The Subtext Podcast

27/08/2024

Great playwriting pod!

Lauren answers listener questions and covers rewriting, editing, career beginnings, how to define success and more. Hosted by Lauren M Gunderson Music by Joriah Kwamé

27/08/2024

Happy birthday to the great Catherine Trieschmann. Revisit our March 2018 conversation recorded at Milwaukee Repertory Theater.

This month, playwright Brian James P***k travels to Milwaukee, Wisc., to interview Catherine Trieschmann, the writer of ‘How the World Began’ and ‘One House Over.’

25/08/2024

New merch at The Subtext store:

https://thesubtextpodcast.threadless.com/

23/08/2024

“The more that I’ve been doing this, especially in the last couple of years, production is where it starts to get less and less fun for me. Because it feels like so many choices have to start getting locked in in a way that the vision starts to narrow. In process and in workshop, and especially when I’m still ideating on a play in its first draft or even pre-first draft, it feels like the possibilities are still so endless. I like living in that space more than I like having to finalize choices and decide, this is the lighting cue and that’s the look and this is the sound cue. Sometimes those things start to suck the joy out of the thing. Whereas when it’s just more like, if anything were possible, what could that look like? Those are the conversations that feel really invigorating for me.” - Benjamin Benne

https://www.americantheatre.org/2024/07/30/the-subtext-benjamin-bennes-sound-and-vision/?fbclid=IwY2xjawE1mkFleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHb0YPV84XVkV8tTVqLc26_NUNs4gy98jy6sYKQRH7RdQ0AkCgZWKmDxecg_aem_2Yje5tugcv3BVHjNcMejyQ

This month Brian talks to the writer of ‘Alma’ and ‘In His Hands’ about narration, inspiration, family ties, and Julio Cortázar.

21/08/2024

New gear. Get yours here:
https://thesubtextpodcast.threadless.com/

13/08/2024

The Subtext merch: https://thesubtextpodcast.threadless.com/

09/08/2024

The Subtext: Benjamin Benne’s Sound and Vision

This month Brian talks to the writer of ‘Alma’ and ‘In His Hands’ about narration, inspiration, family ties, and Julio Cortázar.

This month Brian talks to the writer of ‘Alma’ and ‘In His Hands’ about narration, inspiration, family ties, and Julio Cortázar.

07/08/2024

The play filling me up this month is:

burnout. by River Timms

Synopsis: Noah is just like any normal millennial; he is burdened with thousands upon thousands of dollars of student loan debt, and he copes with his stress by consuming large amounts of ma*****na. His job as a barworker doesn't pay nearly enough to keep the bills in order or even pay rent, and he survives by the grace of his boyfriend and roommate, Ryan. As Noah begins to look for options in maneuvering through his own personal debt crisis, his encroaching deadline to begin payments draws ever closer, and the stress pushes him to the limit as he tries to juggle his relationships, his finances, and his health the best he can.

Shaun Leisher: 26 Jul. 2024 “ I related to this play on so many levels. A tribute to all the people working s**tty service jobs and that are pulled down by student loans. Timms perfectly captures the anxiety and dread. You can't but want to hug and smack Noah all in one scene. ”

17/07/2024

The play filling me up this month is:

ANTON CHEKHOV IS A TASTY SNACK by Jenny Connell Davis

https://newplayexchange.org/plays/3322038/anton-chekhov-tasty-snack

15/07/2024

Give a listen to the full interview with the great Inda Craig-Galvan at this link: https://www.americantheatre.org/2024/07/09/the-subtext-inda-craig-galvans-search-for-self-expression/

10/07/2024

On the latest episode of The Subtext, Brian James P***k speaks with playwright and TV writer, Inda Craig-Galvan about sketch comedy, grad school, and the audition that changed her path.

Inda's work often touches on the theme of intra-racial conflict and politics within the African American community. Her plays include Welcome to Matteson!, which had NNPN rolling world premiere at New Jersey Repertory Company, Congo Square Theatre, and Orlando Shakes; and several plays in Los Angeles, including The Great Jheri Curl Debate at L.A.’s East West Players, a hit dog holler in a co-production of Skylight Theatre and Playwrights’ Arena, Black Super Hero Magic Mama at the Geffen Playhouse, and I Go Somewhere Else at Playwrights’ Arena. Inda is the recipient of the Kesselring Prize, Jeffry Melnick New Playwright Award, Blue Ink Playwriting Prize, Jane Chambers Student Award for Feminist Playwriting, and Stage Raw Best Playwright Award. Inda’s plays have been included on the Kilroys List twice and Steppenwolf Theatre’s The Mix, and she is currently developing new works of theatre on commission with The Old Globe and Round House Theatre, and a new play with the CTG Writers Group. Her TV work includes Will Trent, Happy Face, How to Get Away with Murder, and The Rookie.

https://www.americantheatre.org/2024/07/09/the-subtext-inda-craig-galvans-search-for-self-expression/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1ftvR624VETo8sG0kqkqjUcJ3bdEG4kRyBgCWYKRuwflHjR-cYaBL12Vo_aem_feX4C_pBBeVS8lCIror70Q

This month Brian talks to the busy playwright and TV writer about sketch comedy, grad school, and the audition that changed her path.

