UCR Presents: Challenges of a Playwright

Not a theatre major myself, I found that many of the “challenges” covered would apply to any other major in the arts & humanities departments, let alone the math and sciences. Those in the art field know that we hear every day from our parents “you’re not going to find a job after college with that major”. Several playwrights, theatre directors, and actors came to UCR to explain the challenges of going into the arts of playwright. Kelly Miller is the Literary Manager of South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa, CA. Mike Myers is the Managing Director of the Ruskin Group Theatre and current chair of the Arts Council in Santa Monica, CA. Stephen Metcalfe is a playwright, screenwriter and director who has created numerous dramatic works for film, television and stage. His writing credits include Jacknife, based on his play Strange Snow and starring Robert DeNiro and Cathy Bates, and Cousins, directed by Joel Schumacher for Paramount Pictures. They are accomplished people with a career in the playwrighting and theater world. Our own theatre professor Mr. Reckerby put it as theatre is the original 3D and the ultimate question: What could you bring to the audience? To enter to the world of playwright it is up to you to keep it relevant, it’s up to this generation to keep the art still alive. Mike Myers (not the famous one) lives in Santa Monica which has recently became center of modern theatre and art. In Santa Monica more than 60% of people make their money through the arts. Santa Monica’s Civic Center was made with 60 million dollars to increase the art life in the area, bringing in a 4 million profit for the arts. What the playwrighters and theatre directors mostly focused on was to “never give up”. To keep striving for more success and to not be hard on yourself, sometimes plays take up to 16 drafts to be over written until it’s good enough material. Start interning in different companies to get a feel of the theatre world such as Southcoast Rep. Networking is vital in the playwrighting world, and interning is key to that success. Just as thses accomplished speakers demonstrated, you don’t need to have a major in the math and sciences to have a career, you just need passion.