Aug 28, 2024

I Interview Playwrights Part 1119: Lour Yasin

Lour Yasin

Hometown: Jerusalem, Palestine.

Current Town: New York City, NY.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I’m currently involved in several exciting projects. One of them is Under The Sheet, a new musical I composed that blends Hip-Hop, Rap, Mariachi, and Aztec music with Broadway elements. It recently debuted at Green Room 42, The Dramatist Guild Foundation, and IRT Theatre.

I’m also thrilled about AREA D, a Palestinian Pop/Punk musical that I’m developing. AREA D emerged from a playful idea to shake up the musical theater scene and experiment with blending Middle Eastern music with Broadway and pop in innovative ways. The inspiration struck me during the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest hosted by Israel, where Palestinians were excluded from participating. This sparked the concept of imagining a Palestinian pop-punk band in a Eurovision-like competition, flipping the script on traditional narratives.

The plot of AREA D follows a Palestinian band as they navigate an absurd, whimsical competition filled with political satire and unexpected twists. It’s not about winning the competition but rather about the journey, the challenges they face, and how they challenge stereotypes through their music. AREA D explores themes of identity, belonging, and the power of music to break down ideological borders.

Additionally, I’m developing a new folk musical set to debut off-Broadway in early 2025. It’s a playful folk tale with a lot of magic, and while I can't reveal too much yet, I’m excited about how it’s shaping up.

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

A: Growing up in Jerusalem, I was always surrounded by stories—both in the form of cultural folklore and the everyday experiences of my community. I remember sitting with my family, listening to tales that transported me to different times and places, making me realize the power of storytelling. My fascination with these narratives pushed me to start writing my own stories and, eventually, to explore how I could blend my cultural roots with contemporary art forms like theater and music. It’s this blend of the traditional and the modern that defines my work today.

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

A: I would make theater more accessible to diverse voices, both in terms of the stories being told and the people telling them. We need more platforms that support underrepresented artists and more opportunities for marginalized communities to see themselves represented on stage. It’s not just about inclusion; it’s about ensuring that the full spectrum of human experiences is reflected in our art.

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A: Lin-Manuel Miranda has been a huge inspiration for me, not just because of his groundbreaking work in musical theater but also because of his dedication to promoting diversity and representation. I also admire the work of artists like Suheir Hammad, whose poetry and performances deeply resonate with my own cultural experiences, and Sarah Kane for her raw, boundary-pushing plays.

Q: What kind of theater excites you?

A: I’m excited by theater that takes risks, challenges norms, and isn't afraid to push boundaries. I love works that blend genres, such as musicals that incorporate non-traditional music styles or plays that use multimedia elements to enhance storytelling. Theater that makes you think, question, and feel deeply—that’s what excites me the most.

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

A: Be fearless and authentic in your storytelling. Write about what matters to you, even if it feels risky or unconventional. Don’t wait for permission to tell your story—just start writing. And surround yourself with a supportive community that believes in your vision. Collaboration and feedback are invaluable, so seek out other creatives who inspire and challenge you.

Q: Plugs, please:

A: Exciting things are happening! Under The Sheet, a musical I composed that blends Hip-Hop, Rap, Mariachi, and Aztec music with Broadway elements, is having its world premiere at IRT Theatre this August. I'm also thrilled to announce that AREA D, my Palestinian Pop/Punk musical, will have a run at The Tank in September, followed by a run at Joe’s Pub/The Public Theater sometime in late October/ Early November.

Additionally, I’m developing a new folk musical set to debut off-Broadway in early 2025. It’s a playful folk tale with a lot of magic in it, and while I can’t reveal too much just yet, I’m excited about its premise.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support The Blog
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events

Email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam's Patreon

Adam's New Play Exchange Profile (Plays to Read)

Books by Adam (Amazon)

Aug 22, 2024

I Interview Playwrights Part 1118: Tracy Wells

Tracy Wells

Hometown: Sterling Heights, MI (metro Detroit)

Current Town: Macomb Township, MI (also metro Detroit)

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I’m currently finishing up a western melodrama for schools with an optional dinner theatre component called Spaghetti Western: Or…Mission Im-Pasta-ble at the Hoot N Holler Hotel. It’s silly fun, and my first time playing around with the melodrama genre. I love the challenge of using the stock characters and storylines in a new and different way.

