Zin Galactic cut

Zin Galactic cut

Sometimes there's something I like but I have to cut it because of how the play functions better without it.  I just cut this from Zin Galactic and The Saloon at the Edge of the Universe.

LEXILI

I am Lexili and I will be your demise.

(Everyone except JULE freezes.)

JULE

And what if she is?  What if that’s the end of me, right here and now?  I have not lived my life fully.  I have not reached for all that I want.  I let them tear down the library.  I let it happen.  No.  That’s not fair.  What could I have done?  There were too many of them.  Not like now when I’m one-on-one.  I can slice.  I can kill.  Can I fight?  What if I’m no good?  If I survive this, I will be different.  I will grab what I want and I won’t let go.  I won’t be bullied. I won’t be pushed around.  I will will be something to behold.  You better watch out.  I will topple your unjust government!  And I will grab life by the strata!  Cornk!

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I Interview Playwrights Part 1124: Sophie McIntosh

photo by Nina Goodheart

Sophie McIntosh

Hometown: Sun Prairie, Wisconsin!

Current Town: Brooklyn.

Q:  What are you working on now?

A:  I’m juggling revisions of two different projects. First is a screenplay currently titled Provocator, which follows a group of Sabine Women in a sort of dystopian, “RETVRN”-esque recreation of Ancient Rome as they fight to escape their oppressors. The other is a play called Chicane, which follows a pair of Formula 1 drivers who hatch a murderous scheme against the current championship leader to claw their own way onto the podium.  

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 extremely obsessed with creating these extremely intricate war games with plastic animals. My favorites were those Schleich animal figures—you know, the super realistic ones they have on the big racks at Michaels craft stores. But I also had other random ones, like an Aslan lion from some Chronicles of Narnia playset and some rubber snakes from Halloween. I’d divide them into different factions—for example, the lions were the leaders of the Mammals (aside from the Canines, who refused to be ruled by Felines had their own enclave in the tall grass by the wooden fence), while a schism between the Snakes and Alligators had fractured the Reptiles into warring camps. It was all very intense, with dynasties rising and falling and  alliances being forged and shattered. I loved to kill characters off, only to promptly replace them with an identical-looking distant cousin or vengeful offspring (since I didn’t have enough animals to sustain my own narrative’s fatality rate). Sometimes real-life circumstances would intrude on my fantasy world, such as when my dad mulched Aslan with the lawnmower and I quickly had to explain this away as a successful assassination attempt by the snakes with the motive of sparking an untimely succession crisis. I still keep a handful of these plastic veterans on my writing desk as a reminder.

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

A:  The basic answer is that I wish that the theater was provided with more resources in this country, because I believe that’s the root cause of so many of its problems regarding lack of accessibility, failure to implement sustainability (in both the “go green” and “prevent artist burnout” senses), and the prioritization of profit over artistic merit. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of faith that our current government is going to be federally funding the arts anytime soon. So, to shift to something a bit smaller and more specific: a really great and much-needed change would be an update to the AEA Showcase Code, or the introduction of an Equity production contract that falls somewhere between Showcase Code and the Mini Contract. I am firmly pro-union, and love to work with Equity Actors—but the existing agreements haven’t been updated since 2018, and it’s incredibly difficult to successfully make theater with AEA actors at the indie level in the post-Covid financial landscape. 

Q:  Who are or were your theatrical heroes? 

A:  Sarah Kane and Annie Baker, first and foremost. The earliest plays I very intentionally set out to read were by Miller and Williams, who instilled in me an early fixation upon structure. Also, Sarah Delappe, Kimberly Belflower, Lily Padilla, Alexis Scheer, Gracie Gardner, Kaite O’Reilly, Martin McDonagh and Adrienne Kennedy. I’m a big Ibsen gal, too. I feel really lucky to count Martyna Majok, David Henry Hwang, Lynn Nottage, Leslie Ayvazian, and Chuck Mee among my mentors.

Q:  What kind of theater excites you?

