I Interview Playwrights Part 1108: Dave Osmundsen

Dave Osmundsen

Hometown: Pompton Plains, NJ

Current Town: Pompton Plains, NJ (by way of Sarasota, FL and Tempe, AZ)

Q:  What are you working on now?

A:  I’m working on a few projects (including prepping for the world premiere of my play Light Switch), but one work-in-progress I’m particularly excited about is an adaptation of Autism awareness advocate Michael John Carley’s article The Brat in Your Classroom. The article depicts his tumultuous years at a private school called Moses Brown, and how he emotionally processes those years in the wake of receiving an Autism diagnosis in his mid-thirties. It’s still in early stages, but I’m really excited for people to (eventually) see 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:  In my backyard, I would stand between two trees and pretend I was on a stage. Or I would make myself a minimalist set with a few chairs on the backyard patio (my “second stage,” if you will). Armed with two sticks (which I would bang together to make percussive sounds), I would sing made-up lyrics to musical theatre melodies I knew. I would act out musicals with plots that fused derivatizations of other musicals with my own contributions—a musical that was vaguely about a gay rights activist with a score lifted directly from Evita, an Into the Woods-style musical featuring an assortment of Bible characters (and a Devil Giant who embarked on a murderous spree in Act Two), a Wicked-like story about a gay teenager whose jealous emotions literally overtake him, to name a few. I would never get through a whole show, but rather repeat my favorite musical moments and/or songs. There was no audience because there didn’t need to be one. I was my own audience. Just when I was getting lost in the music and the stories, my sister would scream from her bedroom window “DAVID STOP SINGING.” And I would stop. Then I would tap the two sticks together, quietly, gently, and ease myself back into the musical world I had created for myself.

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

A:  Just one thing??? Aside from the usual wishes that it was cheaper and more accessible, I would change the perception of neurodivergent artists. There seems to be some astonishment and bewilderment that neurodivergent artists can tell their own stories from their own perspectives. Why is this? Why can’t there be an assumption of competence? Why does autism specifically (since that is my neurodivergence) have to be portrayed solely as “Inspirational”? Why can’t it be treated with complexity and nuance? Why does it always have to be the neurotypical playwrights who tell neurodivergent stories? Why is Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a play that doesn’t even mention the word “autism,” the most famous example of neurodivergent theatre? I would change all that.

Q:  Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A:  Amy Herzog, for her ability to take messy situations and add beauty and clarity to them.

David Lindsay-Abaire, for his sharp observations about humanity, even in the most absurd of his plays.

Mickey Rowe, for fearlessly working and living as an autistic artist.

Paula Vogel, whose generosity in mentoring young artists is legion.

Larry Kramer, whose activism inspires me to be more politically aware and active in my work and life.

Patti LuPone, for never bullshitting.

Q:  What kind of theater excites you?

A:  Theatre that complicates. Theatre that is tight. Theatre that is grand. Theatre that expands. Theatre that runs. Theatre that fucks. Theatre that caresses. Theatre that leaves you shooketh. Theatre that moves you to make your life, or someone else’s life, or the world’s life better. Theatre that makes you laugh in hysterics in the midst of devastating heartbreak. Theatre that is a well-executed well-made play. Theatre that splatters on the living room wall. Theatre that is messy and elegant at once. Theatre that, for its brief duration, lives.

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

A:  If you’re a fan of an artist and you find yourself in the same space as them, thank them for their work.

If an artistic director or literary manager or fellow artist you’ve reached out to never replies, that says more about them than it does about you.

Find your people. Whether they be playwrights, designers, actors, administrators, what have you, find the people who get your work and want to see it succeed.

That being said, no one will be a better advocate for your work than you. So if you wrote a play, and you believe in what it’s saying, don’t be afraid to put it out there.

This quote comes to mind: “Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”

Q:  Plugs, please:


A:  My play Light Switch will be receiving its world premiere from Spectrum Theatre Ensemble in Providence, Rhode Island this coming April. Watch this site for more info: https://www.stensemble.org/

The Gift of BS will receive a virtual reading during the Clay & Water Playwrights Retreat the weekend of February 24—27. Watch this site for more info: http://www.clamourtheatre.org/events/2022-2/clay-and-water-2022/

The Dummy Class will receive a workshop reading with Purple Crayon’s PLAYground Festival of Fresh Works the weekend of April 30—May 1.

