1. THE COUPONISTA is a recent play you’ve submitted to The Baltimore Playwrights Festival. What is it about?
THE COUPONISTA is about Jane Parker, a millennial who is unemployed and has no permanent residence but is kept afloat by the support of friends and her passion for extreme couponing. Her best friend Lisa, irritant Sam and grounded Paul also face challenges in a job market that won’t accommodate them.
2. Where did the idea for THE COUPONISTA originate and where do you generally get ideas for plays?
This play was inspired by a friend who is masterful at couponing. It would be impossible to convey all the techniques he uses to avoid paying for food.
I am never out of ideas for plays. As in THE COUPONISTA and Long Live the Pig!, the last of which was read at Baltimore Playwights Festival, the ideas emerge from people I know and their circumstances. In Send Off, the subject of mentally ill people came from a series of newspaper articles about patients who were recklessly discharged because of a lack of funding.
3. When you get stuck in your writing, what gets you unstuck?
Surprisingly, sometimes it takes a while to remember what I want to communicate and why I created the characters I did. Once I connect the two, the direction of the play gets easier.
4. Tell us about yourself.
I’ve been writing since I was about 8 years old. I have dabbled in poetry, op-ed pieces, children’s stories, short stories and most recently playwriting. Professionally, I’ve been a marketing strategist and produced business communications.
5. What are you working on now?
I’ve tried my hand at 10-minute plays, which are challenging for me. However, my real ambition is to write a musical comedy and I’ve already started one.