UT Austin's Harry Ransom Center Theatre 2020 Collection

Shortly after theatre (and the world) came to a screeching halt in 2020, The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin undertook a project to document this particular moment in time. As they desribe on their website:

“The global closure of theatres due to the COVID-19 pandemic is without precedent in modern times. This also has been a year of reckoning with longstanding racial injustices highlighted by movements like Black Lives Matter and #WeSeeYouWAT. Theatres are closing permanently. Others are reimagining how they safely engage with audiences. Countless theatre professionals have found themselves suddenly unemployed.

The theatre industry is already radically different than it was at the beginning of 2020, and historians looking back at this moment will want to understand the many ways it has changed. The Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin, a major research center for the study of the history of theatre and performance, has launched a new collecting initiative aiming to document this moment.”

At the time I was creating my own archive of the moment by reaching out to playwrights through my podcast, The Subtext. I was collecting their stories and memorializing plays that had been canceled due to the pandemic (one of them being my own Welcome to Keene, NH). When I saw the Harry Ransom Center’s call for contributions, I reached out to contribute my podcast episodes.

Later I participated in their oral history series alongside many other playwrights and folks associated with the theater. Eric Colleary, Curator of Theatre & Performing Arts for The Harry Ransom Center, and I spoke over zoom for an hour about the abrupt change to our lives.

Eric Colleary and The Harry Ransom Center have done a great service for future researchers investigating this time in history and how it impacted theatre makers throughout the United States.

Door Kinetic Arts Festival

I have been invited to be an artist-in-residence at the 2022 Door Kinetic Arts Festival, held annually in Door County, WI. The Door Kinetic Arts Festival is Eric Simonson’s brainchild, offering performing artists the opportunity to come together, collaborate, develop projects, present work and exchange ideas in the process of developing new work in the exceptionally beautiful and serene atmosphere maintained at Björklunden.

The week-long festival provides Door County residents and visitors a peek at the creative process through film screenings, staged readings, performed works in progress, workshops, and carefully curated cocktails.

I will be workshopping and presenting my play “The Patient” while in residence. I’m very excited to jump back into this play that is close to my hear, and as yet fully produced.

Synopsis: Henry suffers a head trauma causing him to lose the ability to create new memories. Maria, his wife, and Patrick, his doctor, become entwined as they both struggle to balance their own lives with the life of a man stuck in one perpetual moment. At a time when Patrick becomes frustrated by the lack of progress in his work, Maria convinces him to allow Henry to play piano. When music reenters their lives everything seems to change for the better, until they learn what is lost may never return.

The festival takes place from September 19-22. The presentation of “The Patient” will be September 21st at 7:30pm.

Broken Nose Theatre's BECHDEL FEST 9

I’m excited to share this new play I wrote for Broken Nose Theatre’s 9th Annual Bechdel Festival.

The festival runs from August 28th-31st at The Den Theatre in Chicago. All tickets are pay-what-you-can and can be reserved at BrokenNoseTheatre.com.

The Ergonomic Perfection of the Rotary Phone is directed by Lizzie Lovelady and features performances by Kim Boler and Michael-Ellen Walden with Dramaturgy from David Weiss.

Synopsis: Due to her schizophrenic episodes, and a family ill-equipped to give her the care she needs, Cary was institutionalized several months ago. Bree has come to visit for the first time and is hopeful Cary will be well enough to leave the hospital, and will accept hospitalization was the only solution for the family. Cary, however, has a lot more on her mind and Bree’s arrival only reinforces fears that everyone is against her. As the siblings speak together it becomes clear neither will get what they want and their relationship may never return to what it used to be.

The Subtext Podcast: Voices for Ukraine

I felt like I couldn't do nothing about this war in Ukraine so I used what little resources and platform I have and created this episode of The Subtext Podcast sharing messages from theatre artists from the US, UK, Poland, Lithuania, & Ukraine. Please listen to this special episode and share with your networks.

When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th I immediately thought of the Ukrainian theatre artists I had the good fortune to meet over the years I wanted to do something to help. Prompted by Peter Cant, a theatre artist I met in Poland several years ago, I decided to collect messages from people directly impacted by the crisis and others connected to Ukraine in various ways. The result is this special episode of The Subtext Podcast sharing their voices and ways in which we can all help.

Thank you for your messages Beniamin Bukowski, Abbey Fenbert, Dominika Laster, Charlie Merriman, Kristina Marija Kulinič, Peter Cant, and Julia Gonchar. Special thanks to Juli Hendren for connecting with Mariana Sadovska, which led to the contribution of her beautiful and powerful music in this episode.

