Playwright's Spotlight with Itamar Moses

Tony Award Winning Playwright Itamar Moses stopped by Playwright's Spotlight. Chock full of humorous moments, Itamar shares his experience adapting the cherished animated film An American Tale for the stage, children's ability to suspend disbelief, and avoiding dumbing down the material for a younger audience. We also discuss when it's time for a table read and recognizing when the pace is slowing down during the developmental process. In addition, we talk about the impact of Tony Kushner's Angels in America in Itamar's playwriting career, his journey through NYU and pathway to the Tony's, craft vs voice and ambition, how to make something work, and the importance of always getting the story right first. We close the conversation with getting commissioned and what it entails as well as the death of theatre. I hope you enjoy this latest episode with Itamar Moses.

Itamar Moses is the Tony-winning author of the full-length plays OUTRAGE, BACH AT LEIPZIG, CELEBRITY ROW, THE FOUR OF US, YELLOWJACKETS, BACK BACK BACK, COMPLETENESS, and THE WHISTLEBLOWER, the evening of short plays LOVE/STORIES (OR BUT YOU WILL GET USED TO IT), and the musicals NOBODY LOVES YOU (with Gaby Alter), FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE (with Michael Friedman), and THE BAND’S VISIT (with David Yazbek). His work has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway and elsewhere in New York, at regional theatres across the country and in Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, Venezuela, Turkey and Chile, and is published by Faber & Faber and Samuel French. He’s received new play commissions from The McCarter, Playwrights Horizons, Berkeley Rep, The Wilma Theater, South Coast Rep, Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center, and The Goodman. He holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU and has taught playwriting at Yale and NYU. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and is a New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect.

To view the video format of this episode, visit the link below -
https://youtu.be/je2TUS-OyPA

Links to sites and resources mentioned in this episode -

Children's Theatre Company -
https://childrenstheatre.org/

NYU -
https://www.nyu.edu

Hangar Theatre -
https://hangartheatre.org

Portland Center Stage -
https://www.pcs.org

Manhatten Theatre Club -
https://www.manhattantheatreclub.com

Playwrights Horizons -
https://www.playwrightshorizons.org

Berkley Rep -
https://www.berkeleyrep.org

Sloan Foundation -
https://sloan.org

Drama Book Shop -
https://dramabookshop.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