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 seeing a lot of theatre…from local children’s productions to larger shows that toured through Detroit. It seeped in and became a part of me without me realizing. So when I was about 10, and the movie Dick Tracy came out, the first thing that occurred to me was, “this should be a play, and I’m going to write it!”(forgive a 10 year old for not understanding copyright law) So I pounded out a script, and together with my best friend Julie, my younger brother Jeff and his friend (also named Jeff), we staged my adaptation of the film in my parents’ basement, all 4 of us playing the various roles in the style of Shakespeare Abridged, while our parents watched and probably laughed themselves silly. It was amazing (and probably horrible) and I’m pretty sure my mom still has pictures of me as Breathless Mahoney. I didn’t write another play for many years, and when I did, it was another adaptation (this time legally and from the public domain.) But when I did write again I took with me that amazing feeling from when I was 10 years old and hearing my words being spoken by an actor for an audience, and that is a feeling I have since never tired of.

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

A: I love that more shows are being written by or about women, with interesting storylines and character arcs so that’s something I’d want to see continue. As someone who writes primarily for the high school/college market, I would love for that market to be recognized for what it is, which is an important pathway for future theatre practitioners and that providing students with good material at their level is not only worthwhile, but necessary.

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A: So many…in my youth acting on the high school stage I loved Shakespeare and Henrik Ibsen and Thornton Wilder and Marsha Norman. As a theatre goer I love what Heidi Schreck and David Lindsay-Abaire and Lynn Nottage and Kate Hamill are doing. And as a high school playwright, you have to admire Don Zolidis and his body of work and what he’s done to elevate this market.

Q: What kind of theater excites you?

A: For me, whether it’s in a large, professional theater, or a small high school cafetorium, I’m most excited by new ways to tell a familiar story in a way that highlights any challenges that a company or venue faces. For example, earlier this year I saw a production of Into the Woods at Encore Musical Theatre Company in Ann Arbor, MI. They have a very small stage with seating for around 100 on three sides of the stage and a tiny balcony. And yet they chose to tell this story as a band of traveling actors who came together to tell a tale, complete with a tiny airstream camping trailer that doubled as the bakery and on top of which Rapunzel climbed to let down her hair. And for the giantess…a nearby electric lift and megaphone made the actress larger than life. It was a spellbinding retelling of a story I knew well, told in a way I had never imagined. And so many directors are looking at stories in different ways. It’s very exciting and encouraging for the future of theatre.

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

A: Probably the same as many others have said…keep writing. The more I write, the more ideas I have, the more directions I discover in my stories, and the easier it becomes. For those interested in writing for the high school market, I would recommend pulling out those photos and yearbooks and remembering what it was like when you were up on that stage (as many of us were). What kind of shows did you wish you were performing? What kind of roles would you have liked to play, no matter the size of the role? And if you can, find your way to a high school stage and see the incredible work these kids and their teachers are doing, because I’m telling you, it’s truly remarkable and inspiring.

Q: Plugs, please:

A: I have several new plays about to be released, mostly for the middle/high school market, including a historical drama about WWII nurses called Angels of Bataan and a fairytale villain/Clue-style murder mystery mashup called Rotten Apples, both with Playscripts/Broadway Licensing; a fun retelling of Greek myths called Myth-Guided and an easy to stage vignette comedy called Hot Lunch with Stage Partners; and a comedic retelling of the classic Christmas tale, The Night Before Christmas and a fairytale courtroom comedy called Storybook Court: Full of Beans from Pioneer Drama. For anyone who isn’t familiar with my work, two of my most popular shows are One Stoplight Town and A Trip to the Moon, both of which are available through Dramatic Publishing. You can also check out all of my work at https://www.tracywellsplaywright.com

Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events

Email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam's Patreon

Adam's New Play Exchange Profile (Plays to Read)

Books by Adam (Amazon)

Apr 2, 2024

Letters to a Young Playwright

Hi Friends,

I wrote a book about playwriting that will be coming out in late August from Applause/Rowman. Here is their description--

preorder here

Letters to a Young Playwright

Practical and Impractical Advice on the Art of Playwriting

ADAM SZYMKOWICZ

Adam Szymkowicz is that rarest of things: a working playwright. At a time when the entire business model of American theatre seems on the verge of implosion—and most dramatists survive only through soul-sucking day jobs, the largesse of patrons or their own families, or writing for television—Szymkowicz has carved out a distinctive niche for himself without relying on big institutions or the brass ring of a Broadway production. Each year, his body of work—over 20 sharp, funny, pop-culture-inflected plays animated by an unabashed romanticism—is staged everywhere from major urban theatres to colleges and high schools.

