James Elden's Playwright's Spotlight James Elden

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 dangers of wit, where to start a scene and "when the mask falls," and wrap things up with dialogue and stage directions, the rules of twos and threes, the use of music, translating works, and saving (L.A.) theatre and nontraditional venues. It was certainly another page in the lesson books for me. I hope you walk away with something insightful. Enjoy.

Oliver Mayer is a playwright, poet, essayist and librettist, whose newest opera 3 Paderewskis, composed by Jenni Brandon, received its world premiere at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center in 2019. He is the author of more than 30 plays, from his ground-breaking Blade to the Heat to its long-awaited sequel - Members Only; he is currently at work on Ultimate Mix Tape, the third play in the Blade trilogy. Other produced plays include Blood Match and Yerma in the Desert (inspired by the plays of Federico Garcia Lorca), Fortune is a Woman, The Wallowa Project, Dias y Flores, Dark Matters, Young Valiant, Joy of the Desolate, The Sinner from Toledo, Laws of Sympathy and Ragged Time. He is developing new plays with The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and the Getty Villa. He is a tenured professor and Associate Dean of Faculty at USC’s School of Dramatic Arts. The world premiere of his play Ghost Waltz opens at the Los Angeles Theater Center on May 4th and runs through June 6th.

For tickets to Ghost Waltz, visit -
https://www.latinotheaterco.org/ghostwaltz

To view the video format of this episode, visit -
https://youtu.be/hDj406wgr6g

Links mentioned in this episode -

Latino Theater Company -
https://www.latinotheaterco.org

Live at the Met -
https://www.metopera.org/season/radio/saturday-matinee-broadcasts/

Website and Socials for Oliver Mayer -

Website -
www.olivermayer.com

USC - School of Dramatic Arts -
https://dramaticarts.usc.edu/faculty-qa-oliver-mayer/

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
Support the show

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 different development processes, rookie mistakes, teaching subtext and fixing your flaws, finding your voice, poetry in playwriting as well as her take on "pay to play" and finding opportunities. It was another interview full of insight that I hope can help take your playwriting to the next level. Enjoy!

TIRA PALMQUIST is a dramaturg, director and playwright known for plays that merge the personal, the political and the poetic. Her play, The Way North was developed at the 2018 Seven Devils Playwrights Conference and was a finalist for the 2018 O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. Other plays include: Two Degrees, Ten Mile Lake, Age of Bees, and This Floating World. She teaches creative writing at the Orange County School of the Arts, and has also taught at Wesleyan University and the University of California-Irvine. She’s back in town for a short spell for rehearsals of her play The Body’s Midnight which opens April 27th at the Boston Court Theater in Pasadena, CA.

For tickets to The Body's Midnight through May 26th -
https://bostoncourtpasadena.org/events/thebodysmidnight/

To view the video format of this episode, visit -
https://youtu.be/i4JBkve6CtA

Links mentioned in this episode -

Seven Devils New Play Foundry -
https://www.sevendevils.org

Boston Court Pasadena -
https://bostoncourtpasadena.org

Playwrights' Center -
https://pwcenter.org

New Play Exchange -
https://newplayexchange.org

Original Works Publishing -
https://www.originalworksonline.com

TRW Plays -
https://trwplays.com/

Websites and socials for Tira Palmquist -

www.tirapalmquist.com

IG - @tira.p
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/tira.palmquist

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
Support the show

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 it can help, the experience of coming into rehearsals late in the process, feedback in Nashville vs Chicago as well as the Nashville market and the benefits of second and third tier markets. Finally, we talk about writing layers and character transformation, prejudging  the  audience,  evolving through experience and taking chances, and taking the time to write through each character's eyes. It's an energetic episode at its finest and Becky delivers. Enjoy.

Becky Wahlstrom attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in England and has appeared on shows such as Star Trek: Enterprise, Grey’s Anatomy, Mad Men, NCIS, Judging Amy, and is best known for the supporting role of Grace Polk on the series Joan of Arcadia. She recently dipped her toe back into playwriting with the premiere of her play A Froggy Becomes at Open Fist Theatre in Los Angeles.
For tickets to A Froggy Becomes through April 13th, visit -
https://openfisttheatre.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket#/

To view the video format of this episode, visit -
https://youtu.be/ZGo5JVYll1M

Links mentioned in this episode -

Open Fist Theatre Company -
https://openfist.org

Nashville Repertory Theatre -
https://nashvillerep.org/

Moving Arts Theatre Company -
https://movingarts.org

Dramatists Guild -
https://www.dramatistsguild.com

Websites and Socials for Becky Wahlstrom -

http://www.beckywahlstrom.com

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/becky.wahlstrom
IG - @beckywahlstrom

New Play Exchange -
https://newplayexchange.org

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
Support the show

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 subject matter, and audience feedback at staged readings. We also touch on theatre in L.A., cast conflicts and obligations, Playwrights vs Directors interpretation, lessons from workshop participation vs running workshops as well as lessons as a literary manager which led into stories of David Ives and fame in the bubble of theatre and being a big fish in a small pond. Our conversation ends in writing natural dialogue. It's a fascinating conversation through a window of where theatre was and where it is now and Steve's connection with personas we've all come to know throughout our time in this wondrous arena. I'm sure you'll find something to connect with. Enjoy!

