The Seven: New Works Festival 2009
 

Marcia Cebulska
Topeka, KS

An Interview with the Playwright

How did you hear about “The Seven”?

I have attended inspired performances at this terrific little theatre for several years. Dennis encouraged me to submit. Then, blam, an idea came to me and I went for it.

What was the impetus/basis/inspiration for writing the piece?

I was traveling in New Mexico this last winter and took a trip in the mountains. For some reason, I was thinking about this Dadaist play with gigantic body parts. The two ideas collided and I ended up thinking about what it would be like to be in a small theatre company, dressed wildly and stuck out in the desert. Shazam, there it was.

Is this play representational of your writing style? Is it similar to or different from your other plays?

This is somewhat of an excursion for me. I tend to write about social or political issues, usually longish serious plays with comedic elements. Once in a while, an idea comes to me from out of the blue, however, and then I just have to write it. For example, I wrote a play called “Ken and Barbie Do the Nasty in Larry s Leather Bar” overnight on a whim.

What is the role of the short work in your playwriting career?

I have written short plays that have evolved into longer plays. I have written 10 minute plays when the impulse could not be resisted. I find the short form to be immediate and muscular. A sprint. But all the elements are still there. A satisfying challenge.

What is your favorite play? Who is your favorite playwright?

I soooooooo do not believe in favorites. I happen to love Dario Fo, Tina Howe, Tom Stoppard.

What is your next playwriting venture?

I am working on a highly visual full-length play called The Bones of Butterflies. It follows the migration of the monarch butterfly to where millions of them roost in the mountains of Mexico in the winter. Something in there about migration, immigration, where is home, and what is the cost of beauty.

Is there anything you would like to add?

I am thrilled to have been chosen for this event. I only wish I could be there. But alas, I am writing to you from Tuscany (poor me). Pictures! Send pictures!


Marcia Cebulska
MARCIA CEBULSKA's (Just One Thing) stage plays, including Florida, Centaurs, Dear John, and When the Bough Breaks, and Touched have been produced at The Georgia Repertory Theatre, HERE (NYC), the Phoenix Theatre, Frontera at Hyde Park, Fremont Centre Theatre, The Theatre Building and elsewhere. Marcia has received the Dorothy Silver Award, the Jane Chambers International Award, Kansas Arts Commission and Indiana Arts Commission Master Artist Fellowships, “Best Historical Film” (Traildance Film Festival) and numerous other honors. Her Now Let Me Fly , commissioned for the national celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board decision, has been performed at over two thousand venues internationally from New Orleans to Cyprus and filmed for a French documentary. Through Martha’s Eyes, for which Marcia wrote the screenplay, was aired nationally on PBS last February. Her plays have been chosen for development by the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Sundance Playwrights Lab, the William Inge Theatre Festival and Shenandoah Playwrights Retreat. She has been playwright-in-residence at The University of Georgia, Mary Anderson Center for the Arts, Marion College and The William Inge Center for the Arts. Marcia attended Barnard College and Columbia University School of the Arts. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild and Chicago Dramatists and is a Fellow of the Center for Kansas Studies. Marcia is currently working on a stage play entitled The Bones of Butterflies and a film script entitled The Dogs of Eden.