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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...

Oct 9, 2018

I Interview Playwrights Part 1002: Sean Williams






Sean Williams

Hometown:  Technically born in San Jose, California but moved almost every year of my life growing up, including overseas, so... everywhere/nowhere.

Current Town:  Astoria, New York and LOVING IT.

Q:  Tell me about Almelem.

A:  The play came about because of two ideas that crashed into each other.

In our world, you can't really get even two theater people together without them telling anecdotes about shows they've done. It's impossible, we're all totally obsessed - especially with the stories where somehow we pulled it off even though it seems totally impossible. Almost all the plays I've produced have some sort of backstager aspect to them, it's almost always the story of a group of people who create something amazing even though it seems impossible.

That idea was bouncing around in the back of my head when I went to an Easter Service at Judson Memorial Church two years ago. Judson is the only kind of Christianity I can stomach - radical leftist activism combined with a celebration of queerness and a dedication to kindness. It's the only place where a progressive atheist like me can find a home, especially when Micah Bucey is leading services. At that Easter Service, Micah talked NOT about the resurrection but about the Empty Tomb, about what that space full of questions could mean to us. Within two months of being at that service, I had the rough outline of Act One done.

Almelem is the story of a group of Jewish radicals trying to overthrow the Roman Government by creating street theater and their own pop culture. Also, by finding the Messiah and creating the right story around him. Also, it's funny. Or... I mean, I think it's funny. Anyone who thinks I'm funny will probably think this is funny.

It might not be funny.

Q:  What else are you working on now?

A:  Gideon has been working in audio drama fiction and we've got an *armload* of irons in about twelve separate fires right now. But the two things I can definitely talk about are 1) we're releasing an audio version of Mac Rogers' play "God Of Obsidian" (the plan is to drop that on November 1st) and 2) we're producing Mac Rogers play "Musical Chairs" on our off-nights at The Brick during the run of Almelem. (Tickets for that are at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/1000126)

Q:  How long have you been making plays with Gideon? How many plays have you done?

A:  Mac Rogers and I created an almost endless version of As You Like It in the summer of 1996 and that's when we came up with the name "Gideon Productions". When Jordana Williams came on board and we actually raised some money and started the company for real in 2000, we kept the name because... I actually don't know. I think we just couldn't think of another one and we're pretty lazy.

We've done a lot of plays, and it's hard to figure out how many because it's hard to know what counts. Big-ass mainstage shows? Probably about fifteen, but we've also produced runs of one-acts and festivals and stuff, so it's a lot. We basically don't know who we are if we're not producing theater, so we just sorta keep doing it.

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

A:  My dad is a symphony conductor and growing up I always thought our family were the big mucky-mucks in town. Everyone knew us, everyone knew my dad and mom and I thought we were probably pretty famous. It didn't occur to me that famous people probably lived in better houses in better neighborhoods. My dad's face was on the cover of the newspapers I delivered, so I thought we were probably very, very fancy.

When there was a post-show party at the theater for The Board and the big money people, my dad would always bring a second tux to change into after the show. He'd sweat through the first one. We were milling about amid the drinks and the hors d'oeuvres at one of these parties and I said to my dad, "everyone looks so amazing! Everyone in their suits and ball gowns!" and my dad smirked at me and leaned down.

"Everyone else is dressed beautifully, BUT... look who's wearing tuxedos. It's only the musicians and the waiters. And all of these people in the nice dresses and beautiful suits? They came in the front door. The musicians and the waiters? We had to come in through the back."

Being an artist is a blue-collar job, one that requires a lifetime of thankless work, only *part* of which is spent smiling and being nice to the folks in the nice clothes. And we used different doors to get into the same room.

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

A:  Radical, full-throated socialism. Our shows should be allowed to be bad. Our theatrical institutions should be able to produce actually challenging theater - plays with uncomfortable characters, written by marginalized people. These artists shouldn't have to go to work during the day, they should spend their days in rehearsal or getting better at making plays. The ticket price should be insanely low, the artists' compensation should be a living wage and it should all be provided by the government of the United States. The NEA should have 100X its current funding and the art that it pays for should make conservative assholes shit themselves in fear.

