By Boston Podcast Players
The podcast currently has 30 episodes available.
Hi everyone out there in isolation! This is an emergency season of the podcast. Everyone's lives have been disrupted by Covid19, including playwrights, and we want to check in to see how people are coping. We extended the offer to the Boston playwriting community to record yourself and another theatremaker checking in with one another and send it to us at [email protected] and we'd put it on the podcast, which would otherwise be idle. We have our first two takers!
MJ Halberstadt talking with Caity-Shea Violette
Manuel Lopez talking with Charmaine Santiago Galdón
Listen in on their convos. If you want to join in, please do so. Stay safe! Support local playwrights, now more than ever!
The final (yes, final) playwright of Season 2 is Kira Rockwell, a Texas native who has come to our fair city and is thriving, with more awards in the past year than you can shake a stick at. She casts her empathetic eye towards girls living in the Texas foster care system in The Tragic Ecstasy of Girlhood. Stay tuned to the very end for an important announcement about the podcast!
Mentioned: Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Fresh Ink Theatre, The Winchester Mystery House, Paula Vogel
Co-Host
Pascale Florestal
Cast
Charlie was played by Tatiana Chavez
Izzy was played by Tatiana Gill
Mercy was played by Tonasia Jones
Audi was played by Stephanie Castillo
Amber was played by Olivia Cote
Stage Directions read by Pascale Florestal
This week we lead a band of intrepid adventurers on an expedition to make a fictional podcast series about a roleplaying group. Roll for initiative and may the D20 be with you. Brandon Crose is a playwright with +2 Charisma who is drawn to making making ambitious multimedia projects such as his acclaimed roleplaying podseries The Ordinary Epic. He joins us to talk audio drama, 31 plays in 31 days, roleplaying games similar to but legally distinct from Dungeons and Dragons, podcasts, Welcome to Night Vale., and a possible/probable Season 2 that you, yes YOU, can help make happen.
Mentioned: The Ordinary Epic Podcast, Second Shift Podcast, 31 plays in 31 days, The Ordinary Epic Patreon Campaign, One Minute Play Festival
Note: The local writer of a serialized series of plays whose name I couldn’t remember is Pheobe Roberts with her Mrs. Hawking Steampunk Mystery Caper series.
Co-Host
John Minigan
Cast
Emo & Thack were played by Rachel Belleman
Athena were played by Caitlin Gjerdrum (pronounced JARE-drum)
Marcus & Benedict were played by Brandon G. Green
Daniel & Merrick were played by Michael Hisamoto
Dominic & Caelus were played by Eliott Purcell
Production
Jordan Stillman was the Executive Producer
Brad Smith was the Technical Producer
Sound Design by Matthew Lightbound
Music by Tiven Weinstock and Bradley Jordan
Directed by Stephanie LeBolt
Audrey Pillsbury is a recent graduate of MIT, that well-known theatre school. In college she wrote and produced Jade Bracelet, a musical about two daughters growing up with their Chinese mom. Along with co-host Howard Zilber of the Open Theatre Project, we talk to Audrey about representation, musicals, webseries, and the minimum science requirements for technology schools.
Mentioned: Open Theatre Project, Asian-American Playwright Collective, MIT Theater, Killing Eve, 10 Things I Hate About You
Co-Host
Howard Zilber
Cast
Mei was played by Christina Chan
Amy was played by Karla Lang
Jaden was played by Kim Klasner
Chris Russell was played by Michael Mandanas
Directed by Mikey DiLoreto
The singing voice of Jaden was J.L.Y.
The singing voice of Amy was July
The singing voice of Chris was Mikey Angelo
The Sound Engineer was Louis Ng of Lenson Productions
Songs Produced by Herbert Waltl of HYPERIUM Conservatory
MJ Halberstadt's new play Deal Me Out will be part of Boston Playwrights' Theatre's 2019-20 season. It's the story of a longtime standing board game group falling apart due to internal dislikes coming to a head in the aftermath of the 2016 elections. Co-host Ethan Warren joins us as MJ talks about site specific plays, knitting, the crucial different between a comma and a semicolon, Ranked Choice Voting, and board games. Lots of board games.
Mentioned: Boston Playwrights' Theatre, Emerson College, Museum of Fine Arts, Unity Games, Ranked Choice Voting
Co-Host
Ethan Warren
Cast
Dez - Jon Vellante
Oberon - Joe Ruscio
Cleo - Chelsea Ruscio
Agatha - Kim Klasner
Kay - Ella Mock
Lucien - Maurice Palmer
Stage Directions read by Pascale Florestal
The latest episode features first time playwright Sophia Koevary, a writer/actress/model/comedian whose play Dropout draws the portrait of a woman who joined the military after her mother dies, but returns home to a small Massachusetts town unexpectedly. With guest co-host director Sierra Grabowska, we talk to Sophia about military regulations, flying, modeling, theatre in Israel, and more.
