168. INTERVIEW: Aaron Klass

THAT'S A WRAP FOR SEASON 6! Thank you all so much for tuning in and hearing us chat about all things playwriting. Thank you again for another incredible season. Wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday season... See you next year! ____________________________________________ Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter:  @beckettsbabies    And as always, we would love to hear from you!    Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting and we might discuss it in our next episode.    Email: [email protected] For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com    Theme Music: "Live Like the  Kids" by  Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)

In this episode, we pick a play to discuss, and for this week's episode, we read "English" by Sanaz Toossi. We discuss what we noticed, what we liked, and questions that came up while reading the play. SPOILER ALERT: There are going to be some spoiler alerts! We highly recommend you read the play before listening to this episode! ____________________________________________ Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends or follow us on Instagram @beckettsbabies! And as always, we would love to hear from you!   Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting and we might discuss it in our next episode.  Email: [email protected]  For more info, visit our website: www.beckettsbabies.com  Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by  Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)

Hello listeners! On this week's episode, we had the wonderful Nicholas Pilapil on the show! Nicholas is funny and insightful. We enjoyed the conversation and we hope you will too! His play "God Will Do The Rest" is currently having its World Premiere in Los Angeles. Please check out the link to learn more! GET TICKETS! https://www.latinotheaterco.org/godwilldotherest Nicholas Pilapil is a Filipino American playwright. His plays include "God Will Do The Rest" (world premiere with Artists at Play & Latino Theater Company), "The Bottoming Process" (world premiere with IAMA Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Ignition Festival of New Plays), and "if all that You take from this is courage, then I've no regrets" (winner of the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Festival). His work has also been developed with Geffen Playhouse, Playwrights Foundation, Abingdon Theatre Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA, Theatre Rhinoceros, and The Workshop Theater, among others. Nicholas is a member of Boston Court Pasadena's Playwrights Group and is an alum of The Writers’ Room at the Geffen Playhouse, IAMA Theatre Company’s Emerging Playwrights Lab, The Vagrancy Playwrights Group, and artEquity. To learn more about Nicholas' work, check out his NPX! https://newplayexchange.org/users/5530/nicholas-pilapil GLISTENS Cho - Teaching Acting to High School students Sam - Casa Bonita Nicholas - People have been telling him he looks skinny at his shows and he loves it. ________________________ Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram or Threads: @beckettsbabies As always, we would love to hear from you!  Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected] For more info, visit our website: ⁠www.beckettsbabies.com⁠ Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)

Hello listeners! We have another fun episode for you this week. We had the pleasure of speaking to Jen Leno. Jen Leno (she/they) is a lighting designer, a photographer, and a generative multi-media artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Jen knew that she would pursue art as a career when she was a child, but lighting design has been an unexpected and always exciting main practice for the last eight years. When they're not in the theater, you can find them floating in the ocean somewhere or grabbing her new found love- oysters, with friends.  To learn more about Jen Leno, check out the following: Website: http://www.jenlenodesign.com/ Instagram: @jdl.lxd  GLISTEN Cho - Creating floral arrangements Sam - Jenny Holzer Jen - Ferris Wheel at Coney Island ________________________ Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram or Threads: @beckettsbabies As always, we would love to hear from you!  Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected] For more info, visit our website: ⁠www.beckettsbabies.com⁠ Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)

Hello listeners! It's been a while (again). We've had a busy summer so we're here to share what we've been up to. Hope you all are having a great summer. ________________________ Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram or Threads: @beckettsbabies As always, we would love to hear from you!  Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected] For more info, visit our website: ⁠www.beckettsbabies.com⁠ Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)

Hello listeners! This week, we chat with jack-of-all trades, Aaron Klass! Aaron Klass is a founding member of Blunt Force Drama Theater Company, a teaching company for emerging artists with a decade long production history. He is a playwright, director, designer, production manager, and actor. He has joint custody of several unimpressive screenwriting and filmmaking accolades and awards. He is also serves as a Curator at The Merchant Tailor Museum, a 19th century textile collection, where he supports and examines the intersection between public history and the arts. To learn more about The Merchant Tailor Museum, check out it out here: http://www.tmtmuseum.com/ GLISTENS Cho - Sudoku Sam - summer writing program at naropa Aaron - trip to Mexico City ________________________ Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram or Threads: @beckettsbabies As always, we would love to hear from you!  Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected] For more info, visit our website: ⁠www.beckettsbabies.com⁠ Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)

