I'd like to address CK's question about how I got into playwriting.
I started writing because I stopped seeing the roles I wanted to play. I wanted funny, intelligent, quick, nuanced, flawed, complicated characters, women who could be angry and kind, who could be self-reflective and yearning, desperate and bold - characters who didn't only define themselves in relation to someone else, but who were charting their own course in the world.
But the canon often offers "the virgin" or "the whore," and unsurprisingly, those are all tied to a romantic relationship. So these characters are not defined by their *own* trials and risks, but by someone *else's* journey. I want characters that have their *own* hero's journey. And I wasn't seeing them.
And in addition to being an actor myself, I've always been an educator. As an educator, I saw theatre programs were predominately populated by young women. I taught places where there were 67% women. And in an educational sphere, production is an extension of the education. If production is an extension of a well-rounded education, and there are 2 roles for women and 67% of the population is vying for them, we are essentially denying our young women an education in the craft.
Translate that to the professional world. If roles equal jobs, and they do, and there are significantly more women in the profession than men, which there are, but even less roles for them, we are denying women the opportunity to work.
Ten years ago, a study by the Wellesley Centers for Women conclude that only 15 out of 74 LORT theatres had a female Artistic Director. According to the Women in Theatre Journal, that number is now 31 out of 81. That's still only 38%.
I started to create roles for the people I saw in my life, for the students I taught. I collaborated in educational settings to expand the roles for youth so that teens and college kids could find material that felt more relevant to them and closer to their own experience.
I got really involved in new play development, championing dozens of new pieces through my own company, Ignition Arts, and spending three winters in Creede, CO with HBMG's National Winter Playwrights Residency where we developed dozens of pieces. Now, I collaborate with Tofte Lake Center (MN), Launch Pad (CA), and Seven Devils (ID) on the 4 Seasons Residency to shepherd a playwright through a yearlong multi-locale retreat to bring new works into the canon.
So, while I didn't know it at the time, I think I got into playwriting to change the canon. This year I have four pieces going up. It took a long time to get here, with lots of rejection, more rejection that I can contain in a post, -- but if we don't see what we want in the world -- or what we need, or what our colleagues and students need, and we have the capacity to change it, to make the world a little closer to the world it could be - isn't it out job to do so?
Cue applause. Kudos. What a wonderful back story. I was also an actor-- always auditioning for comedies-- and would read some horrific sides and thought, I could write better than this.
The LORT stat is awful. I would love to see more women as Artistic Directors.
"It’s been months. I still feel this way. Not as acutely, but there is still a distance between me and the humor. Sometimes I feel enveloped in humor and brightness; sometimes I see it, but it feels like there is a shroud between us. I think it comes in waves and recedes like the tide. Nothing is funny; everything is funny. I have always thought the best comedic actors have the capacity to be the best dramatic actors. There is something about going to extremes in comedy that teaches us about sadness; there is something in grief that helps us better understand joy."
Thank you Carissa and Kate for this awesome interview. What an amazing thing to have a writing partner like David Lee White! It's like a lifelong gift, not only of friendship but deep creativity as well. I loved how you shared how the two of you work together so many different ways.
The title of my life right now might be similar to yours except with a different S-word in there!
It's true. I used to be pretty intransigent in my work - heck, I sometimes still am. But he has really taught me how to be a more generous collaborator, and I have become a much more open person and creator as a result.
Also, at the time, the title of my life was a toss-up between "Spaghetti on the Wall" and "S^&* Hitting the Fan."
Kate's answers were a JOY to read. Each time I read the next answer I felt they kept rising in quality! When I got to 7 I laughed and laughed. Amidst our lives raising three boys I quickly came to the conclusion that WHATEVER number of children you land on (0-whatever), what seems universally true is you remain in awe of ANYONE you meet who merely has one more than you. One of my best pals raised four boys including a set of twins. Why would you be surprised that they decided to have 2 dogs...
For Kate specifically -- I am forwarding this to a friend who has written a screenplay that is getting shopped a bit. My friend has a partner who has some experience in Hollywood and hence my friend this is his first rodeo. I think he might enjoy hearing about someone who found the right partner and has fostered a great experience.
Mark, thanks so much for reading. I don't know how parents of any small beings accomplish anything. It seems a miracle.
