How to Use Dark Humor and Intimacy in Theater Writing, with Playwright Michelle Kholos Brooks

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And welcome to the Holly Hughes
Podcast, where creative people

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come together to have creative
conversations.

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My guest today is Michelle Kolos
Brooks, who I'm excited and I

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have ghost bumpies again to talk
to because she and I met years

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ago.
We're just going to, we're going

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to just say years, years at a
play called Expressing

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Motherhood, where we both
performed essays, which was so

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out of my comfort zone.
I've always liked being very

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well hidden in the background.
And we met and I really liked to

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and we remarkably stayed in
touch, even if it's sometimes on

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social media.
And I've gotten to see your work

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just get like bloom.
I don't even know the right

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word.
Just like because when I'm

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looking at you, like, I
literally see like these giant

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white flowers, like just kind of
coming out.

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So I love that.
I also like how you tackle

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really intense subjects with,
see, I'm going to cry with

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history and modern issues like
all in one.

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So I would love to talk to you
about all that you do and how

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that you do it and how you do
it.

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So welcome to the program.
Thank you.

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I'm so happy.
I'm honored to be here.

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I'm pretty happy to be reunited
with you.

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This.
Is going to be good.

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So I want to start with,
obviously Hitler's tasters.

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I really do.
I want to know how that started,

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like how even the idea came to
you and what made you curious.

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And people often use this word,
I think, with creative people

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brave enough to write it.
Like what?

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What was all of that about for
you?

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Well, first of all, I want, I
always like to begin by saying

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Hitler's Tasters is a lot nicer
play than it sounds.

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Some people get very afraid of
the H word and it's caused lots

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of controversy, but Oh well.
I mean, if you're going to be in

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theatre, you might as well.
I was walking through a War

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Museum with my former writing
partner in Indianapolis of all

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places, the first and only time
we were in Indianapolis because

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we had a play that opened in
Bloomington.

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And we were killing some time
before we had to get on the

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plane as we were just kind of,
you know, inevitably you're in

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the World War 2 area.
And he said, hey, did you read

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that article about those, that
young woman who was like that

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woman who was one of Hitler's
food tasters?

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And I was like, wait, what?
He said those the young women

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who were Hitler's food tasters.
And then he started walking

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away.
And I was like, halt, come back.

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And I said, are you going to
write that?

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No, why would I write that?
I said, because if you're not

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going to write that, I'm going
to write that.

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And he said, I'm not going to
write that.

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I just, I'm sure as a, you know,
a creative person yourself,

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every once in a while, you're
not only just hit with

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something, but you're slammed
with something that you know

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absolutely is a story that you
must investigate and that you

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must tell.
Because it just, it just, it

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just got into my body and I knew
that I was the person that had

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to tell the story, or at least I
wanted to be, you know, the

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person that told.
The story, well, I love that you

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were like, are you taking that
because I'm taking that because

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we had a conversation too, like,
oh, are you we writing that down

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because we said that together.
So are you writing that or is

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that one mine?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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I want to be clear.
I want to be clear that wasn't

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really his jam, you know, but
100% mine.

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And he was kind of like, no,
without even knowing much about

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it.
First of all, it sounded

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hilarious to me.
Like the idea of putting, you

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know, young women in a room
where they could, you know,

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potentially die at any meal is
kind of lends itself to some,

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you know, hilarity.
And if you look at it through

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the right or the wrong lens,
however you whatever, you

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consider that.
But I've always been very

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concerned about young women and
the treatment of young women.

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And to me, it just represented
everything about the way that we

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use up young women.
And as long as they're about, as

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long as they're valuable to us,
and then we discard them.

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We we, we raise them up, we
knock them down, we kill them

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off.
Either, you know, metaphorically

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or literally.
And you literally do that in the

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whole play.
And yeah, in the play in, well,

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we don't really know what
happens.

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Just that bright light.
I love the.

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Night.
Yeah, but I wanted to actually

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leave a little I mean, whatever
happens to them, it's not good,

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right?
Whatever happens to them is not

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good, but I wanted to leave a
sense of mystery in terms of

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giving very specific answers
about what happens to these

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girls, because in war people
disappear all the time for all

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kinds of reasons.
Yeah, you play on that a lot.

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I want to know about why you
chose as a as a writer, as a

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creative, like plays, right.
So I go to theater, right.

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But you know, everyone calls me
weird.

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So but like, you know, there's
this tactileness that we don't

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get in theater when we are so
intimate with the players,

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right?
And so using that as a medium,

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it's for me, it's more than
words on a page.

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You're 3 dimensional while
you're writing.

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And then you have to trust a
director and a like a people you

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don't know to them.
Bring that to life.

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What is that whole process for
you?

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And do you think about it at all
while you're writing?

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I do now.
I started writing plays very

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stupidly.
I just thought I wanted to write

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plays and I was in.
So I was a journalist.

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I was in public radio for a long
time and but I was always

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writing on the side.
And I thought that I was going

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to be, I always wrote fiction.
And I thought, like, eventually

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I would just be writing, you
know, masterful works.