Just, like... just that one thing, really. It's more of a tweak than a change, if you think about it.

Q:  Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A:  Mac Rogers and Jordana Williams. I'm embarrassed by that answer, but I strive every day to earn a spot in any room where they are. And both of them are exemplary human beings. Whenever I feel lost, artistically or personally, I often think to myself, "what would Mac or Jordana do?" and then I try my best to do that. I'm really glad that both of them have established theatrical heroes, so I can learn whatever I need to by being close to them.

Q:  What kind of theater excites you?

A:  Honest, lived-in living room comedies that have moments so true that you cry. I love seeing shows where the sets are so good that the sinks work, where the design is so good you can hear a toilet flush off stage or know what time of day it is by the lights. And I love watching great actors talk to each other using language that's better than we use when we're just coming up with stuff in our own living rooms.

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

A:  Don't try to make money. Get a job and assume you'll have it forever, then write as many bad plays as you can. You might never leave the job, but you've made peace with that anyway. What you *will* do is eventually start writing really great plays. And if you end up leaving that job? Fine. But don't make that a reason for what you're doing.

Q:  Plugs, please:

A: 

Almelem - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/almelem-fringebyov-tickets-49873135892
Musical Chairs - https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/1000126
Steal The Stars Audio Drama - https://tor-labs.com/

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Oct 8, 2018

I Interview Playwrights Part 1001: Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons




Kelly Jean Fitzsimmons

Hometown: Nowhere, U.S.A. My family moved up and down the East Coast while I was growing up, and I've never had a true “from” place. In first grade, after a dramatic jump from Massachusetts to a small town in Georgia, there was a period where I’d say both youse and Y'all. Sometimes in the same sentence, much to my parents’ delight, I’m sure, “Hey youse guys, Y'all have to see this!”


Current Town:  Astoria (Queens, baby!)

Q:  Tell me about “All I Want is One More Meanwhile...”

A:  “Meanwhile…” is a comic book in theatrical form centering on Perfectra, an artificially-engineered superhero. Twenty years ago, she was impervious to flaw because, well, she was a robot. Today, having chosen the ability to give birth over power and perfection, she’s just Jane — a real woman battling the bathroom scale, plantar fasciitis, and a strained relationship with her grown daughter. She’s also being sniffed out by Canius, a canine-controlling criminal and former fanboy who never let go of his deep personal betrayal over Perfectra’s sudden disappearance.

Originally produced as part of The Brick's Comic Book Theater Festival in Brooklyn, its currently receiving its Midwest premiere at Otherworld Theatre in Chicago, a venue dedicated to the performance of Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. I’m honored to have “Meanwhile…” be the company’s first production in their new theater space.

“All I Want is One More Meanwhile…” was in large part inspired by intergalactic badass Carrie Fisher. In her one-woman show, Wishful Drinking, she talked about being haunted by the Slave Leia costume. How these men who once thought of Leia every day from the ages of 12 to 22, or as one fanboy clarified, “Well, four times a day…” were now betrayed and angry at Carrie for committing the unforgivable crime of not “looking the exact same way for the next 30 to 40 years.”

Nathan Pease, directing Otherworld’s production, put it beautifully calling the play “a sly look at what it is society is really asking of women and how ridiculous it all is. It challenges toxic fandom the concepts of modern femininity while telling a story with a heroic amount of heart and humor.”

Q:  What else are you working on now?

A:  Grading a million papers for my college classes, finishing up a grant proposal for No, YOU Tell It!, trying not to sound like a dumbass in this interview, and keeping panic at bay over how behind I am on rewrites for my first book.

Q:  Tell me about No, YOU Tell It!

A:  Nothing informs your story like hearing someone else perform your story! That is the guiding principle behind No, YOU Tell It!, a nonfiction series with a twist: Each participant develops their own true-life tale on the page and then trades scripts with a partner to present each other's story on stage. It started in 2012 as an experiment. While I was getting my MFA in creative nonfiction from Fairleigh Dickinson, I gathered some friends to swap stories. The goal was to strengthen the writing on the page but also deepen empathy as the story partners literally step into each other's shoes on stage. The audience reaction was so positive after that first show, we decided to keep going, developing No, YOU Tell It! into a regular series and, later, podcast.

