Write Club Dissects Itself (Part V)
Hello, friends!
We've been taking a little nap since offering up our first full-length production (a rousing success, in case you hadn't heard), but we're coming back with a vengeance. This month will mark the return of our 5x5 scene night, and our next full show should bow sometime this winter.
In the meantime, let's hear from the author of last April's Growing Pretty.
*************
Carey Crim
*************
Where are you from?
I was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Then, we moved to Philadelphia when I was five, Evanston, Illinois when I was six and Grosse Pointe, Michigan at age seven. So, mostly Michigan, though, I have some really wonderful memories of Pennsylvania and Evanston as well.
How do you think your upbringing shaped you artistically?
My mom passed away when I was in high school. I’ve never written about that, specifically, but realized, recently, that I’ve explored themes of emotionally absent mothers twice now. But I think I’m finished with that motif…for now. My life has always included a great deal of story telling and made up worlds. It’s just that now, I’m lucky enough to have really talented actors bring my imaginary friends to life.
Did you study theater/writing? Where?
I graduated from Northwestern University where I majored in Theater and Performance Studies. I also did a summer program at The Royal Court Theater in London and have studied here in New York as well.
What are you working on right now?
I’m almost done with my second play, Wake. I’m also messing around with some ideas for a third.
What playwrights inspire you?
These aren’t all playwrights but: Miller, Chekov, Lanford Wilson, Tom Stoppard, Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, Wendy Wasserstein, Neil LaBute, Pinter, Caryl Churchill, David Lindsay-Abaire, Sarah Ruel, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Richard Greenberg, Mary Zimmerman, Jane Austen, Alan Ball, Joss Whedon, George Lucas, J K Rowling, Greek mythology, Shakespeare…
If you were stranded on a desert island with one book, one play, one magazine, and received one newspaper what would they be?
I really can’t answer this one. I haven’t a clue. I mean, I wouldn’t want to bring a favorite book because I’d probably hate the book after years and years of reading only that so…no idea. Maybe a blank notebook so I could document my slow decent into insanity that no one would ever read? As long as I had Wilson…But the paper would be USA Today. That’s probably all my mushy brain would be able to digest after years of baking in the sun and the seaweed diet. I’m over-thinking this one, aren’t I? What did Henry finally say in The Real Thing for Desert Island Discs? I’ll go with his answer.
Who are your favorite directors?
Joe Mantello, Mary Zimmerman, Mike Nichols, Mike Leigh, Leigh Silverman, Stephen Daldry, Guy Sanville, Scot Reese.
What is the best play you have ever seen?
Street of Crocodiles in London and Angels in America (Both parts in one day). And Arabian Nights directed by Mary Zimmerman. Incredible. I was in my early twenties when I saw these productions and had no idea that theater could be like that, do that, move me like that. It changed everything for me. I’ve probably seen plays that were that good since then, but those are the ones I’ll never forget. Then, years later, I saw a production of The Tempest in a tiny little hole in the wall theater in Detroit with a woman named Gilian Eaton in the role of Prospero. I understood that play in a way I never had before.
How do you see American and International theater changing and growing in the 21st Century?
What I love most about theater is the part that doesn’t change. It can be a gorgeous million dollar, multi-media production, but really, all you need is a person, perhaps a chair, a stage and a story to tell.
We've been taking a little nap since offering up our first full-length production (a rousing success, in case you hadn't heard), but we're coming back with a vengeance. This month will mark the return of our 5x5 scene night, and our next full show should bow sometime this winter.
In the meantime, let's hear from the author of last April's Growing Pretty.
*************
Carey Crim
*************
Where are you from?
I was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Then, we moved to Philadelphia when I was five, Evanston, Illinois when I was six and Grosse Pointe, Michigan at age seven. So, mostly Michigan, though, I have some really wonderful memories of Pennsylvania and Evanston as well.
How do you think your upbringing shaped you artistically?
My mom passed away when I was in high school. I’ve never written about that, specifically, but realized, recently, that I’ve explored themes of emotionally absent mothers twice now. But I think I’m finished with that motif…for now. My life has always included a great deal of story telling and made up worlds. It’s just that now, I’m lucky enough to have really talented actors bring my imaginary friends to life.
Did you study theater/writing? Where?
I graduated from Northwestern University where I majored in Theater and Performance Studies. I also did a summer program at The Royal Court Theater in London and have studied here in New York as well.
What are you working on right now?
I’m almost done with my second play, Wake. I’m also messing around with some ideas for a third.
What playwrights inspire you?
These aren’t all playwrights but: Miller, Chekov, Lanford Wilson, Tom Stoppard, Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, Wendy Wasserstein, Neil LaBute, Pinter, Caryl Churchill, David Lindsay-Abaire, Sarah Ruel, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Richard Greenberg, Mary Zimmerman, Jane Austen, Alan Ball, Joss Whedon, George Lucas, J K Rowling, Greek mythology, Shakespeare…
If you were stranded on a desert island with one book, one play, one magazine, and received one newspaper what would they be?
I really can’t answer this one. I haven’t a clue. I mean, I wouldn’t want to bring a favorite book because I’d probably hate the book after years and years of reading only that so…no idea. Maybe a blank notebook so I could document my slow decent into insanity that no one would ever read? As long as I had Wilson…But the paper would be USA Today. That’s probably all my mushy brain would be able to digest after years of baking in the sun and the seaweed diet. I’m over-thinking this one, aren’t I? What did Henry finally say in The Real Thing for Desert Island Discs? I’ll go with his answer.
Who are your favorite directors?
Joe Mantello, Mary Zimmerman, Mike Nichols, Mike Leigh, Leigh Silverman, Stephen Daldry, Guy Sanville, Scot Reese.
What is the best play you have ever seen?
Street of Crocodiles in London and Angels in America (Both parts in one day). And Arabian Nights directed by Mary Zimmerman. Incredible. I was in my early twenties when I saw these productions and had no idea that theater could be like that, do that, move me like that. It changed everything for me. I’ve probably seen plays that were that good since then, but those are the ones I’ll never forget. Then, years later, I saw a production of The Tempest in a tiny little hole in the wall theater in Detroit with a woman named Gilian Eaton in the role of Prospero. I understood that play in a way I never had before.
How do you see American and International theater changing and growing in the 21st Century?
What I love most about theater is the part that doesn’t change. It can be a gorgeous million dollar, multi-media production, but really, all you need is a person, perhaps a chair, a stage and a story to tell.
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