A:  As I mentioned, I’m a slut for structure. My favorite thing to experience in a theater is that moment when all the pieces come together, and something that was presented to us innocuously earlier is recontextualized by a new event or new information that spins the play on its axis (without knocking it fully out of its orbit—the integrity of the world must be maintained!) and sends it off in a new direction. New forms interest me too, but I’m very much hardwired to prefer the Classic Freytag Experience. Spatially, I covet intimacy and proximity—one of my favorite aspects of live theater is the way it allows you to watch a single person’s expression shift subtly from moment to moment without being forced to cut away, and I like to be close enough to witness it fully. (I’m also quite nearsighted, so.) Thematically, I’m fascinated by redemption and its limits. I love moments of realization, and watching them ripple out from character to audience. I adore a painful betrayal, a tragic downfall, and the violent desperation that arises from humiliation. I’m equally compelled  by a character whose morality erodes right before our eyes as I am a character who is destroyed by her own rigid adherence to her principles. Above all, I’m excited by works that challenge us to empathize with someone who we might otherwise be repulsed by. 

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

A:  If you are still in school, make sure you are making the most of those resources—specifically, access to space and collaborators! When you graduate, you’ll have to pay for both (or at least buy people pizza when you host them in your living room), so take advantage of having enthusiastic classmates and empty classrooms/rehearsal rooms at your disposal. More generally, my biggest advice is to establish a writing practice for yourself. Make it a part of your routine, whether you’re writing for a certain amount of time each day (or each week) or trying to write a certain number of pages each day (or each week). Everyone has their own setup that works for them. I get my best results from writing for at least an hour every day, and then I have friends that like to let the work build up inside them for weeks and then pound out a new full-length play over the course of a weekend. I used to feel really insecure that I couldn’t do that, because it seemed sort of hardcore and glamorous, but I’m now very happy with the steady progress my own approach provides. Finally, familiarize yourself with the Dramatist’s Bill of Rights before you need to sign your first contract—it’s a lot harder for people to take advantage of you when you’re familiar with industry standards.

Q:  Plugs, please: 

A:  My plays macbitches and cityscrape are available now at the Drama Book Shop or via Theatrical Rights Worldwide! I’m proud to be co-artistic director of Good Apples Collective, alongside my co-founder Nina Goodheart—you can find free resources for indie theatermakers on our website, and the best way to keep up with our work is to follow us over on Instagram at @goodapplescollective! Also, with Adam’s blessing (thank you, Adam!), I’m starting my own interview series called talks with theatermakers. Come check it out!

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My 2025 in Review

Hi Friends!  Happy Holidays!  Here is my 2025 rundown.

Another year of being a full time playwright!  It's been about 2 and a half years now.  I feel like I'm still getting used to it.  I think part of me thought there would be so much time in the day for writing and thinking and there's definitely more time than there was when I was working full time, but administrative tasks of playwriting don't go away and like I've said before, I have more of the home work now, including driving the kid places, getting him up every morning and parenting when he gets home every day.  So my days are shorter than they were.  But I'm not complaining.  I'm very lucky.

This year I wrote the last 2/3 of a screenplay, the last 2/3 of a full length play as well as 3 one act plays and 3 full length plays.  I was also paid to write an outline of a screenplay.  

Also we are slowly working on a musical version of Kodachrome.

In production news, overall I had 3 more than last year (193 vs 190)  It was 106 full lengths, 82 one acts, 5 nights of short plays. Compared to last year, a few more full length productions and fewer one act productions.

I had the same number of productions of full lengths at theaters as the past 2 years (23 theaters).  27 colleges did my plays.  The rest of the productions were high schools, and the odd middle school or theater camp.

There were 23 productions of the full length version of Kodachrome and 30 productions of the one act version.  Counting both versions, Kodachrome has now had over 200 productions.

Full lengths this year included 28 productions of Marian or the True Tale of Robin Hood, 25 of The Bookstore, 8 of The Christmas Tree Farm, 6 Clown Bar, 2 Clown Bar 2, 1 Clown Bar Christmas, 1 Hearts Like Fists, 2 Hearts Like Planets, 1 Night Children, 2 Bart and Arnie, 1 Adventures of Super Margaret, 1 Fat Cat Killers, 1 Incendiary, 1 Such Small Hands, 1 New Love, 1 Starry Night and 1 Elsewhere (in Turkish).

Four published plays this year.  Hearts Like Planets, Bart and Arnie, The Girl Who Cannot Be Hurt.  I'm excited for the Marian Musical to be released for licensing sometime in the new year!

Some posters from productions this year.  This year saw NYC premiere of Fat Cat Killers, world premiere of Such Small Hands, fancy NOLA Project production of Clown Bar 2, New Love premiered in Belgrade.

