Julliard, Monologues as a Marketing Tool, and the Math of Playwriting - Playwright's Spotlight with Adam Szymkowicz

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This interview is a long time coming. I am extremely grateful for Adam taking the time to come on to share his knowledge. I'm sure if time allotted, we could easily could've had a three hour conversation, and I promise we will do at least one more episode. In this talk, we discuss his decision to write a book about playwriting from a letter-writing perspective, common questions he is asked, marketing and approaching theaters, dealing with rejection, finding opportunities, and negotiating compensation. We also discuss applying to Julliard, structure, considering your audience, the Math of Playwriting, monologues as a marketing tool, how changing characteristics might affect approach, the strategy of revealing information, the traps of questions and answers in dialogue, and the benefits of (earned) reversals. Playwrights of any level will walk away with something from this conversation. I look forward to the next conversations with Adam, because I will walk away so much the wiser. Enjoy!

ADAM SZYMKOWICZ’s plays have been produced throughout the U.S., Canada, and around the world. He was the premiere Resident Playwright at The Chance Theater in Anaheim, CA and the first playwright to participate in Bloomington Playwrights Projects’ Square One Series. He has been to The Orchard Project and to JAW at Portland Center Stage, served twice as Playwright in Residence at the William Inge Center, and twice as a Dramatists Guild Fund’s Traveling Masters. Adam received a Playwright’s Diploma from The Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program and an MFA from Columbia University where he was the Dean’s Fellow. Plays include - Deflowering Waldo, Pretty Theft, Food For Fish, Incendiary, Clown Bar, Rare Birds, Marian Old Fashioned Cold Fusion, The Parking Lot, The Night Children, When Jack Met Jill, and Heart of Snow. His monologue book, Small Explosions came out from Applause in early 2023. His playwriting book, Letters To A Young Playwright came out from Applause in fall of 2024.

He has interviewed 1100 playwrights on his blog.

To watch the video format of this episode, visit -
https://youtu.be/4ZiQuC1g7-w

Links to resources mentioned in this episode -

TCG (Theatre Communications Group) -
https://www.tcg.org

The Chance -
https://chancetheater.com

Websites and Socials for Adam Szymkowicz -

https://www.adamszymkowicz.com

I Interview Playwrights (Blog) -
http://aszym.blogspot.com/2021/06/1100-playwright-interviews.html

Facebook -
https://www.facebook.com/adamszymkowicz
IG - @aszymkowicz

Websites and socials for James Elden, PMP, and Playwright's Spotlight -

Punk Monkey Productions - 
www.punkmonkeyproductions.com

PLAY Noir -
www.playnoir.com

PLAY Noir Anthology –
www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.html

James Elden -
Twitter - @jameseldensauer
IG - @alakardrake
FB - fb.com/jameseldensauer

Punk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir - 
Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods
                  - @playnoirla 
IG - @punkmonkeyprods
       - @playnoir_la 
FB - fb.com/playnoir
        - fb.com/punkmonkeyproductions

Playwright's Spotlight -
Twitter - @wrightlightpod 
IG - @playwrights_spotlight

Playwriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festival
www.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.html

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