EBE Ensemble

Today we feature Nicole Pandolfo, playwright of Things to do in New Jersey. She holds a BA in Metropolitan Studies from NYU. Her play “Canadian Tuxedo” was produced in Boston, London, California, New Mexico, Melbourne, and Singapore.  It won the People’s Choice Award at the Short + Sweet Singapore Festival and will be published in the 2010 Best Ten-Minute Plays by Smith and Kraus.  “Love in the Time of Chlamydia,” which she wrote, directed, and performed at the Estrogenius Festival in October, will be published in The Book of Estrogenius in 2010. She has studied with Craig Lucas, Gretchen Cryer, Austin Pendleton, Donna de Matteo, and Julie McKee.

How long have you been writing plays? What made you first dive into playwriting?
I’ve been writing plays since September 2007. I’ve always been a writer- short stories, poetry, exotic emails…but an actor friend of mine, famed comic book artist Kevin Maguire, mentioned he was going to do a playwriting workshop at HB Studio and maybe I should check it out too. I agreed and registered for the class. Turned out that he bailed on the workshop (though we still work on comedic shorts together, and he is continuously creative), and so there I was all by my lonesome in the workshop. However, it turned out to ignite one of the greatest passions in my life, and I’ve been writing theater ever since. 2 and ½ years- Two full length plays, one one-woman show, (one new one-woman show in development) and about a dozen 10 minute plays and several monologues.

Where are you from originally? Does “home” influence your work in conscious ways? Unconscious ways?
I am from New Jersey, and “home” absolutely influences my work both consciously and I’m sure unconsciously as well. 3 plays that I have written have “New Jersey” in the title. My God…it’s almost like a running joke.
“Home” is a really strong idea for me. I grew up in a small town in South Jersey with all of my family around. Most of my friends growing up are all still there now. For me, “home” is a place I both want to go to and flee from, all at the same time. A contradiction- I assume it’s that way for a lot of other people as well.

Let’s talk about “Things to Do in New Jersey.” Was there any particular inspiration for it? What has the writing process been like on this play compared to the rest of your work?
This play is inspired by a very real life similar situation. I won’t say his name, but there was one guy in particular in high school who I just had an enormous crush on, and could never get him to even look twice at me. Then we ended up at a party together the first summer I was home from college, and all the sudden it was like, “Oh, Nicole…let’s make out…” And we kissed because I had to know what it was like- and it was utterly disappointing. A borderline traumatizingly average experience. It wasn’t bad, but it was just like any other kiss- and really it was then and there that I realized I had grown up from being a kid. Weird, huh?

As a playwright, what do you find interesting, helpful, or difficult about rehearsals? What do you feel is the playwright’s position in the rehearsal process?
Rehearsals are the best. It’s the best way for everyone to get on the same page for a collaborative vision of the play. It’s where magic happens- actors and directors are always thinking of things you never thought of, and in general it’s very gratifying. The only thing that can be hard is when someone has a completely different vision, and you really don’t like it, and they are unwilling to change- but this rarely happens, at least in my experience. For the most part people are connected to the play already, and usually everyone can get on the same boat as one another.

How important are actors in your writing process? Do you have paticular voices in mind as you write? How important are readings and workshops in the development of your work?
Sometimes I think of a particular actor when I’m writing a play, and other times not. When you have someone specific in mind, it can really help you get going, because you kind of know how they would say and do things- and it helps build the character. Other times it’s great not knowing which actor you would use because then you might venture further out.
Readings and workshops are crucial. Without them, at least for me at this point, everything would be much harder to figure out. Someone outside the play can ask a lot of questions that you then realize need to be answered. However, only do this with trusted people who know what their talking about, and even then still always go with your own instinct. Otherwise you can end up drowned in bullshit- well-meaning bullshit, but still bullshit.

Do you have any advice people writing their first plays?
Just do it. That sounds stupid, and easy, but it’s not. I know a lot of people who spent a lot of time thinking “I should write a play,” and then didn’t for 10 years. Just do it! If it sucks, start over. My other advice is try not to get hung up on endings (which is very hard…I know…I’ve been there). If you can’t think of an ending make up a ridiculous one, stick it on there, and start rewriting the draft from the beginning and eventually it will come. Just write- submit- keep trying even though it’s “No” 99% of the time, because honestly, if you love to write then you gotta do it, so just do it.

Check out Nicole Pandolfo’s “Things to do in New Jersey” in Elephants on Parade 2010, running March 10-20, 2010 at Teatro IATI, 64 east 4th st., part of the FAB arts block. For more information on the show, visit www.ebeensemble.com, or to buy tickets visit us on SmartTix.