Megan Monaghan Rivas
Current Town: After a very nomadic life, I live in Pittsburgh PA now.
Q: Tell me about Three Musketeers: 1941.
A: It's a very free riff on Dumas' classic, with a plot built largely from historical research about the French Resistance. Set in Occupied Paris, the play focuses on a five-person Resistance cell composed entirely of women and girls. The arrival of two strangers catalyzes change - some tragic and some heroic. It was commissioned by Project Y Theatre for their Women in Theatre Festival, which runs the length of this month (June 2019) at the ART/NY Gural Theatre on West 53rd St.
Q: What else are you working on now?
Q: What else are you working on now?
A: I teach in the School of Drama at Carnegie Mellon University, so right now I'm gearing up for my summer teaching there. In about three weeks, a hundred teenagers will arrive to spend six weeks trying on conservatory life - studying theatre full time, living in the dorms, etc. I always enjoy them. I'm also developing a book idea exploring the conundrum that dramatic literature shows us the worst in human nature as well as the best - but tends to rely on the worst for conflict, our lifeblood. I was inspired by an actor I've worked with a couple of times, who offhandedly mentioned that at age 21 she had already played two roles professionally that required her to portray an attempted or actual rape. How many more would she portray in her career? What earns that emotional as well as physical labor? And how would she sustain her wellness through that repetition of trauma? Further, what is it doing to/for an audience? These are the questions I'm wrestling with.
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'm the second of five siblings, all very close in age - the eldest is only eight years ahead of the youngest. (My mother is a superhero.) Moving through life as part of a tightly knit pack who automatically turn to one another when the going gets tough, positioned me to understand the Musketeers.
Q: If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be?
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'm the second of five siblings, all very close in age - the eldest is only eight years ahead of the youngest. (My mother is a superhero.) Moving through life as part of a tightly knit pack who automatically turn to one another when the going gets tough, positioned me to understand the Musketeers.
Q: If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be?
A: The economics. I'd make it the standard practice to pay all theatre workers living wages, guarantee retirement and health insurance for all in the industry, and settle for nothing less.
Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?
Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?
A: Very early in my career I connected with the great American dramaturg Morgan Jenness, who was then running the Helen Merrill Agency. I still say I want to be Morgan Jenness when I grow up.
Q: What kind of theater excites you?
Q: What kind of theater excites you?
A: I love theater that lifts off from realism and flies. Marcus Gardley's plays are a great example of this - they are grounded in profound truth, but live fearlessly in mythic and poetic dimensions.
Q: What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?
Q: What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?
A: The same advice I have for all early-career theatre artists: make lots of work with lots of different people. The more work you make, the more you'll have to share with interested folks, and the more chances you'll have to pique folks' interest. The more artists you collaborate with, the more advocates you'll have (as well as having more folks to advocate for yourself). Don't get hung up on making one thing perfectly - engage yourself with making many things as well as you can.
Q: Plugs, please:
Q: Plugs, please:
A: The Women in Theatre Festival is showcasing the work of more than 15 women theatre-makers for the rest of this month. Tickets can be reserved here. Also, it's Pride Month - if you're in NYC on June 17, go see the legendary Jomama Jones host the QUEER & NOW forum in the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park.
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