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May 13, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 939: Chris Harcum





Chris Harcum

Hometown: Like John Coltrane, I was born elsewhere but grew up in High Point, NC.

Current Town: Like John Coltrane, I’ve lived six years in the area where Harlem and the Upper West Side meet. The similarities drop off sharply from there.

Q: Tell me about Martin Denton, Martin Denton.

A: Martin has been a great champion of indie theater since before it was called that. During a dinner last summer in New Jersey, he started telling Aimee and me these incredible stories that I don’t think many people know. People who know and love him might not know his origin myth. People who don’t know him probably do not know the impact of his work. An injustice that must be rectified!

I interviewed Martin over several days just before the last big election and had a ton of material. Martin has so many good stories there was about 10 hours of audio of him talking about his formative years and covering theater over the last two decades. I took a staycation week from my Clark Kent job and started transcribing the recordings myself. But I got lost in thinking about how to portray him and putting things in context. My playwright, performer, editor, and producer brains were at war with one another by the end of that week. The despair was thick and I was very frustrated with myself. How would I ever get through this process?

The transcriptionist I hired sent me a 385-page doc of the rest. More material than can fit into a single evening of theater. I morphed that, along with conversations with other theater artists and my own experiences, into a two-hander. It takes place in the fall of 2014 in the West Long Branch apartment where Martin and his mother, Rochelle, moved. Martin gave me five pages of notes on the first draft, which helped the next one take a huge leap. I am pleased to say Martin has given the script his stamp of approval. I feel it has a good blend of material for those who do or do not know Martin.

I play Martin and a few other characters. Marisol Rosa-Shapiro plays Rochelle and many other characters. The style is like what might happen if a comedy duo were performing at a storytelling slam, with many indie theater tropes and devices sprinkled throughout for flavor. As I write this, I am still on the hunt for how to play Martin. I don’t want to do a caricature or impersonation because I want this character to be an authentic person presented on stage.

I wrestled with doing this piece considering what is happening now in the world. But I figured it is a service to do something at this time that is big-hearted and reminds people why making and experiencing theater in a room, with other people and no screens, is necessary.

Q: What else are you working on now?

A: Staying sane and healthy in this crazy time. Seeking positive ways to channel my fears and anger. Feeding my mind, body, and soul so I am ready and available to share what I have to offer in my life and my work. Getting comfortable with and fighting against maturity. Recognizing the value of forcing myself to have rest days. Failing at all of these things.

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 very little, I had a red corduroy Superman cape made by an aunt. I would put that on and leap off the front porch over and over expecting to fly. For a second or two, I did.

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

A: Classism and bags of M&Ms. One or both contaminate many a night in the theater.

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A: My partner in life and art Aimee Todoroff, who is directing Martin Denton, Martin Denton. Most of my other heroes are comedians and rock musicians.

Q: What kind of theater excites you?

A: Things where a lot of thought and care have shaped something brave and visceral. Events where I laugh deeply and unexpectedly are usually the ones that touch me in other profound ways. I like things that are entertaining and have a good deal of craft. More and more I’m running around to catch performers, companies, or spaces that are going away.

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

A: Your breath enters your body when it is needed, it is then released, and that is followed by a pause. That changes when it is observed or you do something to control it. There are many inconsistencies in life but these things remain true until your body no longer takes in breath.

Q: Plugs, please:

A: Martin Denton, Martin Denton. Produced by Elephant Run District and FRIGID@Horse Trade. July 6 to 23 at the Kraine Theater, 85 East 4th Street. Also, the first season of the hERD Play Podcast Series will be released soon.www.elephantrundistrict.org.

The League of Independent Theater is endorsing a slate of arts-friendly candidates. If you are not a member and are reading this, please join and get involved. Indie theater is an important economic and cultural engine of NYC. Help make sure it stays that way. When they go low, we go local. www.litny.org.


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May 12, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 938: Ashley J. Jacobson





Ashley J. Jacobson

Hometown: Wood-Ridge, NJ

Current Town: Brooklyn, NY

Q:  Tell me about How to Be Safe.

A:  “How to Be Safe” is a drama about an agoraphobic empath, Audrey -someone who is so sensitive and riddled with anxiety that she chooses to stay inside, and Willow - an adrenaline junkie and recovering addict who is struggling to control her impulsive and reckless behavior. The play is all about their developing relationship and how their opposing psychological demons either challenge or comfort the other. Really, the play is about the worlds we build inside our heads and the connections we make to other people in order to feel safe, to make sense of how unpredictable life can be.

