Cris Eli Blak is an emerging proud Black playwright and screenwriter whose work has been performed and produced around the world, from Off-Broadway; across the United States; on university stages; as well as in London, Australia, Ireland, and Canada. He is the winner of the first Black Broadway Men Playwriting Intiative, the winner of the 2024 Charles M. Getchell New Play Award, and the first place winner of Atlanta Shakespeare Company's inaugural Muse of Fire BIPOC Playwriting Fesitval. His sho...
Jul 01, 2025•36 min•Ep. 193
Our guests are playwright Laura Shamas and multidisciplinary artist Harriette Feliz, who are here to talk about Laura's play “Four Women in Red” which recently finished a run at the Victory Theatre in Burbank, CA. Harriette is one of the four cast members. “Four Women in Red” addresses the ongoing epidemic of violence against Native American women. Some of the material in this podcast may be unsettling to some audience members. "Four Women in Red" review Dept. of Interior - Missing and Murdered ...
Jun 01, 2025•50 min•Ep. 192
Philip Middleton WIlliams has been produced around the world and published in many anthologies and seven of his plays by Next Stage Press. He has an MFA in playwriting from the University of Minnesota and a PhD in playwriting and dramatic criticism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He also serves on the national advisory board of the William Inge Theatre Festival and the board of directors of the Midwest Dramatists Center. Philip's website / Facebook / New Play Exchange...
May 01, 2025•59 min•Ep. 190
This month's guests are Diane Quinn and Bill Fuller, co-founders and driving force behind Unseen Theatre, an audio podcast showcasing (unproduced), original plays, featuring---something very much after my own heart---strong female protagonists, performed by SAG-AFTRA actors. Diane is Artistic Director/Co-Producer, and also has been an actor and playwright for Unseen Theatre, (and is additionally the podcast's marketing director). Bill, her Co-Producer, audio engineers every sonic second, compose...
Apr 01, 2025•35 min•Ep. 191
Svetlana Arestova is a literary translator and professor of translation at HSE University in Moscow, Russia. Her list of accomplishments is extensive, including translations of books by Andrew Sean Greer, Daniel Mason and Elizabeth Strout. We talk about the intricacies of translating not just words, but intent, meaning, and finding ways to make the differences of two linguistic cultures meet, especially for rthe genre of theatre, where the words—or is it the story?--are paramount. Find her on Fa...
Mar 01, 2025•28 min•Ep. 187
Scott is an LGBTQ/neurodivergent/biracial Korean American writer. He has received five consecutive Writers Guild of America Awards for the daytime serial General Hospital, and numerous Emmy Award nominations. For over thirty years, his plays have been performed in New York City, his native Pittsburgh, across the United States, as well as internationally in Canada, Australia, the UK, Hungary, Singapore, Indonesia, Lebanon, and Dubai. His "Second World Trilogy," a speculative alt-history political...
Feb 01, 2025•52 min•Ep. 188
Gene Kato is the mastermind behind Next Stage Press, an online boutique publishing house that has grown exponentially over the past few years. Gene has singlehandedly created a showroom for hundreds of playwrights to market their creative opuses. A lively, fun interview with lots to talk about! NPX / X / Facebook / Genekato.com #genekato #publishing #playwriting #theatre #nextstagepress...
Jan 01, 2025•40 min•Ep. 183
Donald Loftus is a playwright/lyricist whose work has been performed around the globe and is one of the masterminds behind the online play reading group New York Pages. He's has written the book and lyrics to several musicals (Abbey Victoria, Pollyanna, ‘Round Duffy Square, and Illusion), and his one-acts have been presented in over 100 play festivals around the country. Donald's play “Joey” is the last of our 2024 Missing Home series. DonaldLoftus.com / New Play Exchange Facebook / Playwright's...
