the craft. theater, i love you, i do.

If someone were to ask me what I do I would say, storyteller. I find ways to tell stories in the ways which I feel would best tell the story. I have experimented with short stories, blog posts, the unfinished but soon-be-finished draft of my first book, screenwriting, and most recently I told one of my personal stories in the form of playwriting.

Growing up I had this idea that theater was an old man’s game filled with lots of thou arts and soliloquies that end in death. I had not explored this art form enough to know that the world of theater is so vast. So many wonderful things I would discover happen in the world of playwriting.

A friend asked me recently if I had ever been in love. Romantically, I question that, but that’s another story for another time. If you were to ask me about theater I would tell you it was in my early twenties when I first fell in love. I had recently moved to the east coast where I believed all dreams came true. I enrolled in a community college where I took as many classes as I could that would open up the doors of storytelling. A majority of those classes were in playwriting and stage acting. It was like a part of me came alive that I had not known since I was a child. I, a little girl, ran around the house with a sheet around my head pretending to be the singing queen who could sing people back to life. I felt alive.

Shortly after moving to the east coast, I hopped on the not preferred twenty-dollar bus ride but the most used option of young travelers and went to NYC. I was on a mission to see my first ever Broadway play, Westside Story. I could not believe that this was someone’s job. You get to tell stories in this beautiful way every single day. The packed audience, the live music, the beautiful set design. So many picturesque moments live in my mind from that day when my love story was first blossoming.

The thing about love stories is that sadly you get to a point where things sometimes fall off or feel different and mostly due to communication. As a creative, I saw the long road from where I was as an audience member to where the characters on stage were and could not see the pathway between. I went on to get a degree in theater writing my stories and learning the technicalities of theater and playwriting. I even experienced the thrill of getting on stage a few times. Then, I decided that I would walk a pathway that seemed filled with more stability even having known what love feels like.

After years of dating jobs and career paths that were not even close to the feeling, the feeling I get when I am telling stories. I enjoyed the process because writing is a process that takes much time. I missed the stage and the sometimes quick thinking or rewrites you must do when the lights are shining on you. I also missed the audience's reaction. The laughs are like an agreement that this is good. The in-the-moment feedback of if you were able to translate a story well. I decided to circle back to my love. I packed everything up at my current job. I walked out the doors and into what I know would be hard but worth it. So many stories to tell and so many ways to tell them. This first story however would take me back to what I know well, theater.

Again, what I thought was an old man's game or had to be told in a particular way at one point in my life became this very large world I was so excited to delve into. “Hello, How Are You?” Was a one-woman stage play that I wrote, produced, and performed out of my love for storytelling. The idea all started as I lounged on the floor of my bedroom scrolling messages on dating apps. I quite literally thought to myself this is actually quite funny, of course, not in the moment but this is relatable material. I started writing down my experiences in my notes app over the course of 2-3 years. I then started writing out the play using CELTX online, which is a great resource as far as helping you format the type of script you're writing. There were many rewrites and many more stories that did not make it to the stage. That actually was one of my challenges, I kept trying to fit everything into one show. As a writer I learned through this process that less is more sometimes when telling a story on stage.

There were no thou arts, just a few props or pieces of costume you could say, but mostly just good storytelling which is really all you need to start. I dusted off some of my old theater books, one in particular Playwriting, the structure of action By Sam Smiley. While this book speaks to dramatic writing it was a great resource in helping develop ideas and characters. Honestly, while what I wrote is comedic it touched on a real heart issue of will the character ever find love? I watched and found inspiration in one-woman shows. In particular, watching Whoopi helped inspire me greatly as my own story developed. If I have to narrow it down to one thing there is nothing like loving what you do to help translate the best version of a story in the best way to an audience.

Writing/Job Opportunities

Olivia Hanock is looking for beauty pitches again for Byrdie Beauty (open to any and all beauty/wellness ideas)! Send over pitches with the subject line: Byrdie Pitch. Rates start at $200. ohancock@dotdashmdp.com

Andscape is looking for pitches. Reported pieces on footwear trends and news, sneaker industry profiles/interviews, culture articles/essays about sneakers and adjacent content. Be sure to read http://andscape.com before pitching. They cover topics through a Black lens. Put PITCH in the subject line of your email jg@johngotty.com.

Rolling Stone is hiring a Staff Writer.

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