
THAT'S A WRAP FOR SEASON 5! Thank you all so much for tuning in every week and hear us chat about all things playwriting.
NOTE: Towards the second half of the episode, Sarah's mic went off and had some audio issues. We apologize for the quality!
A real cherry on top to the year Sarah had... we hope you enjoy nonetheless.
Thank you again for another incredible season. Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday season... See you next year!
____________________________________________
Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you!
Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting and we might discuss it in our next episode.
Email: [email protected] For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
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Dec 23, 2023
37 min

Hello listeners! On this episode, we are so excited to bring on a fellow colleague from our days at Iowa, SARAH JOHNSON! Sarah Johnson is Assistant Professor of Dramaturgy and Head of the M.F.A. Dramaturgy program at Indiana University Bloomington. She researches and writes about intercultural theatre, new play development, and dramaturgy for applied theatre. In her creative work, she works professionally as a dramaturg with theatre companies across the country.
Sarah Johnson is Assistant Professor of Dramaturgy and Head of the M.F.A. Dramaturgy program at Indiana University Bloomington. Her research focuses on intercultural theatre, new play development, and dramaturgical methodologies. Her writing has been featured in Asian Theatre Journal, Theatre Topics, and multiple edited volumes. She works professionally as a dramaturg with theatre companies across the country. She was a casebook writer for Broadway's Allegiance. In regional theatre, she has provided dramaturgical support for productions with Outpost Repertory Theatre (as Resident Dramaturg), Timeline Theatre, Portland Stage, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Athena Arts Project, National Women’s Theatre Festival, and several playwriting clients. She serves as the Performance Review Editor for PARtake: The Journal for Performance as Research. Before her time at Indiana University Bloomington, she was the Assistant Professor of Dramaturgy and Head of Playwriting at Texas Tech University and Executive Director and Resident Dramaturg of the WildWind Performance Lab. https://theatre.indiana.edu/about/faculty/johnson-sarah.html
GLISTEN
Cho - Zebra Gel Pen .07mm
Sam - Standard Time
Sarah - Coach Bob Knights’ passing and Chair sale in his honor
________________________
Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram or Threads: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you!
Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
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Dec 5, 2023
53 min

Hello listeners! On this episode of BB, we have the one and only SHERRY KRAMER on the show! Sherry Kramer is a playwright and professor who has been writing plays for 50 years and teaching playwriting for 40. Her book about meaning making in timebound art, Writing for Stage and Screen: Creating a Perception Shift in the Audience, was published this summer by Methuen Publishing. In this episode, Sherry shares her knowledge on writing and we know you will want to save this episode to revisit for your playwriting journey! We can't wait for you to listen!
Sherry Kramer’s plays have been produced here and abroad and include David’s RedHaired Death, When Something Wonderful Ends, The Wall of Water, and Three Quarter Inches of Sky. Her work is centered in the personal as political, and often speaks to the power of class and money and philanthropy: The Bay of Fundy, How Water Behaves; the power of a conservative press to distort and sway a people and a country: The Ruling Passion; the power of the beauty myth: A Thing of Beauty; and the power of anti-Semitism: Ivanhoe, MO. Her awards include the Weissberger, a National McKnight, The Jane Chambers Award, an NEA, and a NYFA. She taught regularly in the MFA programs of The Michener Center for Writers, UT Austin, the Iowa Playwrights’ Workshop, where she has served as head of the workshop, and currently teaches playwriting at Bennington College. She was the first national member of New Dramatists. Her book Writing for Stage and Screen: Creating a Perception Shift in the Audience was published by Bloomsbury in July, 2023.
To learn more about Sherry's work, be sure to check out her website at sherrykramer.net
GLISTEN
Cho - My baby is teething! Help!
Sam - Haunted cornfield
Sherry - Israel / Gaza conflict
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Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
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Nov 20, 2023
1 hr 7 min

Hello listeners! This week on the show, we have the one and only director REBECCA WEAR! Rebecca is a freelance director and dramaturg with a focus on new play development, as well as an assistant professor in performance, play, and design.
To learn more about Rebecca, be sure to check out her website at https://www.rebeccawear.com/
GLISTEN
Cho - Amazon Prime TV show "Invincible"
Sam - Movie "Swimmers" on Netflix
Rebecca - Pear Tree
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Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
________________________
Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
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Nov 6, 2023
1 hr 3 min

Hello listeners! This week on the show, we had GREG GEFFRARD on the show! This is a JUICY one with so much pearl of wisdom. Greg is here to make sure your sexy sustainable. PLEASE ENJOY!
Greg Geffrard is an educator, Intimacy professional, culture worker, actor, poet, and facilitator. He cultivates sustainable artistic spaces of exploration by sharing consent-based trauma-informed advocacy tools. He is an Associate Faculty member with Theatrical Intimacy Education. As an Intimacy Professional, he has worked on 62+ productions ranging from theatre and opera to building policies with arts institutions as an Intimacy Consultant. He is the Associate Artist Director of the Gainesville Theatre Alliance and Head of the BFA Acting program at Brenau University.
Shows currently in production:
Sanctuary City at Steppenwolf Theatre (Chicago)
The Nacirema Society at Goodman Theatre (Chicago)
The Band’s Visit at TheatreSqaured (Arkansas)
Tambo & Bones (Chicago)
GLISTEN
Cho - Sedona, AZ
Sam - old home videos
Greg - bandwidth / what does singularly focus version look like
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Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
________________________
Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
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Oct 24, 2023
1 hr 6 min

