James Elden's Playwright's Spotlight

James Elden
  • 4.8 (13)
  • Performing Arts
  • Updated Biweekly

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.

  1. 4d ago

    Honesty, Loyalty, and Writing What You're Afraid Of - Playwright's Spotlight with Robin Gerber

    Send us Fan Mail Robin Gerber is a playwright and best selling author. Her first play, The Shot, was selected for the 2017 Ojai Playwright’s Conference and is currently being produced around the country starring Sharon Lawrence. She served as committee staff in the House of Representatives and as a lobbyist and political director for two major international unions.  For tickets to the West Coast Premiere of her play The Best Medicine running October 10th through November 15th at The Odyssey Theater in Los Angeles, visit - https://odysseytheatre.com/tickets/?eid=197477 Support the show

  2. Oct 6

    Audience Focus, The Room We Are In, and Big Maps and Little Maps - Playwright's Spotlight with Ben Steinfeld

    Send us Fan Mail Ben Steinfeld is a playwright, director, teacher, musician, and co-artistic director of Fiasco Theater. He wrote the family musical Twelve Kinds of Ice (book/music/lyrics) and the book for the new musical Diamond Alice and holds awards from L.A. Drama Critics’ Circle, Helen Hayes, and Lucille Lortel. He has an MFA from Brown/Trinity Rep and is a professor at Brown, NYU, and Middlebury College’s Brea and Loaf School of English, where he serves as director of the theatre program. Twelve Kinds of Ice opens at CTC in Minneapolis on October 13th through November 22nd on the Cargill Stage. For tickets, visit - https://childrenstheatre.org/whats-on/twelve-kinds-of-ice/#booklover  Twelve Kinds of Ice, Seattle (27 Jan - 13 Feb), visit - https://artelize.com/event/191236-twelve-kinds-of-ice For the video format of this episode, visit - https://youtu.be/LOZ5Uxid_9k Links to sites and resources mentioned in this episode -  Fiasco Theater - https://www.fiascotheater.com Trinity Rep - https://www.trinityrep.com Contacts and Social for Ben Steinfeld -  IG - @bsteinfeld1  Websites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions and Playwright's Spotlight Punk Monkey Productions -  www.punkmonkeyproductions.com PLAY Noir - www.playnoir.com PLAY Noir Anthology – www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.html James Elden - Twitter - @jameseldensauer IG - @alakardrake FB - fb.com/jameseldensauer Punk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir -  Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods                   - @playnoirla  IG - @punkmonkeyprods        - @playnoir_la  FB - fb.com/playnoir         - fb.com/punkmonkeyproductions Playwright's Spotlight - Twitter - @wrightlightpod  IG - @playwrights_spotlight Playwriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festival www.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.html Support the show

  3. Sep 22

    Taking the Leap, Achieving Audience Expectations, and Non-Traditional Spaces - Playwright's Spotlight with Kristine Dickson and Kevin Allen Jackson

    Send us Fan Mail Kevin Allen Jackson and Kristine Dickson are a playwright and producing power couple. Their immersive, audience-interactive murder-mystery play A Killer Night in Studio City opened September 15th and runs through October 31st at Vitello’s Restaurant in Studio City with Dinner, Drinks, and Deadly Secrets. For tickets to A Killer Night in Studio City, September 15 through October 31st, at Vitello's restaurant in Studio City, visit - https://www.akillernightlive.com/studiocity Support the show

  4. Sep 15

    Breaking Rules, The Rhythm of Comedy, and Mastering It! - Playwright's Spotlight with Douglas Goodhart

