Amanda Quaid
Hometown: New York City
Current Town: New York City
Q: Tell me about your play in the EST Marathon.
A: The Extinctionist is a one-act about an environmentalist trying to decide whether to have children. It’s a comedy, of sorts, about the problem of free will. The cast is Sharina Martin, Sean McIntyre, and Stephanie Berry. Pamela Berlin is directing. It’s the very first production of a play I’ve written, so to do it with that team at EST is a huge honor.
Q: What else are you working on now?
Q: What else are you working on now?
A: My play Native Tongue, about an immigrant and an accent reduction teacher, is in the lineup for the HB Playwrights reading series in June. I recently completed a prequel/adaptation of Medea that I’m excited about, which tells the story of Jason and Medea’s marriage from the moment they first meet.
Q: Tell me, if you will, a story from your childhood that explains who you are as a writer or as a person.
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 in high school, there was a Mister Softee truck that would park outside at the end of the day. The driver was an immigrant. I didn’t know him well, but I saw him every day as I was leaving class. One afternoon, I noticed some younger boys arguing with him. I think it was a discrepancy about money. The driver was up in the truck window, perched a foot or two above them, looking down, and they were yelling at each other.
All of a sudden, the boys started hitting the truck, body slamming it, so it rocked back and forth. The driver lost his balance and told them to stop. They laughed at him. Then they started mocking his accent. I stood frozen, shocked, and by the time I was able to process it, they were ambling away, imitating his voice.
It was the first time I realized that an accent could make somebody vulnerable, that speech carried a hierarchy. I suddenly became aware of all the different accents I heard around me in the city, and how each voice held a story. I began to study phonetics, and when I was 19, I started teaching speech. Immigrants found me on Craigslist, or through word of mouth, and came to my living room to work on their accents. It was an incredible education in the relationship between speech and identity, how a person’s very being is intertwined with the way they sound.
I still make a good part of my living as a dialect coach, and now when I write, speech is the first thing I learn about a character. If I can hear their idiolect, I can write for them.
Q: If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be?
All of a sudden, the boys started hitting the truck, body slamming it, so it rocked back and forth. The driver lost his balance and told them to stop. They laughed at him. Then they started mocking his accent. I stood frozen, shocked, and by the time I was able to process it, they were ambling away, imitating his voice.
It was the first time I realized that an accent could make somebody vulnerable, that speech carried a hierarchy. I suddenly became aware of all the different accents I heard around me in the city, and how each voice held a story. I began to study phonetics, and when I was 19, I started teaching speech. Immigrants found me on Craigslist, or through word of mouth, and came to my living room to work on their accents. It was an incredible education in the relationship between speech and identity, how a person’s very being is intertwined with the way they sound.
I still make a good part of my living as a dialect coach, and now when I write, speech is the first thing I learn about a character. If I can hear their idiolect, I can write for them.
Q: If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be?
A: I wish actors could earn a living only doing plays.
Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?
Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?
A: Duse, Ibsen, Beckett, Brecht, Caryl Churchill, Mike Bartlett, Alice Birch
Q: What kind of theater excites you?
Q: What kind of theater excites you?
A: I’m excited by plays that can only be plays, that are stylistically theatrical and have a distinct actor/audience relationship. I also love dialectical writing, where there’s a clear opposition between ideas and I’m able to truly see both sides. I think that sort of storytelling is very healthy.
Q: What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?
Q: What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?
A: I’m just starting out myself, so I wouldn’t presume to give advice. But I can say that I wrote privately for a long time, assuming I would never show my plays to anyone. It wasn’t until I was pregnant with my daughter that I started writing in earnest and finally thought, “Why not?” I expected motherhood to derail my creative life, but I found it fueled it in ways I never expected. It gave me clarity around how I wanted to spend my time, and it gave me confidence to use my voice. Parenthood is certainly not the path for everyone, but I would say I’m glad I didn’t buy into the idea that you can’t be a mother and an artist, because you absolutely can.
Q: Plugs, please:
A:
The Extinctionist runs in Series B of the EST Marathon through June 24
Native Tongue will be read at HB Playwrights on Friday, June 28
Q: Plugs, please:
A:
The Extinctionist runs in Series B of the EST Marathon through June 24
Native Tongue will be read at HB Playwrights on Friday, June 28
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