20/06/2024

I appreciate the great Chisa Hutchinson talking about her career so candidly...

It happened this past summer. Or, well, it was happening long before then; that’s just when I really noticed it. I have somehow transitioned from starved for guidance and opportunity to offering it. And if I’m being honest, I feel woefully unprepared.

I thought I’d have my s**t way more together before I got to this point. I’d hoped to have at least been nominated for a Pulitzer, had one Broadway credit under my belt, maybe an Obie or two.

Instead, I haven’t had a New York premiere of a play since 2019; of the six Times reviews I’ve gotten, just one of them remotely qualifies as good; and just when I was starting to get a little traction on the film and TV front, we went on strike. I’ve got two TV credits and one indie film out that you have likely never seen. You probably looked at the byline of this article and went, “Hutchinwho?”...
..What’s helped me push through the awkwardness that this pivot has precipitated is remembering that when I was just starting out, I would have given a kidney to ensure that I would get where I am today. Twenty-two-year-old me would be like, “Biiiiiiiiiish, we’ve had how many productions? We made a movie?! And we get paid how much to teach two writing classes a week?!?! THAT’S FOR-REAL HOW WE MAKE OUR LIVING?!?!?!?!!!” All I wanted was to spend the majority of my time doing stuff I love, and here I am doing just that. I may not be fancy. I may not have achieved legendary status as a writer, but I am a writer, dammit.

Read the full article online for free in the Spring 2024 Issue of “The Dramatist” - A Magazine for Theatre Writers Published by The Dramatists Guild of America

https://dramatistsguild.com/thedramatist/pivot-point

Also read the related roundtable article: The Pivot Point: A Roundtable on Mentorship

https://dramatistsguild.com/thedramatist/pivot-point-roundtable-mentorship

20/06/2024

My time living in Chicago was far too short, but I did have the great fortune of meeting many amazing people while there. One of them is Tanuja and I was so glad I got to record an episode of The Subtext with her in 2020.

Happy birthday Tanuja!

This month Brian talks to the Chicago-based playwright, activist, and healer about the transition points in her life and career.

18/06/2024

We made a little shop with a few products for you and/or the playwrights in your life.

Mugs, journals/notebooks, magnets, stickers, t-shirts, and sweatshirts!

TheSubtextPodcast's Shop

17/06/2024

Putting this episode out because David Adjmi deserves all the congratulations in the world for his Tony win and the advocacy he continues to do. Congrats David!!

https://www.americantheatre.org/2020/10/20/the-subtext/

This month Brian talks to playwright and author David Adjmi about family pressure, falling behind, and filling a niche.

11/06/2024

Happy birthday to the great Ruth McKee! Here is the episode I recorded with Ruth back in LA sometime in mid-2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69vv1wdTU0w

Hello everybody. Welcome to The Subtext podcast archives.These are the long lost episodes of The Subtext that were originally produced between 2015 and 2017....

06/06/2024

It is June once again. This is the anniversary of the first episode of The Subtext Podcast. Whenever we hit this month I reflect a bit on the years of episode and think about the future. It’s been 9 years since that first episode with Madhuri Shekar was released. It never really occurred to me until now that if Madhuri wasn’t the first, The Subtext might not have really continued very long. What I never talked about publicly was that I conducted one interview prior to Madhuri and it never got released. It was just not very good. I never met the playwright I was interviewing, never read any of their plays, and just generally had no idea what I was doing. Hubris had me convinced I could just wing it. I thought "I know how to have a conversation with people. I can sit there for an hour."

The reality is, this can be really hard. I learned that immediately.

But then I regrouped and scheduled a chat with Madhuri, a playwright I already knew, had many conversations with, and experience with her writing. That episode really took off because we had some rapport and she is incredibly charismatic. I remember thinking after recording that episode “Ahh this is what it’s supposed to be like.” You can go back and listen to that episode and you hear what I mean: There’s an energy there and a genuine interest in each other… which is what I am always striving for when I record one of these. You can hear that episode and each of the original 24 from the first two years on YouTube. Search the subtext podcast and you’ll find them.

The Subtext would never exist if Dani Oliver, who was working for LA Stage Alliance at the time, didn’t ask me if I wanted to make it. If this podcast was a boat, she’s the shipbuilder. And she coached me through those first two years and guided me past icebergs each time I was ready to call it quits because of insecurity, jealousy, and general playwriting fatigue. I am still here doing this today thanks to Dani. She deserves the thanks or the blame depending on how you feel about this endeavor.

So here we are at 9 years and I’m looking to the future. Not just because next year will be 10 years, but because there are still so many playwrights out there I want to talk to. I can’t get to everybody but I want to and I will keep trying.

And something I haven’t mentioned before is… I have these long term projects tied to the podcast that I’m really inspired to complete. I’m being vague and I hate it when other people do this. I’m being vague because honestly I don’t have my head wrapped around these projects enough yet to talk about them. I started one of them two years ago and it is reliant on the passage of time. It might be one more year or maybe two before it reaches your ears.

