A Few Short Plays to Save the World is available wherever book are sold
1. How did you get the idea for A Few Short Plays to Save the World?
I’ve written many short plays over the years. Most have been produced (all over the country) and some have never been seen. They’re unique in that they are funny, full of diverse characters, magical realism and some touch on political issues. I’ve been wanting to allow more people to experience those plays (so actors and directors can do them, for students and producers - for anyone looking for out of the box material), and it seemed like having an anthology would be a great way to do it. Since I’m not a famous playwright, I had little chance of having a traditional publisher take a deep interest in creating a collection of my material, so I decided to do put the collection together myself. I did a bunch of research on self-publishing, gathered a team and got to work.
2. Were there other titles before A Few Short Plays to Save the World? If so, could you mention them?
No. The minute I knew I wanted to do a collection, the title: A Few Short Plays to Save the World popped into my head. And once I had the title, I knew I wanted to write a play with that title as a nod to the whole collection. I had a good time coming up with a play that fit that name. I often get a title before I have a play. It’s one of the ways inspiration comes to me.
3. How long did it take you to write the first draft of A Few Short Plays to Save the World?
I’ve been writing these plays for years (actually decades) so - it’s taken more than 20 years for these plays to emerge (one at a time).
4. Could you give us an interesting fun fact about A Few Short Plays to Save the World?
I brought on my friend Shawn Rene Graham, who is a very talented dramaturg (theater researcher and expert in text analysis) as my editor. I’ve known her since the 90s when I was in drama school at the American Repertory Theater Institute for Advanced Theater training at Harvard. Even though I love these plays, I relied on her to tell me what to include and in what order. I had to laugh as I gave her the stack of writing with the question “Is this any good??” She was tremendously supportive and gave me some great thoughts and direction about it. I cut some plays and rewrote others with her guidance.
5. What were the challenges of writing A Few Short Plays to Save the World?
The challenge was really about what to include and how to shape it. I was aware that just because I wanted this to hang together as a collection doesn’t mean it would. But she helped me see how things fit together. And provided sections for the plays (and context for the plays). I also needed to find an artist to do the cover of the book. Was so happy I got Alessandro Pautasso to do our stunning cover.
6. What do you want readers to remember about A Few Short Plays to Save the World?
Two things are key to me about the collection: 1) Short plays can be fun, entertaining, and powerful. 2) There’s a delightful combination of elements that make theater pop. We’ve seen so many stories, but there’s always a fun spin to be had by writing about people of color, LGBTQ folks and including characters of varying perspectives. And it helps, sometimes, when you add magic elements to the stories as well. These are plays that are accessible and dynamic.
7. What is your writing habit? How did you balance being an author, playwright and TV writer?
Having and maintaining balance is always on my mind. There’s no perfect combination. But I think of the whole practice of writing the way I think about eating. Some days I eat on the go (it’s fast and simple). Other days I’ll eat for hours (Thanksgiving for example). As long as there’s food coming into my body, I can sustain myself. I think the same with my writing. My goal is to show up consistently - and that may mean it looks different every day or every week, but I’m showing up and chipping away at the work. That makes all the difference. When I’m on a deadline I can crank things out. But more often I’m dropping in for significant, focused work, whether that’s hours of work or minutes of work.
8. Which play do you think will make a compelling film and which one do you think will make a compelling TV series?
So many of my plays are singular experiences. I don’t think very often about the idea that they can be transformed like that into another medium. Some of them are just moments in time that resonate as is, and wouldn’t necessarily be good films or TV series. But I have considered my play Iggie Imagines Marriage (about two best friends before a wedding - when suddenly time stops) and Abstract Purple (about a teenage runaway and the surrogate grandmother she meets - who is a painter losing her eyesight) to be pieces that might have some other life in a longer form.
9. Congrats on “A Few Short Plays to Save the World” winning the Independent Press Award, how did you find out that your book won the prize?
I got an email. I was delighted to hear. Part of the process of awards (always) is that someone has to submit you (or you submit yourself). So, I’d submitted the book and didn’t know what would happen. It was a terrific outcome. Very gratifying.
10. Congrats on the success of the TV series “Tracker”, could you talk about how the book was discovered and why it was adapted?
