 A few weeks ago, the brilliant and innovative folks at NNPN commissioned playwrights Paige Hernandez, Stephen Spotswood, Gwydion Suilebhan and myself to write podcast plays to be presented during its 2012 National Showcase of New Plays. “When Washington was awarded the 2012 Showcase, we committed to shining a light on DC’s dynamic playwriting community,” says Executive Director Jason Loewith. “Who better to introduce visiting artists to the Nation’s Capital than these four extraordinary and extraordinarily diverse DC writers?” We were given specific directions of North, West, South and East, courtesy of Woolly Mammoth Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz, who thought this would be a great way to introduce audiences to as wide a range of Woolly's surrounding neighborhood as possible. Other than that, our only perimeters were that the pieces needed to be 10 to 15 minutes. It's been pretty exciting! Earlier this week, our plays were recorded onto iPod Shuffles and later today, the will be ready to depart the Woolly Mammoth lobby at all hours during the Showcase, November 29 – December 2. Here's a little bit about our experience:  Which direction have you bravely accepted for the NNPN’s Podcast Plays? Paige Hernandez: NORTH! Have you ever written with such directional or geographical purpose before? PH: I haven't, but once I figured out what I wanted to write about, the directional prompt became the best idea ever! What excited you about this commission (what made you say yes)? PH: I love that the progress that theatre has made in terms of incorporating technology. In all of my works, technology has a strong presence (projection design, live tweeting, download the music etc), so doing a podcast play is right up my alley. It's a nod to the old fashioned radio dramas but with a modern, edgy twist. How did you approach writing your podcast play? Did you do any particular research or spend time in the area? Also have you ever written a play like this before? PH: Once I got my direction, the writing poured out of me. North of Woolly Mammoth has become such a bustling metropolis over the past few years so there was plenty of inspiration. I chose to write about street drummers. Specifically, the bucket drummers who play outside of the Verizon Center. For so long that sound, energy and artistry has been synonomous with that part of town. These brilliant Podcast Plays are a part of NNPN’s Executive Director Jason Loewith’s commitment to showcasing the work of DC areaplaywright during the 2012 National Showcase. What does it mean for you to be a D.C. playwright? PH: I'm honored. I'm so thrilled to call DC my home and to represent it on a National level is very special to me. My play references Go-go, a DC specific genre of music that deserves more national recognition. Even if my play enlightens just a few new folk to the go-go genre, then I have done DC proud! What’s next for you? Where can we keep up with your work? PH: I'll be performing in NNPN's stage reading of Blacktop Sky, December 1, directed by Jennifer Nelson. As for the new year, I'm touring a lot with my company, B-FLY ENTERTAINMENT. I've got a jam packed year with tour dates all over the US. I'll be back at the Kennedy Center to choreograph Jason The Invincible and I'll still be paying homage to the best music around with Liner Notes, my series at the Atlas. Lots of amazing things. www.paigehernandez.com  Which direction have you bravely accepted for the NNPN’s Podcast Plays? Jacqueline E. Lawton: WEST! Have you ever written with such directional or geographical purpose before? JL: No, but I have written with geographical purpose. MAD BREED is set in Hartford County, Maryland where the famous and notorious British/American theatre family the Booths lived. Our Man Beverly Snow is set in Washington, DC in 1835. Both Blood-bound and Tongue-tied and Severed Grace (formerly A Delicate People) are both set in Tennessee Colony, Texas where I was raised. What excited you about this commission (what made you say yes)? JL: Quite simply, because Jason asked me to do it. I'm in the habit of saying "yes" to suggestions made by brilliant men! Also, because I'm a huge fan of National New Play Network and love all their doing to support, nurture and advocate on behalf of playwrights in this country and beyond. Finally, it was something that I had never done before and so I took it on as a thrilling new challenge. How did you approach writing your podcast play? Did you do any particular research or spend time in the area? Also have you ever written a play like this before? JL: With a healthy dose of fear and gallons of enthusiasm! I had no idea what I was doing and I have zero