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Obviously.
And obviously, and turns out,

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you know, books have a lot of
words in them.

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And I was actually in graduate.
I went back to Graduate School

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very late in life to study
fiction writing.

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OK wait, I want to know what you
consider late in life.

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Was it was my it was.
Well, I turned 40 while I was in

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graduate.
OK.

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OK, not late, but go ahead.
Not late, but legit you were.

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Growing.
Yeah, OK.

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I didn't go to a Graduate School
right after undergrad, which I

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actually I totally recommend
because it was way more fun, I

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think for me.
And, and during that time I was

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writing fiction, but actually my
plays were getting produced.

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So I was, I sort of was like, I
love writing fiction.

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I love writing plays.
I feel like I'm gonna go with

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the boy who loves me.
You know, I'm gonna, I'm gonna

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the, the, the plays were
actually getting done, but I

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also really, I'd love writing
them.

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So, so just to back up a little
bit, I, I just entered it really

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super like, oh, I'm going to
write plays.

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And then, but somehow,
miraculously, they, they would

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kind of get picked up here and
there.

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And then I learned about the
process of writing plays and the

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process of putting a production
on.

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I wasn't thinking at all about
the production.

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In my head I I could see it all
so clearly, but.

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You were cracking me up because,
like, you're talking about how

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you went into place.
I think that's how I picked my

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starter husband.
Like we, we had, you know,

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fooled around and I put on his
pants.

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I was like, he was tall and
skinny.

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I was like, if I fit in his
pants, I'll stay like I'll date

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him.
Like, like literally at 23, my

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awesome capacity to know good
and bad that that was my choice.

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I could fit in his pants.
Yeah.

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Well, I mean, people make, you
know, one of the worst reasons

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as far as I can tell.
So, so it that worked out a

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little bit better in the end,
but I just so, but what I hadn't

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thought about was having to deal
with the director having to deal

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with actors.
I just thought I write it here,

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it comes out there.
What's the problem?

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Right.
And it was super eye opening for

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me and also super frustrating
then, still frustrating now.

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Also magical.
But you know, it's not, it's

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never what I hear in my head.
Sometimes it's better, which is

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thrilling.
And sometimes it's not matching

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what I need it to be.
And that's so frustrating.

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Oh, is it?
Does it not match in tone?

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Or are you particular about like
them saying the words exactly as

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on the page?
I I'm talking about like tone or

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the way that they would say a
line.

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Like in my head you have to hit
a certain line of way in order

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for it to be funny, right?
But if they don't say it that

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way, it falls flat and doesn't
have the meaning so.

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Funny is hard.
Writing humor is so hard.

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It's hard.
It's really hard.

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So in terms of the actual words,
yeah.

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The great thing about being a
playwright, well, I just first

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say the bad thing about being a
playwright is that you can't

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make a living at it.
I mean, there's a few strength,

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but most people have to also
teach or do other things.

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But the, the, the payoff is you
can pick up your play and take

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it if you want to.
Like if it's not going well, if

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they're decimating your, you,
you are, you have to give back

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your, you know, whatever, if
they if they give you any money,

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you have to give back whatever
they've given you.

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But you can pick up your play
and go and say, this is not my

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intention.
This is not accurate.

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If they want to cast, do some
kind of different kind of

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casting that doesn't serve the
purpose of the play can be

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really problematic.
And so, and people have to say

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the words that are on the page.
And there are there are actors

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that think of a play as a
blueprint, which is a little bit

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more film.
And I feel like I, I do this for

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the words.
So if you're not going to say

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the words, then this is not a
good match.

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Oh.
My God, that is the quote of the

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day.
I do this for the words.

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No serious, I'm not being
sarcastic, I'm or funny, but

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like I love that I want
actually, I want that to land.

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I do this for the words.
Yeah, I like, I like words.

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I like putting them together.
I like puzzling them together

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and having them do certain
things.

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And I don't always get the words
right.

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And if they put a spin on
something that makes it better

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or they, they, you know, I mean,
inevitably it's hard.

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There's a lot of words to
remember, right?

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And keep in mind, people that
are doing my plays are not

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being, you know, paid like
George Clooney to do something

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on Broadway.
So they've got other things

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going on.
And it's, it's hard to remember

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everything.
So, so if they, you know, if

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they say it's something in the
wrong way, but it actually

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sounds better, like it makes
it's better coming out of their

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mouths, then I'm absolutely
happy to change it.

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And often times that will make
it into a publication.

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But if they won't even try the
words the way that they're

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written, then I feel personally
irritated by that.

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And ideally I have a director
that I can work with that I have

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a good, good enough relationship
with it.

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I can say, you know, that's not
cool.

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Yeah, there's a lot.
Of times the directors also

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looking at you know, the entire
tapestry, they're looking at the

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furniture on stage, they're
looking at the lighting they're

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looking at how it looks when
when different people are

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interacting with each other,
they're not necessarily paying

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attention to all the words
coming out of their mouths.

