Though I’d known Rachel online, we first met in person in my hometown of Buffalo, NY, when came for the world premiere of her play, BURST at Alleyway Theatre. We spent a fun day in Niagara Falls on the Maid of the Mist and her show was nothing short of spectacular. I knew she was […]

. 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 […]

  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 […]

  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 […]

  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 […]

  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 […]

  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 […]

    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 […]

    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 […]

  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 […]