***This episode is a special limited release. Select sections of the episode will only be available until May 17th, 2022. Veteran writers, Paula Cizmar and Kermit Frazier, explore what it is like to write alone, especially during times of social & political unrest. This is the first episode moderated by L. Trey Wilson.
This month:
- Playwright & librettist Paula Cizmar shares a piece she wrote specifically for Writers Revealed and Opal’s Aria from the opera INVISIBLE.
- Actor & writer Kermit Frazier reads from two pieces, one non-fiction and one fiction, that were inspired by his mother.
- Paula & Kermit discuss how the ongoing pandemic affected them and their writing.
- Both writers reminisce on being commissioned to write a 10-minute play for Lower Depth Theatre.
- Kermit shares his experience at a virtual silent writing retreat during the Jan. 6th insurrection.
- Kermit & Paula extrapolate on the genres & writing styles they started out in.
- Kermit talks about how his mother, now deceased, inspired the pieces he read.
- Kermit discusses the idea of writing “what you know”, especially when it comes to characters who experience very different lives than you.
- Paula discusses how the pandemic forced us to pay attention when injustices like the murder of George Floyd took place.
- Kermit talks about his piece from 1987 about racialized police violence that is still relevant now.
- Paula admits she feels unworthy of writing stories about racialized violence, but knows she must do it anyway.
- Both writers answer the question, “What has this past year taught you about yourself, your work, and maybe the world in which we live?”
- Paula discusses conquering the blank page and giving yourself the permission to write badly.
- Kermit emphasizes that talent is cheap, because hard work is more important.
Pieces Read
- Opal's Aria from the short opera INVISIBLE.
- Paula wrote the libretto and Guang Yang composed the music
- THE WORD KEEPER by Paula Cizmar
- A special piece Paula wrote specifically for Writers Revealed
- IN THE NEAR-BLINK OF AN EYE by Kermit Frazier
- a non-fiction/memoir piece that Kermit wrote the piece shortly after a specific moment with his mother.