My understanding is that Ken Olin (who was an actor on Thirtysomething years ago) and was the producing director on This Is Us with Justin Hartley found the book and talked with Justin about turning it into a TV series. They made plans to do this before that show ended and once the series wrapped, they found Ben H. Winters, who wrote the pilot (a terrific script) and then shopped it around. The show (which was originally called The Never Game after the first book in the Colter Shaw series of books, was renamed TRACKER by CBS and Twentieth Century Fox TV.
11. Have you met the author Jeffery Deaver and if so, how was the experience?
I haven’t met Jeffrey Deaver. He didn’t come by the writers room. He allowed the show to use ideas from the first book in the series. And his process (with TV) is essentially hands off - as I understand it.
12. If you have met Justin Harley, could you give three adjectives to describe him?
I worked with Justin when I was on set for the show - and he came to the writers room. He’s a really nice guy. Playful. Focused. Wants to make good TV. And he knows what he wants. There’s always a moment on a TV show where you have to make some quick decisions. Justin is collaborative and also has a clear point of view. He’s been in the business a long time (been on soaps as well as in films and episodic TV). So there’s a wealth of expertise there. He’s a deep resource.
13. Have you ever considered making a cameo on the TV series “Tracker”?
Ha ha. Yeah, that’d be fun. And I would love it. But none of that is up to me.
14. You were an associate producer on Sesame Street, could you talk about your experience and what was your job description?
I was an associate producer at Sesame Workshop (which is the company that produces Sesame Street). I did not work on the TV show. I was at the company for two years and worked on home video projects (including Zoe’s Dance Moves and Sesame Sings Karaoke) as well as audio projects. We developed a pilot for an NPR show for kids. (The show didn’t go to series.) We also helped produce an album of Sesame Street songs. My job was to help create and produce material for audio and home video and work with other producers to bring those projects to life. The most fun was working on the home video stuff and getting to meet some of the amazing puppeteers who did the muppets. (Fran Brill who does Zoe and John Tartaglia (who became a Tony Nominee for Avenue Q and Kevin Clash who was Elmo were all fun to be around). And I got to meet and work with Paula Abdul.
15. How did you make the leap from an associate producer to TV producer for the TV Series "God Friended me"?
It took years to go from one to the other. I was still working and living in NY when I was doing stuff for Sesame Workshop as an associate producer. One of the big changes in my life came with getting into playwriting school at Juilliard. I was there for two years learning from the amazing team of Marsha Norman and the late Chris Durang. Some time after that I got an agent and started meeting on TV projects (flying back and forth to L.A. for meetings). In 2010 I moved to L.A. and got my first TV writing job in 2012. God Friended me was my third TV writing job (after Covert Affairs and American Crime). It was a step-by-step journey of learning, meeting people, and writing new stuff that got me there.
16. What was your favorite book when you were a kid? Do you have a favorite book now?
As a kid I read a lot. I don’t know if I had a favorite book, but I was a fan of Encyclopedia Brown, The Hardy Boys and the Judy Blume books. My parents are retired teachers and they instilled the desire to read in me. Today I’m much more interested in books about process and organization. I love the book Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman - which talks about prioritizing and recognizing that we can’t do everything in our time here on earth.
17. In your bio, it mentioned that your mother was a Stephen King fan. What was her favorite Stephen King book and did you have a favorite Stephen King book?
My mother loved so many Stephen King books: I remember her reading parts of The Stand to me and she loved The Shining and Salem’s Lot. I think Stephen King’s book On Writing is pretty amazing. That’s likely my favorite. (I recommend the audio book version where he reads it to you.)
18. What book (or movie) had the most influence in your life and your career?
There are a handful of books that I love: Eric Maisel’s Coaching The Artist Within is one of my go-tos. Eric was a teacher of mine when I was studying to be a creativity coach. He’s got such juicy material about coaching yourself and coaching others. I also love The Artists Way (great exercises around balance and groundedness in the life of an artist). I’m working on a book of my own that I hope will capture this kind of energy and a particular methodology for TV writers.
19. If you had your own talk show, which TV series stars would you have as a guest (besides the one you worked on)/ (also, dead or alive)?
I’d love to interview writers more than TV series stars. Would dig having conversations with Shonda Rhimes and Robert and Michelle King. I’m also a huge fan of Cheiwetel Ejiofor (who was brilliant in The Man Who Fell to Earth) and Rafe Spall (who is hysterical in Trying).
