Beckett’s Babies

We return to our Playwright Series where we look at a single playwright and their large body of work. We discuss plays from their early, mid-career, and the latest or most recent play of their career. In this episode, we discuss the life and work of Paula Vogel. We read the three plays: And Baby Makes Seven (1984), How I Learned to Drive (1997), and Indecent (2017) to share our thoughts on Paula V...

In this episode, we discuss some of the ideas behind writing prompt and playwriting exercises, our own personal experience with prompts, and share a few of our favorites. What do we look for in a prompt that makes for an effective, productive, creative writing exercises? Give this episode a listen and be sure to let us know what you think! GLISTENS: Sarah: A dream Sam: Hand pies LINKS: "Playwright...

As part of our monthly play series, we pick a play to discuss and this month’s play is a collection of 3 one-act comedy plays called “Power Plays” by Elaine May and Alan Arkin. Instead of looking at the plays individually, we attempt to look at all 3 one-act plays together as it was intended to be performed in a single evening of theater. We are going to discuss what we noticed, what we liked, and...

Hello listeners! We are so excited for you to listen to this new episode of Beckett's Babies! We had an amazing conversation discussing all-things playwriting with playwright, actor, producer MARJORIE MULLER! In this episode, Marjorie shares how she got into playwriting, her tips and tricks, and we also do a little deep dive in the social media (uh oh!). We hope you enjoy this episode! Marjorie Mu...

As part of our new monthly play series, we pick a play to discuss and this month’s play is “Sweat" by Lynn Nottage. In this episode, we discuss what we noticed, what we liked, and questions that came up while reading the play. Note: There are some spoilers! We highly recommend you read the play before listening to this episode! About SWEAT: SWEAT tells the story of a group of friends who have spen...

How do you think about research when beginning a new play? When do you begin the research process? How do you know when to start writing? In this episode we discuss our own experiences on which plays of ours have required research; how did we do this research; and how do we feel about research. We ask ourselves how do we incorporate research without making the play overly expositional or boring an...

Hi listeners! In this episode, we chat with the one and only Playwright, Co-Founder and Managing Curating Producer of Black Lives Black Words International Project Reginald Edmund. Black Lives Black Words International Project launched an online play season celebrating the diversity of the African-American and African experience in today’s world called ‘Plays for the People’. The season features n...

We are excited for an all-new series where we look at the work of a single playwright and from their large body of work, we look at the first play they’ve ever written, a play from their mid-career, and the latest or the most recent play of their career.  In this first of what we hope to be many series, we discuss the life and work of August Wilson. We read the three plays Jitney, The Piano L...

Have you ever written an artistic statement? Every playwright, at some point in their career, has to write an artistic statement, or what others might call a “Manifesto”. Whether it be for a playwriting opportunity, or for your website, it might be good to have one in your arsenal ready to go. In this episode, we want to discuss what it is, what’s the purpose, why it may or may not be important, h...

Based in Chicago, Tanuja Jagernauth is an Indo-Caribbean playwright, dramaturg, and ceramic artist who believes in the necessity of creation during times of destruction. We talked with Tanuja a few months ago about her theatrical work, and we have her back on to discuss her work organizing the response of Chicago theaters to the Black Lives Matter movement, the coronavirus pandemic, and this momen...

Hello, listeners. We hope you are well and staying safe. We are still processing what's happening in the country and the world. In this episode, we discuss some ways theaters are responding to the Black Lives Matter movement. One of which is #openyourlobby. The following theaters have opened their doors in response to the movement. This is not the complete list as more theatres may be opening thei...

Hello listeners! We want to thank you all so much for your support so far this year. We are truly thankful to you all. We also want to acknowledge the pain and suffering that is happening in our communities. We hear, we understand, and we support everyone that has either donated and protested in support of #blacklivesmatter . Thanks for tuning in and we hope you will enjoy this episode. __________...

Hello, listeners! Boy, do we have a treat for you! This is an in-depth special episode where we had the greatest pleasure of chatting with one of our favorite people from Iowa... ART BORRECA! He is the Co-Head of the Playwriting Program and Head of the Dramaturgy Program at the University of Iowa (aka where Sam and I met and became friends!). Art talks about his journey into theater and dramaturgy...