I am so glad you are inspired to share this with a friend. In the creative industry, we are often thrust into relationships with people and told to make magic. It's nice when you can find the right people. It's nice when you can be the right one as well.
One of our favorite movies from back-in-the-day was a Steve Martin movie Parenthood. I highly recommend it :) With your first child you always feel ill-prepared I think and it turns out you just figure out the unique nature of each. I HATE the expression "we treat them all the same" -- after raising three boys that just sounds dumb to me.
This was such a delightful (and resonant) interview that helped me remember my why, what, and how on a rainy day that could do with a bit of alchemy. Did I mention it was a lot of fun also? It was! Thanks for a great read, #16! (And thank you, CK!)
That's interesting. It's essentially feels like long-form improv.
The short articles sometimes come out in an afternoon exchange.
Plays and musicals take TONS of investment - in terms of time, energy, space, money, --as well as hoards of collaborators to mount. So actually, a novel feels less a challenge and more of a pacing issue. I think the biggest challenges were actually logistics - more like consistency. Like in a film when you notice that someone's hair is slightly different from one scene to the next, or that the coffee cup was empty and now it's full. The novel felt more mathematical in its expanse, with a need for us to attend to the integrity of something so large.
This is interesting - because musicals in particular are large in scope - but even at its longest, a show is only two and a half hours long, maybe three... (or these days, more like 90 minutes). A book, on the other hand... you can't read through that in ninety minutes and revise.
Thanks for the response Kate. very informative. I wonder if there will be more collaborative novels in this era of zooms and the internet. I’m actually surprised there haven’t been more. I know very famous people often hire ghostwriters but that’s different.
And the super successful authors have teams of researchers and authors who will write chapters and never see credit but they will get great experience and a pay check.
What a GREAT interview! Their marriage sounds amazing. To have a partner who complements your talents and who you can co-write with is such a gift!
Lovely interview. Thank you.
I'd like to address CK's question about how I got into playwriting.
I started writing because I stopped seeing the roles I wanted to play. I wanted funny, intelligent, quick, nuanced, flawed, complicated characters, women who could be angry and kind, who could be self-reflective and yearning, desperate and bold - characters who didn't only define themselves in relation to someone else, but who were charting their own course in the world.
But the canon often offers "the virgin" or "the whore," and unsurprisingly, those are all tied to a romantic relationship. So these characters are not defined by their *own* trials and risks, but by someone *else's* journey. I want characters that have their *own* hero's journey. And I wasn't seeing them.
And in addition to being an actor myself, I've always been an educator. As an educator, I saw theatre programs were predominately populated by young women. I taught places where there were 67% women. And in an educational sphere, production is an extension of the education. If production is an extension of a well-rounded education, and there are 2 roles for women and 67% of the population is vying for them, we are essentially denying our young women an education in the craft.
Translate that to the professional world. If roles equal jobs, and they do, and there are significantly more women in the profession than men, which there are, but even less roles for them, we are denying women the opportunity to work.
Ten years ago, a study by the Wellesley Centers for Women conclude that only 15 out of 74 LORT theatres had a female Artistic Director. According to the Women in Theatre Journal, that number is now 31 out of 81. That's still only 38%.
I started to create roles for the people I saw in my life, for the students I taught. I collaborated in educational settings to expand the roles for youth so that teens and college kids could find material that felt more relevant to them and closer to their own experience.
I got really involved in new play development, championing dozens of new pieces through my own company, Ignition Arts, and spending three winters in Creede, CO with HBMG's National Winter Playwrights Residency where we developed dozens of pieces. Now, I collaborate with Tofte Lake Center (MN), Launch Pad (CA), and Seven Devils (ID) on the 4 Seasons Residency to shepherd a playwright through a yearlong multi-locale retreat to bring new works into the canon.
So, while I didn't know it at the time, I think I got into playwriting to change the canon. This year I have four pieces going up. It took a long time to get here, with lots of rejection, more rejection that I can contain in a post, -- but if we don't see what we want in the world -- or what we need, or what our colleagues and students need, and we have the capacity to change it, to make the world a little closer to the world it could be - isn't it out job to do so?
Cue applause. Kudos. What a wonderful back story. I was also an actor-- always auditioning for comedies-- and would read some horrific sides and thought, I could write better than this.