Q:  What else are you working on now?

A:  In addition to being a writer, I’m also a producer and the Artistic Director for The Dirty Blondes, a feminist theater company - so my plate is always full with planning our next moves and finding other scripts and artists to work with. I’m hoping to take some classes or workshops over the summer to get started on a new play I have swishing around my head. But I also love producing other people’s work and I want to focus on growing The Dirty Blondes and our ability to support new writers.

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 three, I refused to answer to any other name than Dorothy because I loved The Wizard of Oz so much, and I believed in magic and fairy tales for a little too long. My Barbie game was pretty strong as all my Barbies had strong personalities and lived very salacious and dramatic lives. My favorite TV show at 8-years-old was Melrose Place - so I’ve always had a thing for drama.

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

A:  The hustle. It’s so hard to find funding. Even huge theaters with budgets I would die for are beholden to donors and meeting Board Members/ Foundations expectations. There’s pressure to prove marketability/impact before a new show even has a chance - so new writers get stuck in “reading/workshop” purgatory while the same writers are produced across the board. Foundations/donors need to be reactive to trends created by artists instead of trying to lead the field by holding dollars hostage for things they decide in their board rooms are important.

Q:  Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A:  My heroes are artists like Paula Vogel, María Irene Fornés and Suzan Lori Parks, and some contemporary and emerging artists like Mariah MacCarthy, and Hilary Bettis - all creators of intensely powerful and important work that not only connect on a personal level but bring bigger social issues into their work in meaningful ways.

My heroes are also people who have given so much to the theatrical community like Erez Ziv at Frigid @ Horse Trade (where I have my artistic residency with The Dirty Blondes). Erez is the Patron Saint of independent theater artists. And all the people at ART-New York and Fractured Atlas who create programs, workshops and opportunities for independent artists. My heroes are people who, more than artists, are advocates for the entire theater community.

Q:  What kind of theater excites you?

A:  The kind that uses every single element of the theatrical experience to tell the story - when lighting, sound, set design, costume, etc. all contribute and push the story further; plays that are so intrinsically theatrical they could never live in any other form - shows that are living things that live and die on the stage.

For example, I just saw Indecent by Paula Vogel on Broadway and it blew my freaking mind! That play is a perfect example of using every single element of the production to tell the story and to create an unforgettable experience. Every single moment and detail on stage pushed the story further and the show would have been incomplete if any of the details were missing. That’s the perfect show to me.

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

A:  Finding the right collaborators and learning how to collaborate is just as important as having a strong script. There’s a tendency to want to direct your own work and I would suggest against that. Generosity, creativity, ingenuity, and honesty are important skills for a writer and they can only be honed when working with other people. Even bad experiences with collaborating, where other artists have tried to steamroll the process, have made me a better writer and a stronger person. The intense collaboration that theater requires is what makes playwrights different from any other writer.

OH - and really really important - see as much theater as humanly possible. My goal is to see a new play or read a new script at least once a week. You have to really love and understand the community you want to be a part of - so go see everything you possibly can. (and use TDF.org so you can afford it!)

Q:  Plugs please:

A:  Obviously - check out How to Be Safe, at The Kraine Theater from June 1 - June 17 - I’m incredibly proud of and excited for this play.

Get thee to Broadway to see Indecent. It’s on TDF - It’s incredible.

Check out my company The Dirty Blondes, we host a reading series and short play festivals and we are always looking for new plays to produce.

And then check out all the plays listed as Qualifying Productions on Parity Productions - all these shows have at least 50% female or trans artists and that really is super important. And of course, anything that Frigid @ Horse Trade has to offer is worth checking out!

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May 11, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 937: David Rambo



David Rambo

Hometown: Spring City, PA

Current Town: Hollywood, CA

Q: Tell me about The Tug of War.

