Dietrich Smith jumped into the Playwright's Spotlight after the opening of his World Premiere adaptation of Franz Kafka's novel Amerika. We explore his background as the literary manager at the Open Fist Theatre Company and the trends he observed from submissions. We speak about establishing theme and whose story it is in a piece, mapping the journey, approaching adaptation, and the history of Kafka's Amerika. We delve into writing an ending to an incomplete work, cutting what you love, the length of plays in modern theatre, the politics of production, reversals, learning playwriting by doing, and the concept of no rules in theatre. We wrap our conversation up the benefits of having been a story editor, holding interest and learning from the greats and, finally, his dive into acting and becoming a playwright. It is a brilliant and insightful conversation I hope you all will enjoy as much as I did. Cheers!
For tickets to Amerika, or the Man Who Disappeared at the Atwater Village Theater in Los Angeles through November 22nd, visit - https://openfisttheatre.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket#/events/calendar
Dietrich Smith is a playwright, director, and actor and was the literary manager for the Open Fist theatre company in Los Angeles from 1999 to 2006. He was writer and story editor for Nickelodeon and PBS on shows as Doug, Arthur, for which he received three Emmy Awards; Martha Speaks; Curious George; and, most recently, Hop.
To watch the video format of this episode visit - https://youtu.be/ZIN5XqpRjdg
Links to sites and resources mentioned in this episode -
Open Fist Theatre Company - openfist.org
Dramatist's Bill of Rights - https://www.dramatistsguild.com/rights
Websites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions 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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