Adam Szymkowicz

Jonathan Tolins

Hometown: Roslyn, New York

Current Town: Fairfield, Connecticut

Q: Tell me about Buyer & Cellar.

A: Buyer & Cellar is a play that began as a short comic essay I submitted to the New Yorker that got rejected. A friend suggested I write it as a one-man-show and I thought that could be a good idea. The play stems from the fact that Barbra Streisand put out a book in 2010 about her house in Malibu, and in it she revealed that she built a street of shops in her basement to house her various collections and memorabilia. I thought it would be funny if someone had to work down there and "greet the customer" whenever she came down. That silly notion became the play. I did some research and studied the book and tried to make this patently absurd situation as real as possible. It was important to me to write a play, not a sketch. I wanted it to be about the relationship that forms between these two people in vastly different stations in life.

Anyway, I'm incredibly proud of the production at Rattlestick. Michael Urie is giving a remarkable performance and Stephen Brackett and the design team have done a masterful job. The production came together very quickly when another show had to be postponed. We all feel like Fate took a hand and made things happen in the right way.

Q: What else are you working on?

A: Right now I'm working on the books for a few musicals, mostly with my husband, Robert Cary. I also have notes on a new play, and am developing some TV ideas.

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 remember visiting my grandparents in Florida when I was about ten years old. There was a party in the "rec room" of their building and I somehow ended up standing on a table telling everyone a joke. I think it was a joke that I stole from Gabe Kaplan on Welcome Back, Kotter! on TV. The joke was about an old person dying – a risky choice for the assembled – but I got huge laughs. Doing one's best to delight middle-aged Jews is good training for a playwright in New York.

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

A: I usually complain about theater criticism, but right now I have a show that has gotten mostly good reviews so I'd better keep my mouth shut. I don't know one thing I would change, per se, but I wish the theater were a more welcoming place and that the economics didn't make getting a new play on so tough. Few people realize that many important non-profit theaters in New York will only consider a new play that has a star and/or brings with it enhancement money from commercial producers. That puts a heavy burden on a playwright and it limits what kind of theater the regular audience of playgoers sees.

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A: It's a cliché, but Chekhov. I did props for a production of Uncle Vanya at Williamstown in 1984 and I watched the show and cried every night. Peter Shaffer's Amadeus also had a big influence on me. I loved how theatrical it was and how passionate the language was. One more pretentious mention: I love the way Ibsen forces the audience to grapple with impossible questions, leaving them no easy way to turn.

Q: What kind of theater excites you?

A: See my previous answer. Basically, I love theater that feels like a heightened version of life. I like plays where you can feel a lively intelligence in the air, where the audience is totally engaged and waiting for the next line, the next turn of the plot, the next surprise to be revealed. I also think everything should have laughs, because life does.

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

A: Write for yourself. Buyer & Cellar looks to be the most successful play I've written and it's because I didn't write it for the marketplace. I wrote it for me, and maybe for my closest friends. People are looking for an authentic voice in the theater, for someone to tell it like it is as they see it. The more you stick to what makes you happy, the better your play will be.

Q: Plugs, please:

A: Buyer & Cellar is at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater through May 12th. Don't miss it. (And keep an eye out for a possible transfer this summer.)

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Apr 19, 2013

Reading of my new play Tues

Come if you can!

A reading with Primary Stages

April 23 at 3pm

at 59 E 59 (59 East 59th Street, NYC)

Rare Birds

by Adam Szymkowicz

Directed by Jackson Gay

Starring Mary Bacon, Kayla Vanderbilt, Brian Hutchison, Josh Tobin, Joe O'Brien, Sarah Elizondo.

The worst mistake you can make in high school is admitting you love something. A new play about adolescent violence and your mother's new boyfriend.

RSVP readings at primarystages dot org
or Lana at 212 840 9705

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Apr 18, 2013

I Interview Playwrights Part 574: Kyle T. Wilson

Kyle T. Wilson

Hometown: Several small towns in Arkansas. My father's a retired Methodist minister, so we moved around every few years.

