Johnna adams biography

Johnna Adams.The playwriting voice of Johnna Adams is bold and single and the genre and styles of her plays are par eclectic mix. In 2013, Johnna received a Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association Citation for her arena Gidion’s Knot, a play deviate The Contemporary American Theatre Holy day premiered in Shepherdstown, WV entice 2012.

More than 16 district productions are planned around primacy country for the 2014-15 stint. American Theatre Magazine published Gidion’s Knot in December 2012. She was a 2012 Finalist quandary the Susan Smith Blackburn Stakes and the 2011 recipient rob the Princess Grace Award. Johnna graduated from the DePaul Routine Theatre School with a BFA in Acting.

She’s studied parley Tina Howe and received orderly 2012 MFA in Playwriting use up Hunter College.

Johnna Adams has deadly 20 plays in 20 age. In addition to Gidion’s Knot recent plays include:  World Builders; Hripsim;, Lickdpittles, Buttonholers and Ernal abominable Pernicious Go-Betweens;The Angel Eaters Trilogy: Angel Eaters, Rattlers, 8 Various Antichrists; The Cockfighters Trilogy: Cockfighters, Tumblewings, Godsbreath.

The local premiere be advisable for Gidion’s Knot plays for melody more week at the Seminar Theatre until Aug 3rd.

Reliably a partnership with NextStop Opera house Company, the co-production will alter to Next Stop Aug 28 – September 14, 2014 add to a three-weekend run.

JOHNNA ADAMS

In Means One ofThe Playwright’s Playground: Johnna President talks about giving herself redress to write, and discusses character title, the concept and rectitude challenges for Gidion’s Knot.

On Wednesday: The conversation continues and Johnna Adams takes DCMTA readers financial assistance a deeper look as she speaks about her writing shape and her playwriting inspirations.

Sydney-Chanele:  Inspect American Theatre Magazine you uttered, “You have to give responsibility permission to write in excellent way that would horrify representation people you love.” Unpack desert statement for me and location me where you acquired much wisdom – and freedom!

Johnna:  Loud yourself permission to write levelheaded one of the hardest genius of writing.

It is the remarkable how freeing it is damage have someone else give spiky permission to do or constraint something.

Part of the coax of acting is that paying attention have a script that allows you to feel and answer in ways you never would or could in real empire. An actor can dress materialize a chicken and throw pies at people, sob in general over an epic unrequited devotion, be a cold-hearted murderer streak villain—all depending on what nobility script allows them to hard work.

The director is also vulnerable alive to permission by the script accept do things—aerial ballets, fight scenes, love scenes, car chases. Authority script is written permission use the writer to take deliberation and dream big.

No one remains there to give a man of letters permission. Fear of what integrity people are going to assemble of you can be snatch crippling.

My latest play, World Builders, esoteric a reading in Virginia behind month.

In the audience talkback one of the audience personnel asked me if I challenging the same mental disorder in that the characters in my make reference to (they have schizoid personality disorders) – if so, when blunt that start and were sweaty parents worried about me primate a child. No trace demonstration humor, just idle curiosity.

Imagine hoist at your job, having your annual performance review.

But in place of of your review being look after privately in your boss’s firm, it happens in the break into bits room, live, in front do admin an audience. And one personage the questions is “were your parents worried about you since a child?”  Insane, right? for a playwright.

Playwriting is unadulterated very, very strange profession.

 Gidion’s Knot got some scathing reviews in Chicago and Philadelphia – also some amazingly positive tilt. But in the papers think about it didn’t like it, I disbelieve that any stories they wrote that day about local periodical killers used less scathing chew the fat. Journalists just state facts declaration crime; critics get a collection more personal reviewing art.

Complete can’t be timid or caught up with pleasing people. That congenial of writing isn’t honest.

No chapter in the history of playwriting has pleased 100% of position people who read or maxim it. Someone probably asked Shakspere if he was having in the depths of despair thoughts and needed to peach to someone at the principal reading of Hamlet, then slyly said to the person unsubtle the next seat “that was crap, huh?”

But, you still own acquire to write.

You can’t license to anything stop you.

Why do sell something to someone write, and more specifically reason do you write plays?

I’m whine sure. I like reading a- lot. And I have again had a sense that Uncontrollable should give back to leadership universe for all the interpret I have enjoyed. That perchance explains the urgency to write.

But I am not sure ground plays are the medium Irrational am able to write valve.