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So sometimes I, I always
appreciate a director that is

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willing to have the kind of
relationship with me where I can

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say like, hey, hey, hey, this,
you know, I, I don't, I never, I

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don't talk directly to the
actors unless the director asks

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me to, but I will give her and
it's usually her lots of notes

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at the end.
I can't imagine.

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I wanted, I want to know, like
what it sounds like in your head

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while you're writing humor.
Like, are you laughing or are

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00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:56,360
you like, Oh my God, that'll be
so funny.

225
00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:03,920
You know, for me, humor
generally comes out of pressure,

226
00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:09,880
like pressure on characters.
So it's not like waka waka joke

227
00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:11,840
a minute.
You know, it's the, it's you.

228
00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:16,320
You put young women in a room in
a very tense situation.

229
00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:18,960
They may die at any minute, but
they're young and they're

230
00:13:18,960 --> 00:13:21,080
innocent.
And so sometimes they say really

231
00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:23,400
stupid things, right, that are
funny.

232
00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:30,720
So I think that's kind of where
my humor tends to land, but I

233
00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:33,640
don't know what's going to
happen until I'm writing it.

234
00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:36,760
And if it cracks it.
I, I, my policy is basically, if

235
00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:40,160
it cracks me up, then you know,
at least I have that.

236
00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:42,680
If other people don't laugh,
that's their problem.

237
00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,280
But I have to make my, but if it
makes me laugh because it

238
00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,360
surprises me, then I think
generally it will make other

239
00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:49,800
people laugh because it will
surprise them.

240
00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:53,240
Sometimes I, because I put humor
in really dark situations,

241
00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:56,920
People are too scared to laugh
or surprised that they don't

242
00:13:56,920 --> 00:13:58,560
really laugh.
They might be like, you might

243
00:13:58,560 --> 00:14:04,880
hear like, but yeah, humor is
humor is, it's tricky stuff.

244
00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:08,920
I, I once had a woman after
Hitler's chasers in Chicago.

245
00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:11,720
I did a talk back and then a
woman came up to me afterwards

246
00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:17,040
and she said, I, I just wanted
to ask you was was it, was it OK

247
00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:20,000
to laugh?
And I was like, yeah, yeah.

248
00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:21,760
We.
It should come with a

249
00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:24,440
disclaimer.
I know, I know, and believe me,

250
00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:25,720
there's tons of disclaimers on
my place.

251
00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:26,200
I saw it.
I.

252
00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,040
Saw I read that.
Oh my gosh, I can't imagine.

253
00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:31,440
The trigger warnings are I
cannot wait.

254
00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:33,440
So how do you feel?
Can we talk about like, how do

255
00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:35,880
you feel about those?
I annoy me.

256
00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:38,840
Can I just say that?
I mean, life is so freaking

257
00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:40,640
triggering.
Are you going to walk around

258
00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:44,760
like with a, you know, with like
a sandwich board telling people

259
00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,920
all your triggers?
I we don't know what people are

260
00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,760
going to be triggered by and I
can't, and I'm sorry, if you're

261
00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:54,280
walking into the theater and the
place called Hitler's tasters,

262
00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:57,480
fucking deal with it, right?
Like don't go if you don't want

263
00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:01,120
to go, don't go but to go and
then police the language.

264
00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:04,000
Of of a can.
I think everyone's entitled to

265
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,880
how they feel, but I think what
the world has kind of gone mad

266
00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:10,400
with is that's not the most
important thing.

267
00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,920
Your emotion in that moment.
You might have to learn, grow,

268
00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:15,440
figure something out.
You might have to learn to

269
00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:17,720
communicate.
You might learn what's not good

270
00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:21,120
or good for you.
But that issue is yours.

271
00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:23,920
Absolutely.
And you might have to tolerate

272
00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:27,720
something that's doesn't, is
doesn't track with you.

273
00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:33,360
But yes, you're OK.
But OK, we actually have to.

274
00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:37,280
To do that.
But that but but their life is

275
00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:40,480
not my problem, you know, I just
feel like if you're going to

276
00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:44,520
come in, you, you, you paid your
ticket.

277
00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:47,400
Come see what you get.
You can like it or not like it,

278
00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:51,640
but you are required to sit
there and, and, and well, I

279
00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:54,120
guess you can leave.
It's so sort of rude, but you

280
00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:57,200
can leave in the middle of it.
But yeah, the trigger warnings

281
00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:01,320
drive me absolutely Batty.
I, I do, there's some time

282
00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:04,840
there's some people that can't
tolerate like flashing lights,

283
00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:07,400
it can into an epileptic seizure
or something like that.

284
00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:09,960
So fine, if you want to put
that, if you want to put that

285
00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:14,800
up, but the rest of it to say
that you're going to hear about

286
00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:20,640
violence, that you're going to
hear about racism, that you're

287
00:16:20,640 --> 00:16:22,760
going to hear about
anti-Semitism, that you're going

288
00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,360
to hear about, you know?
Right.

289
00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:30,360
Just OK.
Come out to the world.

