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Fan, Follower, and Fellow Playwright Travis Williams, dropped into the Playwright's Spotlight after a random and serendipitous meetup in public. In this conversation, we discuss his origin into playwriting and the possibilities of being a "living" playwright and a playwright's success, his lessons from living in Chicago and learning the order of character, narrative, and theme, and playing with timelines. We also delve into directing and performing your own work as well as active and practical sets and props, the evolution of his play To Each Their Own while in Chicago and the accessibility of the Windy City's market. We compare the midwest market to L.A., the influence of Stephen King on Travis' writing and the horror genre, the secrets of suspense in playwriting, keeping stasis, and using language to heighten suspense. We wrap things up stage directions in the horror genre, the implementation of stage directions and foley in other mediums in the horror genre, the use of playwriting in other mediums, the recycling of devices, ensuring a good ending lands, and the secret of revisiting the first 25 pages. It's an encapsulating discussion that won't disappoint. Enjoy!

Travis Williams is a playwright, radio dramatist, screenwriter, and actor. He is a five time finalist and 2016 winner of WildClaw Theatre’s Deathscribe - The International Festival of Horror Radio Plays, with his plays The Wall, Strange Weather, Back in Baby's Arms, The Quake (2016 Winner), and Creatures of Circumstance. His play Chicago Collage was a winning script at Fire-Works: Gun Control Short Play Competition, through Manhattan Theatre Works. His commissioned piece: Circle Be Unbroken inspired by Mavis Staples, premiered in Theatre Seven of Chicago production Unwilling and Hostile Instruments.

Links to sites and resources mentioned in this episode -

Chicago Dramatists - https://www.chicagodramatists.org

Art Crush L.A. - https://www.artcrush.la

Strawdog Theatre Company - https://www.strawdog.org

Dayton Playhouse - https://www.daytonplayhouse.com

The Road Theatre Company - https://roadtheatre.org

Atwater Village Theatre - http://www.atwatervillagetheatre.org

WildClaw Theatre Company - http://www.wildclawtheatre.com

Gather by the Ghostlight - https://www.gatherbytheghostlight.com

Website and socials for Travis Williams -

www.traviswilliams.info

IG - @travisdmw

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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Send us a text

Playwright, pianist, and composer along with her collaborator Raymond O. Caldwell who is a director, producer, and artistic director of The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, stopped by the studio to discuss their latest project - Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience. While our conversation did have a few technical setbacks, we were able to get back on track about their budding relationship, Adrienne's personal and collaborative relationship with June, building the team that would encapsulate the life and poetry of June as well as her importance to society and her concept of the "rings of connection." We unpack the process of combining conflicting visions in collaboration, the importance of trust and sharing a vision, and centering on the work. We also discuss introducing new elements durning the last few weeks of rehearsal, the evolution of different iterations, surprise revelations, unconventional storytelling, creating a through line from unconnected sources, and the secret to smooth transitions. It's wonderful back-and-forth that becomes a little silly at the end, but the whole conversation is insightful and entertaining. Enjoy!

For tickets to Poetry for the People at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles from January 27th through March 29th, visit - https://www.fountaintheatre.com/events/poetry-for-the-people

Adrienne Torf, is a playwright, pianist, and composer. In 2022, Adrienne co-devised the theater piece Poetry for the People: The June Jordan Experience with Raymond O. Caldwell at Theater Alliance in Washington DC. The show was awarded the 2023 Helen Hayes Theater Washington Award for Outstanding New Play or Musical Adaptation and enjoyed a second run in 2024. It is slated to run at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles in early 2026.Also set for production in 2026 is For Women Serving Time, an extended poem/opera for which she composed the score, with text by Fatemeh Keshavarz, produced by IN Series Opera in Washington, DC. Her community-collaboration performance piece The Awesome Difficult Work of Love, which was produced in Madison WI (2008), San Francisco (2012) and Sedona, AZ (2022), and will be produced in Flint, MI in Spring, 2026.

Raymond O. Caldwell has written and adapted new works for Theater Alliance and the Kennedy Center, including Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks from the book by 2024 MacArthur recipient Jason Reynolds. Prior to joining the Fountain Theatre he was the artistic director at Theater Alliance for six seasons where he directed, developed, and produced. He expanded the company’s digital footprint during the pandemic, developing, directing, and producing new works from emerging local artists.

Links to sites and resources mentioned in this episode -

www.fountaintheatre.com

Socials for Adrienne Torf and Raymond O. Caldwell -

www.adriennetorf.com
IG - @adriennetorf
FB - https://www.facebook.com/adriennetorf

www.raymondocaldwell.com
IG - @raymondocaldwell
FB - https://www.facebook.com/raymondocaldwell

Websites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Production,s 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

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

Support the show

Send us a text

After an excruciating knee-tweak, Catherine Butterfield streamed into the Playwright's Spotlight being laid up on the couch. Proof that playwrights will go above and beyond, so we were unable to do the originally planned in-person interview. In this episode, we breakdown layering stories in the same location throughout different eras, when it's time to share and direct one's work, and "stumbling" upon commissions and opportunities. We also delve into New York being a musical theatre bastion, the effect of AI on creativity, receiving, achieving, and the benefits of awards, and seeking out competitions. We dive into major city and smaller markets, the pros and cons of Equity Theatre, never locking decisions down, multiple drafts and plot twists, and adjusting for casting. If there are layers in playwriting, there are definitely layers to this interview. Enjoy!

Catherine Butterfield is a playwright, screenwriter, and director. Her play Joined at the Head won the George E. Oppenheimer/New York Newsday Award for outstanding play by a first-time playwright. She has also received the Kennedy Center-American Express award for outstanding promise as a playwright; the Kaufman & Hart Award for best new American comedy for her play The Sleeper; and the Davie Award for best new play in regional theater for Life in the Trees. Her play Top of the World was a semi-finalist in the 2018 Eugene O'Neill playwriting competition and has been optioned for production in New York. Other plays include Electra, Revisited, include Life Expectancy, It Has to Be You, The Sleeper, Where the Truth Lies, Snowing at Delphi and Life in the Trees published by Dramatists Play Service, Samuel French and Playscripts, Inc.

Her play Brownstone opens January 24th and runs through February 28th at the Atwater Village Theater in Los Angeles, CA. For tickets, visit - https://openfisttheatre.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket#/events/calendar

Website and Socials for Catherine Butterfield -

www.catherinebutterfield.com

IG - @catherine.butterfield
FB - https://www.facebook.com/catherine.butterfield.129
Bluesky - @cbutterfield.bsky.social

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

Support the show