James Elden's Playwright's Spotlight

Send us Fan Mail Fan, Follower, and Fellow Playwright Travis Williams, dropped into the Playwright's Spotlight after a random and serendipitous meetup in public. In this conversation, we discuss his origin into playwriting and the possibilities of being a "living" playwright and a playwright's success, his lessons from living in Chicago and learning the order of character, narr...

Send us Fan Mail Playwright, pianist, and composer along with her collaborator Raymond O. Caldwell who is a director, producer, and artistic director of The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, stopped by the studio to discuss their latest project - Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience. While our conversation did have a few technical setbacks, we were able to get back on track about t...

Send us Fan Mail After an excruciating knee-tweak, Catherine Butterfield streamed into the Playwright's Spotlight being laid up on the couch. Proof that playwrights will go above and beyond, so we were unable to do the originally planned in-person interview. In this episode, we breakdown layering stories in the same location throughout different eras, when it's time to share and direct o...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, musical theatre playwright Isaac Laskin stopped by Playwright's Spotlight to talk about the the development and evolution of his hit L.A. musical Hey, Morgan. He dispels the rumor of being challenged to write a musical about a dear friend, how the origination started as individual standalone songs about his roommate and how it later evolved into a musical. We...

Send us Fan Mail Playwright Clara Rodriguez jumped into the Playwright's Spotlight in the midst of the run of her latest play - Pointy Scissors. In this discussion, we delve into the theatre company at Theatre West in Los Angeles and their Writers in Residence program. We unpack her journey into playwriting and her motivation and inspiration, the fees and benefits of various theatre companies...

Send us Fan Mail Playwright James Merolla streamed onto Playwright's Spotlight. We had an engaging and honest conversation about his background as a director and a theatre reviewer and how that eventually led to becoming a playwright. We discuss his struggles with rejection and doubting your talent and being a late-starting and older playwright and eventual successes. We also talk about the l...

Send us Fan Mail 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 adaptat...

Send us Fan Mail Sofia Streisand dropped into Playwright's Spotlight to discuss the U.S. premiere of her play Bluebeard's Castle (that I misspoke as Blackbeard's) November 1st through November 23rd. In this discussion, we discuss the difference between Russian, European, and American theatre, her journey from musical theatre to playwriting, writing multiple voices, and writing for s...

Send us Fan Mail Ankita Raturi basked under the Playwright's Spotlight for the World Premiere of her play Neha & Neel. In this discussion we break down the concept of applied theatre and being a teaching artist, how it effects character, exercises that extrude character and whether or not the practice makes it into a piece. We unpack earning a monologue, the first steps of playwriting, wr...

Send us Fan Mail Playwright Crystal Skillman beamed into the Playwright's Spotlight from Indianapolis for the run of her World Premiere play The Rocket Men. We discuss how one becomes a 4-time NYT's Critics' Pick playwright, what it means to be a "theatrical" writer, writing design on the page and offering solutions, trusting and listening to your audience, the concept of...

Send us Fan Mail SEASON5, EPISODE 1!!!  Wow. Hard to believe. This is an episode recorded months ago saved for this very occasion. Kudos to Cameron Scott for connecting me to John. This is a very special episode taking writing to a new level that every playwright can benefit from. John takes writing to levels I don't think we've ever tackled in past episodes, but you will have to listen...

Send us Fan Mail Israel López Reyes swung by the studio before the opening of his recent commission to discuss his background leading up to it and his success as an Angeleno playwright. We discuss his journey from actor to playwright, how he fell into theatre and his discovery to figuring out story and telling stories that matter. We unpack the evolution of emerging playwrights, the process and ap...

Send us Fan Mail Filmmaker turned playwright, David Kohner Zuckerman, dropped into Playwright's Spotlight to talk about the World Premiere of his play Parallel Process. In this interview, we talk unpack his journey from film to stage and how it affect his writing, his approach to naturalism and honesty to his writing, and how his acting and directing applied to his writing. We also touched on...