Current Town: Los Angeles

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I'm producing a play for the Hollywood Fringe Festival this June called THE MISS JULIE DREAM PROJECT. There are nine writers on it, myself included. Using Strindberg's A DREAM PLAY and MISS JULIE as inspirations, I gave members of my writers group (Fell Swoop Playwrights) an assignment to write a dream sequence with Miss Julie as the protagonist, and that was really our only plan. Then I took the scenes and worked on assembling them into a dream narrative. What's resulted is an actor's nightmare of sorts; an actor playing Miss Julie dreams that the character has rebelled against her, refusing to go through with the story. The actress chases Julie through the corridors of her dreams in hopes of guiding her to her fate.

I'm also working on the third play in a trilogy set in a fictional town called Bumblebee, Arkansas. The first two plays are called BUMBLEFUCK, AR and THE BUTCHER OF BUMBLEBEE. The plays span the years of 1988-1994 and follow different groups of teenagers and the complicated adults in their lives. I'm still working on the third play; it's about a straight-arrow Boy Scout. That one doesn't have a title yet but I promised my mom it won't include profanity.

And my play AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL is a PlayLabs selection at this year's Great Plains Theatre Conference. It's about a troubled special ed teacher and her most difficult student at the end of a very hard day of school. I'm excited to be taking it to Omaha this May.

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 used to ride my bike from the Methodist parsonage down to Rick's Prime Time Video in Mena, Arkansas, to rent movies for the weekends. I always wanted to see the popular R-rated movies but Mom and Dad wouldn't let me, so I discovered the classics. My favorites were usually adapted from plays and musicals. I loved STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, and for a period of time I rented WEST SIDE STORY on a weekly basis until finally my parents bought it for me for Christmas. One of the things that baffled me about these movies was how they could ever make sense on stage. The first play I was ever in was HMS PINAFORE at the Ouachita Little Theatre; I was in middle school and played a sailor and was in the chorus. I remember being stunned at how all they had to do to this ordinary shoebox stage was put a simple post up in the center and extend some ropes off it to the wings and suddenly the whole thing looked exactly like a ship. As much as I loved and still love movies, it's the first time I remember understanding how a theatrical experience could inspire the imagination in ways that films never could. And I still love WEST SIDE STORY in any manifestation, but I will always prefer to see it onstage.

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

A: I'd like to see the process from page to stage actually happen for plays. And when it does, I'd like to see it it shorten, get easier, and occur with less anxiety and preciousness about the work. I have plays I started years ago that I continue to rewrite and submit in hopes of getting more development opportunities for them through conventional channels. So with Fell Swoop I'm trying to be the change I'd like to see; we finished the first draft of THE MISS JULIE DREAM PROJECT in January or February in anticipation of a June production. And things are coming along pretty well so far.

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A: All the obvious playwright names. And all my friends and colleagues and former classmates who are making a go of it on a stage somewhere. And Sondheim and Laurents and Bernstein and Robbins. And Patti Smith.

Q: What kind of theater excites you?

A: I like to be surprised. I admire work that's done with integrity and commitment. I love a clever or thoughtful approach to language. But lately I've just been impressed with folks coming together in bars and restaurants and coffee shops for readings and events; I'm pleased with the interest I see in L.A. in scrappy live performance of all kinds happening outside of the institutions. I like and see the work going on in the institutions too, but it's heartening to see people putting down their devices, gathering in small, unusual spaces and having a great time together.

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

A: There's no one right way to be successful. Just be really honest with yourself about what you want for your work and your career and set tangible goals on how to achieve those things. I'm still learning that lesson and I've been at this a while.

And don't stick around places if you don't respect the quality of the work, or the way that it's achieved. You, your work, and your creative team all deserve respect, professionalism, and basic human decency.

Oh, and have a healthy suspicion of people who are quick to give advice.

Q: Plugs, please:

A: THE MISS JULIE DREAM PROJECT at Three Clubs Cocktail Lounge at The Hollywood Fringe Festival, starting June 11. http://hff13.org/1309

AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL PlayLabs Selection at The Great Plains Theatre Conference, Monday, May 27.
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Apr 17, 2013

Compulsive Love Season Finale!!

Episode 8 is of Compulsive Love is here! Watch it and previous episodes on Koldcast or Blip or Daily Motion or Boomtrain or Youtube or JTS.

Embedded 8:

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Apr 15, 2013

You are cordially Invited

to a reading with Primary Stages

April 23

3pm

at 59 E 59 (59 East 59th Street, NYC)

Rare Birds

by Adam Szymkowicz

Directed by Jackson Gay

The worst mistake you can make in high school is admitting you love something. A new play about adolescent violence and your mother's new boyfriend.

