David Johann Kim stopped by Playwright's Spotlight to discuss his two new simultaneous running plays and the process in which they were developed, their similarities surrounding the same historical event, and the collaborative process working with two different troupes and directors and his "overnight" success. We also discuss the value of workshop…

Michelle Kholos Brooks sat in the Playwright's Spotlight for a wonderful conversation about her approach to the craft. We talked about the rehearsal process with the return of her play Hitler's Tasters in which we touch on writing transitions, the effects of Covid on this particular piece and the different renditions prior to publication as well as…

Playwright Oliver Mayer joined us before the premiere of his new play Ghost Waltz. Oliver shares his experience writing operas, the medium's influence on his playwriting and the musicality of English as well as the intimacy of theatre and creative control, the after affects of "crashing into the wall. We also explore writing rituals, interruptions,…

Playwright Tira Palmquist sat in the Playwright's Spotlight while rehearsing her latest play The Body's Midnight. We had a wonderful conversation discussing the benefits of table work, entering the flow state and making discoveries later in the process, the role of the playwright in rehearsals, cutting characters, time between drafts, and the tool …

Joan of Arcadia's Becky Wahlstrom stopped by Playwright's Spotlight while in town from Nashville to help wrap up the rehearsal process for the premiere of her new play A Froggy Becomes. Becky discusses how she started out writing plays after a successful stint in Hollywood. We touch a bit on censorship from theaters, the pros and cons of writing fo…

This week playwright Steve Fife sat in-studio in the Playwright's Spotlight. It was a reflective conversation of his experience in New York and on Broadway in the seventies, his dislike of eighties, and the joyous return in the nineties. We discuss rewriting and updating past works, getting back to theatre's roots, directing your own work (of cours…

Catya McMullen stopped by Playwright's Spotlight during the run of her new play Arrowhead which runs through March 4, 2024. In this episode, we talk about surviving lockdowns as an artist, what makes a good writer, reflecting life on stage, stage plays as love letters. We also discuss what comes after the initial idea, writing from a personal place…

Had the pleasure of chatting with playwright and son of actress Eileen Heckart (Bus Stop), Luke Yankee, about growing up in the world of Hollywood and his journey to be coming a playwright. It's a wonderful interview that touches on his relationships with not only the Hollywood greats but also the pioneers of the theatre (including Steven Schwartz,…

Donna Hoke sat in the Playwright's Spotlight to discuss her journey into playwriting. In this interview we touch on her involvement in the Official Playwrights of Facebook, her start as playwright from a journalism background and learning on the fly, working in a smaller market and "owning your home town" as well as building relationships and putti…

In this episode of Playwright's Spotlight, long time friend and standup Henry Phillips stopped by to discuss another aspect of writing for the stage - Standup Comedy. Henry shares his origins into the craft and business of standup, his approach to comedy and knowing when you've got the right joke, the use of Twitter as a testing ground, and how to …

This was an absolute treat and a dream come true. Paul Greenberg from the sketch comedy troop The Vacant Lot honored me with ninety minutes of his time to come and talk shop. We discuss his pathway to success while performing onstage and then being cancelled in Canada as well as auditioning for SNL. We touch on what makes a good idea, how something…

We're back after a brief hiatus due to a guest cancelling, the holidays, and me feeling a bit under the weather, but our third season is still off with a bang. If there was a fascinating episode to drop after being away, this is IT. International playwright Ren Powell visited remotely with an aspect of playwriting and theatre I couldn't have been p…

Season 3, Episode 1. - If someone told me how powerful of a conversation I'd have been in store for prior to sitting down with Stan Mayer, I'm not sure I would've believed them, nor could I have prepared myself for the conversation we would have, and certainly not from a playwriting perspective. What proceeds is an in-depth and personal insight int…

FINAL EPISODE OF SEASON 2! We made it another year. In this season ending episode, we spend time speaking with Richard Vetere. Richard reached out to me on Instagram and voiced interest in being on an episode of Playwright's Spotlight. After looking over his credentials, Richard certainly had insight to offer, and as always, I learned something new…

We've dug into the vaults of Playwright's Spotlight for this episode. Originally recorded on February 8th, 2023, I interviewed playwright Brynn Thayer a few weeks before the world premiere of Let Me In. Unfortunately due to a software update, the audio was unusable and the pod-recorder used for backup was not started on time. Brynn and I tried to f…

Another episode touching on aspects not featured in past episodes. Today playwright Anna Ouyang Moench sits in the Playwright's Spotlight and, thankfully, after botching her name twice, she was nice enough to stick around. In this interview, we discuss the benefits of writers groups, the pursuit of playwriting, and developing a play during rehearsa…

