Playwright Interview with Nettie Reynolds
1. How long have you been a writer?
I think I have always been a writer, but I do remember writing a story about the Wright Brothers when I was in 3rd grade and then telling my beloved 3rd grade teacher, Paula D’Ambrosio, that I was going to be a writer when I grew up.
2. What made you decide to become a professional writer?
I’m always writing so it was more or less a decision that was made for me. I’ve also worked hard because I don’t take the voices or ideas that come to me for granted and I feel they need to get out of my head and into the world.
3. What was it like when you sold your first piece?
It was incredible. I remember when I got a check for an essay I wrote for a literary magazine called “Hysteria” and then I went and saw the magazine in a bookstore in Burlington, Vermont and it was just incredible. There was my essay in the magazine!
4. What got you interested in writing plays?
I worked for six years as a hospital chaplain and then an interfaith hospice chaplain and did my clinical residency during that time and I started writing plays when I was on 48 hour shifts when I didn’t have emergencies but still couldn’t sleep.
5. How did you learn to write them?
To be honest, I started out with a ten-minute play format, and found some online and typed those in (copied them) to learn through my fingers how they should read and feel. The first one I wrote was called, “Groovy Ride” and it was produced as part of the “Out of Ink” Scriptworks ten-minute play festival and it was just a wonderful experience. The thing about plays that no one realizes until one is produced is how collaborative they are and how immensely powerful it is to see your words come to life through actors’ voices and bodies. I love sitting in a theatre and listening to the audience laugh and cry and know that my words created those feelings. I also love that people don’t really recognize the playwright in an audience and, because I’m actually an introvert, that is pretty great too.
6. How long have you been writing plays?
Over a decade and still learning. Right now, I’m writing a one-act play that I’m really excited about, and it’s about a historical woman who has been overlooked, and I’m reading lots of one-act plays to get it right. One of my fave plays is “Shirley Valentine” and, also, I’m re-reading all of Beth Henley’s plays, as she is such an inspiration to me.
7. Do you feel that some online courses which teach playwriting are legit?
Yes, absolutely. There are really great courses offered by the Playwright’s Center. They are expensive and taught by superb playwrights. This is their site - https://pwcenter.org/classes . I would also encourage people to follow and join both the PWCenter and The Playground Experiment which is at - http://www.theplaygroundexperiment.com/ . The Playground Experiment has been so inspiring for me to be part of.
Can they be a good substitute for learning in a classroom or from a book?
Yes, they can. I will say I was an AWP Writer to Writer Mentee six years ago, and my mentor recommended one of the best books I’ve read on how to understand plays. That book is called, Backwards and Forwards by David A. Ball and I still reference it.
8. Which online courses would you recommend?
The Playwright’s Center courses above because they are not overly costly and you can learn a great deal from them. I would also recommend people looking at their local community colleges and seeing what they offer as well. In Austin, at Austin Community College for instance, they offer very strong playwriting courses.
9. Which books do you recommend on learning how to write plays?
Reading tons of books of plays by playwrights you like. And also the Backwards and Forwards book. Also, a Playwright’s Guide by Stuart Spencer. And for any writer, I would recommend the book by Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles; it will change your life.
10. In your opinion, who are some of the best playwrights out there?
There are so many and it’s all objective, but I really like Sarah Ruhl, Lorraine Hansberry, Tennessee Williams, Beth Henley, Lynn Nottage.
11. Did studying their work provide a good learning curve?
Yes, absolutely.
12. How did you become a professional playwright selling plays?
I’ve got my play listed in NewPlayExchange and I keep adding to those and did not have an agent. I hope someday to have one though!
13. What was your first experience in selling your play like?
I haven’t sold a play, I’ve only had them produced, and was paid for it during ten-minute play festivals, so I’m not sure if that counts, but to have them produced and you are paid for it, gives you more enthusiasm. But I would say I write them because I can’t not write them. I just enjoy hearing the characters in my head as I’m writing and then to work hard to fashion them and find a plot.
14. What was it like to see a play that you wrote actually be a real play acted out on stage?
Unbelievably fantastic.
15. Are you planning to write more plays?
Yes, working on the one-woman one act play mentioned above.
16. Do you feel that playwriting is a long-term learning experience?
Always.
17. Are you still writing other things besides plays?
I write creative nonfiction essays and I’ve written one novel that is yet to be published, but I hope to publish it.
18. What is your advice to a writer who hopes to one day become a professional playwright?
Find the situations you can bring to light in a play experience for the audience. And don’t focus on what professional means in the larger world, focus on what it means to you. Does it mean your play is produced across high schools all over the country? Amazing! Does it mean you want to have a play off-Broadway? Go do it! Just keep your seat in a chair and write.
ABOUT NETTIE:
Nettie Reynolds is a graduate of Goddard College and lives in Austin, TX. She has a pug micro-influencer named OlivetheWonderpug on Instagram. She is on Facebook at NettieWrites. She hopes to have the play she is currently working on - to be on Off-Broadway by 2026.