I ran 7 races.  (five 5ks, one 1 mile, and one 5 mile--the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving, the latter of which I last ran about 30 years ago.)  I probably ran slower than last year.

We took our son to Disney World.  Went camping in CT, hung out on the Cape.  I was in Anaheim for the Chance Theater production for almost two weeks.  Was at a silent writing retreat with stillwright in upstate New York for a week.  Visited Lehigh University to see the Bookstore.  Went to Little Pond for the Flux retreat.  Worked on a play at the CT Theater Exchange.  Was in and out of NYC quite a bit.  Saw Kodachrome in Canton, CT.  Went to NY Comicon. 

This year I was again in a writing group for parents with Project Y, and took part in Flux's Core Work writing group.

I became a Creative Partner at Flux Theater Ensemble.

What else happened this year?  We had to have a pipe replaced in our back yard and had to live at my parents house for a week so we could take showers.

Otherwise, things are good.  Hope all is well with all of you.

Happy New Year!

Here are my previous years in review.

2024

2023
2022
2021

2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007

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I Interview Playwrights Part 1123: Chester Poon

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. 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!

 

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Two More Weeks of Fat Cat Killers in nyc

https://www.sparkplugproductions.com/

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My 2024 Year In Review

Hi!  Happy Holidays everyone!  Here's my 2024 in review.

I made a living this year!  A modest living-- So like imagine an overworked non profit level salary but take the overwork part away.  It's not really the kind of money you want to make as a 47-year-old man with a preteen child at home but I was able to be only a playwright all year because my wife brought home the health insurance.  

This year I wrote one one-act play, one full length play, one graphic novel adaptation, one feature film script,  and am a third of the way through another feature and a third of the way through a new play.  I worked on the book for the musical version of Marian too with composer and lyricist Masi Asare.

I ran four 5k races.

This year my book Letters To A Young Playwright came out from Applause (now Bloomsbury)  My graphic novel adaptation of Clown Bar came out from Rare Earth.  (Art by Carl Mefferd.)  Clown Bar Christmas was published this year by Concord.  The Christmas Tree Farm was published by Broadway Play Publishing Inc.

Hearts Like Planets will come out from DPS (Broadway Licensing) soon and Marian The True Tale of Robin Hood, THE MUSICAL will come out from Concord (Sam French).

In 2024, I had 101 full lengths productions,  87 one acts, 1 musical,  1 night of short plays (190 total)  Last year was 79 full lengths and 59 one acts.

23 of the full lengths were at theaters, (same number as last year) 16 at colleges or universities, (down from 19).  The other 62 were high schools with a few camps and middle schools thrown in. (Last year that number was 37.)

There were 27 full length productions of Kodachrome, (up from 19); 36 one act productions of  Kodachrome (up from 14);  31 Marian (1 less than last year); 1 Touring production of  Elsewhere in Türkiye, in Turkish.

4 productions of Clown Bar 2; 4 productions of Clown Bar; 5 productions of Hearts Like Fists;  18 productions of The Bookstore (six more than last year); 4 Night Children; 4 Christmas Tree Farm; 1 Sex Writer; 2 Bart and Arnie; 1 Marian Musical.

I had productions in Türkiye, Malaysia and Ethiopia and a whole lot in Canada.

Bart and Arnie premiered at Idiom Theater.  And Poly Prep.  Melancholics Anonymous will do in in Minneapolis in the new year.

The Sex Writer went up in NYC.

This year 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 with Jackie Goldfinger.

Apart from being in NYC a lot, for Clown Bar 2 (Directed by Andrew Block) and The Sex Writer (Directed by Phil Cruise), I also went there for Comicon for the fist time. 

 Developed our musical at Penn State and at the International Thespian Festival in Bloomington IN. (both Directed  by John Simpkins.) Visited New London MN to meet the first group to do all three Clown Bar plays. (Dir Matt Hegdahl)   I was honored to again attend the Flux Retreat at Little Pond.  I took trips for family to DE and VA.

Next year, there are 30 full length productions so far slated for 2025.  There will be 2, possibly three productions at TCG theaters, one of which will be a not-yet-announced production of Clown Bar 2.

Such Small Hands opens in Feb at The Chance Theater in Anaheim CA.

Love to you and yours!  Hope we all have a great 2025!

Here are my previous years in review.

2023
2022
2021

2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007

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Clown Bar Graphic Novel

is now available

https://mixam.com/print-on-demand/674511f3f288c701316de9dc

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