12 Jun Interview with #BAPF2018 & PF Resident Playwright Patricia Cotter – Part 1
Emmy Award winning playwright Patricia Cotter joins us at this year’s Bay Area Playwrights Festival with her play The Daughters. Come watch Sanfrancisco history be re-lived and re-told from the voices of the lesbians who made it! Readings will take place on July 21st at 12pm and July 29th at 6pm.
For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure to meet Resident Playwright Patricia Cotter – here’s an intro to her world! If you already know Patricia, you may want to find out more about her writing process, what influences her work & how she got to where she is now – we’ve asked the questions for you!
When did you write your first play? What was it about & how do you feel about it now?
Oh, gosh. About 20 years ago after a terrible breakup – I wrote it on the back of some random extra flyers for a house party. I feel deep affection for it – I eventually finished it, it got a production (how lucky is that?) and then we turned into a musical.
What are your main influences for your writing?
Images, memories, real life.
Do you have an established writing process or do you approach each project differently?
I just try and dump it all out as fast as I can – a big, unruly Word document – no judgment on myself, no fear about whether it’s a play or whether it makes sense or not just snippets of dialogue and character sketches. I find photos of the people and places (sometimes) who might be in the play, sometimes research, sometimes none. I ask a lot of questions. Sometimes, interviews with real people (I did a lot of that for The Daughters [#BAPF2018], I even interviewed Phyliss Lyon – lucky me.).
What do you consider the major milestones of your artistic career?
Quitting my day job years ago and just finding a way to make this writing life work. Being a playwright-in-residence at the now defunct, LA-based Apartment A Theatre Company; there were three writers and we were just assigned a slot – no excuses, we had to write a play. Being in the Sunday Show at the Groundlings Theatre – the same thing: you had to write and you did.
What has been your most ambitious undertaking as an artist?
Becoming the librettist to musicals – I have no musical ability, but I love them. I wrote the book of a musical called “Rocket Science” and I just remember thinking, “I’m not smart enough to write this…” but I had to…and I did.
What has been the most productive aspect of being a Playwrights Foundation Resident Playwright?
Having an advocate in the industry. Finding a community in (for me) a new town. Having a home in San Francisco as a playwright. The support of Amy Mueller has been amazing.
Patricia is bringing The Daughters to #BAPF2018. To find out what the play is about, keep an eye out for the next interviews – are you subscribed to our newsletter?
And be sure to reserve your seats now!
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