Angel L. Nuñez Randolph, MA

An Interview with the Playwright

How did you hear about “The Seven”?

 I heard about "The Seven" during a residency at the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Lesley University. Storytime had been workshopped there. There was also a reading. My advisor/mentor, Jami Brandli, felt very strongly that I should enter the piece. Jami believes in my writing and has always pushed me to work to my full potential. I have her to thank for so many things as well as tipping me off to "The Seven".

What was the impetus/basis/inspiration for writing the piece?

There were a rash of suicides and suicide attempts at womens' correctional facilities here in Massachusetts. Reading these stories in the paper was the jumping off point for the piece. Once you start to look closer, you begin to realize that women face a different set of challenges than men in a correctional facility. First among those is separation from their children. Another challenge is disparity in regards to who gets locked up in our War on Drugs. Women have frequently found themselves sacrificed to the justice system by their drug-dealing boyfriends in exchange for lighter sentencing. I just found it to be an area rich in creative possibilities.

Is this play representational of your writing style? Is it similar to or different from your other plays?

Storytime is very representational of my writing style as far as capturing authentic voices. I tend to have a very good ear for dialogue and speech patterns so that always pops up in my work. It is similar to most of my other work, which focuses a lot on relationships that suffer from a disconnect in some way. Obviously, there is a physical disconnection in Storytime, but the dynamics between the two women also show a societal or class-based disconnection. 

What is the role of the short work in your playwriting career?

I hadn't come across 10-minute plays until entering the MFA Program at Lesley. My focus had been on screenwriting. It still is to a large degree. But, this form has allowed me to focus on ideas in a much sharper way than a screenplay allows. The compactness of the form forces you to exercise a certain economy in your writing. This has informed some of my longer work as well.   

What is your favorite play? Who is your favorite playwright?

Right now, I'm in love with Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire. I like the authenticity of it. The characters and the dialogue never ring false to me. I don't have a favorite playwright because I'm exposing myself to so much work right now. There are a few whose work is really interesting because they do things I did not realize could be done with a play. A good example is In The Heart of America by Naomi Wallace. The non-linear structure of the play is amazing enough, but the way some of the characters can embody different ideals and mindsets across time puts it in a really unique place for me. Nilo Cruz is another playwright whose work I'm digging into now.

What is your next playwriting venture?

I'm currently working on a full-length play called "Clutter". It's about an older widow, a hoarder facing eviction from her apartment. Her oldest son is a filmmaker about to release his first feature when he has to fly home to help his mother deal with this problem. Her younger son has been in and out of prison and continues to deal drugs. The mother also has a homemaker, a young woman who serves as her confidant. She's hung in there while other homemakers have been chased away. It's a look at family dynamics that throws a lot at you. I hope I can pull it off!

Is there anything you would like to add?

I want to thank FUSION for this tremendous opportunity. I'm very excited to have Storytime produced here. I also would like to thank my fellow writers at Lesley for challenging me to bring my best to the table. And, of course, I owe so much to Jami Brandli. She really helped me to see what my work could be if I trusted myself.