Catching Up With …Stacy Davidowitz
You’re Invited to
Urban Legend Madness!
with Featured Guest Playwright Stacy Davidowitz
now on Sunday, November 18th
Featured Guest Playwright Stacy Davidowtiz, (Writer of PINK!)Check out Stacy’s interview on the Madness website.
Madness Writers for this event include: Stacy Davidowitz, Featured Guest Playwright Judith Leora* Ed Cardona Jr.* Ryan Dowler* Nick Abeel Zack Calhoon Penny Jackson Charlotte Miller Seth Moore Willie Orbison
Cecilia Copeland*, Artistic Director, New York Madness (*) Founding Member Writers
Sunday, November 18, 2012 8:00 pm
FREE!
AT SHETLER STUDIO THEATRE 244 West 54th St., 12th Floor
NYM brings together a slamming roster of artists to
create an evening of new plays based on a Theme
selected by the Featured Guest Playwright. The
collective works by all the writers form a
kaleidoscope of that cultural moment.
The plays are presented hot off the press,
fully staged, script in hand and…
ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN A MADNESS!
AND PLEASE STAY SAFE DURING THE STORM! SEE YOU IN NOVEMBER. ______________________________________________________
Stay tuned for FIVE more Madnesses in 2013 with Featured Guest Playwrights:
Robert Askins Dael Orlandersmith Sung Rno Andrea Thome Saviana Stanescu
Artistic Director: Cecilia Copeland Technical Director: G. Warren Stiles Managing Director: Judith Leora Director of Development: Tamara Winters Marketing Associate: Tiffany Fisher-Love
New York Madness is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of New York Madness must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Click Here to make contributions in behalf of New York Madness.
Upcoming NOV 18th New York Madness Featured Guest, Stacy Davidowitz took some time out of her busy schedule to tell us about her life, theater and what she has coming up next!!!
1. How do you get started on a new play? Meaning do you start with an idea or a character or do you have a story formed in an outline?
I always start with an idea and then spend most of my time letting the characters brew inside me before I attempt any writing. That brewing time is usually as long if not longer than it takes for me to write the play itself! Once I have the characters’ voices inside me, and I have an idea about where the plot is headed (without any real commitment to an outline), I’ll dive into the writing process and won’t stop until a first draft’s done. I mean that. I can’t stop writing, I can’t stop thinking, I don’t sleep, and I’m simultaneously giddy and exhausted. As soon as I have a director or friend provide me with feedback, that obsessive cycle starts all over again as I throw myself into the editing process.
2. Do you have a favorite way to write? Are you a laptop lover or a coffee shop writer or a long hand first and do you ever check social media when you work or do you unplug?
I love to write day or night, with my laptop, in a coffee shop. Definitely not by hand–I can’t read my handwriting! I like to have the Internet available when I work because I’m often researching in the process. And unless I’m completely lost in what I’m writing (usually only happens when I’m starting a play), I don’t get distracted by anything: social media, music, television, surrounding conversation. I am grateful for my ability to block everything out and live in whatever play I’m working on at the moment.
3. How do feel about social media influencing theatre?
I think social media has helped to get theatre out there. Word of mouth is no longer limited to a particular show being brought up during a bar conversation (though that’s awesome), but can spread quickly to the masses through Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Blogs, etc. It’s much easier to find what you’re looking for and to seek out the productions and events that interest you.
4. What do you think of when you hear “Gender Parity”?
Well, as a playwright, I immediately jump to the disparity of plays produced by men versus women. And it makes me wholly appreciate the organizations that support the growth and initiative of female artists. They’re ridiculously necessary — the organizations and the women they support!
5. There’s a lot of discussion about culture and identity in Theatre. Do you feel a responsibility to honor your heritage as a writer?
I don’t necessarily feel a responsibility to write material that reflects my heritage as a Jewish woman. Rather, I am proud to be a Jewish woman whose writing can reflect my heritage or it can reflect a different heritage. I tend to write what I know, but I also like to challenge myself, dig into what’s beyond my experience and comfort zone. I actually more so feel a responsibility to write for women, as well as actors of various ethnicities and ages.
6. Brittany or Madonna? and why?
Both. Give me a good mashup of Like A Virgin and If You Seek Amy, and I’ll be all smiles.
7. What are you working on next?
At the very moment, I am:
Writing the Columbia University MFA Actors Thesis, a devised piece based on Joan of Arc, co-directed by Kristin Linklater and Becky Wright at Riverside Theater; Upcoming: November, 2012
Workshopping my full-length play SACRED WATER through Rag N’ Bone Theat er Company at TheaterLab; Upcoming: October, 2012
Reading of my full-length play THE RUBBER ROOM through Crest Theater Company at Harvest Works; Upcoming: October, 2012
Reading of my full-length play THE RUBBER ROOM at The Flea Theater; Upcoming: Winter, 2013
Recording a professional demo of my musical CAMP ROLLING HILLS
Adapting my musical CAMP ROLLING HILLS to a Young Adult Novel
YOU CAN ALSO SEE STACY AND HER WORK ON @ NEW YORK MADNESS:
SUN Nov 18th @ 8:00 PM, Shelter Studios and Theatres
(244 W 54th St, New York, NY 10019)
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