20. Last question, if you were to write a script for a movie, what genre would you like to tackle?
Though I’ve not done it yet, I’d be interested in writing a romantic comedy with magical undertones. Now you’ve got me thinking…
I’ve written many short plays over the years. Most have been produced (all over the country) and some have never been seen. They’re unique in that they are funny, full of diverse characters, magical realism and some touch on political issues. I’ve been wanting to allow more people to experience those plays (so actors and directors can do them, for students and producers - for anyone looking for out of the box material), and it seemed like having an anthology would be a great way to do it. Since I’m not a famous playwright, I had little chance of having a traditional publisher take a deep interest in creating a collection of my material, so I decided to do put the collection together myself. I did a bunch of research on self-publishing, gathered a team and got to work.
2. Were there other titles before A Few Short Plays to Save the World? If so, could you mention them?
No. The minute I knew I wanted to do a collection, the title: A Few Short Plays to Save the World popped into my head. And once I had the title, I knew I wanted to write a play with that title as a nod to the whole collection. I had a good time coming up with a play that fit that name. I often get a title before I have a play. It’s one of the ways inspiration comes to me.
3. How long did it take you to write the first draft of A Few Short Plays to Save the World?
I’ve been writing these plays for years (actually decades) so - it’s taken more than 20 years for these plays to emerge (one at a time).
4. Could you give us an interesting fun fact about A Few Short Plays to Save the World?
I brought on my friend Shawn Rene Graham, who is a very talented dramaturg (theater researcher and expert in text analysis) as my editor. I’ve known her since the 90s when I was in drama school at the American Repertory Theater Institute for Advanced Theater training at Harvard. Even though I love these plays, I relied on her to tell me what to include and in what order. I had to laugh as I gave her the stack of writing with the question “Is this any good??” She was tremendously supportive and gave me some great thoughts and direction about it. I cut some plays and rewrote others with her guidance.
5. What were the challenges of writing A Few Short Plays to Save the World?
The challenge was really about what to include and how to shape it. I was aware that just because I wanted this to hang together as a collection doesn’t mean it would. But she helped me see how things fit together. And provided sections for the plays (and context for the plays). I also needed to find an artist to do the cover of the book. Was so happy I got Alessandro Pautasso to do our stunning cover.
6. What do you want readers to remember about A Few Short Plays to Save the World?
Two things are key to me about the collection: 1) Short plays can be fun, entertaining, and powerful. 2) There’s a delightful combination of elements that make theater pop. We’ve seen so many stories, but there’s always a fun spin to be had by writing about people of color, LGBTQ folks and including characters of varying perspectives. And it helps, sometimes, when you add magic elements to the stories as well. These are plays that are accessible and dynamic.
7. What is your writing habit? How did you balance being an author, playwright and TV writer?
Having and maintaining balance is always on my mind. There’s no perfect combination. But I think of the whole practice of writing the way I think about eating. Some days I eat on the go (it’s fast and simple). Other days I’ll eat for hours (Thanksgiving for example). As long as there’s food coming into my body, I can sustain myself. I think the same with my writing. My goal is to show up consistently - and that may mean it looks different every day or every week, but I’m showing up and chipping away at the work. That makes all the difference. When I’m on a deadline I can crank things out. But more often I’m dropping in for significant, focused work, whether that’s hours of work or minutes of work.
8. Which play do you think will make a compelling film and which one do you think will make a compelling TV series?
So many of my plays are singular experiences. I don’t think very often about the idea that they can be transformed like that into another medium. Some of them are just moments in time that resonate as is, and wouldn’t necessarily be good films or TV series. But I have considered my play Iggie Imagines Marriage (about two best friends before a wedding - when suddenly time stops) and Abstract Purple (about a teenage runaway and the surrogate grandmother she meets - who is a painter losing her eyesight) to be pieces that might have some other life in a longer form.
9. Congrats on “A Few Short Plays to Save the World” winning the Independent Press Award, how did you find out that your book won the prize?
I got an email. I was delighted to hear. Part of the process of awards (always) is that someone has to submit you (or you submit yourself). So, I’d submitted the book and didn’t know what would happen. It was a terrific outcome. Very gratifying.
10. Congrats on the success of the TV series “Tracker”, could you talk about how the book was discovered and why it was adapted?
My understanding is that Ken Olin (who was an actor on Thirtysomething years ago) and was the producing director on This Is Us with Justin Hartley found the book and talked with Justin about turning it into a TV series. They made plans to do this before that show ended and once the series wrapped, they found Ben H. Winters, who wrote the pilot (a terrific script) and then shopped it around. The show (which was originally called The Never Game after the first book in the Colter Shaw series of books, was renamed TRACKER by CBS and Twentieth Century Fox TV.