If you’re interested in learning more about Light Switch and neurodivergent theatre, I’ve developed a course through theatre.university: https://www.theatre.university/courses/neurodivergent-theatre-light-switch/

 Read some Actually Neurodivergent playwrights! A few playwright/play recommendations you can find on the New Play Exchange are Hayley St. James (For Leonora or Companions), Schereeya Reed (End of the Line), and Scott Sickles (Seaside Tragedies)

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I Interview Playwrights Part 1107: Sharon Yablon

Sharon Yablon

Hometown: Los Angeles

Current Town: Los Angeles

Q: Tell me about “A Garden of Terrible Blooms.”

A:  “A Garden of Terrible Blooms” started out as a collaboration with my neighbor, who is a very talented sound designer and musician. We had worked together before, with him providing live music to my plays. I have been at this awhile and realized I had many short ones, all set in different parts of L.A., which is a very spread out city, and that most take place at night, or night that is encroaching. With the anxiety of the pandemic, and my own onset of middle age, I started to imagine a sort of metaphysical or supernatural radio where, if you were experiencing insomnia and tuned in in the middle of the night, you might hear these voices seeking to talk to you. I also love sound, and music, and the actors’ spoken words, and wanted to whittle the experience down to just the hearing sense and explore what that would be like.

Q: What else are you working on now?

A:  I have a longer play set in the San Fernando Valley that I am in the process of finishing and hope to produce, and more to continue working on after that.

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

A:  I would love for more people to be exposed to it.

Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A:  Some favorite playwrights include Wallace Shawn, David Mamet, Edward Albee, Harold Pinter. My favorite play is A Delicate Balance, and there are many underappreciated ones that I love, such as Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean by Ed Graczyk and What Happened Was by Tom Noonan. I would love to see Mark Rylance perform. I also enjoy the work of Caryl Churchill, Annie Baker, Sheila Callaghan, Greek Tragedies and, of course, Shakespeare, but not really the comedies. There are many musicals that I love as well.

Q: What kind of theater excites you?

A:  Language that has some poetry or rhythm and that is specific to the theater and not film/television. Hearing a writer’s unique voice. Work that has some mystery, or what I call “terror” onstage. I love silence and pauses onstage too. Noh Theater is wonderful.

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

A:  Don’t worry about ‘writing what you know.’ We know more than we think, although it may need to be mined from the unconscious. Try directing your own work. Don’t focus too much on plot, it will come, and there are all kinds of plots and structures that one can do onstage. It’s okay to not know where you’re going right away, it will come. Not every play has to be about social justice, or what the cultural norm is. Learn to cut and be relentless about trimming the ‘fat’ from your work so the good stuff will pop. If something you’re writing doesn’t excite you, you may not be connected to it, so don’t force it; it’s okay to not finish everything. Enjoy the process, don’t worry too much about the outcome (fame, productions) because most of us will not get this. That said, if producing entities aren’t responding to your work, put it up yourself! Find your people (they are out there!), which includes actors who are excited to be in your work, and a writer’s group that can critique and whose works you admire, so it keeps you on your toes with your own writing. Plays absolutely must have an audience, and I’m not talking about readings, but productions.

Q: Plugs, please:

A:You can listen to “A Garden of Terrible Blooms for free” at www.terribleblooms.net, or where you get your podcasts. The first ten plays are already available, and the newest one, “Dear Marie,” will be released on Valentines Day. 

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I Interview Playwrights Part 1106: Wi-Moto Nyoka

Wi-Moto Nyoka

Hometown: Portland, OR

Current Town: Philly!!!

Q: Tell me about Eden in the Sciene In Theater Festival.

A: Eden, a sci-fi play, is the story of a scientist, a doctor, and a patient who experience the transformative joy and terror of a real miracle.

When Eden lapses into an unexplained coma Dr. Luna Del Cielo starts having strange nightwalks. Trusting in new found friend and colleague Sonia Preko, the two women stumble into what they think is a scientific discovery but ends up being so much more.

Q:  What else are you working on now?

A:  In June of 2022 I plan to complete my first coming-of-age sci-fi novella “Never Eat Alone”. Based on a real, but short lived, NYC school policy enforcing teachers to eat with their students, the novella is told from the perspective of high school student Tara Santos and her relationship with Izel, her replica. It is a piece that explores self-love, grief, and getting good at disaster through uncanny methods.

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

How about a fairy tale instead.........

