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Ankita Raturi basked under the Playwright's Spotlight for the World Premiere of her play Neha & Neel. In this discussion we break down the concept of applied theatre and being a teaching artist, how it effects character, exercises that extrude character and whether or not the practice makes it into a piece. We unpack earning a monologue, the first steps of playwriting, writing bi-lingually, dramaturgical playwriting, and the audience's experience. We also discuss finding directors for foreign language pieces, writing multiple characters for one actor, discovering "magic" in grad school, self producing, keeping notes, ego, and good ideas, and clear guidelines and the ethics of paying fees to have one's work read. Ankita is a force to be reckoned with that every playwright can learn from. Enjoy!

For tickets to Neha and Neel at LATC in Los Angeles through November 16th, visit - https://www.latinotheaterco.org/nehaandneel

Ankita Raturi is a currently Queens-based writer and teaching artist. She writes hyper-theatrical works in English, Hindi/Urdu, and sometimes Bahasa Indonesia about living between cultural identities and contending with the ongoing legacies of colonization. She is the 2024 Winner of the Los Angeles New Play Project Award, and 2022 Winner of the Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation’s Ollie Award. New play developments include Theater Mu, Playwrights’ Center, New York Theatre Workshop, Roundabout, Ma-Yi Theater Company, South Coast Repertory, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Playwrights Realm, and Berkshire Theatre Group, just to name a few. She is currently practicing applied theatre as an actor-teacher with CUNY’s Creative Arts Team. B.F.A. in Drama: NYU/Tisch. M.F.A. in Playwriting at UC San Diego.

To watch the video format of this episode, visit - https://youtu.be/T19LZUw4vC4

Links to sites and resources mentioned in this episode - 

New Play Project - https://lanpp.org

Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation - https://www.bretnpaulfoundation.org/

Theater Mu - https://www.theatermu.org

Playwrights' Center - https://pwcenter.org

New York Theatre Workshop - https://www.nytw.org/

Roundabout Theatre Company - https://www.roundabouttheatre.org

Ma-Yi Theater Company - https://ma-yitheatre.org/

South Coast Rep - https://www.scr.org

Ensemble Studio Theatre - https://www.ensemblestudiotheatre.org/

Playwrights Realm - https://www.playwrightsrealm.org/

Berkshire Theatre Group - https://www.berkshiretheatregroup.org/

Clubbed Thumb - https://www.clubbedthumb.org/

New Play Exchange - https://newplayexchange.org

Socials for Ankita Raturi - 

IG - @ankitawrites

Websites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions and Playwright's Spotlight

Punk Monkey Productions - 
www.punkmonkeyproductions.com

PLAY Noir -
www.playnoir.com

PLAY Noir Anthology –
www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.html

James Elden -
Twitter - @jameseldensauer
IG - @alakardrake
FB - fb.com/jameseldensauer


Punk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir - 
Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods
                  - @playnoirla 
IG - @punkmonkeyprods
       - @playnoir_la 

FB - fb.com/playnoir
        - fb.com/punkmonkeyproductions


Playwright's Spotlight -
Twitter - @wrightlightpod 
IG - @playwrights_spotlight


Playwriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festival
www.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.html

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