Friday, June 18, 2010

How to be Brett Neveu

Via Adam's blog. I admire Brett's work and his seriousness; all the more so because I knew him before he was serious.

Q:  What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?

A:  Self produce. That's pretty much how I started. In the back of a bar with a suitcase full of puppets or working with an actor friend using a slide projector for lights and then playing to three or four people. I didn't wait until somebody would eventually produce a full-length play. I wrote something small. Something shoe-string producible and did it myself. Then I saw shows at theatres (as well as sent out press releases) and invited folks to come.

So, I guess to distill my advice: do shows and see shows and let people know you exist. Make an audience and meet a community. Do both and do good.