The Imperfect Impulse w/Bree O'Connor

Welcome to part 1 of our 3 part interview with award-winning playwright, actor, and dramaturg Niki Hatzidis. In this episode, Niki and I talk about writing characters based on real people, research, tackling subjects that are uncomfortable and Niki’s personal challenge to write a play in two weeks. Unreliable Narrator, The Imperfect Impulse and Good Dialogue are audience supported publications. Co...

Good Dialogue is a new conversation series from Playful Substance and The Imperfect Impulse w/Bree O’Connor, featuring artists discussing their latest work, creative practices, and the journeys that shape their art. Our first guest is Niki Hatzidis —an award-winning playwright, actor, and dramaturg whose work often centers on real women caught in the midst of historical events. In this special thr...

When the Impulse Don’t Stop, Mini-Episodes Gotta Drop! While cruising through my IG feed between rest areas on I-90 (don’t worry, it’s not my turn to drive) I am having thoughts about feminine desire and its evolutionary enmeshment with the male gaze, procreation, commodification, and resources (both physical and emotional). Is there a point when a lusty stare will fall out of fashion? Or would th...

I went down a rabbit hole with a triggering Reddit post this week. It started me thinking about all of the backbends we have done to make people feel more comfortable in the theatre (in particular), how those efforts may have backfired and whether we might be negating the power and purpose of the form. Being vulnerable and/or accountable are big challenges for us as a society right now. Living a p...

The body doesn’t lie. This is why we need to acknowledge and incorporate the body into every single choice we make. To complicate matters, a cast is an entire network of bodies that are allergic to untruths and we must work together to find the winding (and often strange) path to truth. If you are interested in our Writers’ Groups or upcoming Memoir Programs, visit our website playfulsubstance.com...

We know it when we see it from another artist, don’t we? The work may be powerful but it makes us avert our eyes and leaves us with a nagging feeling that the artist rushed the work and perhaps exploited their own experience. Or the work possibly feels undercooked, defensive and petulant, maybe even whiny. How do we avoid these pitfalls in our own work? Today’s episode makes the argument for conti...

There is nothing like a blizzard for giving you some space to think. This week, I have been thinking about how and why artists succumb to negative thoughts and behaviors. This lead me to think about healthy habits in my own practice- those that I have implemented and those that I am consciously trying to develop. So far, I have come up with a list of 7: * Cultivate Self Awareness * Lean on the Wis...

Today we are talking a bit more about story craft, specifically looking at what might be hidden inside repetitive images, language or anecdotes in your narrative. It happens to all of us- we find ourselves drawn to some kind of repetition and we cringe when we enter rewrites. How many times am I going to use this phrase or riff on this same image/idea? How many times, indeed! Join me in the search...

Is this week all about yelling “GIT OFFA MY LAWN!” accompanied by Jazz Hands? Maybe. This interview snippet with Carrie Coons has been making the rounds on the socials among my theatre friends and I think that the whole concept of celebrity needs to be discussed openly and WITH our audiences. It may sound like sour grapes- and maybe it is- but celebrity fuels so much of the business and the busine...

What? Fair. I don’t think I’ve been getting enough sleep so this ay take a few passes to make sense. I’ve been thinking a lot about the central question behind your piece and how having a clear question gives you an honest to goodness quest for your story. Oh, man. That’s good. I wish I would have thought of that line when I was recording this episode. Quick! Somebody write that down! Oh- I just d...

And Caesar fiddled while Rome burned… But Billy Joel still swears we didn’t start the fire. Maybe the only thing anyone has gotten right is that it was always burning since the world’s been turning. We are not the first or the last to experience social/political or even environmental upheaval. The question is, what do we need to survive and thrive once the smoke clears? Today we are going to talk...

On its face, dialogue seems to be the thing you need to write your script. However, dialogue is actually the last step in constructing your story. Dialogue is the reflection of the inner work you’ve done on the characters and the circumstances of your story. The best dialogue is where character, intention, context and action all meet. Our virtual Open House for Playful Substance’s Writers’ Groups...