For each installment the NYTI creative team, Erika Iverson, Mike Dressel and myself, work with a group of four storytellers — past participants include authors, actors, playwrights, songwriters, poets, dancers, educators, technical writers, advertising executives, comedians, and more — as they draft and revise true-life tales inspired by a theme. In about a month, participants go from strangers to collaborators as the full group all works together in a creative writing workshop setting. Once the stories are paired and swapped, each storyteller receives a one-on-one rehearsal session with a member of the creative team to work out how to best embody their partner's story, giving it little theatrical oomph on stage.

Producing the live shows, we’ve found that storytellers are often far more concerned with doing their partner’s story justice than how their own piece is going to turn out. Mixing up participants from different disciplines also allows everyone involved to “check their credentials at the door” and focus on the stories that need to be told. One of our fabulous alums, Ellie Dunn, helped us make this short video about what we do: https://vimeo.com/202678301.

My introverted side often wishes I could install a small screen on my forehead and just play the video whenever people ask me about No, YOU Tell It! at events, or conferences, or say an interview…

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

A:  Perhaps because my mind’s still on Georgia, the story that first pops up is when I lost my faith in Catholicism. I was in second grade. If you ever get the opportunity to go to Catholic school in Georgia… Don’t. What sticks most in my memory is the series of nuns with carts who rolled up to our classrooms to teach music, art, or religion. The art nun demanded that we use the yellow crayon when coloring in the exposed skin of the figures depicted in our Big Book of Saints. It didn’t matter if you owned one of those super Crayola boxes and wanted to give tan, brown, peach, or, God forbid, the flesh-colored crayon a spin. She dictated that we only ever use yellow.

It was the nun in charge of religion, however, who ruined so much more than the joy of coloring the day she rolled into my second-grade classroom. Before then, I’d been on board for anything Catholic. An old man shoving every animal in the world, two-by-two, onto a big wooden boat, sure, why not? Too bad he forgot the unicorns. Virgin birth? Sounds better than this weird “sex” thing my older sister’s friends keep whispering about in the back of the bus. Letting small round wafers of Jesus skin dissolve on your tongue? You got a better way to spend a Sunday?

Yep, I was all in until the day the Cart Nun taught us about Limbo. Babies who have the misfortune of dying before they are baptized, which is the only way to be freed from original sin, cannot go to heaven. But, being babies who have yet to commit personal sins, they don’t go to hell either. Limbo, the Cart Nun taught us, is this non-place filled with lost souls that exists somewhere in between. The notion of an ethereal plane filled with un-baptized baby ghosts scared the ever-living crap out of me. But the Cart Nun didn’t just teach us about Limbo. She also instructed that if we were ever to witness a car accident where a baby was thrown from the vehicle (my child’s mind might have embellished that last part), it was our moral duty to perform an emergency baptism right there on the road, in case the infant hadn’t been baptized yet.

And by we I mean me. I’m sorry, but that’s a lot of f$%king pressure to put on a seven-year-old. I had nightmares for weeks about sprinting down a dark gothic road toward a car wreck, picking up a limp baby body, spitting on its forehead (yeah, I definitely added that detail), and reciting the “in-a-jiff” baptism prayer the Cart Nun taught us. Then, one day, after stress-eating an entire box of cookies during a long car ride, a simple thought freed me.

Limbo is bullshit.

I thought those exact words too because, thanks to my teenage sister and her friends, I knew ALL THE WORDS. Limbo was bullshit. The fact that babies could be denied entrance to heaven because their still-soft heads hadn’t been dunked in holy water and prayed over, followed by cake, was moronic. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who thought this because according to the “Pope Closes Limbo” in The New York Times, Pope Benedict XVI officially gave Limbo the boot in 2007. But in second grade, my “ah-ha moment” that Limbo was B.S. made me question, what else isn’t true? I didn’t stop believing in God the day, but I stopped blindly buying into the party line the Cart Nuns were selling. They couldn’t be right about everything; I had a coloring book filled jaundiced Saints to prove it.

I’m not sure what this story says about me as a writer or a person, but it certainly speaks to one of the reasons I made my home in NYC; I’m a terrible driver and hate being in cars. I stick to the subway or walking whenever possible.

