Rachel Lynett

Playwright Spotlight: Well-Intentioned White People

Rachel Lynett, author of Well-Intentioned White People (a PlayFest presented by Harriett’s Charitable Trust 2017 new play reading) talks crafting new plays and the inspiration behind her latest work.

OST: What is the biggest challenge about crafting a new play?

RL: For me, it’s trusting the process. I have never been able to successfully outline or “plan” a play. I usually get an idea or even sometimes just a person in my head and then I start writing. And most of the time, I have no idea where I’m going. I think it’s hard to not panic or to stop and question midway through but if I do that I don’t finish. Because I get completely in my head about it. Trusting the process is the biggest challenge but it’s also the most rewarding because I’m always a little surprised when I read my play for the first time. It’s very “Oh cool, so it did end up being a play.”

OST: Why are you passionate about the subject matter in Well-Intentioned White People? What inspired you?

RL: I was inspired to write this play after how I saw how liberals were responding to Donald Trump getting elected. It felt like my home base was ripping itself apart. Immediately after the election, a friend of mine told me I didn’t understand the struggles of women of color and I should’ve voted for Hillary, which was surreal because not only am I a woman of color but I also did vote for Hillary. I was just critical of her. My friend who told me this is not a person a color. It was strange and that’s not the only instance of that happening to me.

I’m passionate about the subject matter because I think at some point we stopped listening to each other, stopped seeing each other. And we can’t fight the “good fight” if we aren’t even on the same page. Our base is unfocused and that’s not how change can happen.

OST: What themes or ideas are you focusing on with this play?

RL: The core idea of the play is essentially how our -isms getting in the way of actually helping other people, whether those -isms are conscious or unconscious. How do we deal with racism and does it help the better who is the “target” and does it help us feel better? And is activism just something we do to make ourselves or are we actually helping people? I especially look at it in an academic setting. Are we creating events to bring up enrollment numbers and to apply for grants or are we actually committed to real outreach? I try to challenge to “performance allyship” from all fronts in the play, Well-Intentioned White People.

OST: Describe your play writing style in one sentence. What should the audience know about you?

RL: My writing style: Let’s laugh together first and then we should probably talk.

(This was hard. An alternate sentence: My writing style is like a big family dinner; we’re going to have fun and laugh together but there will also be moments of stillness and deep conversations.)

OST: Tell us something unique about your writing process. For example, do you have a sacred writing place or a special writing talisman? Do you secretly love rewrites? Is there music that gets you in the mood to write?

RL: I write on the floor but I have to edit in a chair or on a bed, somewhere elevated. When I do write a new play, I create a “nest.” I go into a corner near the couch and grab a bunch of blankets and kind of create a cocoon that I wrap myself in. I grab essentials like water and snacks and then I write. Draft 1 of all my plays was written within two days. I sort of stay in my cocoon until the play is done or until my brain hurts. I didn’t think this was weird until I started telling people.

Rachel Lynett’s play Well-Intentioned White People will be performed as a staged reading at Orlando Shakes on Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 4:30 p.m. in the Margeson Theater.

About Rachel Lynett:

Rachel Lynett holds an MFA in Playwriting from the University of Arkansas and a BA from the University of Notre Dame where she studied Theatre and Gender Studies. Her recent playwriting credits include Downstage Left Residency with Stage Left for her play, Well-Intentioned White People (2017), Well-Intentioned White People as a part of 2017 Orlando Shakespeare New Play Festival, honorable mention for the 2017 Kilroys for her play, Well-Intentioned White People, and a workshop production of Abortion Road Trip produced by Theatre Prometheus as part of Capital Fringe where it won Best Comedy. Her play, Abortion Road Trip, presented by Theatre Prometheus, was also a part of the 2017 Kennedy Center Page to Stage Festival. Other recent credits include her play Abortion Road Trip credited as a semifinalist for The Bridge Initiative 2017, Choosing You as part of the CulturalDC Source Festival 2016, Breathe Me In as a semi-finalist for the O’Neill Playwright’s Conference 2016, and Breathe Me In as a finalist for the Kernodle Play Award (2016). She currently works as the company manager at Arts Center of the Ozarks and is a AIE rostered teaching artist through Arkansas Arts Council.