One cannot have radical honesty without self awareness and an audience will demand both. If you are interested in learning more about Playful Substance’s Artists Services, check out our website. If you want to attend our virtual Writers’ Group (for playwrights and screenwriters) Open House on January 29th from 6:00pm- 9:30 pm, make sure you fill out THIS FORM to get the link delivered to your inbo...

My mother didn’t really let me complain when I overate. She would just sigh and say, “Looks like your eyes were bigger than your stomach.” A couple of lazy weeks at the end of the year often seem like they would be perfect for non-stop creativity. If they are… you are blessed! Enjoy them! If you are finding yourself coasting on fumes and drowning in emotional exhaustion, this episode is for you. Y...

Larry (Lawrence) Crabtree, my favorite dance teacher of all time, used to say, “Take your butt with you! Remember, don’t leave your butt behind!” 25 years later, I cannot walk up the stairs or carry a package without hearing his voice in my head. Anyhoo… today’s Imperfect Impulse is all about the body’s role in creativity. It’s complicated- so complicated that I cut out about 20 minutes of intelle...

Today we are talking about the value of struggle in your work. (And in life) Listen, nobody loves struggling. But if you can cultivate the mindset that there is something of value here, in all the muck, the challenge, and strain, then you can approach struggle with curiosity and reap the rewards. When we bypass struggle in the interest of expediency, what do we lose? Ideally, when we choose art, w...

Oh the end of the calendar year is full of scheduling SNAFUS! Due to a deluge of grant revisions, fundraising odds and ends and misc. projects and favors, today’s episode had to be recorded on my way to get groceries. I apologize in advance for the less than stellar recording quality. But the information is solid. I stand behind it. Oh, and the play I could not remember is The Stronger by August S...

Thanks for your patience! I skipped last week to do some much needed self care due to some life circumstances… How relevant! Today we are talking about circumstances and the power that lies in making conscious choices about circumstances. Emphasis is on the word conscious. The Imperfect Impulse is a free podcast. If you find it helpful, please consider sharing with others! Thanks for listening! Th...

I talk about feelings a lot. Feelings are a huge part of my work as an artist. I have them. I examine them. I share them. I even manipulate them… I’m a writer. It’s what I do. I’m also an actor- that’s my passion and my training. My acting process anchors all of the work that I do in any other medium. But I don’t “manufacture” emotion. I don’t flip a switch and perform feeling. That would be disho...

There are a lot of places where you can find detailed instructions for story structures. You can find beat by beat roadmaps and deep dives on the impact of choosing a 1,2,3 or 5 act structure. Every generation seems to have a go-to book for commercial storytelling tips and tricks. This ain’t that. I’m not good with “stereo instructions”. Once I figure out the logic of the IKEA build, I throw out t...

We are looking at elements of character today and one of my personal pet peeves- characters that only exist out of convenience to the plot. How do you avoid making flat, flavorless NPCs? Tune in to find out. If you are interested in reading more about Daniel Sklar’s work, check out Playmaking . It is a worthwhile read whether you are breaking down the nuts and bolts of drama for young people or tr...

The word “action” is surprisingly deep. On its face, it means “something you DO”, but depending on the context of the conversation and who is speaking, ACTION has important shades of meaning that are relevant to your work. Today we are peeling back the layers of action, why and how it is crucial for your work and what it means to your collaborators. Thanks for listening to The Imperfect Impulse w/...

I am a little behind on posting the inaugural episode of Season 2. My time blindness convinced me that I could learn an entirely new editing platform and crank out an episode in 2 hours. This turns out not to be true. But we soldier on! In Season 2 we will be exploring more of the nuts and bolts of story creation while bringing in some of the awareness work that we covered in Season 1. In today’s...

Write what you know! Does this mean you are stuck writing only about the life you have lead? Absolutely not! Emotional responses are the great human equalizer, but don’t stop at assumptions! One of the greatest pitfalls in storytelling and performance is painting with broad strokes in only primary colors. Sure, the shorthand for loss is “sad”, but in reality a loss can be so much more complex than...

Giving supportive feedback is a skill. If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of unusable feedback, you know what I mean. I liked it. It was cool. It was a travesty. Your protagonist is whiny. I didn’t think he should have killed her in the third act. He should have … (done X, Y, Z instead) Sure. Those are valid opinions, but what does the artist DO about them? Especially if the artist feels the...