James Elden's Playwright's Spotlight

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak to playwright Charles Robertson. We discuss writing a one-person show for someone else, self-producing, and the benefits of self-publishing. We also discuss how working in different positions in theatre can help with playwriting. It was my second time speaking with Charles as my audio in our first interview was absolutely horrendous. I hope you walk away w...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I talk with Kimberly Faye Greenberg about developing, staging, and marketing a one-person biographical show around an historical celebrity figure - Fanny Brice. We also touch on adjusting a script from audience response, making a one-person show stand out, loopholes to stage musicals on a budget, vanity shows, and press kits to help promote your show. We had a gre...

Send us Fan Mail If there's a Playwright's Spotlight episode that encompasses all aspects of theatre that not only playwrights could benefit from but also actors, directors, and producer, this interview with Gregory Crafts is it. The amount of information Gregory offers is abundant and inspirational. We discuss bringing "the" human to dialogue, recognizing one's weaknesses...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak to playwright Laura King about the benefits of a dramaturge and taking the MFA path to becoming a playwright. We also discuss how to approach teen and young adult theatre, the elements of bravery and honesty when applied to playwriting, the pros and cons of directing your own work, and the importance of production versus publication. Laura is very insightf...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak with Broadway playwright Nicky Silver about the joy of making something, finding success after 30, and the hindrances of trigger warnings. Nicky also shares his influences and his desire to be in the theatre. This is a deeply insightful and personal conversation teetering at times between heartbreak and hilarity. It was an honor to spend two hours with a m...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, James speaks with Executive Director for Creative Affairs and Membership of the Dramatists Guild - Emmanuel Wilson. They discuss the benefits and resources provided by the Guild as  well as recommendations for protecting your work through copyright. They also cover reasons for joining the guild, being ready for Broadway, avoiding being taken advantage of, and the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, James speaks to playwright Arthur M. Jolly about the five basic elements of drama and human relationships as well as the benefits of being a member of the New Play Exchange and his experience participating in The Last Frontier theatre conference in Valdez, AK. James loosens up about his pet peeve of using "perhaps" and maybe" in stage directions, an...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Playwright's Spotlight, James interviews playwright Christopher Flowers. Chris discusses the accountability that comes with having a co-playwright and the benefits of being given good "clay." They also discuss storylines and subplots, writing and rewriting during the rehearsal process, networking, and finding inspiration from trinkets. We also dis...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, James Elden talks to playwright Susan Goodell about learning from the rehearsal process, exercises in playwriting, trusting the process, finding opportunities on the net, being a resident playwright, getting published, and strategies on how to keep your work from being stolen in the modern era. Susan Goodell is the author of the full length plays Heels Over Head a...

Send us Fan Mail Hope Thompson is a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre's Feature Writing Program and UBC's Creative Writing MFA program. She writes for stage, film, and television and her work explores the queer experience through history and genre. She's written on two seasons of CBC's Baroness Von Sketch Show, teaches screenwriting and co-hosts the crime fiction reading ser...

Send us Fan Mail Adam Hunter Howard is a playwright, mentor, guest director and dean at Harvard-Westlake Upper School in North Hollywood, California. We have worked together as costars in our the first two full-length plays produced by Punk Monkey Productions, Steven Dietz' Private Eyes and The Maiden Prayer by Nicky Silver, whose poster can be seen in the background of Adam's shots. In...

Send us Fan Mail Jeff Pearce is a journalist, novelist, non-fiction, and erotica writer who later transitioned into playwriting. In this episode, we discuss how each form benefits the other in the creative world, the obstacles of both crafts to achieve longevity, and how life imitated art with the tragic shooting by Alec Baldwin on the set of Rust . To watch the video format of this podcast visit...

Send us Fan Mail Playwright Daniel Guyton stops by to discuss competitions, publishing and dead bodies. In this episode, we also span the spectrum of playwriting including - compensation, dialogue, feedback and criticism, the future of remote productions, and the pitfalls of cinematic fashion in the playwriting medium. Daniel Guyton has been a playwright for well over 20 years having won many awar...

Send us Fan Mail Playwright David-Matthew Barnes and I talk about character, names, collaboration, rejection and perseverance, and the business of playwriting - and that's just scratching the surface. David-Matthew Barnes has been writing plays for over 25 years and has been produced internationally and featured in multiple publications.  You can find David-Matthews plays and novels at the li...

Send us Fan Mail April Littlejohn is a playwright, producer, director and actor. Her productions of L.A. Horror Stories under her theatre company, Fuzzy Bottom, has won awards at the Valley Theatre Awards in North Hollywood, and her plays have been produced in Los Angeles, Valdez, Alaska and in other cities across the country.  In this episode, we discuss whether playwrights should produce their o...

Send us Fan Mail Actor, Director, Producer, Writer, and Host James Elden talks about his origins into the realm of live theatre and his path forward as well as his visions of the Playwrights' Spotlight. For more information about James Elden and his production company, festivals, and playwriting services, please visit the following websites - www.punkmonkeyproductions.com www.lacpfest.com Sup...