Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence

Today on HowlRound, we’re hearing from The Tow Foundation's Playwrights-in-Residence. In this series, we look at where they are in their residency, what home is, and where they hope to be in the future.

Talk a little about what being in a residency means to you as an artist and how the notion of residency influences your artistic practice.
For me, above all else, being in residency means being at home. Not only have I been gifted with the time and space to write, to make work, to delve into creative projects, to focus the energy I normally would have spent worrying about my day job and hustling to pay my bills, but I have been given a community of people who fully support my pursuits. I have been generously offered a place to call my own, to camp out in, and to unpack. I even bought a plant for my desk at the start of my residency like a real adult, which feels like a major metaphor. I have been nurturing her, making sure she gets enough light, water, space, and air, and when I see her, give her a sweet little pat, say hello and speak kind and encouraging words to her (I know this sounds nuts, but I swear I read an article that says talking to your plant helps keep them alive!). I am the plant in this Tow Foundation Playwright in Residence situation. Roundabout Theatre Company has lifted me up, taken care of me, and given me the space, time, and support to nurture my art and my soul. And my new plant.

If I can keep making work that excites, rattles, and delights me, if I can continue to collaborate and meet new artists who are pushing boundaries and generously challenging and inspiring those around them, if I can continue to be curious, tested, and heartened by the world around me, continue to follow my bliss, ask questions of myself and others, and be engaged with the time we are presently in, I will be a happy, happy person and writer.

What are you working on during your residency?
This year I have been able to focus on my play Kingdom Come, which is being produced this fall! To have the ability to fully pour myself into pre-production and the rehearsal process for this play was the biggest gift I could have ever received, and exactly what I needed for my first major production in New York City. I also began two new plays, a pilot, and traveled to South Africa (as part of my Tow grant!) to conduct research for a new play I am writing under commission for Roundabout. It has been a year full of delight, wonder, and excitement.

How do you define home as a playwright? How important is it to have a place you call your “artistic home?”
Having a place to call home, in every artistic endeavor, has always been incredibly important to me. To feel fully supported, accepted, and received by a community of people you so admire and respect is such an incredible feeling, and I am majorly lucky, and more grateful than I know how to express, that Roundabout has become that home for me. I feel safe to try new things, to delve into unknown territory, to experiment with form, subject matter, and theme. I know that no matter what, I have a place I can go to in order to play, develop, and explore. Roundabout has the resources in order to provide this kind of full and engaged support, but they also have the heart, the passion, and the belief in the writers they foster. They truly continue the relationships they make with writers forever.

What are your aspirations as a playwright? When you imagine yourself ten years from now, where are you and what are you doing?
If I can keep making work that excites, rattles, and delights me, if I can continue to collaborate and meet new artists who are pushing boundaries and generously challenging and inspiring those around them, if I can continue to be curious, tested, and heartened by the world around me, continue to follow my bliss, ask questions of myself and others, and be engaged with the time we are presently in, I will be a happy, happy person and writer. Also, I’d like to have a dog. And maybe a closet.