Hello listeners! This week on the show, we had the one and only David Hanzal on the show! David is a Minneapolis-based director, puppeteer, and teaching artist. We first met David in our first year of graduate school in Iowa. We had an amazing time speaking with David and catching up! There's so much pearls of wisdom packed in this episode. PLEASE ENJOY!
David Hanzal (they/he) is a Minneapolis-based director, puppeteer, and teaching artist. They were the Artistic Director of Collective Unconscious Performance from 2014-2020. Previously, their stage direction and design has received awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theatre National Festival and the University of Iowa. They completed their Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Directing at the University of Iowa, where they regularly developed and directed premieres of new plays and devised work with writers from the nationally recognized Iowa Playwrights’ Workshop. David has also trained with Anne Bogart and the SITI Company, Kari Margolis and the Margolis Brown Adaptors Company, Czech master puppeteer Miroslav Trejtnar, the Wesley Balk Opera/Music-Theatre Institute, and the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival.
To learn more about David, check out his work on:
https://davidhanzaltheatre.carbonmade.com/
Instagram: @lavender_scented_nostalgia
GLISTEN
Cho - Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS
Sam - bears
David - Save the Cat book, Once upon a Disney podcast
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Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
________________________
Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
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Oct 11, 2023
1 hr 14 min

Hello listeners! We here at BB love a good WOO-WOO sesh especially as we're approaching the Halloween season so we are fortunate to have actor, director, choreographer, playwright, and workaholic witch WAI YIM join us this week. We get into talking about this path into theater and TAROT CARDS. Oh, this is a juicy one folks. ENJOY!
Wai Yim is basically a workaholic. He's an actor/ director/ choreographer/ playwright. He is one of those "multi-hyphenate artists". He is the managing director of Token Theatre in Chicago, an Asian-American Theatre Company. He is also a witch.
Instagram: @whyyim
GLISTEN
Cho: GHOSTS??
Sam: "Saving Time Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock" by Jenny Odell
Wai: Childhood
________________________
Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
________________________
Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
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Sep 25, 2023
1 hr 28 min

Hello listeners! We were so fortunate to have designer ALEX CASILLAS join us on the show! We had such an incredible time chatting with Alex about her life and experience as a designer as well as thinking about representation in the creative teams. Enjoy!!!
Alex Casillas, a native of Houston, TX, is a professional scenic and lighting designer holding a dual MFA from The University of Iowa. Previously, Alex has designed scenery for The Revolutionists (Strawdog Theatre), Mas Cara (The Vortex) Sonia, Vanya, Masha and Spike, Seven Spots on the Sun, and Braided Sorrow (University of Iowa) and has created a conceptual design for December (Alley Theatre: All New Festival). Also a professional lighting designer, Alex has worked on Secret Things (1st Stage Theatre), Cabaret, The Crucible(Parallel 45), and Peter and the Starcatcher, The Addams Family and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Festival 56). A dramaturgy-focused designer specializing in new work, Alex brings special focus to script analysis and structure to assist playwrights, directors and devisers truly realize their vision. She has a passion for educating young designers and theatre artists from marginalized communities and hopes to one day see true representation both on and off the stage.
Website: http://www.acdesigns.space/
Instagram: @acasdesigns
To Learn More about Design, here are Alex's Top Book recommendations!
Unmasking Theatre Design by Lynne Porter
The Magic of Light by Jean Rosenthal and Lael Wertenbaker
Backstage Handbook by Paul Douglas Carter
Technical Theatre for Non-Technical People by Drew Campbell
Bonus: White Sight: Visual Politics and Practices of Whiteness by Nicholas Mirzoeff
GLISTEN
Cho: Monologue Joke Writing Challenge / LaughtHER Collective
Sam: Film "Patrick and The Whale"
Alex: Dungeons and Dragqueens
EPISODE CORRECTION:
Please note that in the podcast, Alex mentioned Jennifer Tipton had a book when it was equally prolific female lighting pioneer Jean Rosenthal who wrote a book.
________________________
Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
________________________
Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
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Sep 11, 2023
1 hr 16 min

Hello, listeners! In today’s episode, we attempt to get 'unstuck' ourselves with scenes from plays we wrote. We read, discuss, and ask questions about the scenes we're stuck on. Do we get unstuck with our work? You'll have to listen to find out!
GLISTENS
Sam - Ellen McLaughlin in King Lear at CSFCho - a dream within a dream
____________________________________________
Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends orfollow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @beckettsbabies And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected] more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
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Aug 28, 2023
43 min

Hello listeners! We were so fortunate to have CHARLY EVON SIMPSON join us on the show! We had such an incredible time chatting with Charly about writing and life as playwright and TV writer. We hope you enjoy!!!
Charly Evon Simpson is a playwright, TV writer, and teacher based in Brooklyn. Her plays include Behind the Sheet, sandblasted, Jump, form of a girl unknown, it’s not a trip it’s a journey, and more. Her work has been seen and/or developed with Vineyard Theatre, WP Theater, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Round House Theatre, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Salt Lake Acting Company, and others. She is a recipient of the Vineyard Theatre’s Paula Vogel Playwriting Award and the Dramatists Guild’s Lanford Wilson Award. She is currently a resident of New Dramatists. In TV, she has worked on shows for Showtime, HBO, and Netflix including American Rust and Industry. Charly has a BA from Brown University, a master’s in Women’s Studies from University of Oxford, New College, and her MFA in Playwriting from Hunter College. www.charlyevonsimpson.com
GLISTENS:
Cho - "How to Sell a Haunted House" by Grady HendrixSam - cherriesCharly - "Yellowface" by R. F. Kuang
________________________
Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @beckettsbabies
And as always, we would love to hear from you! Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected]
For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com
Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)
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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beckettsbabies/message
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Aug 15, 2023
1 hr 11 min
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