As part of our new monthly play series, we pick a play to discuss and this month’s play is “The King of Hell's Palace" by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig. In this episode, we discuss what we noticed, what we liked, and questions that came up while reading the play. This play was also recommended to us by one of our listeners and we are so glad! Thank you, Mickey! Note: There are some spoiler alerts! We high...

In this episode, Sam and Sarah discuss writing plays for the radio. We bring on a special guest, Nik Frank-Lehrer, to help us kick off the episode by sharing his experience on writing ad copy for radio. We also look at ways in how radio plays have been written and produced. Check out the links below and we'd love to hear your thoughts on writing radio plays.  If you have a page or two that yo...

Hello, listeners! In this episode, we chat with dramaturg, new play doula, and an incredible supporter of Beckett's Babies-- SHAUN LEISHER! He shares his journey into dramaturgy, what he loves about new plays, and how we can best support new work. It was an incredible joy to speak with Shaun. We could all learn a thing or two from his passion to support and advocate for new work. Check it out! Sha...

Hey listeners! We had the amazing opportunity to chat with the one and only Paul Michael Thomson. He is an actor, playwright, and co-artistic director of The Story Theatre. He had so much to say about playwriting, theater, and what it means to be an artist. We also got a chance to talk about his hilarious and page-turning play "The G.O.A.T., or Who Is Ximone?". Be sure to look out for it on New Pl...

In this episode, Sam and Sarah get the opportunity to chat with playwright, director, deviser and artistic director of Prop Theater -- Olivia Lilley! Olivia Lilley is a playwright, director, and deviser who came up in Chicago's DIY scene. She uses a devised process to create and develop her plays that she's been honing since 2013. Olivia's work often ransacks classic literature or nonfiction with...

As part of our new monthly series, we pick a play to discuss and this month’s play is “Cost of Living" by Martyna Majok. It is the winner of 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as two Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding Play. In this episode, we discuss what we noticed, what we liked, and questions that came up while reading the play. Note: There are some spoiler alerts! We highly recom...

In this episode, Sam and Sarah discuss writing character descriptions. We share examples of character descriptions from different plays and look at how we can be inspired to write for our own work. Check this episode out and share us your thoughts on how you approach to writing descriptions for your characters! GLISTENS: Sarah's Glisten: Crochet and podcast Asian Enough art19.com/shows/asian-enoug...

In this episode, Sam and Sarah get the opportunity to chat with fellow BB listener, playwright, and songwriter -- Beth Hyland! In this episode she shares her experience in self-producing her own work, staying creative, balancing creative and work life, and her new play ALL-ONE! THE DR. BRONNER'S PLAY which will be getting a "Zoom" staged reading at the end of April. Check it out! Beth Hyland is a...

As part of our new monthly series, we pick a play to discuss and this month’s play is “Ching Chong Chinaman" by Lauren Yee! In this episode, we discuss what we noticed, what we liked, and questions that came up while reading the play. Note: There are some spoiler alerts! We highly recommend you read the play before listening to this episode! SHORT SUMMARY: The ultra-assimilated Wong family is as C...

Hi, Listeners. We're all going through a crisis and this pandemic has been on all our minds. Initially, we wanted to talk about Lauren Yee's play "Ching Chong Chinaman" but instead, we decided to talk about plagues, pandemics, and outbreaks that exist in plays and popular culture. We hope everyone is hanging in there. We are all thinking about you, listeners. Please take care of yourselves and eac...

An ongoing series about understanding comedies, welcome to "The Comedy Club". In this first part of "possibly many part" series, Sarah dives into what she thinks about comedy and her love/hate relationship with it. In this episode, we introduce the series by asking ourselves why we laugh, what is happening on stage or on the text that is making our audience laugh. Why is laughter so infectious? Wh...

Playwright, Songwriter, Solo Performer, and Theatrical Jack-of-All-Trades Ryan Oliveira returns to Beckett's Babies! Hear what he has to say about theater, dramaturgy, and presenting new work to an audience as he updates us on what he's been up to since we last interviewed him. GLISTENS: Sam's - www.thispersondoesnotexist.com Sarah's - USA Network's The Sinner, streaming on Netflix Ryan's - "The F...