Hello listeners! We have another fun episode for you this week. We had the pleasure of speaking to Taylor Edelle Stuart who we first met at Iowa! Taylor Edelle Stuart is a film & theatre director, video artist, and projection designer.  Her work focuses on the interplay between the digital and physical by cultivating harmony and tension between theatrical and cinematic modes. Taylor designed projections (alongside co-designer Tal Yarden) for the world premiere of The Outsiders ahead of its run on Broadway. She also recently designed video for the National Tour of R.E.S.P.E.C.T., a concert series celebrating the life and work of Aretha Franklin. She served as Assistant Projection Designer to David Bengali on the Broadway Musical Water for Elephants (Tony Nominee), and on New York Theatre Workshop + Tectonic Theatre Project’s co-production of Here There Are Blueberries (Pulitzer Prize Finalist.). She is currently developing an original multi-media work as a part of Mercury Store's Emerging Directors Lab. To learn more about Taylor and her work, check out her website www.tayloredellestuart.com or Insta @tayloredelle. GLISTEN Cho - peanut butter chocolate brownies Sam - gardening Taylor - wasps! ________________________ Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram or Threads: @beckettsbabies As always, we would love to hear from you!  Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected] For more info, visit our website: ⁠www.beckettsbabies.com⁠ Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)

Hello listeners! This week's guest is Kira Rockwell! Kira (she/her) is a neurodivergent playwright, originally from the heart of Texas. Through a trauma informed, healing centered lens, she aims to nurture communal spaces that disrupt passivity and empower agency. This summer she will develop her play WICKED BITTER BEAST(S) with Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Her play, OH TO BE PURE AGAIN, was developed with The Kennedy Center, National New Play Network, and Great Plains Theatre Commons. It premiered at Actor’s Express in 2023 going on to win the Gene Gabriel Moore Playwriting Award. Rockwell's work is often based on her nuanced experiences growing up in "culty" Pentecostal Christian Communities. She is based in Atlanta with her creative husband and their sweet lab pit. When she’s not writing, she’s probably trying to talk to a caterpillar. Additional Links:  Kira's recent spotlight in American Theatre Magazine Insta: @kirarockwell website: www.kirarockwell.com Kira's plays on NPX GLISTEN Cho - new play "Screen Time" Sam - Slime mold Kira - experiments with ChatGPT! ________________________ Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram or Threads: @beckettsbabies As always, we would love to hear from you!  Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected] For more info, visit our website: ⁠www.beckettsbabies.com⁠ Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)

Hello listeners! It's been awhile since we checked in so please enjoy our ramble and babble. ________________________ Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram or Threads: @beckettsbabies As always, we would love to hear from you!  Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected] For more info, visit our website: ⁠www.beckettsbabies.com⁠ Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)

Hello listeners! We're excited to return to our regular programming with an interview with a fellow playwright! Today’s guest is Lucas Baisch, a playwright from San Francisco currently based in Brooklyn. He is an instructor at Pratt, a Workspace resident with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and a Play Group member at Ars Nova. His play 404 Not Found is about to be published by 53rd State Press. Welcome to the show Lucas Baisch! Additional links:  Website: www.lucasbaisch.com Instagram: @lucbaischGLISTEN Cho - moved to Ventura! Sam - Marx for Cats Lucas - Keyboard Fantasies documentary ________________________ Please support Beckett's Babies by reviewing, sharing an episode with your friends, or follow us on Instagram or Threads: @beckettsbabies As always, we would love to hear from you!  Send us your questions or thoughts on playwriting, and we might discuss it in our next episode. Email: [email protected] For more info, visit our website: ⁠www.beckettsbabies.com⁠ Theme Music: "Live Like the Kids" by Samuel Johnson, Laura Robertson, Luke O'Dea (APRA)