Send us Fan Mail Playwright Stuart Brown streamed into Playwright's Spotlight for a second time after technical difficulties with sound, but I hope delved a little deeper this time around. We discuss the Connecticut Theatre Market, being a critic and a playwright and how the former affected the latter, honesty as a critic, and advice to theatre companies on getting critics in seats. We also e...

Send us Fan Mail Playwright. Screenplay Writer, and Novelist Lawrence C. Connolly streamed into Playwright's Spotlight and, as always, we touched base on many topics not covered in previous episodes. It never ceases to amaze me. In this discussion, we delve into adapting a novel and the allegory of Frankenstein, staging multiple locations on stage, the process of outlining a five-act play, ap...

Send us Fan Mail Angelica Cheri swung by Playwright's Spotlight after leaving the rehearsals of her Broadway play Wanted only to jump into the rehearsals for the West Coast Premiere of her play Burta Burta. She was wiling to share her insights of the craft. We delve into the rehearsal process, approaching rewrites and the importance of dramatic truth, finding opportunities and landing an agen...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 100! Thanks for supporting us on this journey. We would love to hear how this podcast may have helped you with your creative endeavors. To celebrate this milestone, Rick Elice of Jersey Boys, Peter and the Star Catcher, Water for Elephants, The Addams Family, The Cher Show, and the upcoming Princess Bride Musical, was gracious enough sit in the Spotlight (TWICE) after a bo...

Send us Fan Mail Playwright and performer, Ashley Griffin, swung by the studio to sit in the Playwright's Spotlight before her West Coast Premiere of her Off-Broadway play The Opposite of Love. It's a compelling conversation that tackles so many aspects of playwriting, that the title of the thumbnail became a struggle. In this discussion, we breakdown her playwriting origins, learning le...

Send us Fan Mail I invited Joel Trinidad onto the Playwright's Spotlight after reading about his journey. He streamed in while on tour for his acting performance of Romeo and Juliet as part of a fringe fest in South Dakota. In our conversation, we discussed acquiring an artist visa, producing your own work, the definition of success, the structure of a musical, and the importance of networkin...

Send us Fan Mail Broadway marketer turned playwright Cameron Scott came onto Playwright's Spotlight after I received his submission to PLAY Noir to talk about his later-in-life start to playwriting. In this conversation, we delve into what the definition of a writer is, a play being a living thing, audio plays vs stage plays and a play's transition from audio to stage, and setting time a...

Send us Fan Mail Returning playwright Faye Widjaja and her cohort, Sohoni Sawant, dropped by the studio after having streamed in from her original interview just over two years ago to discuss the journey and evolution of her play A Minor Inconvenience from the Lenaea High School Theatre Festival to the Hollywood Fringe. It's an insightful journey I hope every playwright at any stage can pull...

Send us Fan Mail John Farmanesh-Bocca swung by The Playwright's Spotlight to talk about his latest Shakespeare adaptation Lear Redux: A Quantum Fantasia. Throughout this conversation we discuss his journey into becoming an adaptive playwrights of the Classics, how he breaks them down, unpacks them, and the puts them back together to serve a modern audience without losing the original story an...

Send us Fan Mail Longtime-listening playwright Brad McEntire streamed into the Spotlight to discuss his experience and approach to the craft. We discuss the exercises and lessons from studying under Will Power at Southern Methodist University and the Dallas Theatre Center, playing with the rhythm of dialogue, what beginning playwrights don't do or practice, and whether or not you can achieve...

Send us Fan Mail Rickerby Hinds swung by the Playwright's Spotlight prior to the premiere of his "last' play. We unpack various topics including Hip Hop Theatre, being a self-taught playwright, writing without arrogance, earning your audience, and the use of poetry, spoken word, rap, and movement and dance. We also discuss lessons in editing, metaphors and similes, achieving layers,...

Send us Fan Mail Just over the week before the World Premiere of her first play celebrating the Centennial celebration of Coral Gables, Florida, multiple Emmy-winning journalist June Thomson Morris beamed into the Playwright's Spotlight. In this interview, we discuss attempting one's first play, overcoming obstacles, and experiencing your work come to life for the first time. We also exp...