A: It’s the story of President Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a depiction of his extraordinary leadership and willingness to proceed thoughtfully through a situation that brought the world closer to nuclear war than ever before or since. At the time he was informed of the presence of nuclear missiles 90 miles from the U.S. coastline, Kennedy had just endured three public humiliations: the Bay of Pigs, the Vienna summit with Khrushchev, and the commencement of the building of the Berlin Wall. His first impulse was to bomb the missile sites in Cuba, but he paused to hear opinions from other informed men. The play is largely drawn from recordings of those conversations in the White House and the notes and recollections of the men in the meetings. Two things that I discovered were surprising to me. The first was how much Kennedy’s love for his family — and his compassion for children across the globe — influenced his decision-making. The second discovery was the passion, bravado and ultimately the near-despair of Khrushchev, which I dramatize in his own startling words. The give and take between the characters in the crisis is riveting, but the final decision was Kennedy’s alone, and it spared the world from a nuclear holocaust. We lost a giant on November 22, 1963.

The play is commissioned by L.A. Theatre Works. We'll perform it before a live audience for broadcast nationally over public radio, streaming and downloads.

Q: What else are you working on now?

A: I spent much of the last year in London as a writer and co-executive producer of WILL, a new series about young William Shakespeare for TNT that will premiere July 10th.

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

A: Make it so more people could afford to attend.

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes? 

A: Wow… so many. Thornton Wilder certainly. Also Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, David Margulies, Richard Greenberg, Stephen Sondheim, Ellis Rabb, Sam Shepard, Oscar Hammerstein. So many.

Q: What kind of theater excites you? 

A: I’m an easy audience, frankly. As long as I’m not bored or being asked to participate in vainglorious exhibitionism, I’m in. Plays, musicals, historic pageants. Doesn’t even have to be in English.

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

A: Live a full, challenging, diverse life — get your head out of your work enough to cook, travel, read, argue, love and rest. It will make your work richer and prepare you to confront the capriciousness of the profession and survive.

Q: Plugs, please: 

A: THE TUG OF WAR, commissioned and produced by L.A. Theatre Works, playing five performances at UCLA’s James Bridges Theater May 25-28, 2017; info and tickets at latw.org

-->

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May 8, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 936: Diane Rodriguez





Diane Rodriguez

Hometown: San Jose, CA

Current Town: Los Angeles, CA

Q: Tell me about The Sweetheart Deal.

A: SWEETHEART DEAL is a story I’ve been wanting to tell for a long time. Though it is not autobiographical, it is very personal. The big gesture of the play is a theatre company acting in both the actos, which are political sketches, and in the more naturalistic play. Eventually both forms merge. The acto was developed by Luis Valdez and his El Teatro Campesino. Though I did not join the company until years after it started, I did learn the acto style and performed in many a one. At the time I was a member of the company, it was an international group that toured months on end in Europe, year after year. So, I grew up on the road, honing my chops as a performer on multiple kinds of stages from flat bed trucks to Greco roman amphi-theatres to schauspiel houses in Germany. So the play takes in many of my own life experiences, including a family history of volunteering for the United Farmworkers Union and being in new play development. The body of this work is a play that intersperses this heightened acto form as if they were songs, deepening characters and moving us forward into the story.

Q: What else are you working on now? 

A: Currently, I’m developing and directing a play written by two Los Angeles veteran theatrical artists, Roger Smith and Richard Montoya, currently titled VENICE IS DEAD: A WAKE IN ONE ACT. I’m also going to direct Culture Clash’s BORDERTOWN NOW in the Spring. This production will be in Los Angeles, but I’m not at liberty of saying where as the theatre hasn’t announced their season. I have one play that I need to finish. The working title is PITCH LIKE A GIRL that I haven’t cracked yet, and I have a love story that is taking flight.

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

A: The one thing I’d change about theatre in the US is that theatres across the country would produce work that was more experiential; that wasn’t so set on being a well made play, but rather an experience through sight, sound, visual elements, physicalization. I’m interested in this place where performance bridges theatre, which is odd since I write plays and I’ve spent the last twenty years of my career developing plays. But I tend towards liking work that is made by a company rather than by one person.

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes? 

A: Peter Brook is a hero who I worked with as an actor in my youth, in the production of CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS. This was the mid-‘70s. During this same time I worked with Helen Mirren, who even then was fearless as a stage actor and would dive into the work at hand. I’ve always said that Socorro Valdez was the best actress I’ve ever worked with. She is Luis Valdez’ younger sister. She has since become a pastor. She was riveting, and whenever she was on stage you couldn’t take your eyes off her. And, of late, I have always admired how Young Jean Lee has handled her ambition and her career.