Playwright and parodist, Dean O'Carroll, sat in the Playwright's Spotlight this week. We discuss his origins as a playwright and the knowledge gained from a Bachelor's Degree in theatre to an MFA in playwriting and the differences from learning from lecture opposed to the practicalities of writing and the challenges he overcame including pushing th…

Playwright Garry Michael Kluger stopped by to sit in the Playwright's Spotlight to talk about all things playwriting and also touched on its from film and television. Having been a three-time semi-finalist, we discuss the process of and when to submit for the O'neill's and whether it's ever okay to pay to submit your work. We also touch on how play…

Playwright Howard Skora stopped by Playwright's Spotlight, and what a fascinating interview he delivered. What I thought would be another insightful look into the craft of playwriting, turned into an unsuspecting history lesson about the psychologist Sigmund Freud and quite a few unknown stories about his life. Not only does Howie educate me about …

What a fascinating discussion. Playwright Wendy Graf sat in the Playwright's Spotlight and shared her experiences throughout her career including the effects of Covid, plays vs screenplays and how the translation of the latter can to stop the action on stage, the "secret" of success in playwriting, the concept of small vs large markets, and how to …

We are back!!! Sorry for missing a week, folks. Had some audio issues with this episode and needed a little time to figure out the best approach. 99% of the audio glitches were on my end, and my guest offers some amazing insights that I didn't want to risk losing by reshooting the episode or losing context by editing out the question. All said, Joh…

I always find something to learn in an episode of Playwright's Spotlight. However, Bernardo Cubria's insight to playwriting was nonstop. Every minute turned another corner of knowledge. His approach and insight to playwriting was intimidating that I'm not sure I could keep up - from a naivety to submitting plays that could lead to success to paying…

Vanessa Stewart graces this episode of Playwright's Spotlight. Taking a biopic musical approach to her playwriting, Vanessa features historical figures in most of her pieces, delving into depths of research and focusing on the minute nuances of their lives, starting off with the jazz couple Louis and Keely, and silent film legend Buster Keaton. In …

Playwright and publisher Jonathan Dorf sits in the Playwright's Spotlight and shines a light on the publishing aspect of playwriting with his experience as co-founder of YouthPLAYS touching on some of the criteria they look for as publishers of plays for younger audiences. We also touch on what makes powerful writing, in-depth characters through th…

The charming Bob DeRosa swings by Playwright's Spotlight fresh off the relaunch of his play - Gifted. Bob shares his experiences with starting in sketch writing, its benefits in learning to write quickly and the basic rules of structure, writing dialogue that's easy vs dialogue that's bad, and stories as transformation machines for the character. W…

Playwright Kathryn Keats visited Playwright's Spotlight to talk about her solo beat musical, The Hummingbird, and the tragic events that led her into going into hiding, coming out on the other side, and the development of the piece, and the catharsis of playwriting. We also discuss the importance of knowing your material, structure in performance a…

Tony Award Winning Playwright Itamar Moses stopped by Playwright's Spotlight. Chock full of humorous moments, Itamar shares his experience adapting the cherished animated film An American Tale for the stage, children's ability to suspend disbelief, and avoiding dumbing down the material for a younger audience. We also discuss when it's time for a t…

Another insightful episode in the bag. This week playwright Roger Q Mason stops by and unpacks the queer perspective of playwriting discussing how performance compliments writing (and vice versa), embracing and pushing discomfort as well as thematic layering and poetic expressionism. We also delve into the definition of being a "jazz playwright", w…

Australian born and Canadian artist, Sunny Drake, stops by Playwright's Spotlight. In this episode, we discuss developing the artist within and how to grow as a playwright without formal training, how much involvement the playwright has at a table reading, the benefits of previews, rehearsing in repertory theatre and how to submit as well as breaki…

Without a doubt the most important episode of Playwright's Spotlight to date. If in the past you've never made it through an episode in it's entirety, this is the one to sit through until the end. A story of diligence, perseverance, over coming adversity, Faye Widjaja tells the story of her high school drama club staging a production when it seemed…

90 minutes of brilliant insight. The amount of real estate this episode with Matt Williams covers couldn't be covered in a set of Time Life books. Matt provides so much knowledge, it was hard to know when to stop and move on to the next question. In this chat we cover learning playwriting from dramaturgical books opposed to those focused on actual …

What a wonderful and intoxicating exchange and perhaps a little serendipitous. I discovered John had started following the podcast and what followed was nothing short of a high energy conversation about the craft. In this episode with John Mabey, we discuss the romance and preciousness of playwriting as well as the psychology of the craft and the n…

In this episode I have a inspirational conversation with playwright Barry Kornhauser about the commissioning and adapting plays from children's books, development, creative freedom and licensing, and breaking down and building a story around stage directions and minimal dialogue. We also discuss working with underprivileged as well as individuals w…