290
00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:32,320
Come on out.
Let me open the door.

291
00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:34,680
What happens when you are
exposed to that?

292
00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,480
What happens when you see
something that makes you think

293
00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:39,800
and feel and makes you
uncomfortable?

294
00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:43,000
Does it make you explore?
Does it make you want to write

295
00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:45,360
something in response?
Like you don't even know if

296
00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:47,800
you're so well protected that
you're not experiencing

297
00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,200
experiencing anything?
You're not becoming or being

298
00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:55,440
someone outside of this tiny
little bubble you created.

299
00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:58,840
You're missing so much.
I think so.

300
00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:04,119
I think so.
But you know, theaters also, a

301
00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:06,119
lot of people don't like
theater, are super uncomfortable

302
00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:08,920
with it and don't like to be
there sitting that close to

303
00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:12,880
actors and having those feelings
with a lot of different people

304
00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:15,359
that they don't know.
And you can't, you know, you

305
00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:17,480
unless you have an intermission,
you can't go to the bathroom

306
00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:19,040
while you can't put it on pause
and go to the bathroom.

307
00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:20,319
You can't eat gummy bears during
it.

308
00:17:20,319 --> 00:17:21,400
You, you know, you can't.
You mean you?

309
00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,000
Have two adults are you asking
people to adults just a little

310
00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:29,000
sorry that's so sidetracked When
when when are you like the most

311
00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:31,800
prolific.
Are you a morning person late

312
00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:37,440
person or are you really
dedicated to this is ass in

313
00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:40,560
chair time.
I'm writing and does the mood

314
00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:44,480
that you're and influence it.
That was a lot.

315
00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,400
Should I slow down?
Probably my I'm just thinking

316
00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,120
about, probably my mood
influences.

317
00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:55,000
Definitely.
I am a very chaotic writer.

318
00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,480
I've had terms with it.
When people ask me about my

319
00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:01,000
process, I'm always like, I
don't know what my process is.

320
00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:06,560
I don't really have a process I
really, really like.

321
00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:12,480
I write very, very quickly and
sort of in a, you know, sort of

322
00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:20,120
vomit a thing out and then I
feel a relief and a release and

323
00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:24,200
then I can take my time going
back to the play and writing it.

324
00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:29,640
My husband is a writer and he
writes very like everything is.

325
00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:31,640
I mean, he writes novels, so he
has to be, you know?

326
00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:33,600
He's with all those words, all
those.

327
00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:36,680
All those words and a lot of
research and he has to keep

328
00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:42,040
things very nice, but I and he's
always like, what do you?

329
00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:45,520
I'm just and then I see what
I've got.

330
00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:51,000
I actually really love to do.
I've done quite a few 48 hour

331
00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:57,040
play challenges, which is really
I hate it and I love it so much.

332
00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:02,000
And it's actually how I wrote
Hitler's Tasters where somebody

333
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,000
gives you.
So you can generally you try to

334
00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:09,920
do with some like a group of
other writers and you have

335
00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:12,280
somebody give you some prompts,
like four or five prompts.

336
00:19:12,760 --> 00:19:15,680
And then at some point you like
go on a Facebook page or you

337
00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,400
send out a text to everybody and
say, I'm starting.

338
00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:22,200
And from that point on, you have
48 hours to write your play.

339
00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:23,400
And you can do other stuff in
between.

340
00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:24,960
You can go to a doctor's
appointment, you can eat dinner,

341
00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:27,080
whatever you need to do.
You can burp your baby whatever

342
00:19:27,080 --> 00:19:28,480
you need to do.
You can pee and like, eat your

343
00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:29,320
gummy bears.
You can eat.

344
00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:30,840
Your gummy.
You can do whatever you need to

345
00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:38,400
do and but you can't look back.
The best rule is when you can't

346
00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:39,880
look back and see what you've
already written.

347
00:19:40,120 --> 00:19:42,480
You just your imperative is to
go forward.

348
00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,600
So it takes away all of your
filters, all of your sensors,

349
00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:52,040
and it's always surprising what
comes out of it.

350
00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:54,800
I actually find I'm better at
structure that way.

351
00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:58,640
I love that.
It's weird, I don't know why.

352
00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,440
I do like 5 minute things.
I'm like sometimes when I know

353
00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,200
I'm avoiding something, I'm like
just do it for 5 minutes and

354
00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:06,680
inevitably an hour and a half
goes by.

355
00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:10,080
But sometimes I can
procrastinate around those.

356
00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:12,360
Like the floor obviously needs
to be cleaned.

357
00:20:12,360 --> 00:20:15,000
Obviously I need to fold the
laundry and I hate doing.

358
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:16,400
It's like my least favorite
task.

359
00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,480
It never ends, right?
So that one is for me.

360
00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:23,280
I like the 48 hour thing.
I think as a writer of any kind

361
00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:25,600
or creative person, you
definitely need community

362
00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,480
because you're so alone in the
act of it, right?

