Jacqueline E. Lawton
  • Home
  • Info
    • Artistic Statement
    • Bio
    • Awards and Fellowships
    • Affiliations
  • Writing
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
    • Plays
    • Productions
    • Commissions
    • Award Ceremonies
    • Publications
  • Advocacy
    • Appearances
    • Facilitation, Workshops, and Trainings
    • Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the American Theatre
    • Gender Equity
    • Theatre and Technology
    • Theatre Action >
      • After Orlando
      • Climate Change
      • Every 28 Hour Plays
    • Testimonials
    • Additional Resources
  • Dramaturgy
    • New Play Development
    • Production Dramaturgy
    • Dramaturgy and Script Consultation
    • Additional Resources
  • Teaching
    • Qualifications
    • Curriculum Development, Theatre Arts Integration and Teaching Artist Training
    • Philosophy
    • Experience
  • Producing
    • ARDEO
    • On Stage with the Migration Series
    • Out of Silence: Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign
  • Media
    • Gallery
    • Good Ink
    • Media Coverage
    • Interviews
    • Press Releases
    • Podcast & Video
  • Blog
  • Contact

Plays for Two: Editor Interview - Eric Lane

3/23/2014

0 Comments

 
I was overjoyed to learn that my play, Finals, Touchdowns, and Barrel Kicks,  had been selected for publication in Eric Lane and Nina Shengold's latest anthology. Plays for Two is a unique anthology of twenty-eight terrific plays for two actors, by a mix of celebrated playwrights and cutting-edge new voices. I had the pleasure to speak with Eric Lane about his career as an editor and experiences as a playwright.
Picture
JACQUELINE LAWTON: Why did you decide to get into theatre? Was there someone or a particular show that inspired you?
ERIC LANE: 
As a teenager, reading A Raisin in the Sun was an incredibly powerful experience.  The play’s characters, story, range of emotion, strength and beauty all affected me very deeply. That piece still holds an incredible power today. 

JL: Plays for Two is your thirteenth anthology. Tell us about how you became an editor.
EL:
Nina was editing her second anthology, and in the middle of the project, she got hired to write a TV show. We were friends, both playwrights, and she asked me to step in and complete the book. We quickly discovered we really enjoyed working together. Plays for Two is now our 13th collaboration.

JL: What is the process of editing a book? How do you determine the themes? How do you decide which of monologues, scenes and plays will be included?
EL: 
Nina and I will come up with the theme for the book (e.g. Plays for Two, Plays for Actresses, Short Comic Plays, etc.).  Many times the theme will emerge from trends we’re seeing in theater, or it may be a book we ourselves have always wanted to see.  Over the years, we’ve developed an extensive network of playwrights, theaters, literary managers, agents and friends to whom we’ll reach out for new work.  And the list is always growing.  On average, we’ll read between 400-500 submissions for a collection.

A lot of factors go into choosing the material for the book.  Not only are we seeking wonderful plays that fit our subject, but the plays should work together to create a full, interesting, diverse contemporary collection with a broad range of strong roles for actors.  In total, our books for Vintage and Viking-Penguin have sold over 400,000 copies. Drama Book Shop once told us, “Your books are the most shoplifted titles in our store.” That really made us laugh.

JL: What do you find most rewarding about being an editor? Do you have a surprising or interesting experience to share?
EL:
As editors, we read submissions hoping they'll be terrific. There’s a real joy in discovering wonderful new work. When a play is great, it jumps off the page from the moment you start reading it. You can feel it from the first stage direction or line of dialogue. That’s incredibly exciting.

JL: In addition to your work as an editor, you are also a playwright. Tell me a little bit about your writing process. Do you have any writing rituals? Do you write in the same place or in different places?
EL:
My writing process changes with each play. Just when I think I know how I write a play, it’ll be completely different the next time. I always try to honor where I am at the moment and follow where the characters and story lead me. 

JL: Describe for me all the sensations you had the first time you had one of your plays produced and you sat in the audience while it was performed ... what was different about the characters you created? How much input did you have in the directing of that work?
EL:
The first time a play of mine was performed in New York City, it was an out of body experience.  I knew the actors were speaking in English, I knew I spoke English and had written the play, and yet I literally couldn’t understand a word they were saying.  Over the years, I’ve gotten much better.

