be able to keep doing this forever.  If you want to help out, please consider a small donation.



A
Sean Abley
Rob Ackerman
Liz Duffy Adams
Johnna Adams
Tony Adams
David Adjmi
Keith Josef Adkins
Nastaran Ahmadi
Derek Ahonen
Kathleen Akerley
Ayad Akhtar
Rob Askins
Chiara Atik
Forrest Attaway
David Auburn
Hannah Bos
Leslie Bramm
Benjamin Brand
Jami Brandli
Jennifer Fawcett
Joshua Fardon
Caitlin Saylor Stephens
Ariel Stess
Vanessa Claire Stewart
Kate Tarker
Jona Tarlin
Judy Tate
Roland Tec
Cori Thomas
Matthew B. Zrebski 

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I Interview Playwrights Part 800: Jess Foster



Jess Foster

Hometown: Sidney, Maine

Current Town: Canton, MA

Q:  Tell me about Hard and Fast.

A:  Well, here is the synopsis: “Roger, a struggling mechanic, has a real passion for restoring classics. He’s finally found his dream car, “Audra”, a 1958 Austin Healey. When a wealthy lawyer wants the car for his 16-year old son Parker, the offer’s too good for Roger to refuse. He makes one stipulation: Parker must help finish the car’s restoration to understand its true value. When the time comes, will Roger be able to let the car go, or will his strange new feelings for Audra make it too difficult to give her up? Is this a bizarre obsession or something much more?”

For me, though, the play is about the relationships men have with their cars. There’s often something sacred to that relationship and it first develops right when boys are learning to be “men”. I wondered how that experience shaped them as they were coming-of-age and learning about the world. I certainly grew up feeling close to cars as well, naming each one along the way. I was often around car guys and wanted to tell their story, though I wanted to explore the extremes.

Q:  What else are you working on now?

A:  I’m working on a play called Full Term about a woman in her late-30’s who has just gone through a break-up and is left to pick up the pieces with her not-always-helpful sister. Ironically, it’s a 3-hander with women instead of 3 men like Hard and Fast. I swear I don’t only write 3-handers.

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 grew up in the woods of Maine and I love nature and time to sit and meditate about big ideas. My mother likes to tell people that she never worried where I was when I was outside playing because she could always hear me talking to myself. I like to think that those were the beginnings of my first plays; I was always creating stories and new worlds filled with many characters. Not unlike my role as playwright now, I was the voice for all of them.

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

A:  I don’t think this is original, but I wish more workshop processes would be serving eventual productions. You learn so much more about a play when you have it on its feet and have actors, directors and designers asking questions to make it live in space. A lot of theater artists seem to be working on this issue so I hope it will continue to improve.

Q:  Who are or were your theatrical heroes? 

A:  Sam Shepherd, Caryl Churchill, Mac Wellman, Martin McDonough, and Charlotte Meehan. They’re all playwrights who push boundaries and also have an element of dark humor that explores life issues in a way that feels real to me. Life can simultaneously be heart-wrenching and funny.

Q:  What kind of theater excites you? 

A:  I get excited when I see plays that are experimenting with something new, whether it be the way they let the story unfold or a different type of character. I also really appreciate smart, dark humor. To me, plays like this explore life issues in a way that feels real to me. I’m a firm believer that life can simultaneously be heart-wrenching and funny. I really enjoy watching that contradiction play out on stage and making the audience really grapple with what they’re feeling in any given moment.

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

A:  Find the people that inspire you and find ways to get your work done. Don’t worry about writing what you think theaters want to see. Write what you need to write and find the people it resonates with; eventually you’ll look around and notice you have collaborators. Then, figure out how to produce the thing.

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Nov 2, 2015

I Interview Playwrights Part 799: Margaret Dulaney




Margaret Dulaney

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky

Current home: Bucks County, Pennsylvania

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I am juggling two projects now: I have a play running off Broadway at the Theater at St. Clements on west 46 Street called The Hummingbird’s Tour. It will run until November 22. And I also have my ongoing spoken word work with the Website LISTENWELL.ORG, which has offered one professionally recorded essay a month to a growing audience since 2010.

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 raised by a group of women who were quite magical. My work reflects their mystical stories and quirky southern personalities. The Hummingbird’s Tour is inspired by my grandmother, who was a follower of the writings of the mystic Rudolf Steiner. She had a near-death experience when she was in her thirties and raised us to believe in a world beyond this one. I still believe.

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

A: I imagine the theater is developing at the same slow drip as humanity. My hope is that the theater will lift people, however that might be accomplished. Lift us into laughter, into a broader view, into understanding.

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A: I like my theater to be transcendent. Back to the lifting idea… I love the great classic writers: Shakespeare, Shaw, and Chekov.

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

A: I would tell a young playwright to practice very careful listening. Listen quietly and with such expectancy that you will not miss the voices of your characters as they unfold their story to you.

Q: Plugs, please.

A: The Hummingbird’s Tour is being acted by such a talented group of veteran actors. I hope everyone will try and make it to the show.

My website Listenwell.org is free!



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