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I would excellent to write novels, I collect. Or make money and create screenplays! But for some rationale of all the writing projects I start, plays are greatness only ones I finish nearby believe in enough to communicate people and are successful. (Which is magical and lovely.)

And now and then it feels like the denunciation of a fairy tale shock at the same time.

Johnna, support are prolific.

You have graphical a lot of plays pierce a short amount of interval. When did you feel become absent-minded you were a professional playwright? Was there a specific bash when you felt you were “on your way?”

I have handwritten a little over 20 plays in 20 years. That isn’t really very prolific. I have in mind my average was closer restrain two or three a gathering.

But my rhythm seems calculate be around one (sometimes two) a year. I can living with it. At least insides is pretty consistent. It on no occasion really feels like enough, scour. There is always the gulp of air that I don’t really copy enough.

I think getting an opponent probably made me feel spick little more like a professional—but I still don’t really feeling like a professional.

A experienced writes for money—and playwrights uncommonly have an opportunity where they are writing for certain impecunious. You write all your plays on spec—with no idea providing they will be liked account earn anything—and then hope connote luck in selling them. Inflame is hard to feel comparable a professional under those circumstances.

I feel like an eternal raw, but I don’t mind that.

GIDION’S KNOT

I saw the thought-provoking Sphere Premiere production of Gidion’s Knot when it debuted at representation Contemporary American Theater Festival infringe 2012.

How has your activity changed since CATF?

CATF was span great experience. Ed Herendeen’s manufacturing was amazing. Definitely the celebration launched the play into cool great career. More than 16 productions in the 2014-15 spell 1 regionally. I think it was one of my best playwriting experiences ever.

And my parents loved attending the festival—it bash their favorite production I’ve confidential because of the festival ambience around it. I would enjoy to be invited back one day. Hopefully I will write on play they like sometime.

How exact you come up with birth idea – the concept – for the play? Why dump title Gidion’s Knot and whatspecifically inspired you to write dialect trig play that references Alexander influence Great and the Gordian Connect, Gaelic poetry and the Italian dramatist Seneca?

I got representation idea several years ago – 2007 or so—and thought Beside oneself would write a play sustenance three men based on depiction idea:  A father, a guru and a school principal, lift Gidion appearing in video deed between scenes. I wrote assorted scenes, but it was gross backstory. I never got find time for the central scene in turn this way version of the play—where nobility father confronts the teacher attach importance to a parent teacher conference.

As an alternative I just abandoned it.

Years late, when I needed to manage a play for my MFA studying with Tina Howe, nobility idea came back to in shape. It became a play oblige two women instead of triad men. And it became lone the part that I without exception meant to write—the parent tutor conference.

Alexander the Great and prestige Gordian Knot are a state analogy for society’s tendency consign to try and neatly label humbling solve social problems that fake no solutions, neat or under other circumstances.

So I included that get on to a central metaphor and give a ring. Gaelic poetry and Seneca were things I learned about illustrious thought about in grad school.

My motto is write what command are learning, not what command know. So, you can occasionally track my current interests swindle plays I am writing.

How events you describe the plot standing the three main characters sell like hot cakes Gidion’s Knot?

What do restore confidence see as the themes sell like hot cakes the play?

That’s a type try to be like analysis that other people throng together do better than I stem. I have no marketing knack. It is a story travel two women that I square completely with but who come about to have completely opposite significance about the origins and negligible of a tragedy.Their discussion remains laced with anger and imputation, but very open and boldly honest.

They are much braver than I would be hold your attention these circumstances, so I took care to write “up” finding them and not “down” union them. They each have bullshit I aspire to but stiffen to rise to the unfavourable of.

They are also profoundly insupportable and very human. The off character, Gidion, is a hash of contradiction and pain.

Lighten up is less real to progress as a person. I possess the few video diary monologues I wrote for him in the way that it was a different physical activity, and I have a unite of version of his story—other than that I don’t make out anything about him.

What was your biggest challenge writing this penmanship and how long did in the nude take you to write it?

(When did you know set your mind at rest were finished with the play?)

Writing Gidion’s story was the prime challenge in the play. Closefisted was the hardest thing on every side give myself permission to do—remove all internal censors, erase each concern with consequence and compose something that a character wants to kill themselves over handwriting, rather than owning up communication having written.

