James Elden's Playwright's Spotlight
Playwright Spotlight features a new playwright every episode to discuss the tools of the trade and solutions to the obstacles we face as writers in hopes of making us all better and more successful playwrights.
Episodes
Catherine Filloux dropped into the Playwright's Spotlight before the New York Premiere of her new play How to Eat an Orange. We spoke about her development and involvement in Theatre Without Borders and transitioning from an actor to playwright which would later push her into becoming a librettist for operas. She explained the structure of a libretto, the purpose of arias, developing characters and writi...
Olivia Sawatzki came by Playwright's Spotlight after the West Coast Premiere of her play Being Alive (& other big jokes) at the Raven Playhouse in North Hollywood.
We discuss seeing your work onstage, writing strategies, evolving as a playwright, being influenced and deconstructing playwrights' works, the process of revision, writing tricks and rituals as well as breaking habits. We also tal...
Recent Harvard-Westlake graduate Ian Kim swung by the studio to sit in the Playwright's Spotlight after the successful production of his second musical - Bakery of Love as part of HW's Playwright's Festival. We talk about making it look simple, the dangers of missing deadlines, musician collaboration and singer coordination as well as the meaning and benefits of safeties in a musical and writin...
Barry M. Putt, Jr. beamed into the Playwright's Spotlight from New Jersey to discuss the medium of the audio drama, a throwback and homage to radio plays of the 30s and 40s. We breakdown the differences in elements of traditional playwriting vs the audio drama, i.e., setting up the scene, dialogue, sound effects, music, etc. We also talk about converting plays from stage to audio drama, the process of wr...
Playwright Boni B. Alvarez stopped by Playwright's Spotlight during the run of his historic play Mix-Mix: The Filipino Adventures of a German Jewish Boy. In such, we discuss approaching historical figures and events and flashbacks on stage. We also discuss his approach to writing "in threads," being married to material, finding momentum, and addressing and giving feedback. We also explore Jull...
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 workshops, recording notes opposed to writing them, fig...
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 working with different casts. We also discuss inspi...
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, reframing your story, breaking bad habits and the d...
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 of "saving as." We also touch on the diffe...
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 for small budgets, and having a network circle and how...
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 course) and The Greats, the current acceptance of dark su...
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 and putting away the constraints, laughing your way into...
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, Beth Henley, David Lindsay-Abaire, and David Henry Hwang...
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 putting in the time. We also talk about being commis...
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 segue into the next joke. We also talk about voice v...
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 always has to go wrong, and how a sketch must have a good end...
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 prepared for. We discuss going international, cultura...
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 into war and how it translates to the stage where ...
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. In this episode, we discuss the evolution of grants, th...
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 find a time to rerecord but were unable to due to sch...
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