I Interview Playwrights Part 1049: Carole Real

Carole Real




Hometown: San Anselmo, California



Current Town: I’ve lived in LA for twenty years but am moving back to New York City in the fall.



Q:  Tell me about your play in the EST Marathon. 




A:  The play follows a temp worker in a large corporation who is charged with the task of reading foreign factory audits. Spoiler: the factories are not great places to work. The play is both funny and disturbing.



Q:  What else are you working on now? 




A:  My latest project attempts to channel my feminist rage. Tall order!



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



A:  When I was fifteen, I got a job as a lab assistant for my high school Chemistry class—meaning I washed beakers for a few hours a week. The high school sent me paperwork I had to sign to get paid and one document was a declaration that I was not a member of the Communist Party. I showed it to my folks and they told me it was a holdover from the McCarthy era. I didn’t want to sign it, so I looked up the phone number for the ACLU and phoned them to ask them if I had to. The ACLU lady explained that the political climate wasn’t right to challenge this practice in the courts and advised I sign the document. I want to go back and give sixteen-year-old me a high five and a hug for knowing that requiring employees to sign such a document was wrong and calling the ACLU on my own!



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




A:  I would have all companies produce an equal number of plays by women and men and produce playwrights who reflect the demographics of the city where the theaters are located.





Q:  Who are or were your theatrical heroes?




A:  Tennessee Williams, Sarah Ruhl, The Lilly Awards and everyone who helps run a theater anywhere.



Q:  What kind of theater excites you? 



A:  Anything that makes me feel.



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




A:  Get smart actors to read your plays aloud.



Q:  Plugs, please: 



A:  Nothing for me, but check out this new initiative to broaden the scope of theatrical criticism: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/janejung/3views-on-theater




---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Enter Your Email To Have New Blog Posts Sent To You



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support The Blog









-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events



Email:





------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam's Patreon




Adam's New Play Exchange Profile (Plays to Read)




Books by Adam (Amazon)