11. Have you met the author Jeffery Deaver and if so, how was the experience?
I haven’t met Jeffrey Deaver. He didn’t come by the writers room. He allowed the show to use ideas from the first book in the series. And his process (with TV) is essentially hands off - as I understand it.
12. If you have met Justin Harley, could you give three adjectives to describe him?
I worked with Justin when I was on set for the show - and he came to the writers room. He’s a really nice guy. Playful. Focused. Wants to make good TV. And he knows what he wants. There’s always a moment on a TV show where you have to make some quick decisions. Justin is collaborative and also has a clear point of view. He’s been in the business a long time (been on soaps as well as in films and episodic TV). So there’s a wealth of expertise there. He’s a deep resource.
13. Have you ever considered making a cameo on the TV series “Tracker”?
Ha ha. Yeah, that’d be fun. And I would love it. But none of that is up to me.
14. You were an associate producer on Sesame Street, could you talk about your experience and what was your job description?
I was an associate producer at Sesame Workshop (which is the company that produces Sesame Street). I did not work on the TV show. I was at the company for two years and worked on home video projects (including Zoe’s Dance Moves and Sesame Sings Karaoke) as well as audio projects. We developed a pilot for an NPR show for kids. (The show didn’t go to series.) We also helped produce an album of Sesame Street songs. My job was to help create and produce material for audio and home video and work with other producers to bring those projects to life. The most fun was working on the home video stuff and getting to meet some of the amazing puppeteers who did the muppets. (Fran Brill who does Zoe and John Tartaglia (who became a Tony Nominee for Avenue Q and Kevin Clash who was Elmo were all fun to be around). And I got to meet and work with Paula Abdul.
15. How did you make the leap from an associate producer to TV producer for the TV Series "God Friended me"?
It took years to go from one to the other. I was still working and living in NY when I was doing stuff for Sesame Workshop as an associate producer. One of the big changes in my life came with getting into playwriting school at Juilliard. I was there for two years learning from the amazing team of Marsha Norman and the late Chris Durang. Some time after that I got an agent and started meeting on TV projects (flying back and forth to L.A. for meetings). In 2010 I moved to L.A. and got my first TV writing job in 2012. God Friended me was my third TV writing job (after Covert Affairs and American Crime). It was a step-by-step journey of learning, meeting people, and writing new stuff that got me there.
16. What was your favorite book when you were a kid? Do you have a favorite book now?
As a kid I read a lot. I don’t know if I had a favorite book, but I was a fan of Encyclopedia Brown, The Hardy Boys and the Judy Blume books. My parents are retired teachers and they instilled the desire to read in me. Today I’m much more interested in books about process and organization. I love the book Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman - which talks about prioritizing and recognizing that we can’t do everything in our time here on earth.
17. In your bio, it mentioned that your mother was a Stephen King fan. What was her favorite Stephen King book and did you have a favorite Stephen King book?
My mother loved so many Stephen King books: I remember her reading parts of The Stand to me and she loved The Shining and Salem’s Lot. I think Stephen King’s book On Writing is pretty amazing. That’s likely my favorite. (I recommend the audio book version where he reads it to you.)
18. What book (or movie) had the most influence in your life and your career?
There are a handful of books that I love: Eric Maisel’s Coaching The Artist Within is one of my go-tos. Eric was a teacher of mine when I was studying to be a creativity coach. He’s got such juicy material about coaching yourself and coaching others. I also love The Artists Way (great exercises around balance and groundedness in the life of an artist). I’m working on a book of my own that I hope will capture this kind of energy and a particular methodology for TV writers.
19. If you had your own talk show, which TV series stars would you have as a guest (besides the one you worked on)/ (also, dead or alive)?
I’d love to interview writers more than TV series stars. Would dig having conversations with Shonda Rhimes and Robert and Michelle King. I’m also a huge fan of Cheiwetel Ejiofor (who was brilliant in The Man Who Fell to Earth) and Rafe Spall (who is hysterical in Trying).
20. Last question, if you were to write a script for a movie, what genre would you like to tackle?
Though I’ve not done it yet, I’d be interested in writing a romantic comedy with magical undertones. Now you’ve got me thinking…
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