Barbara Lindsay Shoreline, WA

An Interview with the Playwright

How did you hear about “The Seven”?

I belong to several digitally connected groups of playwrights, all of whom share submission opportunities, so perhaps I first heard about FUSION's short works festival through one of those groups. My first submission to you was five years ago, so I'm afraid I can't be certain of the source, but this is my best guess.

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

I have always been fascinated by what goes on under the surface of things, how people's thoughts and feelings might be different from their actions, or might explain those actions. One of the great joys of being a playwright is being able to explore that fascination, to personify that which is normally unseen. When I wrote this play, I was still single, so the play was a way to express some of the cross purposes, missed cues, thwarted expectations, and dashed hopes that constituted the dating scene as I experienced it.

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

I do have more than one play in which inner thoughts are given character. I also have quite a few plays with talking dead people. Many plays with elements of magic (such as a man who floats). Theater offers access to the world of the subconscious, to the dream world, to illusion made reality, and it is a great joy to dance and play outside the bounds of what is considered "normal" life. So I suppose this play does represent at least a part of my style. But when I'm writing, I don't ever purposefully write within a particular style, so whatever shows up comes from the characters and the world of that particular play. I can take very little credit for any of it.

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

It is a gift to playwrights that there are currently so many venues for short and shorter plays. (I've had several plays prduced that take place inside an elevator and last the duration of the elevator ride.) While it doesn't seem possible to make an actual career out of writing short plays (David Ives might be one of the exceptions to that generalization), writing short plays is a wonderful exercise, demanding conciseness and strengthening the editing muscle. It's a wonderful challenge to make a fully realized play out of a moment, a brief encounter, a passing exchange, because short plays need the same arc of a full length play but within a much shorter frame. The story lets the writer know how long it needs to be. I've had tremendous success with my short plays, for which I'm grateful. I'll just never make a living from them.

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

My favorite play is The Crucible. My favorite playwright is Tom Stoppard. When I see or read the one, it makes me despair of ever being a good enough playwright. When I see or read a play by the other, it makes me desperately want to be.

What is your next playwriting venture?

I don't have one next venture. I suffer from what I call "writer's deluge", which is the opposite of writer's block. I have so many ideas for plays coming at me all the time from who knows where, I always have 8 or 9 plays in the works, and am in a never ending juggling act as I try to give them all the attention they deserve. I'm working on a truly nasty full length about murder, jealousy, and poverty, and another play (don't know the length yet) about four generations of women trying to connect even as they pull apart, and a short play about God, and, well, you get the idea.

Is there anything you would like to add?

All I'd like to add is that I sure wish I could be there to see the show. Some friends will see it for me, and I thank you in advance for the DVD, but it just ain't the same as being there.