    Send us Fan Mail Douglas Goodhart is an actor, comedian, musician, influencer, cofounder and writer for the sketch group - Uncle Function, and playwright. He is also the frontman for the super-soul group Douglas and the Goodharts, and his Instagram account  @thedouglasg has over 55,000 subscribers.  For tickets to Master It! The Musical, The Class, The Hair at The Green Room 42 and Live Stream, September 18th at 7pm EDT, visit - https://thegreenroom42.venuetix.com/showdetails/peoPnwXxHxQvC74bHx3Z/S4LPsgibANhohQYw2LMw To watch the video format of this episode, visit - https://youtu.be/CEJUB1TNCQ4 Links to sites and resources mentioned in this episode - The Green Room 42 - https://thegreenroom42.venuetix.com Socials for Douglas Goodhart - Uncle Function - https://www.unclefunction.com Douglas and The Goodharts - https://open.spotify.com/artist/3XLQHv25ryS0j8nYUMGE7m IG - @thedouglasg Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/douglas.goodhart TikTok - @thedouglasg  YouTube -  @thedouglasg   Websites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions and Playwright's Spotlight Punk Monkey Productions -  www.punkmonkeyproductions.com PLAY Noir - www.playnoir.com PLAY Noir Anthology – www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.html James Elden - Twitter - @jameseldensauer IG - @alakardrake FB - fb.com/jameseldensauer Punk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir -  Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods                   - @playnoirla  IG - @punkmonkeyprods        - @playnoir_la  FB - fb.com/playnoir         - fb.com/punkmonkeyproductions Playwright's Spotlight - Twitter - @wrightlightpod  IG - @playwrights_spotlight Playwriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festival www.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.html Support the show

  5. Sep 8

    Breaking Down the Story, Finding Your Path, and Non-Traditional Casting - Playwright's Spotlight with Janine Nabers

    Send us Fan Mail Janine Nabers is a playwright, Emmy-nominated writer, show runner, and producer. She first made her mark as a playwright, becoming the first Black woman to win the Yale Drama Series Prize for her play Serial Black Face. Her plays have been produced across the United States and internationally. She is a graduate of the Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellowship at Juilliard. For tickets to The Peterson Show at the Echo Theatre in Los Angeles, visit - https://www.echotheatercompany.com To watch the video format of this episode, visit - https://youtu.be/DCmzaSwkVHQ Links of sites and resources mentioned in the episode -  Echo Theater Company - https://www.echotheatercompany.com Socials for Janine Nabers -  IG - @janinenabers Websites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions and Playwright's Spotlight Punk Monkey Productions -  www.punkmonkeyproductions.com PLAY Noir - www.playnoir.com PLAY Noir Anthology – www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.html James Elden - Twitter - @jameseldensauer IG - @alakardrake FB - fb.com/jameseldensauer Punk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir -  Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods                   - @playnoirla  IG - @punkmonkeyprods        - @playnoir_la  FB - fb.com/playnoir         - fb.com/punkmonkeyproductions Playwright's Spotlight - Twitter - @wrightlightpod  IG - @playwrights_spotlight Playwriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festival www.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.html Support the show

  6. Sep 1

    Linguistics, Sam and Frodo, and Lessons in Storytelling - Spotlight with Greg Banks

    Send us Fan Mail Greg Banks is a playwright, actor, and director. For tickets to Pinocchio at the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis, visit - https://childrenstheatre.org/whats-on/pinocchio/#book Websites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions and Playwright's Spotlight Punk Monkey Productions -  www.punkmonkeyproductions.com PLAY Noir - www.playnoir.com PLAY Noir Anthology – www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.html James Elden - Twitter - @jameseldensauer IG - @alakardrake FB - fb.com/jameseldensauer Punk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir -  Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods                   - @playnoirla  IG - @punkmonkeyprods        - @playnoir_la  FB - fb.com/playnoir         - fb.com/punkmonkeyproductions Playwright's Spotlight - Twitter - @wrightlightpod  IG - @playwrights_spotlight Playwriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festival www.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.htmlFor tickets to Pinocchio at the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis, visit - https://childrenstheatre.org/whats-on/pinocchio/#book Websites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions and Playwright's Spotlight Punk Monkey Productions -  www.punkmonkeyproductions.com PLAY Noir - www.playnoir.com PLAY Noir Anthology – www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.html James Elden - Twitter - @jameseldensauer IG - @alakardrake FB - fb.com/jameseldensauer Punk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir -  Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods                   - @playnoirla  IG - @punkmonkeyprods        - @playnoir_la  FB - fb.com/playnoir         - fb.com/punkmonkeyproductions Playwright's Spotlight - Twitter - @wrightlightpod  IG - @playwrights_spotlight Playwriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festival www.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.html Support the show