In Letters to a Young Playwright, Szymkowicz dispenses hard-earned, unsentimental, and entertaining advice to early-career dramatists. Modeled on Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet, it covers topics like writer’s block, self-promotion, and the pluses and minuses of pivoting to Hollywood in insightful and digestible short essays. Perfect for beginning playwrights as well as mid-career writers looking to reinvigorate their craft and career, it contains endlessly useful advice and reflections from one of the most-produced living playwrights in America.

Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events

Email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam's Patreon

Adam's New Play Exchange Profile (Plays to Read)

Books by Adam (Amazon)

Mar 26, 2024

Clown Bar 2 in NYC in April!

Hi folks!

Clown Bar 2 (Don't worry if you didn't see the original) will go up at the Parkside Lounge as part of fringe starting April 14. Just a few performances but I hope we will be able to add some more. (This is the same venue where the original Clown Bar was done by Pipeline 11 years ago.)

https://www.tdf.org/shows/21540/clown-bar-2

Produced by SparkPlug Productions, Directed by Andrew Block, starring Sean Leigh Phillips, Rebekkah Ross Lee, Christopher Le Crenn, Christopher Lee, Kelley Rae O'Donnell, Chris Cornwell, Kim Bollard, Nadel Henville, Catie Marron, Jim Hawkins!

Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events

Email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam's Patreon

Adam's New Play Exchange Profile (Plays to Read)

Books by Adam (Amazon)

Dec 25, 2023

My 2023 Year In Review

Hi Friends!

I've been doing these summaries for a long time but also they start in 2007 when I was at Juilliard and exciting things were already happening. I don't have a year in review about 2000 when I was in Foxboro, MA working as an Asst Mgr at a Hollywood Video, writing plays and mailing them to people. I had just graduated from college and was living in a small apartment with my girlfriend at the time. I knew almost no theater people. I hadn't gotten into any of the grad schools I had applied to.

Twenty-three years later, my life and my playwriting life are a lot different now. I started writing a book this year about playwriting for playwrights starting out so I've been thinking about what it was like early on. What I knew. What I didn't know. I started writing plays in college and I didn't really know what I was doing. It took a long time to figure out how to write and even longer to build a career.

Last year I wrote in my year end summary about how it seemed impossible to make a living as a playwright. But then this year I had a lot of productions and I made a lot more money as a playwright. It no longer seems out of reach.

I quit my job at Juilliard this summer, after 8 years. My wife took on a full time job making slightly more than what I was making at Juilliard. And now that we have health insurance through her, I am a full time writer, making, as a writer almost what I made 8 years ago at my day job at Juilliard.

I'm making about half of that money from high school and college productions and the other half from (mostly) small theaters. The first time I had a production of one of my plays at a high school was 10 years ago. Today I have a lot more plays appropriate for high schools and some high school versions of plays that weren't initially appropriate. I'm really thrilled to have plays done at high school which was where I acquired my love of theater.

As a full time playwright now, I also took over a lot of child care and home duties so my day is a lot shorter than it used to be, because I operate on the school schedule. But I'm also not trying to do 2 full time jobs at the same time.

I wrote a lot this year--4 one act plays, 3 full length plays, one short film and a book about playwriting. Also working on a musical version of Marian. And I did a couple big revisions. I can't say for sure, but it may be my most productive year ever.

I was in a writing group for parents again with Project Y, and took part in Flux's Core Work writing group. Did a signing at the Drama Book Shop. Did a reading at Drunken Careening Writers. Made some short films about playwriting for PlayPenn. Did a podcast with Mershad Torabi at We Are Actors and a podcast with Erin Mallon at My Job Is To Play.

This year apart from being in NYC a lot, I was at the Chance Theater in Anaheim for a reading, went camping in CT, went to Cape Cod and Delaware, spent a week in upstate NY at Theater4ThePeople's At The Barn. Went to Flux Retreat at Little Pond. Had a reading in NYC with Project Y. Zoomed with a lot of students. Visited Paris by myself. Was a guest speaker in MO at Lanford Wilson Fest. Spent time in Hoboken rehearsing for a premiere.