Q:  Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A:  No one has influenced or inspired me more than the short time I spent after college in the Berkshires working as an education artist/director with Kevin Coleman, Jonathan Croy, and everyone in Shakespeare & Company’s Education Program. Their annual Fall Festival of Shakespeare, which just celebrated its 30th year, is a triumph as it brings together over 500 students from 10 high schools for a nine-week celebration of Shakespeare’s plays. There’s no better way to experience Shakespeare than by watching these kids scream for each other as they transform into Shakespearian rock stars on stage. The collaborative, non-competitive spirit of the Fall Festival continues to inform my work as an artist and is a tremendous driving force behind No, YOU Tell It! Above all, my goal for the series is to create a space with the same kind of warmth and levity that invites people to come together and celebrate each other’s stories.

Q:  What kind of theater excites you?
A:  Unsurprisingly, the intimacy and stakes of one-person shows thrill me. Along with Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking, one of my first and best NYC memories is seeing Lily Tomlin in the 2000 revival of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. She went up on a monologue in the middle of the show. Breaking character, she stepped out and talked right to us, explaining to the audience that she’d been trying out new material and joking about how it obviously still needed work. Then, taking a swig water, Tomlin disappeared as she slid right back into character and the show went on. Both parts were pure magic.

Q:  What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?
A:  Have your words read out loud whenever possible. Even if you organize a night where you bribe friends with pizza to come over and have an informal reading. Also, if you set a reading up before finishing the script, it’s a great motivation to get it done!

Q:  Plugs, please:
A:  All I Want is One More Meanwhile… is playing at Otherworld Theater (www.otherworldtheatre.org) in Chicago until Oct 27th, tickets and times at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/all-i-want-is-one-more-meanwhile-tickets-47979239196

LISTEN to the No, YOU Tell It! podcast, featuring switched-up stories from our live shows. http://www.noyoutellit.com/category/podcast/

You can find us on most podcast platforms including iTunes and Audioboom. Please subscribe, and if you could take a minute to rate, review, and share our podcast, you’d be my superhero!

Along with the live shows, we design and teach collaborative No, YOU Tell It! workshops that focus on trading true-life tales as a camaraderie-building experience for all involved. Want to host a “switched-up” storytelling workshop at your school, office, or organization? Email me at noyoutellit@gmail.com.

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Oct 1, 2018

UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS OF MY PLAYS

PRODUCTIONS

WORLD PREMIERE

Stockholm Syndrome
or Remember That Time Jimmy's All American Beefsteak Place Was Taken Over By That Group Of Radicals?

Production #1 of Stockholm Syndrome
The NOLA Project
New Orleans, LA
Opens January 2019.



MORE SHOWS

KODACHROME

Production #6 of Kodachrome
Juan Seguin High School
Arlington, TX
Opens October 25, 2018

Production #7 of Kodachrome
Fire Exit Theatre
Alberta, Canada
Opens November 28, 2018.


Production #8 of Kodachrome
Actors Bridge Ensemble
Nashville, TN
Opens July 12, 2019.

Marian or The True Tale of Robin Hood

Production #12 of Marian
Stephens College
Columbia, MO
Opens October 12, 2018.

Production #13 of Marian
American High School, Theatre 70
Fremont, CA
Opens November 11, 2018.

Production #14 of Marian
Marengo Community High School
Marengo, IL
Opens November 15, 2018.

Production #15 of Marian
Green Bay West High
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Opens November 29, 2018.

Production #16 of Marian
Theatre Conspiracy
Fort Myers, FL
Opens Feb 7, 2019.

Production #17 of Marian
University of North Carolina
Wilmington, NC
Opens February 21, 2019.

Production #18 of Marian
The West Side Show Room
Rockford, IL
Opens March 7, 2019.

Clown Bar

Production #32 of Clown Bar
Maryland College of Art
Baltimore, MD
Opens Nov 9, 2018.

Incendiary

Production #3 of Incendiary
Farmington Valley Stage Company
Collinsville, CT
Opens January 25, 2019.