Dec 01, 2024•40 min•Ep. 185
JB Alexander is a playwright, an actor, and sometimes he directs. This month we present his exceptional play “Melting the Ice,” a face-off between an ICE officer and a lawyer who won't take no for an answer. This is the third in our 2024 "Missing Home” series. #jbalexander #playwriting #theatre #ice #detention #separatedfamily #refugees #immigration
Nov 01, 2024•36 min•Ep. 184
Danny's on the run and hiding out from a guy who should never have been crossed. Good thing he's got his best friend Charlie with him. Featuring Sean Kimber as Danny and George Sapio as Charlie. Plus, we have a very down-to-Earth talk with the playwright, Raymond Alvin. Come join us! Raymond's Facebook page
Oct 15, 2024•24 min•Ep. 186
Mark is well known throughout the theatre world, having had over 2100 productions of his short plays everywhere from Bangalore to Bucharest and from Seoul to Sao Paulo. His plays have won over 45 awards, been produced in more than ten languages and have been published in over two dozen anthologies. His comedy “Shakespeare Lives!” is one of our two selections for our scary-themed October slots. #markharveylevine #shakespeare #williamshakespeare #playwriting #shakespearelives MarkHarveyLevine.com ...
Oct 01, 2024•30 min•Ep. 185
Gregg T. Daniel is an actor, director, and educator who is currently midway through the mammoth journey of directing all of August Wilson's American Century Cycle, ten plays that reflect the African-American experience in the United States. This October he'll present Wilson's Pulitzer prize winning “The Piano Lesson.” We also chat about his extensive 30+ year career on stage, television, movies, and teaching at USC. IMDB | Facebook | Lower Depth Theatre Co. | Instagram | Wikipedia...
Sep 01, 2024•38 min•Ep. 181
#180! "Silver Linings" is the next play in our 2024 "Missing Home" series. Alicia Ana Hernandez-Roulet is the playwright and we have a marvelous conversation with her about the play, her work, the importance of family, and (of course) chicharrones! Alicia's NPX page
Aug 01, 2024•29 min•Ep. 180
Chloe Riederich is a playwright, director, and theatre practitioner, whose play "Decisions, Decisions," a sensitive, humorous comedy, is the first of our 2024 "Missing Home" plays. Catch our production and a way-fun interview with Chloe themselves! Chloe's Homepage | Facebook
Jul 01, 2024•31 min•Ep. 179
Isaiah St. Cyr, Enoch Chapman, and Montana Miller are three of the members of the Native American theatre company Natives of the Apocalypse. In the summer of 2023, this Santa Fe troupe produced an indigenized version of Lyle Kessler's "Orphans." Being one of the very few Native American theatre groups in the U.S., NOTA now embarks on a five-year plan to not only bring theatre to native Americans but enable more indigenous folks to embrace theatre as a way of preserving their heritages through st...
Jun 01, 2024•45 min•Season 11Ep. 178
Lily is a theatre critic for the San Francisco Chronicle. I came across an article she wrote back in October of 2023 entitled “What responsibility do critics bear when a theater company closes?” I was struck that anyone, let alone a theatre critic, would voice that out loud. But it's a legitimate question, especially after Covid-19 ravaged the theatre scene worldwide.
May 01, 2024•38 min•Season 11Ep. 177
Florida-based playwrights/actors/producers of the challenging hit play, "Dissonance," which begs the question, "Can a Black woman and a White woman--who have been friends for 20 years--have an honest, open conversation about race?" #theatre,#race,#friendship,#privilege,#dissonance, #equality, #blacklivesmatter, #racism, #whitefragility, #thisisamerica, #systemicracism, #blm, #america, #socialjustice Dissonance The Play
Apr 01, 2024•37 min•Ep. 176
Dionne Lea is a Broadway World award nominated actor, singer, producer. She does improv, variety shows, theater, commercials, television, voice-over, film and is currently bringing her show "The Way It Is...Now," an evening of stories and musical numbers, around the united states to enthusiastic audiences. We have a great chat about so many different things--come tune us in! IMDB | Dionne Lea | Podcast: The Way I Am Now...