In this episode of Playwright's Spotlight I speak to Los Angeles based playwright and actor Trey Nichols. In addition to playwriting, Trey runs a series of playwriting workshops throughout the year. Our conversation touches on various aspects of the craft including - learning through acting, one's inspirations, and playwriting classes as well as us…

It's always a treat when playwrights can record in house. This week local playwright Dagney Kerr stopped by to discuss her playwriting journey from college to relocating to Los Angeles as well as her process from workshops to worldwide productions. We also discuss letting go of your work and standing your ground. In addition, we tackle working with…

In this episode, Los Angeles based playwright Paul Surace swings by Playwright's Spotlight to talk about his upcoming compilation Hearing More Voices the followup to his first collection Hearing Voices. We discuss poignancy in playwriting, writing with intent, characters with a history vs characters that are strangers, and being directed as a playw…

Fresh in the middle of her trip from New York for the West Coast Premiere of her new play Broken Story, playwright Cyndy A. Marion stopped by a Playwright's Spotlight for an in-house interview. In this episode, we discuss transitioning from director to playwright, learning structure, taking creative license when writing about real life events, hone…

Wow wow wow. This episode is chock full of information, education, and insight, I could've gone on for another hour and a half. Michael Wright shares so much information throughout our chat. The plethora of topics we cover is immense and his knowledge is never ending. His exercises, or as he calls them "etudes", will help any playwright or writer s…

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 1. Author of The Playwright's Survival Guide and Perfect Ten and ten-minute playwright virtuoso, Gary Garrison swings by Playwright's Spotlight. In this discussion, we discuss progressing as a playwright, structuring a ten minute play, the differences between a sketch and a ten-minute play, and developing characters. We…

Passionate and Inspirational, Steven Dietz visits Playwright's Spotlight to discuss the musicality of dialogue, kairos moments throughout a play, and what he calls The Living Play, in which he unpacks his technique of using motion, status, and time opposed to action and conflict. We also discuss taboo topics, writing out of uncertainty, overlapping…

In this episode of Playwright's Spotlight, I speak to the master of the 10-minute play - Mark Harvey Levine. With over 1900 productions of his work around the world, Mark offers a plethora of information when it comes this short-form content - from the challenges to the opportunities that come along with it. We discuss structure from exposition to …

The quirky and energetic playwright Nina Mansfield stopped by Playwright's Spotlight, and while she's far from high strung, I can't help but think the female characters she sticks in unusual situations are all a faction of her. It's hard to pinpoint the exact areas of playwriting we cover in this episode, because we cover so many subjects - teachin…

Had a wonderful time reconnecting with Dean Farell Bruggeman, discussing playwriting and launching a career without any formal training. We discuss overcoming the obstacles without an academic start, the necessities of a successful scene, achieving truth and following your heart, muses and self projection as well as inspiration and unearthing plays…

Playwright Stephen Kaplan stops by in person in the episode of Playwright's Spotlight. This discussion is about as well-rounded as it gets, touching on a plethora of aspects go playwriting, including - avoiding directing on the page and the minimal use of stage directions and action, common habits and the pitfalls of a beginning playwright as well …

In this episode of Playwright's Spotlight, I speak to playwright Jonathan Cook about festivals, submission fees, and dealing with rejection. We also discuss the pathway to playwriting with no formal training and learning from reading bad material. Jonathan shares his experience with getting published and his extensive knowledge in creating and prod…

In this episode, I chat with playwright Brian Gene White about about the process of developing a play from start to world premiere using his recent piece Future Tripping as an example. We also discuss the accessibility of producing, the benefits of a technical director, gathering a "crew" and surrounding yourself with good people. Brian also inform…

In this episode, I speak to playwright Paul Braverman about developing your own local playwrights' guild, obstacles in playwriting, and how detailed one should go when writing stage directions. We also discuss the use of parentheticals, using long-form improve to write short plays and how it can also benefit full length pieces, the tricks of reread…

In this episode, I speak with playwright Steven Young to discuss the anatomy of a monologue, scene, 10 minute play, one-act play, three-act play and even touch on the more uncommon four-act structure. We also discuss the necessities of a scene and where to start them. We also discuss achieving production feats in playwriting, beginners' mistakes, g…

In this episode, I speak with playwright Joe Janes about the craft of sketch and stand-up comedy. We cover a lot of turf including academia in playwriting, character and the four basic human wants, improvisation and playwriting, the rules of sketch, lacking humor in sketch and whether sketches have to be funny. We also touch base finding opportunit…

In this episode, I speak to musical theatre composer and lyricist Michael Gordon Shapiro. Michael's insight into the genre is expansive. We discuss the method and elements of a musical, what functions songs play, and the traps to avoid. We also delve into compensation, publishing, and finding opportunities in the realm of musical theatre. I very mu…