    Kiki stared at her reflection in the water bucket outside her hut, focusing her eyes on the slits under her breasts. They were subtle lines in her dark brown skin and almost imperceptible, but she could feel the power that rested underneath them. She knew what it meant. She was one of them, the Azinza. Tears stung Kiki’s eyes and she struggled to breathe, already feeling the effects of her change. She would soon have to go to water and abandon her family, her village, and the person she was.
    What will I tell my mother?
    Her mother, her whole family in fact, hated the Azinza and considered them to be abominations. If they were to find out that they had one in their midsts they would be devastated and the news would bring shame to her family. They may even be cast out of the village and forced to live in exile. She would have to say her goodbyes quietly, and disappear without explanation. She felt horrible thinking about the pain she would cause by vanishing but it would be worse if they knew the truth.
    She tip-toed back to her hut and stopped to gaze at her sleeping family. Her brothers lay on their backs with round bellies rising and falling peacefully. She smiled and kissed them on their foreheads before looking over to her parents, both snoring softly. She thought about all the laughter and love, safety and warmth they had provided and bit down on her lip to keep from sobbing. She decided not to touch them at all for fear that her anguish would wake them up and force her to explain herself. She slipped out into the moonlit night and began her pilgrimage to the ocean.
    Once at the beach she stepped mournfully up to the tide and stared out at the thin gold line of the horizon. Dawn was approaching and she was running out of time.
    “Kiki?” her mother’s voice said, softly, from behind her.
    She jumped in surprise and then froze.
    What will I tell my mother?
    Her mother held a stern look on her face as she stepped, slowly, towards her. She reached out and cupped her face in her hands, kissed her forehead and then held her. They stayed this way and said nothing as the sky turned a pink yellow from the rising sun.
    “Every new moon I will come here and sing so that Oshun will protect you. Every new moon I will sing and hope to see your face,” pledged her mother.
    Kiki gripped her mother in a fierce embrace and trembled with fear, sadness, and tears. She felt the heat of a new day on her back and her body began to ache and pull her towards the water. Her time was up.
    She slipped off her clothes and walked, naked, into the rush of the waves. The steady heartbeat of the ocean wrapped around her and she barely noticed when her feet ceased to be. She felt the steady thrum of the water pull away from her skin as she rose to the surface to look back at the shore one last time. Her mother stood on the beach, arm outstretched, lonely and strong like a lighthouse.
    Though Kiki was never seen again by anyone in her village, every new moon her mother would sing and a great bounty would wash ashore with fish, shells, oysters, and pearls. For a few brief moments before the sun would take its place in the sky, before the moon would rest until its return, mother and daughter would look at each other from across the waves. A lighthouse and an Azinza; arms outstretched in welcome and goodbye.

The above short piece was published in Last Girls Club, a feminist horror zine.

Q:  What kind of theater excites you?

A:  Theater that responds to its time and breaks rules. I'm excited about theater that is investigating theatrical traditions outside of the Western cannon and inventing new ones.

Q:  Plugs, please:

A:  Check out season 2 of Black Women Are Scary, the radio-dramatic podcast that celebrates and produces short horror stories by BIPOC authors.
Read the terrifying tales of Terror Unleashed: Vol 2 published by Skywatcher Press.

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I Interview Playwrights Part 1105: Francisco Mendoza

Francisco Mendoza

Hometown: Mendoza, Argentina

Current Town: Brooklyn, New York

Q:  What are you working on now? 

A:  A couple of things! I’m taking a second pass at a TV pilot, a dramedy about the modern advertising world and the experience of being in the U.S. on a visa. In a couple of weeks, I’m taking a trip with a friend to write a movie about an artistic director who’s getting pushed out of her theater company. And my play Machine Learning just finished a run at Two River Theater’s Crossing Borders festivals, so I’m taking a couple of meetings for possible productions.

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 a big adventure junkie as a kid; I read soooo many pulpy books about jungle explorers and ancient civilizations. I remember one day playing in the yard and looking up seeing a branch of a neighbor’s tree poking out from our wall, and behind it, the Andes (which can be seen from anywhere in Mendoza). I got this deep longing, almost a sadness—and mind you, I’m 6 or 7 at this time—because there was a whole world out there that I wouldn’t be able to see if I stayed in my yard.

Then at 12, my family relocated to Brazil, and at 25, I moved to the U.S. At this point, I’ve lived in four different cities and traveled to four continents. I’m not exploring jungles or discovering ancient civilizations, but there’s definitely a bit of the explorer still in me...