Recording The Subtext Podcast Live In Front Of An Audience

On March 5th at 4pm we are recording an episode of The Subtext Podcast live in front of an audience for the first time ever at Forward Theater in Madison, WI.

This is an event a long time coming and I’m incredibly excited to talk to author Quan Barry about her life as a writer and her play The Mytilenean Debate, which is being produced by Forward Theater at the Overture Center 201 STATE ST. MADISON, WI.

This event is free an open to the public so if you’re in the Madison area, come see an episode of The Subtext for yourself.

About Amy Quan Barry:

Born in Saigon and raised on Boston’s north shore, Amy Quan Barry is the Lorraine Hansberry Professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where, in addition to receiving the Vilas, Romnes, Kellett, and WARF research awards, she has also directed both the MFA Program in Creative Writing and the Wisconsin Institute of Creative Writing. Barry is the author of six books of fiction and poetry, including the recent novel We Ride Upon Sticks, which O: Oprah Magazine describes as, “Spellbinding, wickedly fun.” The New York Times described her previous work, She Weeps Each Time You’re Born, as “deeply affecting.” Her third novel, When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East, follows a group of Buddhist monks as they search for a reincarnation in the vast Mongolian landscape; When I’m Gone will be published in spring 2022 by Knopf-Pantheon.

In 2012, Barry was commissioned to write a ten-minute piece for Book Wings, an arts exchange established by President Obama and then President Dmitry Medvedev and funded by the Bureau of Cultural and Educational Affairs at the U.S. State Department. “Three Variations on a Theme” was performed and broadcast simultaneously at the University of Iowa and the Moscow Art Theatre, the same space where Chekov premiered much of his work. That same year she traveled under the aegis of the US State Department as a cultural ambassador to Southeast Asia. Barry is also one of a select group of writers to receive NEA fellowships in both poetry and fiction. In 2021, she was awarded the American Library Association’s Alex Award. Currently Barry is serving as the first ever Forward Theater Writer-in-Residence. Her first play production, The Mytilenean Debate, will be staged in spring 2022.

I Survived Theatre School Podcast

I was recently interviewed on the “I Survived Theatre School” podcast, which focuses mainly on… yeah that’s right experiences attending theatre school. We talked about what drove me into the theatre and the roundabout path I followed before finally attending theatre (grad) school in my late 30s.

This is a great conversation with Gina and Jen, two excellent actors/writers/creators/survivors of theatre school.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, or wherever podcasts can be… podcasted.

Hey Playwright Podcast

I had the honor of being invited on the Hey Playwright podcast to talk about my play "Here Rests the Heart." During this hour-long conversation I discuss how the play was inspired by my visits to Poland over the years, including meeting a distant cousin who lived in Warsaw and found me while she conducted genealogy research on our family.

It's a great conversation if you're interested in creative process, playwriting, or what the inside of my apartment looks like:

Button Poetry Editor's Choice Runner-Up

I recently wrote a play titled Welcome to Keene, NH. During the first year of the pandemic, when I was hungry to find creative projects to keep me engaged and my mind occupied, I pulled a monologue from this play and filmed it with many amazing actors from Chicago. It was a great process to connect with these actors and create something I was proud of. Nearly a year later I saw Button Poetry’s call for spoken word videos and I submitted it to them because, as they say, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

I found out just last week that my piece, titled Make America Great, was chosen as a finalist for their 2021 video contest. And days later they announced it was runner-up for Editor’s Choice.

I’m thrilled by this honor and hope Button Poetry releases my video so all can see it. I will update this space with a link if they do.

Publication Announcement: The Smoking Room Published in Canyon Voices Issue 23

My short play “The Smoking Room” was recently published in Issue 23 of Canyon Voices, an Arizona State University publication that includes poetry, drama, fiction, non fiction, and artwork.

This issue is a fantastic collection of excellent work. You can view the journal online at this link.

Click here to purchase a paper copy.

Interview: Beckett's Babies Podcast

I had the great honor of being the guest for the 100th episode of Beckett's Babies podcast. Hosts Sarah and Sam ask me one question and I essentially talk nonstop for 60 straight minutes about how my high school friend made me want to be funny and perform, and how my junior high school teacher praised my first attempt at writing poetry, and the way these two things lead to me eventually becoming a performer and a writer.

I also talk about defining success as a meal, and how playwright and playwriting teacher Gary Garrison was responsible for me identifying as a playwright.

It's a great chat if you don't hate the sound of my voice. Give a listen at this link!