Heather Cohn and I worked on my play God Splat with NYU students for four 4-hour sessions.

I also started running 5k races. Did the first one in August of 2022 and have now run 8. I am not fast but it's good to do things you're not great at. I'm trying to get faster. Sometimes I place in my age group if not many people are running. There is a thing in CT where people try to run one race in each of the 169 towns. Don't know if I'll ever accomplish that but even running one race feels like an accomplishment right after I've run it.

I had the most productions this year than ever before.

This year, I had 79 productions of full length plays and 59 productions of one acts. There were 2 productions of nights of short plays. Almost all the one act productions are high school productions. Of the 79 full length productions, 19 were at colleges/universities, 23 at theaters and 37 at high schools.

My two most produced plays by far were Kodachrome and Marian. Kodachrome one act was produced 14 times and the full length 19 times. My play Kodachrome will have its 100th production sometime next year. (In this count, I'm including productions of the one act version too.)

Marian (normal and teen versions) was produced 32 times in 2023. Speaking of Marian, a cancelled production in Ft Wayne, IN made national news when students decided to produce it themselves. They raised 80k to do the show for one night in a 1000 seat arena. It's possible I'm getting more productions of Marian because of this.

Another play done a bit--The Bookstore was produced 12 times this year.

First production of The Night Children happened this year-- they also took the play to Edinburgh.

The Christmas Tree Farm premiered this December at Mile Square in NJ where my friend Kevin R. Free is the AD. Was subsequently done at Actors Bridge Ensemble in Nashville (who have done 3 other plays of mine) and by a high school in CA.

photo by David White Studio

Clown Bar Christmas went up for the first time at Little Theater in MN.

Hearts Like Planets was done at a couple of schools. I saw the one at AADA that Alberto Bonilla directed.

Also of note, Nerve was done in Mexico in Spanish. Clown Bar was done in Türkiye again. Marian had an English production and a couple Canadian productions. Kodachrome was done in England and The Bookstore was done in Canada. Ubu maybe happened in Australia.

I have a lot of full length plays that had one or two productions this year.

Publications this year included my book of monologues, Small Explosions from Applause, 100 Things I Never Said To You/100 Love Letters I Never Sent from Concord, When Jack Met Jill and Heart of Snow from Stage Partners, and The Wooden Heart from Theatrical Rights Worldwide.

Next year, look for my book about playwriting from Applause and hopefully some more plays. So far, 27 productions of full lengths slated for 2024 and at least one production slated for 2025.

Love to you and yours. Here are my previous years in review.

2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007

Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events

Email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam's Patreon

Adam's New Play Exchange Profile (Plays to Read)

Books by Adam (Amazon)

Dec 1, 2023

"My Job Is To Play," with Erin Mallon

Did a podcast with Erin Mallon, My Job Is To Play

It was a lot of fun. Here's a clip. Link below to the full conversation.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2244660/14066528

https://tinyurl.com/42xzy2nr

Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events

Email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam's Patreon

Adam's New Play Exchange Profile (Plays to Read)

Books by Adam (Amazon)

Nov 21, 2023

Premiere of The Christmas Tree Farm

Hi All,

If you're in NY or NJ, come see my play, The Christmas Tree Farm. Directed by Rachel Dart. Amazing very funny cast. It's less than 10 min bus ride from NYC.

https://milesquaretheatre.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/events/a0S6T00000tCfZDUA0

Nov 30-Dec 23. Nov 30 is Pay What You Can.

Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events

Email:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam's Patreon

Adam's New Play Exchange Profile (Plays to Read)

Books by Adam (Amazon)

Adam Szymkowicz

Featured Post

1100 Playwright Interviews

Aug 28, 2024

I Interview Playwrights Part 1119: Lour Yasin

Aug 22, 2024

I Interview Playwrights Part 1118: Tracy Wells

Apr 2, 2024

Letters to a Young Playwright

Letters to a Young Playwright

Practical and Impractical Advice on the Art of Playwriting

ADAM SZYMKOWICZ

Mar 26, 2024

Clown Bar 2 in NYC in April!

Dec 25, 2023

My 2023 Year In Review

Dec 1, 2023

"My Job Is To Play," with Erin Mallon

Nov 21, 2023

Premiere of The Christmas Tree Farm

For Playwrights

For Actors

Press

Film

Search This Blog