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10 LIES PLAYWRIGHTS ARE TOLD (AND WHY WE SHOULDN’T BELIEVE THEM)

. Much mythology surrounds the vagaries of this business and the paths to success. Some myths we’re told by others; just as many we tell ourselves. Overwhelmingly, they seem to be protective devices to explain away slow years—or even slow careers. Often they become ways to deny how much constant effort it can take—particularly for […]

#PLONY PROFILE #11: KAREN ZACARIAS, WASHINGTON DC

  What is a/are #PLONY? Find out here, and also read an explanation as to why I’m writing a series of #PLONY Profiles.   From the time I started the #PLONY (Playwrights Living Outside New York) series, I wanted to interview Karen Zacarias. Not surprisingly, her busy schedule—which includes not just continual productions across the […]

VOTE: Dramatists Guild introduces #PLONY representation on Council

  Playwright friends who are members of The Dramatists Guild, this week–if you haven’t already–you’ll be receiving a ballot for this year’s Guild Council Elections. Currently, out of 65 Council members, all but two live in NYC, but that’s about to change. On this year’s ballot, for the first time, five seats on the Council will […]

My 2016 Year in Review

  In my continual quest to prove that submitting does work, I again offer up total transparency in my year’s submission and results. As with 2014’s Recap: You Can’t Argue With Numbers and 2015’s Review in Numbers, the goal is always to show that submitting yields results. More than that, consistency yields momentum, which is […]

PLAYWRIGHTS AND THE STATE OF PERPETUAL HOPE

  If you clicked on this title, you know what I’m talking about. It’s the thing that makes us obsessively check our email because, at any moment, an acceptance could arrive—and what if we don’t see it immediately? The thing that makes us cough up fees—maybe even against our better judgment—because that opportunity could lead to […]

WHAT I LEARNED FROM INTERVIEWING 10 SUCCESSFUL #PLONY (Playwrights Living Outside New York)

  After completing 10 #PLONY (Playwrights Living Outside New York) interviews with Eric Coble, William Missouri Downs, Lauren Gunderson, Michael McKeever, EM Lewis, Aditi Brennan Kapil, Don Zolidis, Catherine Trieschmann, Topher Payne,  and Tammy Ryan, I summed up the commonalities I observed in the careers of these successful playwrights:   What I Learned from Interviewing […]

#PLONY PROFILE #10: TAMMY RYAN, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

    Tammy Ryan born and raised in Astoria, Queens, left to go to college, and, despite having New York roots, officially became a #PLONY when she wrote her first play as a theater major at the University at Buffalo (UB) and had it produced in the back room of Nietzsche’s bar. The Francesca Primus […]

2015 YEAR IN REVIEW BY NUMBERS

    Last year, I reviewed my records and did a thorough analysis of the submissions I made and how they paid off: 2014 Submission Recap: You Can’t Argue With Numbers. I could do the same thing again this year, but the point would be the same: you have to submit your work—frequently. So, instead I […]

#PLONY PROFILE #9: TOPHER PAYNE, ATLANTA, GEORGIA

  Last week, I marveled at how different every #PLONY’s journey has been; make that triple for Topher Payne. You know how when an actor finally breaks through and everybody asks “Where has he been?” and the answer is toiling away, learning his craft, waiting for the moment when his hard work is noticed? That’s […]

#PLONY PROFILE #8: CATHERINE TRIESCHMANN, HAYS, KANSAS

  When I first started the #PLONY interviews, I had this notion that, after a while, they’d all start to sound the same. But eight interviews in, I’ve been consistently amazed at how very different these stories are. Sure, there are commonalities that led to success (and there will be recap post on those once […]