363
00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:31,240
Like you're alone.
Tone in your head with all the

364
00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:35,120
voices, you know, cranking out
this story that if you don't

365
00:20:35,120 --> 00:20:39,000
actually reach out and
communicate with others, I don't

366
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,120
think your I think your work
always does better for that in

367
00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:43,600
another set of eyes.
But also the push.

368
00:20:44,360 --> 00:20:46,720
So are you?
Are you competitive with anyone?

369
00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:50,640
Yeah, I definitely.
I love being in a actually, I

370
00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,560
have mixed feelings about being
in a writing group, but it's

371
00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:54,760
good.
I'm, it makes me very

372
00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,600
competitive, but, you know,
competitive with myself, like

373
00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,200
I'm all you all do, you know, I
want you.

374
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:02,000
Sure, I believe.
You, that's all.

375
00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,920
But then I'm like, well, I'm not
going to come in next week

376
00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,120
without anything.
I'm not going to be, you know,

377
00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,560
like they did 10 pages, whatever
I can do 25.

378
00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:15,040
I mean, yeah, for some reason it
gets me.

379
00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:17,640
It gets me all riled up.
I do above the edge, yeah.

380
00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:20,280
I do So what are you working on
now?

381
00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:22,920
I actually just finished a new
play.

382
00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:29,440
It is much more of a comedy
comedy than my other plays

383
00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:34,000
because as I said to somebody
recently, with my last four or

384
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,400
five plays, I tried to save the
world and it just got worse.

385
00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:38,240
So now I'm just going to yeah.
You can't.

386
00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:40,800
You got to do it indirect, man.
You got to do it indirect.

387
00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:49,040
So I so I just finished that one
and there are some people that

388
00:21:49,040 --> 00:21:51,280
seem interested.
I don't know if I so do.

389
00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:54,400
People, like, contact you
because I don't know that world,

390
00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:55,360
right?
Like if you want to talk about

391
00:21:55,360 --> 00:21:58,080
publishing in the horrors of
that, I mean the joy of it,

392
00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:00,080
right?
Like I can talk about

393
00:22:00,080 --> 00:22:02,560
publishing, but I don't know
about plays.

394
00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:06,800
Like my daughter got into
theater and you know, they want

395
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:09,360
in their high school to do XY
and Z, but they can't always

396
00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:11,520
afford the plays that they want
to do.

397
00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:17,840
Right, right, right.
So, so I, I still don't even

398
00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:19,120
know how they get done half the
time.

399
00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:22,440
I mean, honestly, it's I, I've,
I've, I've created enough of a

400
00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:24,640
network now that I have
directors that I can go to you

401
00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:27,440
think of this.
And if they like it, they can

402
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:31,280
reach out to theaters that they
like or we can do readings.

403
00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:34,240
I mean, the thing, the nice
thing about a play is that I

404
00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:35,800
can, at least I can always hear
it.

405
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:37,960
I can always, there's a theater
around the corner from me that

406
00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,320
I'm connected with.
I can always go in and say, Hey,

407
00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,560
do you mind if I do a reading?
And I know people in the

408
00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:45,480
community will come and I can
hear it because the last part of

409
00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:49,640
a play, the final piece of it is
the audience reaction, right?

410
00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,640
And if the audience ain't
reacting, you got a problem if

411
00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:59,000
you play so.
How big of a table read do you

412
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,880
do then?
How many people do you invite

413
00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:07,880
for something like that?
It usually like the last couple

414
00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:11,080
table reads I've done have, it's
just been the cast and then

415
00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:19,800
very, very few invited friends.
Like I like one or two and then

416
00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:23,480
maybe the director will have one
or two or an actor that knows

417
00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:27,320
somebody you know.
But it needs to be pretty small

418
00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:31,400
initially just to hear it.
I always have my husband there

419
00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:34,560
and I always have my son there
whenever I can.

420
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,560
But and then I have like one
really good friend that I like

421
00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:40,520
to have there.
But it's well in LA.

422
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,800
But you have to, I think you
have to be careful about who you

423
00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:45,840
bring into that well, in the
beginning, you know.

424
00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,760
For so many reasons, yeah.
So have you ever had work taken

425
00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:54,080
from you like meaning that like
someone came and heard you or.

426
00:23:54,120 --> 00:23:56,680
And they like the kind of like,
oh, I like that.

427
00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:00,120
I know a writers group like, you
know, that hive mind that

428
00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:02,840
happens, like if you don't get
new people sometimes, like all

429
00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:07,000
your ideas start to mishmash a
bit and you're like, that was my

430
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:08,520
character's name, what are you
doing?

431
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,760
Or Yeah, yeah.
Does that happen with in plays

432
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:14,640
as well or less?
I don't know.

433
00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:18,920
I mean, I'm sure it does, but I
I don't really worry.

434
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:20,040
About it.
You're careful.

435
00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:22,480
Well.
I, I don't know, like I already

436
00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:24,480
wrote it.
Like, what are you going to do?

437
00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:27,160
What are you, are you going to
write Hitler's tasters too?

438
00:24:27,240 --> 00:24:28,640
You know, like, what are you
going to do?

