Conversation

This conversation brings together two generations of playwrights: Grace McLeod is an emerging playwright (also one of the youngest winners ever at ANPF) and William Cameron is an established theatre maker, retired from teaching and focusing on his playwriting. Like their plays, they don’t shy away from important topics — white privilege, economic disparity, and…

Ranging from hilarious to heart-full, this conversation between playwrights and friends Ian August and David Hilder delivers it all. They discuss their ANPF 2020 winning plays ZERO and THOSE DAYS ARE OVER, respectively, sharing the stories behind the plays. David shocks Ian with how quickly he drafted THOSE DAYS ARE OVER, and Ian shocks David…

“You do angry/funny better than anyone.” So says past ANPF winner Callie Kimball to friend and current ANPF winner Kari Bentley-Quinn. Today on the podcast, they discuss Kari’s ANPF 2020 play HYANNIS and Callie’s play PERSEVERANCE, which ANPF workshopped in August. Their conversation then delves into the world at large, fan-girling over Lucy Thurber, and…

Art, race, activism, smoothie diets, and the future of American theatre. There’s lots on the table in this conversation between friends and multi-hyphenate theatremakers Reginald Edmund and Kyle Haden. They get personal, from discussing their experiences as Black men and artists, to making each other laugh and appreciating how they balance one another. They also talk about the work they’re…

Diana Burbano and Tlaloc Rivas speak to the moment and are as vulnerable and open in this conversation as they are on the page. Their talk weaves through their history of working together, their passion for promoting and advocating for theater artists of color, and how they cultivated their own voices. They also share how…

Lauren Yee and Joe Ngo check in with each other from their respective coasts. They share what they’re doing during self-isolation: Joe’s practicing a new language as well as guitar and Lauren’s taking a break from her all-work regimen to enjoy time with loved ones. They ask: “Do weekends even matter anymore?” and “What comes…

  Nate Eppler and Stephanie Alison Walker join us on the podcast today for a conversation that brings connection and catharsis. They put our feelings into words and deftly share what they’re experiencing and thinking about during this pandemic. Listen as they talk about the power of championing other playwrights, finding inspiration in shorter projects,…

You’ll be laughing from the word hello with these two: from ill-fitting corduroy pants during fashion week to stipends spent on Buffalo Wild Wings, take a journey with R. Eric Thomas and Haygen-Brice Walker. They discuss their experiences at Nashville Rep’s Ingram New Works Project, which is directed by ANPF 2018 winner Nate Eppler, as…

What do Big L’s song “Furious Anger” and Samuel Beckett’s WAITING FOR GODOT have in common? Both were inspirations for Franky D. Gonzalez’s new play EVEN FLOWERS BLOOM IN HELL, SOMETIMES, an ANPF 2019 finalist which we recorded for the ANPF Play4Keeps Podcast. The story follows five inmates looking for meaning in the face of…

Join guests Michael Gotch and Mark Lamos as they talk about Michael’s ANPF 2019 winning play STARTER PISTOL, which Mark is directing for its world premiere at Resident Ensemble Players at the University of Delaware. Their conversation delves into topics of character development, Greek tragedies, overcoming anxieties as a writer and favorite theater moments, including…

We’re excited to bring together playwrights Donna Hoke and Andrea Stolowitz, who are meeting for the first time on our podcast! They share about the successes and struggles they’ve encountered in their careers, with topics ranging from self-advocacy and maintaining confidence to taking ownership of one’s hometown as a regional playwright. They also share recommendations…

What drives us as people, creators, storytellers? In this compelling conversation, playwright Tira Palmquist and actors/producers/storytellers Yvonne Huff Lee and Jason Delane Lee share their passions and what drives them: powerful stories that engage difficult realities and social issues in a way that creates understanding and conversation. That connect with audiences in ways that heal.…

Playwrights and TV writers Laura Jacqmin and Meridith Friedman connect over their experiences in TV world and share how writing for TV has impacted their playwriting, from aspects like collaboration and working under pressure to developing how they tell stories. Laura also talks about the start of The Kilroys, a gender parity initiative that presents…

We’re so happy to bring these two past ANPF winners together in conversation! Skye Robinson Hillis (ANPF 2015 for AND VASTER) and Don Zolidis (ANPF 2017 for A DARK SKY FULL OF STARS) reconnect after last seeing each other at Great Plains Theatre Conference. In their conversation they explore the genesis of some of their…

Rachel Crowl and Natalie Symons are unapologetically kicking ass and taking names. In this week’s ANPF Play4Keeps conversation, theatre creators Rachel and Natalie talk about the importance and thrill of new play development, the value of lived experience, creating better art by casting transgender actors for transgender roles, telling difficult stories with humor, and the…

Jump into a conversation between friends Victor Lesniewski and Kareem Fahmy. They share what they’ve collaborated on as playwright and director over the last 10 years, delving into the details of their process developing new plays, their discovering and nurturing collaborative sparks with other theatre creators, their experiences with play development outside of New York,…

Welcome to this week’s episode where Blake Hackler and Holly L. Derr reconnect after working with each other at Ashland New Plays Festival in 2017 on Blake’s winning play WHAT WE WERE. They catch up on their academic work and dive into the importance of inclusion and diversity of voices in the theatre, their creative…

What do you get when you bring together two playwrights to discuss their historical dramas? You learn so much more than you knew before! Jeannine Grizzard brings to life women’s suffrage leader Emmeline Pankhurst in her one-woman show PANKHURST: FREEDOM OR DEATH. In THE HARDER COURAGE, Leslie Slape shares the moving story of a friendship between…

Join playwright Kari Bentley-Quinn and actor Marie-Claire Erdynast as they discuss Kari’s plays, including THE WORST MOTHER IN THE WORLD, which spark conversations from the serious–motherhood, postpartum depression, the importance of addressing mental health issues, how audiences react to complicated female characters, online misogyny and harassment–to lighter fare, like newly adopted kittens, the cities they love,…

Join us for a dive into the story and process behind Sarah Mitchell’s ARTICHOKE HEARTS and the topics that branch off from there: thoughts on modern relationships, developing creative works, finding inspiration and solace in everyday moments and interactions with strangers. Sarah Mitchell is a Los Angeles-based writer, actor, and producer. Her play ARTICHOKE HEARTS is available…

Join these two multitalented theatre creators for an engaging conversation that takes you through stories of creating a 5-hour epic play, discussing the interactive ways playwriting is built in community, wrestling with the words on the page, stabbing at answers for questions of the human heart and the universe, and discovering the connection between The…

Beth Kander and Ian August are a joy to listen to when they get together, whether in person or over the airwaves. Here they talk about playwriting vs novel writing, submissions and rejections, motion sickness, new projects, dropping hints in stories, and much more. Learn more about Beth. Learn more about Ian. Play4Keeps Podcast is…

In this episode, Ashland New Plays Festival Artistic Director Kyle Haden and Play4Keeps Director James Pagliasotti talk about the work of supporting new plays and what Play4Keeps is all about. Play4Keeps Podcast is made in Ashland, Oregon, by Ashland New Plays Festival, Inc. Learn more here!