sense of direction. But once, Jojo pointed me West, I at least knew where to go and I know this area very well. My first job in D.C. was at Woolly Mammoth, where I was the dramaturgy intern under Mary Resing. I also worked part-time as a box office assistant at the Ford's Theatre. On my lunch and dinner breaks, I would go for long walks all through this area. Plus, I'm a sucker for Christmas lights, so love how festive this area gets during the winter. Oh, and my first date in D.C. was at the 701 restaurant with a man who interestingly enough was a communist. While he happily paid the pianist to play more Charlie Brown Christmas songs for me, he refused to drive me to Union Station so I could catch my train back to Baltimore--where I still lived at the time and commuted daily. On reflection, I think this was part of his plan, because when I missed the train I called him and he graciously offered me his bed for the night. I declined his gallant offer and slept on the sofa in the Folger Shakespeare Library Education Center. Such are my many adventures West of Woolly and beyond! I also spent several hours walking up and down the route just to get a feel for what folks listening would experience. I even stopped in to some of the business and restaurant we see along the way and spoke with the folks who worked there. It was really fun! These brilliant Podcast Plays are a part of NNPN’s Executive Director Jason Loewith’s commitment to showcasing the work of DC area playwright during the 2012 National Showcase. What does it mean for you to be a D.C. playwright? JL: Since moving here in 2006, I've felt fortunate to live in a city where we have a plethora of opportunities to develop our plays and a few key opportunities to see our work produced/self-produced on stage. As playwrights, we’re surrounded by smart, talented, ambitious theater artist and arts administrators who are committed to working on new plays and nurturing emerging playwrights. The audiences in DC are diverse, savvy and intellectual. All in all, it’s an exciting, but sometimes hard and expensive city in which to live/struggle to survive as an artist. Artistically, we somewhat live in the shadow of New York, but I feel that's changing. It's been a slow mercurial, but steady change. What’s next for you? Where can we keep up with your work? JL: I'm working on a few new plays, including a holiday play for young audiences, a contemporary play about the evolution of a friendship and the war on women, and rewrites of my 10 minute play for Round House Theatre's Heyday Players. Our Man Beverly Snow
The Hampton Years
Publication My 10-minute play, Finals, Touchdowns and Barrel Kicks, originally written for Active Cultures’ Sportaculture Festival, was selected to included in the upcoming Vintage Books (Random House) anthology Plays for Two, edited by Eric Lang and Nina Shengold. You can keep up with me here on my blog and at www.jacquelinelawton.com  Which direction have you bravely accepted for the NNPN’s Podcast Plays? Have you ever written with such directional or geographical purpose before? SS: SOUTH. And, no. The closest I've come is contributing to a series of monologues that all took place in different rooms of a house. That was considerably less complex (and mobile) than this project. What excited you about this commission (what made you say yes)? SS: I think it was two big things. The first was the intimacy that the form could create. Having someone speaking right into your ear, practically inside your head, has a lot of potential to engage your audience. The second was the setting. I was delighted when I found out that no one had chosen South which, if you're unfamiliar with where Woolly is located, leads you to the National Mall. Having these grand avenues, this giant lawn, a 500-foot tall obeslisk, as set pieces is kind of fantastic! At the same time, with a podcast play, you're not limited to what the audience is seeing but to what you can convince them to imagine. How did you approach writing your podcast play? Did you do any particular research or spend time in the area? SS: I had an idea for a story before making it down to Woolly to explore. However, I was already relatively familiar with the area South of Woolly, and Googlemaps helped fill in the details. Since that initial idea, I've made the walk twice. The first was to film it for reference. The second was after having recorded a rough draft of the podcast play myself, so I could listen to it and see how it timed out with the walk. Listening to my own voice for 20 minutes (especially my voice saying the lines of these two particular characters) is just a little uncomfortable. These brilliant Podcast Plays are a part