Friends,

Here’s an item on my list of THINGS-THAT-BRING-ME-JOY: Talking craft with playwrights, writers, theatre-makers and artists of all mediums.

Does that bring you joy too?

For the last 2.5 years, these artist-conversations have been recorded in person and then released via the Artist Soapbox podcast for everyone who likes to listen.

It’s always been an honor and a delight to spend time with my interview guests, and shake their hands, and see their faces light up when they discuss their work.

As COVID-19 in the US has ramped up significantly over the last seven weeks and all Piedmont Laureate events were cancelled, I shifted to recording my podcast interviews online.

Though we are no longer in the same physical space, I continue to feel honored and delighted to share time with my guests and to hear their voices light up when they talk about their work. Since mid-March, I have worked to bring the voices of writers in our community to your ears as quickly as possible via the podcast.

I hope these conversations might be:

• comforting or stimulating
• thought-provoking or soothing
• inspiring or sheltering
• or whatever you need at this moment in time.

Below you’ll see fifteen podcast episodes from March 30-April 28, in case you’ve missed them.

Like the previous list from March 13-27, you’ll see a roster of incredible writers from the Triangle community including: Monét Noelle Marshall, Ian Finley, Chris Vitiello, June Guralnick, Amy Sawyers-Williams, Jack Reitz, Debra Kaufman, Allan Maule, Mark Cornell, and Cheryl Chamblee.

In addition to locally based writers, I’ve included episodes featuring playwrights and writers of audio fiction from much farther away as part of my podcast series for Howlround Theatre Commons, titled Adventures in Audio Fiction.

All of these conversations have sustained me in moments when I felt very isolated and worried. I found comfort in the connection I felt after 40 minutes of conversation with another human being about creativity, life, writing, process, and meaning.

After this intense flurry of activity (31 episodes in 7 weeks!), the Artist Soapbox podcast will be on hiatus for a bit so that I can return to my own writing, gain a more comfortable handle on my life/home/parenting responsibilities, and blog more regularly here.

If you are looking for inspiration, writing tips, vulnerability and a backstage pass to the writing process, then I hope you will enjoy listening to the episodes below.

If now is not the best time for you to listen, then they will be here when you are ready. Sending you love.

Writing-related episodes from March 30-April 28:

• 104: Autobiographical writing, providing opportunities for Black playwrights, and creative process with theatre artist, Monét Noelle Marshall
• 105: Art and education in times of crisis with Ian Finley, playwright and educator
• 109: What does the Poetry Fox say? Deep connections thru performance writing with Chris Vitiello
• 110: Questions, structure, & digging deep. Diving into creative process with playwright, June Guralnick
• 112: Writing a Scripted Audio Fiction Series with Jessica Wright Buha and Bilal Dardai of Unwell

• 115: Tap into play with applied theatre artist Amy Sawyers-Williams of See Saw Projects
• 116: The Power of Community with Andrea Klassen of the Procyon Podcast Network
• 117: The goal is collaboration. Improv & sketch comedy with Jack Reitz of Mettlesome
• 119: THE NEW COLOSSUS audio drama is available for listening!
• 120: Mindfulness, intention, and process with poet and playwright, Debra Kaufman.
• 121: Measuring the mass of a rom-com. Structure, process, and science with playwright Allan Maule.
• 122: The Parsnip Ship: Revolutionizing the Way You Hear Theatre
• 123: Inspiration, dedication, and production with playwright Mark Cornell
• 124: It’s the little things. Small moments, vulnerability and opportunity with writer Cheryl Chamblee.
• 125: Time to write. Podcasting during a pandemic (with kids).

[Note: The episodes listed above are related specifically to writing. There are additional episodes with other creatives at www.artistsoapbox.org. Click on these links for the complete list from April 13-28,  March 30-April 10, and March 13-27. Please reach out if you need a transcript.]