The Landing Theatre New Works Podcast: Recent Episodes
Brendan Bourque-Sheil
In each episode, we learn about a new work of Theatre, with the help of the world's leading expert in that work -- the person who wrote it.
David Davila delves into the challenges and thrills of writing a play trilogy that fuses headlines with history, in constructing a grand fantasia on national themes.
David’s website
David’s New Play Exchange Profile
Jaime Lozano’s website
Spencer Huffman offers his thoughts on artistic residencies, crafting non-linear stories, sports movies, the slow-acting heartbreak of realizing you're not going to play professional baseball, and more, in this conversation about his new play, The Baseball Gods.
Spencer’s Website
Spencer’s Profile on The New Play Exchange
The Kerouac Project’s website
Bramble Theatre Company’s website
Rachel Bykowski pontificates on critics, world building, writing so-called “unproducable” plays, and more, in this conversation about her new play The Forgotten Language of The Handshake or The Torso Play.
Synopsis: "Welcome to the United Levels, a distant future that is closer than we think. Formally known as the United States of America with parts of Canada and Mexico. Citizens are defined by the amount of debt plaguing their finances and divided by their financial status into Levels. Level 1 being the wealthiest, Level 10 being the poorest. Sachs, a Level 9, uses her position as a Personal Journalist to help bring a sense of checks and balances to this capitalist driven future. She will always report the facts objectively, no matter how damning. Sachs finds herself working with an up and coming tech company that promises to bring equality through its questionable medical advances. She is forced to analyze her own moral code when asked how much she would sacrifice to raise her level and what would she charge for a literal piece of herself."
Rachel's website
Rachel's New Play Exchange Profile
Rachel's Facebook page
Relative Theatrics' website
Ada Grey's blog
In episode six, we hear from Eugenie Carabatsos, about how she untangled and interwove the complex threads of family, politics, isolation, and connection in her new play, A Series of Inelastic Collisions.
"After the death of her husband, Rain moves in with her estranged son, whose recent religious conversion has brought on major life changes, including fostering two teenagers. Isolated from her family, Rain finds connection and intimacy with the strangers she interacts with while phone-banking for her preferred presidential candidate."
For more info on Eugenie's work, check out:
Eugenie's website
Eugenie's profile on the New Play Exchange
In episode five, Brendan talks to Bernardo Cubría about The Play You Want, a searing, hilarious, and fearlessly honest satire of the American Theatre, and himself.
"Fed-up by the theatre world's desires to box him in, Mexican playwright Bernardo Cubría sarcastically pitches “Nar-Cocos” a play about drug dealers on Dia de los Muertos. Much to his surprise, the Public Theatre picks it up. With financial pressures mounting and a newborn at home, this is his chance at a commercial success. But when Scott Rudin offers him a Broadway run on the condition he further exploit his identity and the headlines, he must decide just how much he’s willing to compromise in order to finally be accepted."
For further reading, check out:
Bernardo's website
Ticket info for Come and Take It by Bernardo Cubría
Bernardo's New Play Exchange profile
Pablo Bracho's Twitter
The Landing's website
In our fourth episode, playwright Arthur M. Jolly takes a brief shore leave from his life at sea to talk about his new play The Mysterious Disappearance of Agatha Christie. Part fact and part fiction, Jolly's play is a thrilling and clever celebration of three iconic writers -- Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Arthur Conan Doyle -- swept up in a real life mystery worthy of their novels. For further reading check out
Arthur's Website
Arthur's New Play Exchange Profile
A Pirate's Life For Three
The Landing Theatre's Website
In our third episode, Juan Ramirez, Jr. talks about his harrowing new play Calling Puerto Rico: “In New York City, Joel is an amateur radio operator who has not been out of his attic apartment for about a year. He gets news about Tropical Storm Maria and the potential it has to harm Puerto Rico. Worried, he decides to reach out over the radio to a man he hasn’t spoken to in a long time, his grandfather, Aníbal.”
For more information on what we discuss you can visit:
Juan’s website
Juan’s profile on New Play Exchange
Candido Tirado’s website
The Landing Theatre Company website
In our second episode, Amy Berryman discusses her timely and acclaimed play The New Galileos, wherein three scientists are held hostage by the government for their stance on climate change. The play weaves between their current crisis and their pasts, leading them to an interrogation room. What will be the price of their freedom?
For more information on what we discuss check out:
Amy’s website
Amy’s Twitter
Amy’s profile on New Play Exchange
Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
The Landing Theatre Company website
In our first episode, playwright Elizabeth Keel talks about the creation of her play Deborah, based on historical icon Deborah Sampson. For more info on what we discuss check out:
Elizabeth's website
Elizabeth's New Play Exchange profile
Our website
Masquerade by Alfred Young, recommended by Elizabeth for anyone who wants to know more about Deborah's life
Alex Myers, writer and descendant of Deborah Samson