James Elden's Playwright's Spotlight

Send us Fan Mail Passionate and Inspirational, Steven Dietz visits Playwright's Spotlight to discuss the musicality of dialogue, kairos moments throughout a play, and what he calls The Living  Play, in which he unpacks his technique of using motion, status, and time opposed to action and conflict. We also discuss taboo topics, writing out of uncertainty, overlapping dialogue, intricacy and la...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Playwright's Spotlight, I speak to the master of the 10-minute play - Mark Harvey Levine. With over 1900 productions of his work around the world, Mark offers a plethora of information when it comes this short-form content - from the challenges to the opportunities that come along with it. We discuss structure from exposition to the inciting incident to res...

Send us Fan Mail The quirky and energetic playwright Nina Mansfield stopped by Playwright's Spotlight, and while she's far from high strung, I can't help but think the female characters she sticks in unusual situations are all a faction of her. It's hard to pinpoint the exact areas of playwriting we cover in this episode, because we cover so many subjects - teaching subtext, bu...

Send us Fan Mail Had a wonderful time reconnecting with Dean Farell Bruggeman, discussing playwriting and launching a career without any formal training. We discuss overcoming the obstacles without an academic start, the necessities of a successful scene, achieving truth and following your heart, muses and self projection as well as inspiration and unearthing plays buried in the "underwear dr...

Send us Fan Mail Playwright Stephen Kaplan stops by in person in the episode of Playwright's Spotlight. This discussion is about as well-rounded as it gets, touching on a plethora of aspects go playwriting, including - avoiding directing on the page and the minimal use of stage directions and action, common habits and the pitfalls of a beginning playwright as well as the playwright's too...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Playwright's Spotlight, I speak to playwright Jonathan Cook about festivals, submission fees, and dealing with rejection. We also discuss the pathway to playwriting with no formal training and learning from reading bad material. Jonathan shares his experience with getting published and his extensive knowledge in creating and producing audio versions of play...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I chat with playwright Brian Gene White about about the process of developing a play from start to world premiere using his recent piece Future Tripping as an example. We also discuss the accessibility of producing,  the benefits of a technical director, gathering a "crew" and surrounding yourself with good people. Brian also informs me of the newest (or...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak to playwright Paul Braverman about developing your own local playwrights' guild, obstacles in playwriting, and how detailed one should go when writing stage directions. We also discuss the use of parentheticals, using long-form improve to write short plays and how it can also benefit full length pieces, the tricks of rereading pdf formats of your work...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak with playwright Steven Young to discuss the anatomy of a monologue, scene, 10 minute play, one-act play, three-act play and even touch on the more uncommon four-act structure. We also discuss the necessities of a scene and where to start them. We also discuss achieving production feats in playwriting, beginners' mistakes, good and bad writing habits a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak with playwright Joe Janes about the craft of sketch and stand-up comedy. We cover a lot of turf including academia in playwriting, character and the four basic human wants, improvisation and playwriting, the rules of sketch, lacking humor in sketch and whether sketches have to be funny. We also touch base finding opportunities and self-producing (a common...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak to musical theatre composer and lyricist Michael Gordon Shapiro. Michael's insight into the genre is expansive. We discuss the method and elements of a musical, what functions songs play, and the traps to avoid. We also delve into compensation, publishing, and finding opportunities in the realm of musical theatre. I very much enjoyed recording this ep...

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...