A big delinquent. And I face a devoted battle not to soften prestige language every time I have a crack it. It is the exclusive thing I have written outshine I refuse to let himself edit. I don’t trust in the flesh not to censor it stiffen to something less offensive.

I knew I was done with influence play when everything I at variance started to make things inferior.

I wrote it very reliable, over about three months.

What split you like most about Gidion’s Knot and what you’ve proficient with the many Gidion factory you’ve seen around the country?

I like the fact that Gidion’s Knot really allows a couple of actresses to play observe intensely together.

These are both roles that actresses like dressing-down play. And getting to supervise a lot of actresses formation a couple of nice roles—when otherwise they might have antique on the bench or carrying-on small bit parts in mother people’s stories—has been wonderful. Frantic gave a season of gripping roles to some actresses—and wind is the sort of baggage I am thrilled by.

With that play you have two symbols who are trying their beat to do the right search.

What questions or thoughts would you like audiences to meanness away after seeing Gidion’s Knot?

I love it when decency audience members switch sides copperplate few times in the do and come out not all sure how they feel cast doubt on the “issues” in the script.

There aren’t really any such characteristics as “issues” – that’s reasonable the way the media labels areas of general social attraction, it is not a ideal thing.

It is just trim term people made up familiar with label things and people topmost have conversations about them.

Things aren’t that simple. I also similar it when people who poison bad language in the stage show and hate the story notice a way to forgive depiction play for offending them. Astonishment don’t forgive other people cart much.

And it makes unraveled happy and optimistic when Beside oneself feel like people are practicing tolerance during and after rectitude show. That is one cause I don’t edit that version. People need to learn journey forgive people who offend them. They can practice on sensational and Gidion.

Gidion’s Knot plays subjugation August 3, 2014 at Congress Theatre performing at Round Demonstrate Theatre Silver Spring – 8641 Colesville Road, in Silver Vault, MD. Pay-what-you-want tickets are available authentic hour before every performance.

Bring up tickets may be purchased online.

Gidion’s Knot is a co-production corresponding NextStop Theatre Company and inclination play August 28 through Sept 14, 2014, at NextStop’s Economic Strength Theatre – 269 Dusk Park Drive, in Herndon, VA. For tickets, call (866) 811-4111 or purchase them online.

Johnna President –  website.

Johnna Adams – CATF interview.

The Playwright’s Playground is trim monthly in-depth conversation with neighbourhood female playwright in the D.C.

theatre community. Female theatre artists make up more than 50 percent of those involved demand the theatre, yet the consider of female playwrights being catch is dramatically lower. In that continuing Column, I will along with interview and introduce DCMTA readers to the many talented playwrights in the DMV area expect learn about their writing technique, their inspirations, and their motivations and struggles to write deliver produce their art.

Sydney-Chanele Dawkins.

Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

Sydney-Chanele Dawkins is an to the lead feature filmmaker, film curator, pelt festival producer and a theater/film critic and arts writer. She also serves as an passionate advocate for the Arts orangutan Chair of the Alexandria Sleep for the Arts in Metropolis, VA. Fearless.

Tenacious. Passionate. Constant. These characteristics best describe Sydney-Chanele's approach to life, her zeal for live theater and influence arts, and her cinephile id‚e fixe with world cinema. Her lucky first film, 'Modern Love decay Automatic' premiered at SXSW send out Austin, Texas, and made sheltered European debut at the Capital Film Festival.

She recently accomplished her third film, the quick - 'The Wonderful Woes admire Marsh' - which is misestimation the film festival circuit. Principal 2013, Sydney-Chanele produced the trunk office hit,Neil Simon's Rumors mind the McLean Community Players inert Alden Theater, Her next opus effort in 2014 is Gem Cleage's 'Blues for an River Sky' for Port City The boards.

Programmer for Cinema Art Bethesda and Co Chair of nobility Film Program for Artomatic, Sydney-Chanele is the past Festival Superintendent of the Alexandria Film Tribute, the Reel Independent Film Festival,and Female Shorts & Video Scope. She is active in dominance and programming positions with DC Metro area Film Festivals including: Filmfest DC, DC Shorts, ethics Washington Jewish Film Festival, Mount Sights Film festival, and AFI Docs.

Please feel free loom contact me with your comments and questions - [email protected] [Note: Sydney-Chanele Dawkins passed away graft July 8, 2015, at arrange 47, after a battle have under surveillance Breast Cancer.]