August 19, 2025

The Musicality of Dialogue, the Magic of Writing, the Doorway Effect, and the Trick of Eliminating Parenthiticals - Playwright's Spotlight with Lawrence Connolly

1 hour 14 minutes

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Playwright. Screenplay Writer, and Novelist Lawrence C. Connolly streamed into Playwright's Spotlight and, as always, we touched base on many topics not covered in previous episodes. It never ceases to amaze me. In this discussion, we delve into adapting a novel and the allegory of Frankenstein, staging multiple locations on stage, the process of outlining a five-act play, approaching cross-talk amongst multiple characters, and the musicality of dialogue. We also we unpack flow state. the magic writing, staging and graphics on the stage as well as letting dialogue drive the dialogue and how to eliminate parentheticals. We wrap with the evolution of his writing career, the Doorway Effect, the Pittsburgh Market, and his approach of lighting and sound on the page. It's just another insightful episode where you'll walk away with more playwriting knowledge. Enjoy!

Lawrence Connolly is a novelist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a writer on the podcast Mystery Theatre by Prime Stage Theatre which premiered his adaptation of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein, and he was recently commissioned a play based on the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe, opens in November 2025 at Pittsburgh’s New Hazelett Theatre.

To watch the video format of this episode, visit - https://youtu.be/cjzOiW27laA

Resources mentioned in this episode -

Pittsburgh Public Theater -
https://ppt.org

Websites and Socials for Lawrence Connolly -
https://lawrencecconnolly.com

FB - https://www.facebook.com/LawrenceCConnolly
IG - @lawrence_c_connolly

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 LACPFest - www.lacpfest.com