Q: What kind of theater excites you? 

A: I like the work of Christian Lupa who directs big epic work. The last piece I saw of his was hours long at a festival in Poland. I’m excited about the work of Romeo Castulluci, an Italian director who directs with great beauty and composition. And I love the work of Angelica Lydell from Spain who is a sorceress, a wizard on stage. She is dangerous and vulnerable at the same time. Romeo and Angelica write and direct their own work and I’m interested in continuing to do that as well.

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

A: Know who you are writing for, who your audience is, and write for them.

Q: Plugs, please: 

A: My latest play, THE SWEETHEART DEAL opens on May 12. It is the premiere and I am also directing it. It is at The LATC in downtown LA.




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May 4, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 935: Haley Rice




Haley Rice

Hometown: Nashville, TN

Current Town: NYC

Q:  Tell me about LOU.

A: Lou is the story of Lou Salome who lived from 1861-1937. She was one of the first female philosophers and psychoanalysts, was a prolific writer and scholar of her time, influencing the work of Nietzsche, Rilke, and Freud, yet most people today have never heard of her. It was important to me to bring her story to life-- I think a lot of her struggles then are still very relevant now.

Q:  What else are you working on now? 

A:  I've got a few projects on the back burner, but LOU has been my main focus for the last few months.

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 going to the National Storytelling festival in Jonesborough, TN. I still have vivid memories of being 4 years old sitting in my dad's lap in these big circus tents for hours, listening to the storytellers from all over the world spin these tapestries that ignited my imagination. I think that's where I first felt the thirst for creating a world on stage and sharing a specific point of view with an audience.

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

A:  I'd love to make it easier for smaller theatre companies who support new art and artists to have better access to grants and funding.

Q:  Who are or were your theatrical heroes?
A:  I grew up watching a lot of Rogers and Hammerstein musicals, and then in college was introduced to Threepenny Opera and the world of Weill/Brecht; however Jason Robert Brown will probably always be one of my favorite creators.

Q:  What kind of theater excites you?

A: I love art that creates arguments-- or at least starts a conversation. I saw a couple shows of The Neofuturists and Erika Pheobus' Kiss It Make It Better. Or Broadway shows like Blackbird where there is room for doubt and discomfort. Even tv shows like Black Mirror that force us to look at actions we take everyday and why we do them-- these pieces don't solve our problems, just shed light on them, and it's up to us to talk about it. I love theatre like that.

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

A:  Anytime you are told to cut something and your first instinct is ABSOLUTELY NOT, that's usually a sign you should. Not 100 percent of the time, but I've found that more often than not that I hold on for personal reasons which do not serve the story. Don't kill your darlings every time, but taking a breath and making a painful cut usually makes way for much clearer storytelling.

Q:  Plugs, please.

A: My play LOU is being presented by Theatre 4the People at The Paradise Factory (64 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery) May 19-June 3. Visit www.theatre4thepeople.com for more info!

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May 3, 2017

I Interview Playwrights Part 934: Tori Sampson





Tori Sampson

Hometown: Boston, MA

Current Town: New Haven, CT

Q:  What are you working on now?

A:  At this very moment I’m in tech for my thesis show for grad school.

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

A:  A story that sums all that up? Not sure I have one of those. But I’ve always been an observer and daydreaming has been a hobby of mine for as long as I can remember. I’d see someone on the street or at a park and if they intrigued me, details about their life would pop into my head. I’d string those together and create an entire narrative about the hipster woman sitting on the bench at noon eating a Yoplait yogurt.

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

A:  There aren’t enough women of color as artistic directors, resident dramaturgs, literary managers… roles that powerfully craft what we know as the aesthetic of the American theater. I believe this is a disservice to the growth of theater and we’re all missing out on the dope art, that would be offered a stage, would this change occur.

Q:  Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A:  I admire people who get up everyday and acknowledge themselves as playwrights. This calling is always overwhelming. And more painful than I care to speak on. But we have a bone in our bodies that is strengthened with each blow to the body. So I smile at all of you.

Q:  What kind of theater excites you?

A: Theater that makes me forget to breathe because it’s so damn captivating.

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

A:  Write your stories. The way you want to write them. All the time. And read. And observe people for the beauty they will show you. But don’t be a creep about it.

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