In the meantime I have this great episode with Sam Hunter, and the next several are already scheduled and some are recorded. So The Subtext is well on its way to reaching age 10 and I am still on the hunt for the elusive secret to success as a playwright.

I appreciate all of you who have been with me since the beginning, those of you who came on board at some point, those who pop in from time to time, and you, first time listener. Thank you for giving time to these conversations.

And thank you to Madhuri for being the perfect first guest. And Dani, I can’t believe we went from emailing dumb podcast name ideas in 2015 to 9 years of episodes. Thanks for building and launching this ship I’m continuously sailing… icebergs be damned.

This month Brian speaks with the busy playwright about dramatizing Idaho, promoting the film of ‘The Whale,’ and working on a new play at Steppenwolf.

05/06/2024

A far-ranging conversation about their common approach to text as a springboard, why they’re past theory, and how they introduced Jessica Lange to Viewpoints.

05/06/2024

The play filling me up this month is HERE COMES THE NIGHT by Lisa Kenner Grissom.

This is certainly a play for our times. Check it out on New Play Exchange:

Playwrights Foundation: 22 Mar. 2024 “ The community of National Committee readers for the 46th Bay Area Playwrights Festival advanced HERE COMES THE NIGHT as a Semi-Finalist at Playwrights Foundation. We were engaged by the precarious situation and the tensions that arose in this relevant play fi...

01/06/2024

On the latest episode of The Subtext I spoke with the great Samuel D. Hunter!

This month Brian speaks with the busy playwright about dramatizing Idaho, promoting the film of ‘The Whale,’ and working on a new play at Steppenwolf.

30/05/2024

In her early days as the org’s producing artistic director, she discusses process and the state of new-play development in American theatre.

29/05/2024

Coming soon!

24/05/2024

A great one from the archives!

I've been a fan of The Kilroys since their inception. When we launched The Subtext in 2015 I wanted to talk with some of them, and so I booked original Kilroys Joy Meads & Meg Miroshnik on the 2nd episode.

Hello everybody. Welcome to The Subtext podcast archives.These are the long lost episodes of The Subtext that were originally produced between 2015 and 2017....

13/05/2024

This 2017 episode with the great Dan O'Brien ended the initial two-year run for The Subtext in Los Angeles. 6 months later we moved the podcast to American Theatre magazine. Dan is an incredible playwright and poet. Give a listen to this episode from the archives and then buy a copy of Dan's anthology of plays that came out in January: https://bookshop.org/p/books/true-story-a-trilogy-dan-o-brien/18633867?ean=9781628975130

https://youtu.be/lhWYfChLD-M?feature=shared

Hello everybody. Welcome to The Subtext podcast archives.These are the long lost episodes of The Subtext that were originally produced between 2015 and 2017....

08/05/2024

Oftentimes when I make an episode of The Subtext Podcast it is with a playwright I admire, but do not know. Every once in a while I have the opportunity to record one with a playwright I both know and admire. And that is the case this month when the episode with Jenni Lamb came out. I met Jenni when I moved to Chicago a few years ago and have been rooting for her and her work ever since. This episode was a great experience for me because friends don't always ask these questions of each other. Friends tend to live in the current moment dealing with the now. But I had a the chance to learn about Jenni's life and how she became the great playwright, producer, and supporter of writers she is today. Give this a listen if you have the chance.

Also, the opening to this episode is in support of the great director, playwright, and recovery advocate Sean Daniels who runs The Recovery Project for Florida Studio Theatre. I talk about how I have veered away and toward alcohol since I was a teenager and how Sean's work inspires me to rethink the role of alcohol in our culture. You can learn more about The Recovery Project here: https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org/support-us/therecoveryproject/

https://www.americantheatre.org/2024/05/01/the-subtext-jenni-lamb-shops-local/

This month Brian talks to the writer and producer about pivoting from teaching, feeling stuck in development hell, and championing local storytellers.

06/05/2024

The play filling me up this month is THE MERCHANT OF VENICE: THE MUSICAL by Anna Tatelman.

01/05/2024

This month on The Subtext Podcast I share a chat with the wonderful Jenni Lamb. We talked about finding a way to playwriting through improv performance, creating site-specific work, and learning when to pivot. Great conversation!

This month Brian talks to the writer and producer about pivoting from teaching, feeling stuck in development hell, and championing local storytellers.

24/04/2024

One of the great episodes of The Subtext Podcast from the early years. I'll never forget this conversation with Zakiyyah Alexander. I came away a smarter and better person afterwards. Give a listen to this one if you haven't already:

Hello everybody. Welcome to The Subtext podcast archives.These are the long lost episodes of The Subtext that were originally produced between 2015 and 2017....

23/04/2024

Have you listened to the latest episode with THE GREAT Mashuq Mushtaq Dee?

This month Brian talks to playwright Mashuq Mushtaq Deen about building a writing career, pushing audiences out of their comfort zone, and finding his place in the theatre.