Steve Fife is an author, poet, and playwright and former reporter and literary manager. His plays SAVAGE WORLD, BREAK OF DAY and THIS IS NOT WHAT I ORDERED have been published by Samuel French/Concord Theatricals.  Other plays include In The Mood, Sizzle Sizzle, Blue Kiss, The Kitchen Girl, Fun With Freud, Scattered Blossoms, Vincent in the Asylum, Van Gogh’s Zombie Movie, The Transformation Center, Bring Your Own and The Blessing. His adaptation of Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance was produced Off-Broadway and The American Wife had its World Premiere at the Park Theatre in London. He was 2019-20 writer-in-residence at the Ark Theatre in North Hollywood. He has also penned book & lyrics for four musicals. He is a graduate the National Theatre Institute, Sarah Lawrence College and received his MFA from Columbia University’s School of the Arts.

To view the video format of this episode, visit -
https://youtu.be/RZmBvAMPM3E

Links mentioned in this episode -

Interact Theatre Company -
https://www.interactla.org/

"Hurricane" Carter -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubin_Carter

Matrix Theatre -
http://www.matrixtheatre.com

New Dramatists -
https://newdramatists.org

Concord Theatricals -
https://www.concordtheatricals.com

Websites and socials for Steve Fife -

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/steve.fife.94
X - @twistedhipster8
IG - @steve.fife.94

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
Support the show

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 a deeper conversation and, a new term from me, the New York City Hustle and the benefits of becoming more generous in your theatre community. In addition, Catya shares her editing technique of Scene Tetris, deciphering notes from prescriptive fixes, accountability and keeping motivated, and whether or not you can find any of her rapping/hip hop performances online. Another fun episode I hope you'll enjoy.

Catya McMullen is a playwright and comedian. Her short play, MISSED CONNECTION won the 37th Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival. She is the author of the comedic hip hop musical LOCKED UP BITCHES and the plays GEORGIA MERTCHING IS DEAD, AGNES, EVERYTHING IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE OKAY, WE PRAY TO ELEPHANTS, ASSHOLES IN GAS STATIONS, RUBBER DUCKS AND SUNSETS, and THE COLLECTIVE. She is a proud alum of the Obie award winning EST/Youngblood and a company member of The Middle Voice Theater Company and was a finalist for the City Theater National Award for Short Playwriting and the Creator of the quarterly variety show WE ARE ANIMALS where she raps under her feminist hip hop alias “Chihuahua Fancy” and has received multiple commissions from the Sloan Foundation. She teaches sketch comedy and playwriting at The People’s Improv Theater. Her latest play Arrowhead opened February 9th and runs through March 4th, 2024 at Atwater Village Theater in Los Angeles.

To view the video format of this episode, visit -
https://youtu.be/qIrJvOJn_Z4

Links mentioned in this episode -

Tickets to Arrowhead (Closing March 4, 2024) and IAMA Theatre Company -
https://www.iamatheatre.com/plays-events/arrowhead

Sloan Foundation -
https://sloan.org

The Flea Theatre -
https://theflea.org

Dramatists Play Service (DPS) -
https://www.dramatists.com

Websites and socials for Catya McCullen -

IG - @mccatya

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 -
X - @jameseldensauer
IG - @alakardrake
FB - fb.com/jameseldensauer

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

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

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

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) and how they affected his growth as an artist and craft of playwriting. We touch on his delving into playwriting, winning The Stanley Award, his inspirations and writing style, receiving notes and getting bad feedback, knowing and breaking the rules of playwriting as well as the importance of script analysis and criticism. We also talk the benefits of making your work more personal, making characters sound different, learning from the Greeks and other classics, and what he views as the most important element of playwriting. Also, if you're a long time listener to the podcast, Luke may very well have ended the debate on whether or not it's worth studying playwriting in academia. Overall, Luke was is absolutely charming and delivers a plethora of knowledge about the craft. Enjoy!

Luke Yankee is a writer, director, producer, actor, and teacher. His play, "The Last Lifeboat" (published by Dramatists Play Service) has had more than 50 productions in North America and has won over 60 regional awards. His play, "Marilyn, Mom & Me" was the recipient of the Southwest Theatre Productions Sponsor's Award, the Moondance Stageplay Award, and the Writer's Digest Award for Best Play. His play, “Confessions of a Star Maker” was recently a finalist for the Screencraft stageplay competition and was chosen for the Last Frontier Theatre Conference. Other plays include "A Place at Forest Lawn", "The Man Who Killed The Cure" and "The Jesus Hickey".
To view the video format of this episode, visit -
https://youtu.be/TCjWtRO1k9I

Links mentioned in this episode -

The Stanley Award -
https://wagner.edu/performing-arts/stanley-drama/

International City Theatre -
https://ictlongbeach.org

The Art of Writing for the Theatre -
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Writing-Theatre-Introduction-Introductions/dp/1350155578

Play Submissions Helper -
https://playsubmissionshelper.com

William Inge Theatre Festival -
https://ingecenter.org/festival/

The O'Neills -
https://www.theoneill.org

UC Riverside MFA Program -
https://palmdesertmfa.ucr.edu

Socials and Website for Luke Yankee -

www.lukeyankee.com

FB - www.facebook.com/luke.yankee
IG - @lukebyankee
X/Twitter - @lukebyankee

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
Support the show