JL: What advice do you have for up-and-coming playwrights?
EL:
Editing these anthologies has taught me a lot as a playwright. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is not to take rejection that personally. You may have written a brilliant play, but it may not match what that editor or theater is looking for at that particular moment. They already may have chosen another play that is somewhat similar. Or they just may not like it. I’m not saying don’t get pissed off when your work is rejected. But it’s important to use that anger or disappointment to fuel you in finding the right place for your work.

Also, be smart about what you send in. For example, an agent recently submitted a full-length drama for an anthology of short comic plays. Bad idea. And if an editor asks for two plays maximum, don’t send in three.  It just makes them cranky. 

Try to think of it from the point of view of the person reading your submission. If they’re reading over 500 plays, your play needs to stand out in some way – its use of language, humor, depth of emotion, originality, characters, story, setting, theatricality, skill, etc.

Be original. If there’s another playwright whose work you love, don’t imitate them, but use their originality to inspire you to find your own unique voice. And most of all, hang in there.

JL: What next for you? Where can we follow your work?
EL:
It has been a very full and creative time for me. My new play commission Filming O’Keeffe premiered at the Adirondack Theatre Festival this past summer in a beautiful production. This fall, I had a workshop of Floating at Raven Theatre in Chicago. Soon I’ll be starting rewrites on a new play. And when Plays for Two comes out in March, Nina and I promised to take each other out for a really nice lunch. www.ericlanewrites.com


About Plays for Two

Picture
Click here to order your copy!
It takes two to tango—or to perform a duet, fight a duel, or play ping-pong. The two-character play is dramatic confrontation stripped to its essence. These four full-length and twenty-four short plays feature pairs of every sort—strangers, rivals, parents and children, siblings, co-workers, friends, and lovers—swooning or sparring, meeting cute or parting ways. In a dizzying range of moods and styles, these two-handers offer the kind of meaty, challenging roles actors love, while providing readers and audiences with the pleasures of watching the complex give-and-take dynamics of two keenly matched characters.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    My Blog

    Picture
    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!
    Tweets by @dulcia25

    Categories

    All
    Advocates For Youth
    ARDEO
    Blackbirds
    Dance Exchange
    Dc Theatre
    Diversity And Inclusion
    Dramatist Guild
    Gender Parity
    Intelligence
    Lions Of Industry
    LoTT
    Love Brothers Serenade
    Mothers Of Invention
    Musings
    Nnpn
    Noms De Guerre
    Nso
    Our Man Beverly Snow
    Plays For Two
    TCG
    Theatre Education
    Theatre For Social Change
    The Hampton Years
    The Inferior Sex
    Triangle Theatre
    Wizard Of Oz
    Women Artistic Directors
    Women Directors
    Women Dramaturgs
    Women Playwrights
    Women Stage Managers
    Women Theatre Critics
    Xx Playlab Festival

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    September 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012

    Reading List
    2am Theatre
    American Theatre Wing

    Americans for the Arts
    The Atlantic
    Black Girl Dangerous
    Colorlines
    Feminist Crunk Collective
    Feminist Spectator

    The Good Men Project
    Guardian: Theatre
    Guernica
    HowlRound
    Media Diversified
    The Nation
    NEA Art Works
    NPR Arts and Life
    NYTimes: Arts

    Opine Season
    The New Yorker
    The Paris Review

    Salon
    Theater Talks
    Think Progress
    WaPo: Theatre
    Works by Women

    Vox

  • Home
  • Info
    • Artistic Statement
    • Bio
    • Awards and Fellowships
    • Affiliations
  • Writing
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
    • Plays
    • Productions
    • Commissions
    • Award Ceremonies
    • Publications
  • Advocacy
    • Appearances
    • Facilitation, Workshops, and Trainings
    • Access, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the American Theatre
    • Gender Equity
    • Theatre and Technology
    • Theatre Action >
      • After Orlando
      • Climate Change
      • Every 28 Hour Plays
    • Testimonials
    • Additional Resources
  • Dramaturgy
    • New Play Development
    • Production Dramaturgy
    • Dramaturgy and Script Consultation
    • Additional Resources
  • Teaching
    • Qualifications
    • Curriculum Development, Theatre Arts Integration and Teaching Artist Training
    • Philosophy
    • Experience
  • Producing
    • ARDEO
    • On Stage with the Migration Series
    • Out of Silence: Abortion Stories from the 1 in 3 Campaign
  • Media
    • Gallery
    • Good Ink
    • Media Coverage
    • Interviews
    • Press Releases
    • Podcast & Video
  • Blog
  • Contact