439
00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:33,040
So maybe.
And The thing is, mine's already

440
00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:34,400
like accounted.
For.

441
00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:40,680
Proof of that.
So I can't really, I can't

442
00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:42,840
manage, you know, if I start
worrying about the world.

443
00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:46,800
I also think I've met a lot of
writers or people who say that

444
00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:48,840
they want to write, but they're
so afraid someone's going to

445
00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:52,200
steal their ideas.
And I'm like, you know, I, I

446
00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:56,960
think that's, I think that keeps
you from writing like you, you

447
00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,040
don't know.
It's a miracle that anything

448
00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:00,440
gets done.
It's a miracle that anything

449
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:01,720
gets published.
It's a miracle that anything

450
00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,080
gets on the stage.
It's a miracle that anything

451
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:07,480
gets on the screen.
It's a miracle.

452
00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:11,440
So don't write the end of the
story like you just.

453
00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:14,400
Just don't check it out, don't
make it impossible for it I.

454
00:25:14,760 --> 00:25:16,520
Mean to me it's just an excuse,
really.

455
00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:20,360
I said, what's your dream?
Like if you could put it a cast

456
00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:23,240
together or where you want your
show.

457
00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:25,720
Like do you have, do you ever
think about that?

458
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:30,040
Like, Oh my God, I want to be on
this Broadway theatre or this or

459
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:32,680
I want to be here and these are
the people I would ideally love

460
00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,000
in your play.
The play doesn't have to exist.

461
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:36,720
It could be like something
you're going to do in the

462
00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:38,160
future.
I'm just kind of like curious if

463
00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:43,240
you ever think like that?
Yeah, I very rarely think about

464
00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:47,880
actors when I write the play,
which could be my problem, but I

465
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:50,640
don't have an actor in mind.
Usually when I write, I don't

466
00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:53,240
have an actor in mind.
I just let the character be what

467
00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:55,200
the character's gonna be and
then try to find an actor that

468
00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:57,880
matches.
Broadway, I don't think is

469
00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:02,640
really in possibility for me,
not with the kind of stuff that

470
00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:04,360
that you know.
But like, if you could, like

471
00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:06,920
it's like the Pantages.
I remember growing up because I

472
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:10,480
grew up like on on Long Island.
So but I, I don't identify as a

473
00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:12,040
New Yorker.
So all of you don't go there

474
00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:14,080
with me.
But my whole thing is that,

475
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:16,800
remember, I grew up in the
Pantages or this theater.

476
00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:20,040
Come see this or I wanted to see
Evita and like, you know, like,

477
00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:23,640
do you have any of that?
Is that does that exist in LA at

478
00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:25,320
all?
Yeah, I mean, there's great

479
00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:32,240
theaters in LA, but I don't
there was a there's a company

480
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:35,560
called Rogue Machine in LA that
I really wanted to do something

481
00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:37,240
with them.
And then they did Hitler Caesars

482
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:39,600
last spring.
So it's great.

483
00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:41,560
So bucket list in a tiny, tiny
theater.

484
00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:44,200
Like I love a tiny intimate
theater.

485
00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:48,160
I love it when you have to be
like really confronted with

486
00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:49,960
what's going on and you really
feel a part of it.

487
00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:52,280
I feel like that's the one thing
you can't get in any other

488
00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:58,520
medium, right.
So a big a big stage is great,

489
00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:04,640
but I don't know, like I just
saw Glengarry Glen Ross in the

490
00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:06,520
in New York.
I wanted to take my kid to see

491
00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:12,320
it, even though it's whatever,
I'm not going to talk about

492
00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:14,360
anything.
But anyway, it was an incredible

493
00:27:14,360 --> 00:27:15,840
cast, right?
And you play don't go to

494
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:20,040
something for the cast, but this
was an incredible cast and it

495
00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:22,040
was really good and everybody
was really good.

496
00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:25,720
But I had seen it a few years
before where I couldn't catch my

497
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,400
breath.
Like the first time I saw it was

498
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:30,360
in the movie.
I hated it the second time I saw

499
00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:31,840
it because there was a family
friend in it.

500
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,880
And so I we went to see it and I
it was over before I knew it and

501
00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:39,200
I could not catch my breath.
The third time I saw it, it was

502
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,480
good.
And these are all magnificent

503
00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:43,720
actors, but the theater.
Was so.

504
00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:49,080
Big that I felt like the words
went out and just the emotion

505
00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:53,280
went out and just dissipated.
Like I didn't I it was just for

506
00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,000
me, it was too big.
It's not a musical, you know,

507
00:27:56,880 --> 00:28:00,040
it's a different thing.
Or some plays are just really

508
00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:02,120
big.
But this wasn't that for me.

509
00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:05,080
And I thought, I thought, oh,
it's a shame.

510
00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:07,200
You know, they of course they
wanted to make money on it.

511
00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:11,040
They have all these actors, but
I think it lost something with

512
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:14,560
all that space.
So space is really important.

