Wily West Productions
Visit our Facebook page!
  • Home
  • Tickets
  • About Us
  • The Company
  • Submissions
  • Press Room
  • Auditions
  • Mailing List
  • Gallery
  • Past Productions
    • Season 2017
    • Season 2015
    • I Saw It 2015
    • Season 2014
    • Zero Hour 2015
    • Un-Hinged 2014
    • Drowning Kate 2014
    • 2013 Productions
    • 2012 Productions
    • 2011 Productions
    • 2010 Productions
    • 2009 Productions
    • 2008 Productions
  • Wily Westings Blog

play·wright - ˈplāˌrīt/noun: a person who writes plays.

7/5/2015

0 Comments

 
play·wright
ˈplāˌrīt/noun: a person who writes plays.


Meet Jennifer Roberts, Head Writer for the Wily West, charged with the task of corralling the work of #8Writers and putting it all together into cohesive pieces for our #SummerShows #ZeroHour #ISawIt

Get Early Bird Tickets now!
Buy Early Bird Tickets!
PicturePlaywright Jennifer Lynne Roberts
Where are you from? 

Transfer. It's a small village in rural Pennsylvania. It was named after the transfer stations on the rail lines that linked two track systems of different gauges. Early on, before the transcontinental, railroads were built by multiple companies and unregulated, so eventually there were over 20 different track gauges across the east and midwest. Therefore, when a train came in on one line and met up in a town with a different line, the cargo and passengers needed to be transferred to a different train in order to continue its journey. I've always found this an appropriate personal metaphor.


What excites you about theatre right now?

I'm loving the new groundswell of playwright collectives popping up and the Do-It-Yourself mentality when it comes to self-producing. It's gotten a bad rap in the past, but I think it's vital for playwrights to take some control in getting their plays seen.  Let's face it. Competition for a production is rough. Hundreds of playwrights are vying for the few slots available in a theater's season, so what are we to do? Sit and wait? I don't think so. Plays are meant to be seen. Get them seen!


How did you know writing was your strong suit? Did you ever do anything else?

Oh, I've done a lot of other things. My first job was a radio announcer when I was sixteen. Through the years I worked multiple jobs, all service industry and often at the same time when my husband was going to school. Later I settled into reception work at an animal hospital, working my way up to management. I stayed in that position for over ten years. I wasn't happy. I asked myself what it was I wanted out of life. I had always wanted to be a writer. So I decided to pursue it. By then my daughter was in high school and the opportunity to go to college presented itself, and I took it. I got started late. It used to bother me. But now I keep telling myself that I'm on my path. Don't look back!  


What's the most fun or most challenging writing experience you've had to date?

Hands down, the most challenging experience was sitting silently through a festival reading of my play with this gentleman who was full of mansplaining and dismissiveness. My research was solid and it was a subject I studied. He didn't know this, so he was peacocking a bit. He was irritated at the subject matter; he wanted to put me in my place. I regret not grabbing a microphone and giving a rebuttal. It wasn't how the event was set up, but I still should've done it. 


What is your favorite part about the work?

I think it's finishing each task, each stage. The research. The first draft. Meeting the deadline for the next one. Every time I can hit "send," and feel like it's an end to a phase of the play development, I get a thrill. I can relax for a bit until the next deadline. I also love when I'm writing well. I can feel it. There's a flow and an energy that's quite a high. So I guess my favorite part is beginnings and endings. The middle is the job. We may like our jobs, but they can be tedious and frustrating and sometimes we are looking at the classifieds. 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Wily Westings
    Production Blog

    Our production blog features a dynamic blend of the the professional and the personal.  An original "web cocktail" infusing business and behind-the-scenes snap shots with first hand detail about the energy, commitment and perseverance to develop truly independent world premiere plays in San Francisco!

    Archives

    March 2019
    July 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    February 2013

    Categories

    All
    31 Years Of Marriage
    Actors
    Alina Trowbridge
    Arsenic And Old Lace
    Boa
    Brady Brophy Hilton
    Brian Martin
    Bridgette Dutta Portman
    Cast
    Celebration
    Chekov
    Director
    Ella Zalon
    Ellen Chesnut
    Ensemble
    Executive Producer
    Gay Community
    Ghosts
    Halloween
    Ignacio Zulueta
    Janice Wright
    Jeffrey Orth
    Jennifer Lynne Roberts
    Jim Norrena
    Joan Crawford
    Kat Bushnell
    Kat Kneisel
    Kcbs
    Kirk Shimano
    Laylah Muran
    Lighting Designer
    Morgan Ludlow
    New Plays
    Philip Goleman
    Playwright
    Producing Director
    Quinn Whitaker
    Rod Mcfadden
    Ryan Hayes
    Scott Ragle
    Sheherezade
    Sketches
    Stuart Bousel
    Susan Jackson
    The Exorcist
    Un-Hinged
    Vonn Scott Bair
    Wesley Cayabyab
    Willy Loman
    Writer

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.