What kind of work emerges when you write from curiosity, not expectation? In this episode, as part of our Playwright Mini-Series, Jennifer chats with playwright and screenwriter Keiko Green to explore how emotional intelligence, actor instincts, and a healthy disregard for traditional rules have shaped her distinctive writing career. Keiko shares how she began writing roles for herself as an actor, which quickly transformed into writing pieces for others with character-driven, genre-fluid material that often break writing norms & expectations. Keiko offers practical tools like writing in 4-hour blocks, using the “but and therefore” method to keep characters active, her decision to go to grad school, and how she advocates for herself. Together they talk about building relationships, the importance of self-produced work, and writing material that showcases humanity, centers collaboration, and makes room for joy. This episode invites you to embrace the mess, trust the process, and create the story only you are meant to tell.
About Keiko: Keiko Green (she/her) is a playwright, TV writer, and performer based in Los Angeles. Plays include: You Are Cordially Invited to the End of the World! (South Coast Rep; Oregon Shakespeare Festival - Upcoming), Empty Ride (Old Globe), Exotic Deadly: Or the MSG Play (Old Globe; SF Playhouse; Porkfilled Productions - Upcoming), Hells Canyon (Theater Mu; WET - upcoming), The Bed Trick (Seattle Shakespeare Co; Artists Repertory Theatre - Upcoming), Sharon (Cygnet Theatre), and Hometown Boy (Actors Express; Seattle Public Theater). Her plays have been developed at the Kennedy Center, the National New Play Network, Playwrights Realm, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company, and twice by the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. Awards/Honors: Susan Blackburn Prize Finalist, Kilroys Web, San Diego Critics Circle Award(Outstanding New Play), Gregory Award (Outstanding New Play). She holds commissions from Manhattan Theatre Club/Sloan Foundation, and the Kennedy Center/Seattle Children's Theatre. Current/Past Affiliations: Old Globe Resident Artist, CTG Writers Workshop, Geffen Writers Group, Chance Resident Playwright, Theater Mu's Mu Tang Clan, Seattle Rep Resident Writers Group, former ACT Core Company Member. As a screenwriter, she wrote on Hulu’s “Interior Chinatown” and AppleTV's upcoming "Margo's Got Money Troubles." As an actor, she has performed at theaters nationwide and originated the role of Connie in Lauren Yee’s The Great Leap at the Denver Center and Seattle Rep. BFA: NYU Drama - Experimental Theatre Wing, MFA: UCSD Playwriting.
Keiko's IG: @keikothegreen
Keiko's Website: www.keikogreen.com
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