513
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,560
I I'm always just interested in
different spaces.

514
00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:19,920
I don't have a dream.
You like the Crucible, you like

515
00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:24,200
the Crucible of the pressure of
the closeness of the intimacy of

516
00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:28,320
the of like what it is that you
created on the page and how it's

517
00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:29,960
coming.
I love it like it's you, like

518
00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,160
it's the chemistry of it and
like, why give it up to more

519
00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:35,880
space when it can be more
impactful and.

520
00:28:35,880 --> 00:28:38,280
Intimate.
I mean, that being said, if

521
00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:44,320
Broadway wants to come calling,
I'm not going to say no, but I I

522
00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:49,920
don't, that is to say, I don't
really have like a dream space.

523
00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:53,360
So many beautiful, wonderful,
strange theaters.

524
00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:56,880
I there was 1 theater in LA.
I think it was just, I just had

525
00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:59,520
a reading of something in there.
I can't remember, but it was

526
00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:03,360
basically in an apartment.
Some people had, they had this

527
00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:05,720
apartment and they got the
apartment next to them and they

528
00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:08,640
made it into a little theater.
There was only like 30 seats in

529
00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:11,240
there.
And she was this amazing chef

530
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,040
and she would bake her and she
would bake.

531
00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:16,280
And so everybody would get like
brownies after the show and you

532
00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:18,480
felt like you were like walking
through somebody's living room.

533
00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:21,600
It was so cool.
It was so cool.

534
00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:29,520
So that being said, the only
place that I'm really coveting

535
00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:34,560
right now is I, the one place
that Hitler Chasers hasn't been

536
00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:39,800
to is London.
And I, it's, I know it's so

537
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:42,600
perfect for a London audience.
And I just had to, I had a

538
00:29:42,600 --> 00:29:44,640
situation with a theatre that
was there that was very

539
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:48,520
interested in it and somebody
that was very interested in

540
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:52,720
producing it there.
And sadly, he just died.

541
00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:56,200
No.
He got a really awful esophageal

542
00:29:56,200 --> 00:30:01,040
cancer and and he died very
suddenly.

543
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:03,160
You know, they caught it too
late.

544
00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:06,440
He died very suddenly.
And so on top of the loss of him

545
00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:13,240
also, that sort of went away.
So yeah, that London is really,

546
00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:15,800
I would love to see, I mean, I'd
love to see any of my plays in

547
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:17,720
London.
But Hitler's tasters in

548
00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:20,040
particular, OK.
It's neat there all.

549
00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:21,600
Right.
Let's make that happen.

550
00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:24,360
I was just looking for that out
in the world, like, yeah, just

551
00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:26,040
make, make, make the good move
happen.

552
00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:30,600
OK, so So what?
Where else can people find your

553
00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:32,000
work?
Like, I know what?

554
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:33,720
When we met, right?
It was an essay.

555
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:36,360
Are you, do you do that as well?
Are you strictly sticking with

556
00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:39,160
plays nowadays?
I also do plays sometimes.

557
00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:45,600
I write articles.
I still write some fiction and

558
00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:49,880
stuff, but I I'm not really like
putting it on your towel.

559
00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:51,160
Putting.
It it's not your thing, it

560
00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:52,760
doesn't jazz you up.
I like it.

561
00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:55,600
I mean, I have, I've written a
book, you know, I've got other,

562
00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:59,400
I've got ideas for books.
But now just still doesn't feel

563
00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:01,080
like the time.
And there's nothing right that I

564
00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:04,160
feel breathless about, right?
I have to feel really breathless

565
00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:07,680
about something to do it.
So mainly I do plays.

566
00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:16,400
I have 3 plays that are
published and other plays that

567
00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:21,040
are like have been done but are
just not published.

568
00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:24,160
So if people want to follow your
work and to see if maybe

569
00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:27,040
Hitler's tasters is coming
towards them or if they want to

570
00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:30,480
tell people, hey, produce this
play, like how?

571
00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:32,680
How does that happen?
Like, I know you're kind of

572
00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:36,040
private, right?
So do you want people to find

573
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:37,880
you on social media or no?
No, no.

574
00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:41,160
I mean I have a website at
stolecullisbrooks.com with all

575
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:43,520
of my work and I also I have to
update it.

576
00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:49,040
I also know there's also my
Instagram is not really

577
00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:51,120
personal.
It's open, it's my work.

578
00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:55,120
So I have Michelle Kollis Brooks
Instagram and I also have a

579
00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,880
Hitler's tasters Instagram
because it was that's been the

580
00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:01,640
work that's been the I think
produced the most.

581
00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:05,440
And also there was so much fun
media around it.

582
00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:08,600
Like, you know, it's it's young
women and they're adorable and

583
00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:09,880
they dance a lot during the
show.

584
00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:13,720
And so all there's great.
There's like great media around

585
00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:17,000
it.
And so there there's links to

586
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,120
the plays and there's something
called the National New Play

587
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:24,680
Network that is sort of a place
where playwrights can post their

588
00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:26,840
plays.
And if you're a member, you can

589
00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:28,600
read, you can read.
It's kind of cool to join.

