Zoom is the perfect architecture for this moment. It provides groups of individuals a suggestion of interaction but does so in a rather controlled way which demands of us a one-person-at-a-time approach to conversation. And, as I have pointed out before on this blog, because actual eye contact is not possible, it allows the communication between two individuals to begin and exist on a limited plane but never quite fully connect. In the Zoom interaction between two or more people, there's always a sense that what has transpired has been limited, limiting and lacks the full blossom of actual connection. Continue reading

Patrick Mulcahey, author of Ecce Mom (winner of the Silver Ear for long form monologues) Here's what Patrick had to say about the 2021 Festival Theme: Borders. Continue reading

For this reason alone playwrights and filmmakers would be making a grave mistake were we to simply eschew Zoom as an artistic venue out of some knee-jerk emotional (and partly rational too) desire to get as far away from anything we associate with life since March of 2020. Continue reading

Sitting on your hands and leaving the promotion to the professionals is not only naive it's also bad manners, not to mention counter-productive to a career in an art form that requires a lifelong conversation with one's audience. Expanding the audience for your work expands the work and eventually enriches your life as an artist. Continue reading

In a world in which social norms, political systems, economic laws and the natural environment are all facing existential challenges, the language we use to describe the world around us takes on new urgency. In order to change a thing, we first need to name it. In order to care for something or someone it matters that we name it. If we want to understand something that confuses or frightens us, first we must name it. Continue reading

So... what do you all think? How does this make you feel? Would you buy a ticket to this thing? Continue reading

Kate Cortesi, author of I Love Parties (winner of the Golden Ear for long form monologues and the Most Memorable Character Award) Here's what Kate had to say about the 2021 Festival Theme: Borders. Continue reading

Had it not been for the passion of the young composer Henry Cowell who made it his personal mission to get the establishment to recognize the great leaps of imagination made by the older man, we might never have heard much of this groundbreaking music. Those of us who write for the stage do so in an environment in which the discovery of something wonderful and new is well on its way to becoming nothing short of miraculous. With virtually no meaningful governmental support of our theaters, there is no place really to which a playwright can send his or her script and be assured of a thoughtful read. Continue reading

Writing is rewriting, my mother always used to say. But at the age of 9 I wasn't quite ready to accept it. Continue reading

Some of you may recall reading about the couple of Halloweens I spent teaching Ear Training and Music Theory to a wonderful music-loving community of folksingers and songwriters gathered by my pal Cosy Sheridan in the... Continue reading

On the Roland Tec Teaching site, there's a button that invites anyone interested in possibly studying with me to schedule a free 20-min. Zoom one-on-one. Whenever I find myself talking with someone who's exploring, I find... Continue reading

There are people who help bring art to the world who are not artists but what they do is essential nonetheless. They are producers, lawyers, agents, publicists, managers, etc. They often create a framework upon which... Continue reading

Time to start polishing your monologue writing skills. On Mother's Day the 2022 theme for the Hear Me Out New American Monologue Competition will be announced along with all the submission guidelines. Now in its third year, the Hear Me Out Competition seeks to celebrate and elevate the art of unforgettable monologue. Top prizes put thousands of dollars into the hands of gifted scriptwriters. The next RT Advanced Monologue Workshop will provide participants a 9 hr. deep dive into the craft of creating powerful character through monologue with a focus on this year's competition prompt. Continue reading

A deep and ever-present fear of being a bother, a disruption or simply in the way has held me back in more ways and in more arenas than I care to name. The most recent manifestation of this pathology of mine (and, oh, is it ever a pathology! Trust me.) reared its ugly head in February when I decided I was ready to share the earliest version of a solo show I'm writing and will be performing (god willing). Continue reading

Reviewing scripts for tomorrow's Roland Tec Online Writers Workshop and three common problems I see in many many early drafts caught my eye. So I figured I'd post 3 videos to explain them. Take a look... Continue reading

In 1997 a modestly titled little play by Faye Sholiton was a winner of Dayton Future Fest. If you just heard the title, THE INTERVIEW, it's possible you'd make the mistake of expecting a simple narrowly... Continue reading

*by Yvonne Delet In these days of being PC and 'picking a political side' as opposed to talking about what one is actually seeing and knowing as true is befuddling to say the least. I find... Continue reading

I don't know how exactly it came to pass but somehow over the past 25 years or so the American playwright has been tamed into believing she is wholly operating at the mercy of an elite and opaque cabal of gatekeepers who will decide what is and what is not worthy. I am here to tell you that this is one of the most dangerous and destructive transformations ever to have overrun an entire art form: theatre. Continue reading

In November 2020 one of the most important people in my life finally lost what had been an incredible 11-year battle with Stage IV Ovarian Cancer. At the time of her initial diagnosis one of the... Continue reading

There was an atmosphere of giddy freedom. Romantic entanglements came a bit more easily in this place where everyone felt the sudden relief of having reached neutral territory and none of the usual constraints that come with living in a place where everyone knows your name, your parents and all your cousins. They were free. And safe. Until they weren't. Continue reading

foam on the rim of the glass another wave breaking foam on the rim of the glass another wave breaking she once wanted to be a sailor now she sits at the bar, drinking like a... Continue reading

David Geffen is so maligned. And there's so much more to him than meets the eye. I highly recommend this documentary which opened my eyes to the depth and breadth of his contributions. Too often in... Continue reading

The other day I hosted the first session of Demystifying the 10-min. Play with Gary Garrison, in which 12 scriptwriters (and me) get to learn the essentials of the craft of writing the 10-min play from... Continue reading

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Jean-Paul Yovanoff to talk about my approach to teaching, my philosophy about the performing arts and a whole lot more. I had such fun talking with Jean-Paul... Continue reading