The LORT stat is awful. I would love to see more women as Artistic Directors.
Congrats on all of your premieres!!!!
This is good stuff.
"It’s been months. I still feel this way. Not as acutely, but there is still a distance between me and the humor. Sometimes I feel enveloped in humor and brightness; sometimes I see it, but it feels like there is a shroud between us. I think it comes in waves and recedes like the tide. Nothing is funny; everything is funny. I have always thought the best comedic actors have the capacity to be the best dramatic actors. There is something about going to extremes in comedy that teaches us about sadness; there is something in grief that helps us better understand joy."
Thanks for reading, Norman!
Thank you Carissa and Kate for this awesome interview. What an amazing thing to have a writing partner like David Lee White! It's like a lifelong gift, not only of friendship but deep creativity as well. I loved how you shared how the two of you work together so many different ways.
The title of my life right now might be similar to yours except with a different S-word in there!
Thanks for reading, Donna.
It's true. I used to be pretty intransigent in my work - heck, I sometimes still am. But he has really taught me how to be a more generous collaborator, and I have become a much more open person and creator as a result.
Also, at the time, the title of my life was a toss-up between "Spaghetti on the Wall" and "S^&* Hitting the Fan."
Haha. Love the title of your life.
Kate's answers were a JOY to read. Each time I read the next answer I felt they kept rising in quality! When I got to 7 I laughed and laughed. Amidst our lives raising three boys I quickly came to the conclusion that WHATEVER number of children you land on (0-whatever), what seems universally true is you remain in awe of ANYONE you meet who merely has one more than you. One of my best pals raised four boys including a set of twins. Why would you be surprised that they decided to have 2 dogs...
For Kate specifically -- I am forwarding this to a friend who has written a screenplay that is getting shopped a bit. My friend has a partner who has some experience in Hollywood and hence my friend this is his first rodeo. I think he might enjoy hearing about someone who found the right partner and has fostered a great experience.
Mark, thanks so much for reading. I don't know how parents of any small beings accomplish anything. It seems a miracle.
I am so glad you are inspired to share this with a friend. In the creative industry, we are often thrust into relationships with people and told to make magic. It's nice when you can find the right people. It's nice when you can be the right one as well.
One of our favorite movies from back-in-the-day was a Steve Martin movie Parenthood. I highly recommend it :) With your first child you always feel ill-prepared I think and it turns out you just figure out the unique nature of each. I HATE the expression "we treat them all the same" -- after raising three boys that just sounds dumb to me.
I did forward it, I hope he shares a comment.
Wonderful. Thx, Mark. 🙏
No questions, just a comment....
This was such a delightful (and resonant) interview that helped me remember my why, what, and how on a rainy day that could do with a bit of alchemy. Did I mention it was a lot of fun also? It was! Thanks for a great read, #16! (And thank you, CK!)
Yours in humor,
#15
Thanks, Amanda.
This month has been a rough one in terms of feeling motivated and like what I am doing is relevant. It is a privilege to be featured on Good Humor.
So glad to have you! 👏🏻❤️
Thx for reading and commenting!
Do you find a novel a more challenging medium to co-write?
That's interesting. It's essentially feels like long-form improv.
The short articles sometimes come out in an afternoon exchange.
Plays and musicals take TONS of investment - in terms of time, energy, space, money, --as well as hoards of collaborators to mount. So actually, a novel feels less a challenge and more of a pacing issue. I think the biggest challenges were actually logistics - more like consistency. Like in a film when you notice that someone's hair is slightly different from one scene to the next, or that the coffee cup was empty and now it's full. The novel felt more mathematical in its expanse, with a need for us to attend to the integrity of something so large.
This is interesting - because musicals in particular are large in scope - but even at its longest, a show is only two and a half hours long, maybe three... (or these days, more like 90 minutes). A book, on the other hand... you can't read through that in ninety minutes and revise.
Thanks for the response Kate. very informative. I wonder if there will be more collaborative novels in this era of zooms and the internet. I’m actually surprised there haven’t been more. I know very famous people often hire ghostwriters but that’s different.
And the super successful authors have teams of researchers and authors who will write chapters and never see credit but they will get great experience and a pay check.
Very much interested in this as well.