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

A:  Something that really annoys me is how much people can change their mind about my work based on what other people have said. The same script someone read a year ago and had no reactions to is now somehow better because it won an award? That makes no sense to me. I wish more people in literary/artistic positions trusted their own taste and made decisions based on the kind of work they want to program, not what’s “hot.” It’s like people are afraid to make a call either way for fear of making a mistake—this is art, there’s no way to turn it into math. Risk will always be a part of the equation, so stop being so afraid of it! There’s maybe three or four plays in the entire 2021-22 season that I actually wanna watch; the rest was programmed without any risk.

Q:  Who are playwrights or plays you’re excited about right now? 

A:  Francisca Da Silveira; she’s a fellow at The Playwrights Realm, where I work, and her play non-for-profit is a hilarious takedown of that sector. I can’t wait to see it at a SummerWorks-like festival. Charlie O’Leary’s The Allies is a play that has really stayed with me, an exploration of what gay shame means after coming out of the closet—it’s funny and cruel in equal measure. Asiimwe Deborah Kawe’s Appointment With gOD, which The Realm showcased in its Beyond The Realm Festival; I’ve never seen anyone capture the feeling of applying for a U.S. visa with such accuracy or poetry.

This season I can’t wait to see Eric John Meyer’s Antelope Party (Dutch Kills at the Wild Project), Eliana Pipes’ DREAM HOU$E (The Alliance/Long Wharf/Center Stage), and John J. Caswell’s Man Cave (Page 73). I’ve seen/read them already and they are some of the most exciting theater going on right now.

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

A:  I’d say learning to navigate asking for help but not depending on it. For the first few years, you are your own agent, publicist, lawyer, cheerleader. People in our industry are notoriously overwhelmed and mostly weary of new people, so don’t sit on the couch waiting for someone to fight your battles; go out there and give it your best. But you won’t get too far alone! I wouldn’t be anywhere without a few key champions who decided to take a chance on me. So make sure to ask for at least a sit-down, a coffee, some specific advice—the worst thing that happens is someone says no.

Q:  Plugs, please: 

A:  Sign up for my newsletter! I send biweekly recommendations of things I love (as well as the odd short story), and I do include anything of mine that’s going up or has been published. Or you can follow me on Twitter if you wanna keep your inbox empty. 

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I Interview Playwrights Part 1104: Andy Boyd

Andy Boyd

Hometown:  Phoenix, Arizona

Current Town:  Brooklyn, New York

Q:  Tell me about Occupy Prescott.

A:  Occupy Prescott play begins in the fall of 2011, when a libertarian rancher, an anarchist punk, an aging hippie, a radical priest, and a single mother gather in Courthouse Square in Prescott, Arizona determined to fix America. They all agree that the one percent is too powerful, and the rest of us are getting screwed. When they try to get more specific than that, though, they find themselves disagreeing about nearly everything. For me, this a play about how the task of rebuilding the world is both vitally important and...kind of annoying? Boring, even? I spend a lot of my non-theatre time doing political organizing, and most of the time it's a brutal slog. But every once in a while something happens that reminds you that what you're doing is actually really important, and it can mean the difference between someone being pushed out of their neighborhood or not, or getting arrested or not, or living next to a toxic dump site or not. The victories are so few and far between, and to me that means you have to find ways to make the struggle itself worth it. So this play is also about how being part of a movement creates a temporary community, and how intense those bonds can be, for good or for ill. It is very much a piece of political theatre, but more than that it's a character study about how being in a movement changes you. It's about how just sharing space and time with people who don't look like you or think like you can be a deeply transformative experience. In that way, it's also a play about theatre. People often called Occupy "political theatre," by which they meant performative bullshit, but just because something is theatre doesn't mean it isn't true. At least I hope not.

Q:  What else are you working on now?

A:  I was part of the 2019-2020 Pipeline PlayLab group, and for that I wrote a play called Red Clay Halo about the Southern Tenant Farmers Union, which was a radical interracial sharecroppers' union that drew equally from Karl Marx and fundamentalist Christianity. I was supposed to have a reading of the play in the spring of 2021, but that obviously didn't happen. There will be a reading of that play eventually. I also have a few other projects cooking that aren't in the kind of shape yet where I can talk about them in a public forum.

