James Elden's Playwright's Spotlight
Playwright Spotlight features a new playwright every episode to discuss the tools of the trade and solutions to the obstacles we face as writers in hopes of making us all better and more successful playwrights.
- Update frequency
- every 13 days
- Average duration
- 81 minutes
- Episodes
- 103
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Handling Exposition, Arming Your Characters, and the Tension of Opposites - Playwright's Spotlight with Jonathan Dorf
Playwright and publisher Jonathan Dorf sits in the Playwright's Spotlight and shines a light on the publishing aspect of playwriting with his experience as co-founder of YouthPLAYS touc…
Setups and Payoffs, First Draft Dialogue, and Letting Go of Logistics - Playwright's Spotlight with Bob DeRosa
The charming Bob DeRosa swings by Playwright's Spotlight fresh off the relaunch of his play - Gifted. Bob shares his experiences with starting in sketch writing, its benefits in learnin…
Going into Hiding, the Catharsis of Playwriting, and Playing with Fundamentals - Playwright's Spotlight with Kathryn Keats
Playwright Kathryn Keats visited Playwright's Spotlight to talk about her solo beat musical, The Hummingbird, and the tragic events that led her into going into hiding, coming out on th…
Adaptation, the Death of Theatre, and Always Get the Story Right First - Playwright's Spotlight with Itamar Moses
Tony Award Winning Playwright Itamar Moses stopped by Playwright's Spotlight. Chock full of humorous moments, Itamar shares his experience adapting the cherished animated film An Americ…
Narrative Pacing, Pushing Discomfort, and Being a Jazz Playwright - Playwright's Spotlight with Roger Q. Mason
Another insightful episode in the bag. This week playwright Roger Q Mason stops by and unpacks the queer perspective of playwriting discussing how performance compliments writing (and v…
Repertory, Residencies, and the Benefits of Previews - Playwright's Spotlight with Sunny Drake
Australian born and Canadian artist, Sunny Drake, stops by Playwright's Spotlight. In this episode, we discuss developing the artist within and how to grow as a playwright without forma…
Diligence, Perseverance, and Overcoming Adversity - Playwright's Spotlight with Faye Widjaja
Without a doubt the most important episode of Playwright's Spotlight to date. If in the past you've never made it through an episode in it's entirety, this is the one to sit through unt…
Discovery, Deliberation, Decision, and Driving Action - Playwright's Spotlight with Matt Williams
90 minutes of brilliant insight. The amount of real estate this episode with Matt Williams covers couldn't be covered in a set of Time Life books. Matt provides so much knowledge, it wa…
Psychology, Vulnerability, and the Romance of Playwriting - Playwright's Spotlight with John Mabey
What a wonderful and intoxicating exchange and perhaps a little serendipitous. I discovered John had started following the podcast and what followed was nothing short of a high energy c…
Adaptation, Development, and Breaking Down the Story - Playwright's Spotlight with Barry Kornhauser
In this episode I have a inspirational conversation with playwright Barry Kornhauser about the commissioning and adapting plays from children's books, development, creative freedom and …
Workshops, Styles, Tropes, and Politics Preventing Art - Playwright's Spotlight with Trey Nichols
In this episode of Playwright's Spotlight I speak to Los Angeles based playwright and actor Trey Nichols. In addition to playwriting, Trey runs a series of playwriting workshops through…
Rhythm, Dance, Space in Beats, and Being a Lazy Writer - Playwright's Spotlight with Dagney Kerr
It's always a treat when playwrights can record in house. This week local playwright Dagney Kerr stopped by to discuss her playwriting journey from college to relocating to Los Angeles …
Twists, Turns, Intent, and Creating Your Own Opportunities - Playwright's Spotlight with Paul Surace
In this episode, Los Angeles based playwright Paul Surace swings by Playwright's Spotlight to talk about his upcoming compilation Hearing More Voices the followup to his first collectio…
Action in Dialogue, Inspiring Designers, and the Seeds of Conflict - Playwright's Spotlight with Cyndy A. Marion
Fresh in the middle of her trip from New York for the West Coast Premiere of her new play Broken Story, playwright Cyndy A. Marion stopped by a Playwright's Spotlight for an in-house in…
Etudes, Texture, and Driving a Different Route - Playwright's Spotlight with Michael Wright
Wow wow wow. This episode is chock full of information, education, and insight, I could've gone on for another hour and a half. Michael Wright shares so much information throughout our …
Artistic Statements, Achieving Dimension, and the Great Elevator Play - Playwright's Spotlight with Gary Garrison
Welcome to Season 2, Episode 1. Author of The Playwright's Survival Guide and Perfect Ten and ten-minute playwright virtuoso, Gary Garrison swings by Playwright's Spotlight. In this dis…
Playwright's Spotlight with Steven Dietz
Passionate and Inspirational, Steven Dietz visits Playwright's Spotlight to discuss the musicality of dialogue, kairos moments throughout a play, and what he calls The Living Play, in …
Playwright's Spotlight with Mark Harvey Levine
In this episode of Playwright's Spotlight, I speak to the master of the 10-minute play - Mark Harvey Levine. With over 1900 productions of his work around the world, Mark offers a pleth…
Playwright's Spotlight with Nina Mansfield
The quirky and energetic playwright Nina Mansfield stopped by Playwright's Spotlight, and while she's far from high strung, I can't help but think the female characters she sticks in un…
Playwright's Spotlight with Dean Farell Bruggeman
Had a wonderful time reconnecting with Dean Farell Bruggeman, discussing playwriting and launching a career without any formal training. We discuss overcoming the obstacles without an a…