RSVP readings@primarystages.org or Lana at 212 840 9705

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Book Store
Books by Adam

I Interview Playwrights Part 573: James Presson

James Presson

Hometown: Wilton, CT

Current Town: NYC

Q: Tell me about your upcoming show:

A: Words, Razors, and the Wounded Heart is a Jacobean Revenge Comedy set in present-day, suburban Connecticut. It’s the story of the impossible romance between a brother and sister running simultaneously with the return of an iconic ‘prodigal son.’ When their friends get involved… well, you know. It’s dirty and sexy and loud and silly and mischievous and horrifically tragic.

Q: Tell me about Less Than Rent.

A: Less Than Rent is a theatre company that I started with some of my friends in 2010 while we were doing a punk rock Richard III at FringeNYC. WRWH is our 7th production. Time flies when you’re working yourself into the ground! We aim to contribute to the larger discourse through art that is fresh, adventurous, and thoroughly caffeinated. New work by new artists for new audiences all day every day good to the last drop.

Q: What else are you working on?

A: This summer I’m directing Ben Diserens’ Beckett in Benghazi at Under St. Marks with Less Than Rent/Horse Trade. We’re being supported by LMCC, and we’re pretty excited about spending the government’s money. I’m lobbying our production manager for a fly system and live animals. I’ll let you know how it goes. And, of course, I’ve got a couple of my own plays in the works. Similarly to Words, Razors, and the Wounded Heart, they’re comedies about futility, despair, and broken dreams.

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 first theatrical experience was playing Fievel in An American Tail when I was four. Legend has it that during the performance, I mouthed everyone else’s lines while they were saying them. Afterwards, I cried for hours. Legend also has it that I was terrific in the role and “was the only one up there who knew a damn thing about acting.” (My grandfather is the official recounter of said ‘legends’)

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

A: I want more walkouts (and, by extension, plays that inspire them). I loved The Flick at Playwrights Horizons, but I also loved how much some people hated it. It was exciting. I felt nervous, but it was in the best possible way. A few months ago, I saw Django Unchained in the theater; the whole time everyone was looking around anxious that someone was just going to freak out. That danger… It’s the best.

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A: I like troublemakers who tripped into the mainstream: John Osborne, Mike Daisey, Clifford Odets. I also like this up-and-coming theatre company, Less Than Rent.

Q: What kind of theater excites you?

A: I like the stuff that wears its heart on its sleeve without losing its edge. I’m really into Elevator Repair Service; whoever wrote Gatz is great with language.

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

A: Well, since I’ve been at this for over 20 years, I think I’m pretty well qualified to give advice, but just in case you don’t… CS Lewis says “practice,” Saul Bellow says “start anywhere,’ and Billy Collins says “keep your room clean.”

Q: Plugs, please:

A: I’ve got WORDS, RAZORS, AND THE WOUNDED HEART opening at Under St. Marks any second! April 11-27, Thursdays through Saturdays at 7 PM. Tickets are cheap, and the show is adventurous. And for the latest Less Than Rent gossip, go to www.lessthanrent.org. We have great pictures. Plus, check us out on Facebook (/lessthanrent) and Twitter (@lessthanrent). I’m sure everyone says to do that, but I promise we’re really fun.
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Books by Adam

Apr 14, 2013

I Interview Playwrights Part 572: Jennifer Blackmer

Jennifer Blackmer

Hometown: New Palestine, Indiana. (Although I lived in the Twin Cities for five years, and several friends have given me permission to call myself a native Minnesotan because I absolutely love it there).

Current Town: Muncie, Indiana. I teach at Ball State University.

Q: What are you working on now?

A: I'm a member of the Ingram New Works Lab at the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, which has been the most AMAZING opportunity. I'm working on a new play, UNRAVELED, which is about space, time and knitting.