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

A:  This is maybe stretching the definition of childhood a bit, but when I was a senior in high school I saw Teatro Campesino do a play called The Tent of the Underdogs, which was originally performed in 1974. This play is about the struggles of migrant workers in agriculture, and it really opened my eyes to the brutal conditions farmworkers faced at that time, and still face. It also looked at issues of racism against the Chicano community. At the end of the play, the performers encouraged the audience to chant United Farm Workers slogans with them, and I left the theatre really feeling like I wanted to throw myself into the movement. (Incidentally, there is a character in Occupy Prescott who is a former UFW organizer). That spring, SB 1070 was passed in Arizona. This was known as the "show me your papers" act, and it basically deputized local cops to demand immigration papers of anyone brown. I remembered the sense of purpose the play had generated in me, and decided to become involved in the local protests against SB 1070. My involvement was very low-level, just showing up to a half a dozen or so marches, but it still changed my life. I met real-life anarchists and Marxists for the first time, and heard speeches from people directly affected by this bill. This convinced me that political theatre isn't always just preaching to the choir, and that it can absolutely have direct, tangible results in the real world. I don't think I would have gone to those marches if I hadn't seen that play. It is my hope that after seeing my plays audience members feel one step closer to actually taking action to change the world. In Red Clay Halo I have characters questioning why we need to have landlords. Of course, we really don't. Society could function perfectly well without them. If someone sees my play and starts up a tenants union, I think I've done my job.

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

A:  It's always bothered me that so much theatre is centered in New York. I know I'm doing nothing to help this situation by living in Brooklyn, but I still do think that if half the theatre artists in New York moved to Denver, or Phoenix, or Oklahoma City, those cities would change immediately, while New York would barely notice we'd left. It just feels to me that we're all competing for so few opportunities here, when there's such a need for what we do everywhere else. By that I'm not at all trying to denigrate the wonderful work that is done outside New York, but the disparity in funding and audience numbers and number of artists is very stark. I'd love to live in a world where theatre felt local, homegrown, and relevant to its immediate community. We'd probably need something like a new Federal Theatre Project to make that happen. So if I could change one thing I'd have the government create a program that enabled artists to make a living wage while creating new work grounded in communities all across the country. We've done it before.

Q:  Who are or were your theatrical heroes?

A:  I've already mentioned Luis Valdez and Teatro Campesino, but in addition to them I love Caryl Churchill, Tony Kushner, Wallace Shawn, David Henry Hwang, Lynn Nottage, and Adrienne Kennedy. I'd say the common denominator of all of them is that they make work that is explicitly political, but is also grounded in theatricality and character and language. I don't think there is any necessary tension between good politics and good art, and I'm drawn to artists that have both. I certainly aspire to both in my own work.

Q:  What kind of theater excites you?

A:  I've sort of answered that question, but one other thing that excites me is dumb cheap theatre magic. I live a short walk from Target Margin in Sunset Park, and I see everything they do because it's all animated by a really wonderful Let's Put on a Show! energy. They have dance numbers and Party City streamers and magic tricks and I just sit there giggling like a little kid.

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

A:  I still feel like I'm just starting out, but I suppose I can try to give some advice. I think there are many good ways to write a play. Sophocles' plays don't look anything like Caryl Churchill's, which don't look anything like Arthur Miller's, but all three are great writers. I still sometimes encounter people who offer you the One Right Way to write a play or a musical, and as soon as they do that my brain just starts wanting to poke holes in whatever they say. Musicals have to have a happy ending? What about Little Shop? A protagonist in a play needs to know what they want? What about Hamlet? A play needs a strong central character? What about Sweat? All these rules are just so transparently wrong that I don't think it's really even worth learning them. Read as many different kinds of plays as you can, and then try to write the play you would like to see.

Q:  Plugs, please:

A:  Occupy Prescott runs until October 31st at Jalopy Tavern in Red Hook, Brooklyn! Tickets are available here!

My play The Trade Federation, or, Let's Explore Globalization Through the Star Wars Prequels is available to purchase from NoPassport Press here!

A podcast version of my play Three Scenes in the Life of a Trotskyist is available here!

My NPX page is here!

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I Interview Playwrights Part 1103: Peter Michael Marino

photo credit: Mikiodo

Peter Michael Marino

Hometown: Queens, NY

Current Town: Manhattan, NY

Q:  Tell me about "Planet of the Grapes Live:

A:  “Planet of the Grapes Live” is the result of what happens to an artist during a global pandemic. As soon as lockdown began, I immediately pivoted my solo show and my family-friendly show to become interactive, live, digital presentations. I wound up doing over 100 of them. It was…a challenge, but a fun one. During that time I was afraid I wouldn't ever create anything else again, so I spent a lot of “worry time" on Rockaway Beach, just thinking. I had always been obsessed with the original 1968 “Planet of the Apes” film. While I was working in London on my flop musical “Desperately Seeking Susan,” I always passed a wine shoppe called “Planet of the Grapes.” I’m not usually a pun person, but that name always stayed with me.