Mentioned: TCSquared, U.S. Army, Shit Faced Shakespeare, South Shore Playwright Showcase
Co-Host
Sierra Grabowska
Cast
And we are BACK to our usual format, highlighting one local playwright per episode. This month's featured playwright is Liana Asim, who has put together an epic opera along with her husband Jabari and a few musical collaborators about the life of the slave rebellion leader Nat Turner. BROTHER NAT: RISE. REVOLT. REDEMPTION. had a concert performance last October, which is where the gorgeous excerpt in the episode came from. The piece will be performed again this month at the New York Musical Festival, July 15 & 17. IMPORTANT! You can learn more and support this endeavor by donating here: www.nymf.org/festival/2019-events/brother-nat/
Guest co-host Laura Neill and I talk with Liana about digging through history for inspiration, putting together musicals, and getting a late start on playwriting.
Mentioned: New York Musical Festival, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, The Boston Foundation, Emerson College
Co-Host
Laura Neill
Cast
It’s Part 2 of this conversation about the business of playwriting featuring four early career playwrights (David Fristrom, Jackie Martin, James Wilkinson, and Sharisse Zeeronian) and three theatre experts (Company One’s Ilana Brownstein, playwright Patrick Gabridge, and Boston Playwrights’ Theatre’s Kate Snodgrass). In this episode, we ask the experts to each impart one key lesson to our early career playwrights, something they don’t know or have not considered. We talk about the long game of theatre, representing the world around you, and fostering a personal playwriting network.
We then go and talk about some key decisions a playwright might make in the formative stages of their careers. And also, we unveil the Boston playwrights’ resource cheat sheet I created to aid local playwrights, featuring opportunities, groups, and useful information that playwrights should know.
Guys, these episodes are something I’ve been very proud to produce. I hope this helps someone out there in some way. If you’d like to support this podcast and its future endeavors, I’ve compiled a list of 17 ways you can help out the podcast. Some of which are as simple as hitting “Like” on Facebook. Of course there’s our Patreon page too if you’re really feeling generous…
Mentioned: Company One, Boston Theatre Marathon, Boston Playwrights Theatre, New Play Exchange, Rabbit Reviews Boston, Boston Playwrights Resource Cheat Sheet, Fresh Ink Theatre, Trek in the Park, New Play Alliance
The Playwrights
David Fristrom
Jackie Martin
James Wilkinson
Sharisse Zeroonian
The Panel
Ilana Brownstein, Company One
Patrick Gabridge, Playwright
Kate Snodgrass, Boston Playwrights Theatre
In Season 1 of this podcast, I interviewed a group of playwrights who would be deemed “early career”. None of us had extensive work mounted on professional stages. In Season 2, I’ve been interviewing more established playwrights, and that’s been great. But, I wanted to remember the plight of the early career playwright, those who have not learned yet how to place their work into the hands of theatres and are confused as to what they need to do to further their careers.
In this episode, I’ve assembled four self-identifying early career playwrights, Jackie Martin, David Fristrom, James Wilkinson, and Sharisse Zeeronian. I’ve had each of them come prepared to ask the one burning question they have about the business of playwriting. To help answer them, I’ve assemble a panel of experts: Ilana Brownstein of Company One, playwright Patrick Gabridge, and Boston Playwrights Theatre’s Kate Snodgrass. The conversation that ensues I hope will be a valuable resource to playwrights of all experience levels. It contains much of the information that I wish I had 15 years ago. Part 1 of 2.
Mentioned: Company One, Boston Theatre Marathon, Boston Playwrights Theatre, New Play Exchange, Rabbit Reviews Boston, Exiled Theatre, Playwright Marketing Binge, Play Submission Helper
The Playwrights
David Fristrom
Jackie Martin
James Wilkinson
Sharisse Zeroonian
The Panel
Ilana Brownstein, Company One
Patrick Gabridge, Playwright
Kate Snodgrass, Boston Playwrights Theatre
Readers
Rachel Belleman
Melissa Bergstrom
Christina Chan
Austyn Davis
Greg Hovanesian
Patrick Gabridge is Boston’s new play scene’s Mr. Everything. From penning commissioned site specific work in historical sites, to being the New England region’s Dramatists Guild rep, to creating the Playwrights Marketing Binge email list, Patrick is juggling a lot of balls at once. It’s fitting that his play Mox Nox is about sleight of hand. It’s a sci-fi blended family drama with stage magic in its origin.
Guest co-host Courtney O’Connor, Associate Artistic Director of the Lyric Stage, joins us to talk to about, well, everything. Commissioned work, career arcs, site specific work, fostering relationships, the long game of playwriting, the new play ecosystem, and the need for fringe productions to court disaster and go for broke.
This episode is a LOT. Be here for it.
If you want to see Patrick’s work, check out The Nature Plays at Mt. Auburn Cemetery on June 1-9
Mentioned: Lyric Stage, Dramatists Guild, New Play Exchange, Playwright Marketing Binge, Brown Box Theatre, Evan Northrup, Plays in Place, Martha Patterson
Co-Host
Courtney O’Connor
Cast
Mira – Marge Dunn
Pike – Cam Torres
DeeDee – Becca A. Lewis
Amanda – Austyn Davis
Stage Directions – Courtney O’Connor
The podcast currently has 30 episodes available.