Mar 01, 2024•35 min•Ep. 175
Ekaterina Wagner is a playwright, art critic, and editor based in Moscow, Russia. Her articles appeared in Robb Report, ELLE and other media outlets in Russia, Ukraine, and India. She worked as an editor and deputy editor-in-chief of several international publications in Russia, including ELLE Decoration, Harper’s Bazaar Art, and The Art Newspaper. She is currently a deputy editor-in-chief of Art Focus Now, an English-language website on contemporary art in Russia and its neighboring countries....
Feb 01, 2024•45 min•Ep. 174
Welcome to 2024! Jan Carpman and Mary Ann Nichols Hubbard are the movers and shakers behind Playzoomers, an online theatre company founded in 2020. They present 20 live online plays per year on Zoom - from full-length plays to multiple short plays – featuring professional theatre artists. As of this broadcast they will have produced and aired over 100 plays. Playzoomers | Instagram
Jan 01, 2024•50 min•Ep. 173
Anne is a true gift to the theatre community. Since 2015 she's run The Depot, a production company featuring Zoom play readings. We talk about teaching, her life in theatre, her writing, and the Coast Guard! https://www.thedepot.space #theatre #drama #teaching #writer #thedepot #coastguard #zoom
Dec 01, 2023•58 min•Ep. 172
Kelly is a playwright whose work explores various cultures and belief systems. Her full-length plays are about, as she says, women and events you’ve likely never heard of. She goes on to say that she's lived in a few different places, and enjoys getting to know a place through its often obscure history. She has at least one play for every region she's lived in. New Play Exchange | Facebook...
Nov 01, 2023•40 min•Ep. 171
This month our guest is Michael Burgan, a playwright, novelist, and professional writer with over 250 published books. (We will explain that impressive number!) His short play, "Nothing to Declare," is our October '23 play selection. And we talk with Michael about his other work, including textbooks and “Celebrating Survival,” an evening of staged readings of short plays about cancer, benefitting the Cancer Foundation for New Mexico.
Oct 01, 2023•34 min•Ep. 170
In the waiting room of a DNA testing laboratory, Oliver and Larry meet to hear results of their DNA tests. Plus an interview with Christine Benvenuto.
Sep 01, 2023•40 min•Ep. 169
is a playwright and junior in high school from Houston, Texas. I had the privilege of reading her play Tell Us Your Story (A Tale of Family Lost and Found) not long ago. Tell Us Your Story describes what it's like for one young woman when she discovers that her birth mother has been looking for her. Sophie is also a theatre enthusiast and has been learning all of what it takes to make the magic happen.
Aug 01, 2023•27 min•Ep. 168
FJ Hartland is a playwright, director, and professional actor whose plays have won awards too numerous to mention. His play "For the Record," the next selection in our 2023 theme of Exploration, is a story of two people finding a way to connect and reach an understanding. Join us for a great conversation after the play!
Jul 01, 2023•33 min•Ep. 167
Playwright / reading. When is a gift worth twice as much? When it includes your partner and helps you conquer a phobia. Facebook / Twitter / Unborn Children of America / Heuer Publications
Jun 01, 2023•29 min•Ep. 166
Midge Guerrera is a playwright, blogger, travel consultant, memoirist, university education planner, arts management/public relations and much more. Our talk this month is chock full of stories, anecdotes, and inspiration. midgeguerrera.com / New Play Exchange / Facebook / Cars, Castles, Cows, and Chaos / Nonna's Mulberry Tree...
May 27, 2023•52 min•Season 1Ep. 165
Playwright, public defender. Claude Jackson's play “Cashed Out” recently had its world premiere at the San Francisco Playhouse. The play deals with Rocky, a mother and an accountant, who has a gambling addiction. Gila River Indian Community / BroadwayWorld article...
Apr 01, 2023•49 min•Season 1Ep. 164
Playwright, producer, novelist. Patrick Gabridge is a busy man; he writes site-specific plays, historical novels, and runs the PlaywrightBinge, an online group for playwrights to share information and support. Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / New Play Exchange / Plays in Place...
Mar 01, 2023•45 min•Season 1Ep. 163
