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April 15, 2025 62 mins

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Playwrights Lisa Rosenbaum and Ronda Spinak sat in the Playwright's Spotlight to discuss the evolution of their play The Violin Maker from its Sydney, Australia production to its US premiere from its origin from The Violins of Hope through its process up to rehearsals. We delve into the styles of salons, approaching flashbacks and overwriting, respect and valuing while collaborating, getting to the emotion and infusing your writing with heart, stage directions as road maps and using stage directions in dialogue, and the elements of a good director. They offer great insight the playwrights of any level will benefit from. Enjoy!

For tickets to The Violin Maker at International City Theatre in Long Beach, CA from April 23rd through May 11th, visit - https://internationalcitytheatre.csstix.com/event-details.php?e=813

Lisa Pearl Rosenbaum is a writer and dramaturg at  the LA based theater and arts company The Braid, where she also develops and moderates programs that give voice to diverse and compelling Jewish voices. Stories from the Violins of Hope, her play about Israeli violin maker who restored instruments that survived the Holocaust, drew from her lengthy interviews with Amnon Weinstein himself. She is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild.

Ronda Spinak is a writer, producer, and founder and artistic director of The Braid, a 17-year-old global nonprofit theater company. She develops and produces The Braid’s signature Salon Theatre Series, curating more than 80 original Jewish-themed programs and adapting many of the pieces performed. She has developed six one-person shows, including Not That Jewish, which played 16 months in Los Angeles, then went to Off Broadway for nearly a year. Other plays include Stories from the Fringe and Oscar Wilde’s Wife. She is a graduate of Stanford University, and holds degrees from and MBA from UCLA and a Masters in Writing from USC. She is also on the board of the Alliance for Jewish Theatre and is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

To watch the video format of this episode, visit - https://youtu.be/HfmBP1d-M2g

Links to resources mentioned in this episode -

The Braid - https://the-braid.org

International City Theatre - https://ictlongbeach.org

Website and Socials for The Braid -

The Braid - https://the-braid.org

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TheBraidStories

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thebraidstories/

IG - @thebraidstories

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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