  7. Aug 25

    Readings and Funding, Serial Stage Plays, and Weaving in Outside Influences - Playwright's Spotlight with Keith Szarabajka

    Send us Fan Mail Keith Szarabajka is a playwright who on stage, in audio books, video games, film, radio and TV. Keith’s one act dark comedy, The Second Coming was produced at EST-LA's One Act Festival in 2018, and was subsequently made into a short film in 2020, which is currently garnering awards at film festivals around the world.  Keith conceived, co-wrote, co-directed and co-produced EST/LA’s space soap opera spoof, In Search of doG. From 2015-2022, Keith was Ensemble Studio Theatre / The Los Angeles Project’s co-artistic director overseeing the creation, development and production of new American plays. His most recent project SLAVA UKRAINI! (or Waiting for Elon), was a semi-finalist at the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. For tickets to SLAVA UKRAINI! running at the Atwater Village Theater through August 31st (with a possible extension) visit -https://afewthoughtstheatercompany.org/ Support the show

  8. Aug 18

    Finding the Arc, Unconventional Stage Directions, and Successful Marketing and Pitches - Playwright's Spotlight with Cameron Scott (Part 2 - In Person)

    Send us Fan Mail Cameron Scott has worked with Broadway’s top producers to create brand campaigns for well over 100 productions including 17 Tony Award-winning Best Plays, Best Musicals, and Best Revivals. He has recently turned to writing plays of his own. Since the fall of 2022, he has had plays produced from the coasts of California to Connecticut, among them a Best in Festival winner at Wilmington Drama League and the winning play from Delaware at ESTAFest 2023. He has had work published in multiple anthologies including an excerpt from his play Uphill which was published in The Best Men’s Stage Monologues 2023 by Smith & Kraus. His audio drama West PalmReaders appeared internationally on the Apple Podcasts Charts in 49 countries last summer, including multiple #1's in Drama and thirteen Top 10's in Drama, including in the USA. He has worked with professional and amateur theater companies alike such as Legacy Theatre in Connecticut, The Road Theatre Company in North Hollywood and Rhode Island Stage Ensemble. Other plays include Forty Years Kings; Happ’s Last Tape; and That Day is Coming, Everyday is Coming. To watch the video format of this episode, visit - https://youtu.be/e5uPPs0qm_Q Links to sites and resources mentioned in this episode -  The Road Theatre Annual Summer Playwrights Festival -https://roadtheatre.org/event/spf/ GI60 - http://gi60.blogspot.com/ New York City Playwrights - https://www.nycplaywrights.org/ Campfire Radio Theatre - https://campfireradiotheater.podbean.com/ Gather by the Ghost Light - https://www.gatherbytheghostlight.com/ New Jersey Web Festival - https://www.newjerseywebfest.com/ Websites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions and Playwright's Spotlight Punk Monkey Productions -  www.punkmonkeyproductions.com PLAY Noir - www.playnoir.com PLAY Noir Anthology – www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.html James Elden - Twitter - @jameseldensauer IG - @alakardrake FB - fb.com/jameseldensauer Punk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir -  Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods                   - @playnoirla  IG - @punkmonkeyprods        - @playnoir_la  FB - fb.com/playnoir         - fb.com/punkmonkeyproductions Playwright's Spotlight - Twitter - @wrightlightpod  IG - @playwrights_spotlight Playwriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festival www.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.html Support the show

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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

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.

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