Inflexible DynamoJan 14, 20192 minTrimming the TreeWhen it comes right down to it, it might just be nothing more complicated than age mixed with organic, unadulterated crankiness, a trait...
Inflexible DynamoDec 7, 20184 minWhere does a playwright’s responsibility to the audience’s emotional health begin and end?We like to proclaim proudly that “the best plays are the ones that move the audience, challenge the intellect, and serve as a catalyst...
Inflexible DynamoNov 19, 20183 minTrigger WarningsA colleague recently posted a New York Times article about trigger warnings with the comment “Nothing ruins a magic trick more than...
Inflexible DynamoSep 28, 20182 minBad Decisions Make Great Drama.It's a truth. Look at any great play and see what the bad decision was. Someone fucked up hugely. Someone got badly burned. Someone got...
Inflexible DynamoSep 12, 20185 minHow much control is too much? How much control is not enough?There's an ongoing discussion (started around Euripides' time, I think) about how far playwrights should go to protect the intent, the...
Inflexible DynamoSep 5, 20182 minStill Working This One Out...Nike guilty of sweatshop employment practices for years, paying ~20 cents a day to workers working 60-70 hours a week to produce high-end...
Inflexible DynamoJul 8, 20186 min“Ehhhh, Mr. Sapio...this is Harlan Ellison. We need to talk.”With I heard these words on my answering machine* I knew I was pipik-deep in serious shit. For those of you unacquainted with the legend...
Inflexible DynamoJul 3, 20183 minObstacles. Those bits in the middle.We've all had issues with obstacles--those pesky road blocks that all protagonists have to navigate successfully in order to achieve...
Inflexible DynamoJun 15, 20185 minThe Best of Us (3)The call came in the early afternoon. That very morning I had seen three—count 'em—three rejection slips. This was the fifth year of my...
Inflexible DynamoMay 9, 20183 minNotes from "The Viking Suicides" Workshop, Part 2In Part I of this post I promised to address why I encourage everyone at the table to speak their minds freely and openly. Here’s why. I...
Inflexible DynamoMay 5, 20184 minNotes from the "Viking Suicides" Workshop, Part 1We’re having the first workshop rehearsal for my new play, The Viking Suicides. Two of the cast members have been through this process...
Inflexible DynamoMar 29, 20183 minJust Mull. And Enjoy It.It's called Writer's Block, that agonizing period fraught with insecurity when the creative river dries up. Writer's Block: when you need...
Inflexible DynamoFeb 23, 20183 minBest Advice I Ever Received About Playwriting: Learn How to Do EverythingSeems like a simple concept, and yet many playwrights continue to keep themselves away from the rest of the profession. I've heard them...
Inflexible DynamoJan 28, 20183 minLife LessonOdd memory to surface: I was 14, parents were trying to get my father divorced from his estranged wife (1973, remember). I'm sitting in...
Inflexible DynamoJan 21, 20181 minA Playwright's DayMake coffee. Write. Think about taking shower. Write. Change title. Write. Daydream. Write. Feed/change baby. Write. Eat. Write. Realize...
Inflexible DynamoJan 15, 20183 minNoooooo...It belongs Over HERE.Every once in a while the question comes up: how detailed should I be with my set directions? For me, the answer is easy. For others it...
Inflexible DynamoOct 16, 20175 minDon't Fear the Talkback!It’s happened to most of us. We’ve just finished the staged reading or performance of our newest play, and we sit next to the director,...
Inflexible DynamoOct 13, 20162 minSize MattersSynopsis: 1. a brief or condensed statement giving a general view of some subject. 2. a compendium of heads or short paragraphs giving...
Inflexible DynamoSep 30, 20162 minChin Up, Eyes ForwardThe great miraculous bell of translucent ice is suspended in mid-air; It rings to announce endings and beginnings. And it rings because...
Inflexible DynamoApr 8, 20164 minIt’s the White Privilege, Stupid.So I'm in my tavern of choice, shooting a few games of pool with an acquaintance. There's a huge crowd filling the rest of the place, and...