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

A: When I was twelve (or thereabouts) I decided to teach myself the constellations. So I gathered a blanket, my star chart, an old telescope that belonged to my uncle, some snacks and a little flashlight covered in red cellophane and set myself up in the backyard. I grew up in the country(ish) so the skies were amazing, and as I lay on my blanket I arched my back so that everything in my peripheral vision fell away, and all I could see were the stars. I felt, literally, like I was falling off the earth into the sky. My heart started racing, I lost my breath, and I was exhilarated and terrified at the same time; I wanted nothing more than to keep going, like a never-ending first hill on a roller coaster… But after awhile it was too much, so I ran inside and read "Peanuts" comics for the rest of the night. I think my entire theatrical career has been a quest to recapture that feeling.

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

A: This is an easy one, with a predictably playwright-centric answer: ALL THEATERS, ALL OVER THE PLACE, WOULD PRODUCE MORE NEW PLAYS. No theatre should ever be afraid to experiment. I live in the midwest, and am often disheartened by the lack of opportunities for those of us who don't live in New York. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE NEW YORK, I go as often as I possibly can, but it's hard to be seen as "legitimate" if you don't live there. I know new work is risky for theaters, especially regional theaters, to produce, but there are so many amazing, current, challenging and relevant stories out there that never get told, in lieu of yet another production of CLASSIC-PLAY-FILL-IN-THE-BLANK. It's easy to see why live theater is rarely noticed by younger audiences; I wish that our society were economically equipped to encourage more artistic risk-taking, and that audiences in general sought out new plays. This is one of the reasons why I've become such a huge fan of what Tennessee Rep is doing with the Ingram New Works Festival— over the past few years they've used the project to CULTIVATE an audience for new works in Nashville, and they're turning out in droves! It's exciting, and I'd love to see it happening all over!

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A: Too many to list, but here goes: Suzan-Lori Parks, Tony Kushner, Caryl Churchill, Tom Stoppard, Helene Cixous, Brecht, Beckett, August Wilson, Lynn Nottage, Sarah Daniels, Lisa Loomer, Theresa Rebeck, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Rajiv Joseph, Tracy Letts… my former student Andrew Kramer is in the Emerging Writer's Group at The Public, and is making some gut-wrenchingly beautiful stuff. I'm in awe of directors like Janet Allen, Rene Copeland, Kari Margolis, and Lisa Rothe. My colleagues at Ball State University are some of the most amazing artists I've ever had the pleasure of working with. That said, I think my biggest theatrical heroes are my kids, Ian (10), Eleanor (6) and Lucy (5). When I'm discouraged or stuck in my head, all I have to do is play with them for a few minutes, or lurk in the doorway and watch. The worlds they create are so crazy, marvelous and fantastically detailed, and they remind me every day how lucky I am to do what I do for a living.

Q: What kind of theater excites you?

A: It has to engage the head and the heart. I love experiences where intelligent ideas and ethical dilemmas are given visceral and immediate life RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU; they smack you in the head and shake you to the core. And theatre does this better than any other platform, because it's LITERALLY ALIVE. Theatre should never apologize for its liveness— space and time in the theatre is elastic and malleable, and I love theatre that embraces and challenges our common-sense understanding of it.

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

A: I was held back for a long time by the axiom "write what you know." I think this is bad advice; rather, you should "write what you can imagine" and then find the truth in that, by asking the right questions. And consider every piece of writing that you do, even emails and texts, to be a reflection of who you are.

Q: Plugs, please:

A: THE HUMAN TERRAIN will be presented by IAMA Theatre Company in Los Angeles in a reading on April 21st, directed by Eric Emery.

UNRAVELED will be presented by Tennessee Repertory Theatre at the Ingram New Works Festival on May 11th and May 15th in Nashville, Tennessee, along with new works by the fabulously talented Nate Eppler, Brian D. Walker, Garrett Schneider and Theresa Rebeck. More info here: http://tennesseerep.org/blog/weird-science-ingram-new-works-project/

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Books by Adam

Adam Szymkowicz

Featured Post

1100 Playwright Interviews

Apr 24, 2013

575 Playwright Interviews

I Interview Playwrights Part 575: Jonathan Tolins

Apr 19, 2013

Reading of my new play Tues

Apr 18, 2013

I Interview Playwrights Part 574: Kyle T. Wilson

Apr 17, 2013

Compulsive Love Season Finale!!

Apr 15, 2013

You are cordially Invited

I Interview Playwrights Part 573: James Presson

Apr 14, 2013

I Interview Playwrights Part 572: Jennifer Blackmer

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