I started playing around with some ideas and sketches of how to bring this thing to life and stumbled upon the history of toy theater which originated in the Victorian era. It was a way for people to literally bring theater into their homes. It seemed like the perfect time to revive that movement, since people weren't able to leave their homes and were craving theater. I started building a tiny stage in my tiny apartment and did some tests and ran them by my frequent collaborator Michole Biancosino and we decided it was something we wanted to dive into. I learned a lot about puppetry and I used some of my skills as a set and lighting student to re-create a tiny theater. I then added the sounds of an audience entering the space and an intermission and the program, and suddenly we had an actual theater event that people could experience from the comfort of their couches.

When I first started working on it, it was really just gonna be a short, silly thing that made people laugh. But as I dug through the screenplays of the original film and saw that Rod Serling was a big part of the development of the screenplay, I became obsessed. The film is not just about some astronauts who land on a planet where humans don't speak. It's about global issues like treatment of animals, the caste system, and mankind’s irresponsible treatment of our own planet Earth. We realized that this story had an important message, and that we could make an impact by telling it in a new way. It has now played virtually around the world over 50 times (live digitally) and we had a fabulous virtual run for the Edinburgh Fringe this past August which brought in a whole bunch of great reviews and an award. So, this next step is now adapting the digital version for the live stage with live music and special effects. We are really looking forward to being back in front of a live audience!


Q:  What else are you working on now?

A:  I'm not really working on anything else right now because I'm completely committed to bringing “Planet of the Grapes" to stages here in NYC and beyond. We're thinking about things like technical elements and also really important things like how to transport a tiny theater stage with characters, sets, lights, and sound to venues around the country and the world. I can't tell you how many trips I've taken to the Container Store to find the right vessels to store all of this stuff in.

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

A:  It amazes me and my friends and family that I wound up becoming a writer/performer. I never saw a play until I was in junior high school. But as a kid in Queens, I really loved television and had a fondness for anything that was comedic. I was also into “old movies” as a kid. In the Tri-State area, we had something called “The 4:30 Movie” which showed old movies. I couldn't get enough of these old movies and would beg my parents to let me eat dinner in front of the TV when a good one was on. I also had a neighbor down the street who was older than me who had a camera, and he would shoot little black and white movies in the neighborhood using all of the kids. I really looked up to this guy and I loved seeing what he created. I suppose he was a big influence on my creative life. Once I started seeing more theater in high school, I knew it was for me. I actually didn't start writing until much later in my career, as I had spent so much time acting on stage. I think learning improvisation is what opened my mind up to being a writer. When I became dissatisfied with the types of roles and plays I was being submitted for, I started writing my own stuff. I haven't stopped since. Sometimes I have imposter syndrome - but it seems nearly everyone in the arts has that, so at least I feel like I'm part of a large, somewhat dysfunctional, artistic family.

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

A:  Just one thing? Ugh. That’s hard. It became clear during the pandemic that there was a difference between Broadway-lovers and Theater-lovers. So many people missing Broadway shows, yet there were so many international artists creating theatrical content - digitally. But, folks were more into those kinds of events if celebs were involved. I think some of the most creative theatrical experiences I've had during pandemic were from digital theater shows. I hope in the future that more Broadway-lovers realize that they are actually theater-lovers and take greater chances on the unknowns.

Q:  What kind of theater excites you?

A:  I am a huge fan of Fringe Festivals. The kind of unconventional work that I've seen in these festivals around the world is more creative and thought-provoking to me than most mainstream theater. If I could spend my life traveling around the world only seeing what artists create at fringe festivals, I'd be very content. I guess what I'm saying is, I like theater that delivers content that the audience is not used to. Content and subjects and methods of storytelling that are unique. I'm always looking for stuff that is "outside the box,” because it not only entertains me and keeps my mind swirling, but it also inspires me to be more creative in expressing my ideas and stories.

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

A:  See as much theater in as many places as you possibly can. Work with dramaturgs and directors as early as you can. Share your process with your circle as often as you can. Believe in yourself and your ideas as much as you can.

Q:  Plugs, please:

A:  “Planet of the Grapes - Live on Stage” plays The Kraine Theater on October 28 and November 4 at 7:00PM. More info at www.planetgrapeshow.com

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