When I interviewed Carolyn last week, my first question was "do you remember the very first thing you wrote?" "I believe it was a short story," Carolyn told me, "a fairy tale called The Two Pocketbooks. It was about two doll pocketbooks. My mother showed it to a journalist friend who praised it to high heaven."
"I also remember," Carolyn continued, "that by third grade I was reading Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb. This was not the plays themselves, but the stories of the plays. I also had a massive collection of Classics Illustrated, which were comic book versions of classics like Moby Dick and The Last of the Mohicans. I read them so much I can still remember many of the panels. Comic books and plays have a lot in common conceptually."
Many of the leading characters in Carolyn's plays bring perspectives rarely seen on stage. "Yes," Carolyn agreed, "because of my autism, and as a feminist and lesbian, it's relatively easy for me to center my experience in my work, even in a world that marginalizes me, especially in terms of representation on the stage. In my work, I center the marginalized identities and marginalize the mainstream. I go through the looking glass, and if I'm successful, I take my mainstream audience with me."
Carolyn also deftly uses innovative dramatic structures to draw audiences into her plays. Anastasia is a prime example. It's a play within a play, a courtroom drama where the audience acts as judge, ruling on motions, and as jury determining the final verdict. Each ruling determines what happens next in the play. The audience is in charge. The case is against five women who betrayed Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, the last surviving daughter of the Tsar of Russia.
"The focus of the play," Carolyn explains, "is the hidden world of ethics for women who are both survivors and perpetrators of abuse toward women. Because patriarchy is a real thing, I wanted to write about how it feels to live in a world that refuses to acknowledge one's identity, which is Anastasia's plight in the play."
From doll pocketbooks to courtroom dramas, Carolyn seemed like the perfect person to ask for advice for wannabe playwrights. "Structure, struc...
"I also remember," Carolyn continued, "that by third grade I was reading Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb. This was not the plays themselves, but the stories of the plays. I also had a massive collection of Classics Illustrated, which were comic book versions of classics like Moby Dick and The Last of the Mohicans. I read them so much I can still remember many of the panels. Comic books and plays have a lot in common conceptually."
Many of the leading characters in Carolyn's plays bring perspectives rarely seen on stage. "Yes," Carolyn agreed, "because of my autism, and as a feminist and lesbian, it's relatively easy for me to center my experience in my work, even in a world that marginalizes me, especially in terms of representation on the stage. In my work, I center the marginalized identities and marginalize the mainstream. I go through the looking glass, and if I'm successful, I take my mainstream audience with me."
Carolyn also deftly uses innovative dramatic structures to draw audiences into her plays. Anastasia is a prime example. It's a play within a play, a courtroom drama where the audience acts as judge, ruling on motions, and as jury determining the final verdict. Each ruling determines what happens next in the play. The audience is in charge. The case is against five women who betrayed Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, the last surviving daughter of the Tsar of Russia.
"The focus of the play," Carolyn explains, "is the hidden world of ethics for women who are both survivors and perpetrators of abuse toward women. Because patriarchy is a real thing, I wanted to write about how it feels to live in a world that refuses to acknowledge one's identity, which is Anastasia's plight in the play."
From doll pocketbooks to courtroom dramas, Carolyn seemed like the perfect person to ask for advice for wannabe playwrights. "Structure, struc...
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The Weekly Packet (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 20. 2025