of NNPN’s Executive Director Jason Loewith’s commitment to showcasing the work of DC area playwright during the 2012 National Showcase. What does it mean for you to be a D.C. playwright? SS: Oh, this question. I've tried to answer this question so many times and I've never managed to nail it. I don't think being a DC playwright has anything to do with style or theme or subject matter. I think it has to do with being aware of the city, aware of what work is being done, and in communication with others making art here. And using that awareness and communication to help shape and inspire my own work. Which is a definition that can apply to any community, and I think I'm okay with that. What’s next for you? Where can we keep up with your work? SS: First up is a one-off remount of my 2011 Capital Fringe show, THE SISTERS OF ELLERY HOLLOW, which will be performed as part of the Happenings at the Harman series at Sidney Harman Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 5. at noon. And it's free! So, if anyone's in the Penn Quarter neighborhood and wants some lunchtime entertainment, stop on by. The first couple of weeks in January, with the help of Forum Theatre, I'll be remounting WE TIRESIAS--a tragicomic dissection of Greek tragedy and the human condition--that won Best Drama at this past summer's Capital Fringe Festival. It will run for two weeks at Silver Spring Roundhouse and, hopefully by the time this interview goes up, all the information will be available at Forum or Roundhouse's website. I'll also be working with Forum as a member of their artist ensemble to develop a new work being spearheaded by Natsu Onoda Power, which will premiere at the end of this season. And I've just become an associate artist with Pinky Swear Productions, and will be working to develop a new play for them over the course of the next year. And, last but certainly not least, I'll continue to fine-tune my newest full-length play, IN THE FOREST, SHE GREW FANGS, which I've developed with the help of Washington Rogues Theatre, and is scheduled for production next fall.  Which direction have you bravely accepted for the NNPN’s Podcast Plays? Have you ever written with such directional or geographical purpose before?
EAST. And yes, I have written like this before: I've been creating a very similar piece (for a different part of the city) with banished? productions. As for whether my acceptance was brave? Not, I believe, in the least. What excited you about this commission (what made you say yes)? I was particularly excited to have a chance to extend the creative metaphor I'd established with my banished? piece across the city. I have in mind a longer project: a network of eight or ten related pieces situated all over DC. How did you approach writing your podcast play? Did you do any particular research or spend time in the area? Also have you ever written a play like this before? With regard to research: I started with a few long hours spent on Google Maps (using Street View) to plot a few landmarks in the area, then I took a good, long exploratory walk on foot to see how things felt. After my walk, I researched a few landmarks that really stuck with me in more depth -- thank you, internet -- and crowdsourced a few more ideas via Twitter. These brilliant Podcast Plays are a part of NNPN’s Executive Director Jason Loewith’s commitment to showcasing the work of DC area playwright during the 2012 National Showcase. What does it mean for you to be a D.C. playwright? GS: I wrote a long series of blog posts on being a playwright in DC about eight months ago, so I'm not sure I have anything new or profound to say on the subject. Perhaps I'll just say that it's good--very good--and getting much better all the time! What’s next for you? Where can we keep up with your work? GS: Well, dog & pony dc is to open A KILLING GAME -- I was a member of the devising ensemble, and this is a pretty terrific experience we've created, if I do say so myself. My play ABSTRACT NUDE goes up at The Secret Theatre in NY as part of the Wired Arts Festival in February. Shortly thereafter, I'll have a workshop and reading of THE GREAT DISMAL with The Inkwell here in DC, then I'll be opening a still-untitled dance-theater show I'm currently devising with Contradiction Dance at Round House Silver Spring in March. I'm a busy boy!
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I'm a playwright, dramaturg, and teaching artist. It is here where you'll find my queries and musings on life, theater and the world. My posts advocate for diversity, inclusion, and equity in the American Theatre and updates on my own work. Please enjoy!
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