590
00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:31,400
Like you can read million, you
know, maybe not millions, but

591
00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:35,120
thousands of plays by people all
over the world that join that

592
00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:39,000
may may not have been produced.
I mean, I love.

593
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:39,800
That.
Yeah.

594
00:32:40,560 --> 00:32:45,240
OK, so I end all of my podcasts
with this one question, which is

595
00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:48,560
if you came with a warning
label, what would it be?

596
00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:54,720
I said I like being pushed into
a corner and now you've it's

597
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:58,320
not, it's not working.
But what would my warning label

598
00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:03,040
be?
I would just say, I would just

599
00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:05,720
say the deep end comes suddenly.
The deep end comes suddenly.

600
00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:07,600
OK.
Not.

601
00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:11,280
Mine is we'll talk about Korea.
So like, it doesn't have to be

602
00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:13,680
the most profound.
My mind is like, I will bring

603
00:33:13,680 --> 00:33:16,360
every conversation back to, Oh
my God, when I was in Korea,

604
00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:18,360
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
So fantastic.

605
00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:22,160
But for me, like what you were
saying was like be a stranger in

606
00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:24,600
a strange land.
And I like being there because I

607
00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:28,080
am a stranger in a strange land.
It was a culture in a language

608
00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:34,000
and history that I never knew,
but I felt very akin to, right?

609
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:38,520
Like I just felt a lot of their
history is not so dissimilar to

610
00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:43,200
my immigrant grandparents or
displaced Jews after World War

611
00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:46,280
2, right?
Or like who is being taken over

612
00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:48,640
or like all of that.
Like I was like, Oh my gosh,

613
00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:52,000
like I, I relate to this.
I relate to your stories.

614
00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:54,520
I also relate to how they tell
stories.

615
00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:57,600
I started reading translations
and I was like, Oh my gosh,

616
00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:00,760
they're storytelling's
heartbreaking and fantastic and

617
00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:03,640
I love it.
So like I always like also like

618
00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:06,400
to say like I like to bite off a
little more than I can choose so

619
00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:10,239
I can be uncomfortable and learn
and figure that out.

620
00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:15,040
Are you reading anything right
now that has got you like, I

621
00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:16,560
don't know, spinning in a
creative way?

622
00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:20,199
Or is there anything that's come
across, I don't know, in your

623
00:34:20,199 --> 00:34:22,920
world that's like helped inspire
you to keep writing?

624
00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:31,560
Not, not not necessarily to
inspire me to keep as a matter

625
00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:34,360
of fact, I, I, I sort of go
through a thing whenever I read

626
00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:36,679
something that's really good.
I always think like, why am I

627
00:34:36,679 --> 00:34:38,040
bothering?
There's already so much good

628
00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:41,360
stuff out there, you know, So it
sometimes has the opposite

629
00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:46,000
effect on me.
But I really, I just did want to

630
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:51,719
make a plug for an amazing book
called Careless People that was

631
00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:55,440
written by a woman who was early
on in Facebook.

632
00:34:55,560 --> 00:35:03,680
And it's really very upsetting
and very demoralizing to read

633
00:35:03,760 --> 00:35:06,800
how intentional some of the
horrible things that have

634
00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:13,840
erupted from Facebook, how
intentional some of that was.

635
00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:20,040
And, and it, it, it, it turned
me on my head a little bit.

636
00:35:20,040 --> 00:35:23,440
I mean, I, you know, you know,
you know, but then when you

637
00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:25,680
actually read the details about
it, it's pretty upsetting.

638
00:35:25,680 --> 00:35:28,560
And I, I think people should,
I'm not saying go off.

639
00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,200
I mean, I'm on Facebook.
I'm not saying go off Facebook,

640
00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:37,040
but but I think the awareness
of, I think I'm a little bit

641
00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:40,600
like this with all my plays,
like I always know someone's

642
00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:43,440
trying to get us right.
I was really, I have that

643
00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:45,840
feeling.
I told my husband, like I think

644
00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:48,520
in a previous life I was in the
Holocaust because I'm always

645
00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:53,240
like danger, danger, danger.
And in some ways that book

646
00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:56,640
reinforced that.
Yeah, in me.

647
00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:00,680
So it's not the most, it's
actually a really easy good

648
00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:02,480
read, but it's not the most fun
read.

649
00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:04,320
But I think it's really
important as we go.

650
00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:07,120
I just want to say thank you
again for coming and having a

651
00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:09,480
conversation with me.
This was a lot of fun.

652
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:12,200
I've read your work.
I think people you should go to

653
00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:13,840
the website and read other
plays.

654
00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:17,800
I invite you to get
uncomfortable and get creative

655
00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:19,640
because you never know what's
inside of you.

656
00:36:19,920 --> 00:36:22,360
Like it can make a difference
for someone and maybe that

657
00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:24,680
someone is just you.
So here you go.

658
00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:27,520
Thanks again for listening to
the Hollywood Podcast.