7 Ways To Say I Love You
a night of short plays

Production #24 of 7 Ways
St. Thomas Aquinas College
Sparkill, NY
Opens November 15, 2018.

Production #25 of 7 Ways
Auburn Community Players
Fiskdale, MA
Opens July 12, 2019.

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Books by Adam (Amazon)

Jul 10, 2018

SHOWS BY ME ON STAGES NEAR YOU

PRODUCTIONS

WORLD PREMIERES


Mercy

Production #1 of Mercy
New Jersey Rep
Long Branch, NJ
June 14-July 15, 2018




Stockholm Syndrome
or Remember That Time Jimmy's All American Beefsteak Place Was Taken Over By That Group Of Radicals?

Production #1 of Stockholm Syndrome
The NOLA Project
New Orleans, LA
Opens January 2019.



MORE SHOWS

Hearts Like Fists

Production #40 of HLF
Rewrite Theater
Portland, OR
Opens Aug 11, 2018.

Clown Bar

Production #31 of Clown Bar
Majestic Repertory Theatre
Las Vegas, NV
Opens August 4, 2018.

Marian or The True Tale of Robin Hood

Production #10 of Marian
iDiom Theater
Sylvia Center for the Arts
Bellingham, WA
Opens August 9, 2018.

Production #11 of Marian
Theatre of Note
Los Angeles, CA
Opens August 17, 2018.



Production #12 of Marian
Stephens College
Columbia, MO
Opens October 12, 2018.

Production #13 of Marian
University of North Carolina
Wilmington, NC
Opens November 8, 2018.

Production #14 of Marian
American High School, Theatre 70
Fremont, CA
Opens November 11, 2018.

Production #15 of Marian
Marengo Community High School
Marengo, IL
Opens November 15, 2018.

Production #16 of Marian
Theatre Conspiracy
Fort Myers, FL
Opens Feb 7, 2019.

Production #17 of Marian
The West Side Show Room
Rockford, IL
Opens March 7, 2019.

Production #3 of Rare Birds
Fort Atkinson High School
Fort Atkinson, WI.
Opens August 24, 2018.

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Books by Adam (Amazon)

Jun 7, 2018

Plays By Me Going Up Places

PRODUCTIONS

KODACHROME

Production #5 of Kodachrome
The Hudson Repertory Theater
White Plains, NY.
Opens July 6, 2018.

Mercy

Production #1 of Mercy
New Jersey Rep
Long Branch, NJ
Opens June 14, 2018




Stockholm Syndrome
or Remember That Time Jimmy's All American Beefsteak Place Was Taken Over By That Group Of Radicals?

Production #1 of Stockholm Syndrome
The NOLA Project
New Orleans, LA
Opens January 2019.



Marian or The True Tale of Robin Hood

Production #9 of Marian
Actors Bridge Ensemble and Wild Card Productions
Nashville, TN
Opens June 28, 2018.

Production #10 of Marian
Giving Tree Theatre
Marion, IA
Opens August 1, 2018.

Production #11 of Marian
iDiom Theater
Sylvia Center for the Arts
Bellingham, WA
Opens August 9, 2018.

Production #12 of Marian
Theatre of Note
Los Angeles, CA
Opens August 17, 2018.



Production #13 of Marian
Stephens College
Columbia, MO
Opens October 12, 2018.

Production #14 of Marian
University of North Carolina
Wilmington, NC
Opens November 8, 2018.

Production #15 of Marian
American High School, Theatre 70
Fremont, CA
Opens November 11, 2018.

Production #16 of Marian
Marengo Community High School
Marengo, IL
Opens November 15, 2018.

Production #17 of Marian
Theatre Conspiracy
Fort Myers, FL
Opens Feb 7, 2019.

Production #18 of Marian
The West Side Show Room
Rockford, IL
Opens March 7, 2019.

Food For Fish

Production #12 of F4F
Eclectic Performing Arts Company
Allentown, PA
Opens July 6, 2018.

7 Ways To Say I Love You
a night of short plays

Production #23 of 7 Ways
North Platte Community Playhouse
North Platte, NE
Opens June 30, 2018



Production #3 of Rare Birds
Fort Atkinson High School
Fort Atkinson, WI.
Opens August 24, 2018.

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