I Interview Playwrights Part 1032: Nicholas Linnehan

Nicholas Linnehan

Current Town: New York New York

Q:  Tell me about Identity. 



A:  Identity was written when I was trying to reconcile aspects of my own identity. I was and am gay disabled and Catholic. These three things don't seem to go together. So I wrote this play as a way to explore these concepts in order to figure out how I was going to reconcile them for myself. It was written in 2005, and performed off off Broadway in 2006. Now it has undergone a revision and 12 years later it's grown into something that I didn't expect but I'm very proud of ..This play celebrates individuality and teaches us to live fully so that we can embrace the sunlight of the spirit.

Q:  What else are you working on now? 




A:  I have written a short film called Catfish that is in post-production. Catfish deals with sexuality and disability. What happens when two men meet up for a casual encounter and one is in a wheelchair but didn't tell the other that he is? How do they negotiate this situation?

Q:  Tell me, if you will, a story from your childhood that explains who you are as a writer or as a person. 




A:  I remember seeing my sister perform in Sweet Charity. I knew right there and then that I wanted to do theater. Then I was cast as the Mayor of Munchkin City in 7th grade and once I experienced the exhilaration of performing I knew I was home.

Q:  If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be? 




A:  It will be more inclusive of actors with disabilities and use them in every kind of roles not those just written for characters with disabilities

Q:  Who are or were your theatrical heroes? 




A:  Peter Dinklage who shows us that actors with disabilities exist and are talented and can do great things

Q:  What kind of theater excites you? 




A:  I like theater that pushes the envelope and dares the audience to think outside the box

Q:  What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out? 




A:  Don't be afraid to dream. Imagination knows no disability

Q:  Plugs, please: 




A:  Be an advocate for change. Rethink the Impossible because we are only limited by ourselves. If you dream it, it can come into existence!

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