In this Playwright Spotlight, we speak to Tammy Ryan about her play The Wake. A stand-out play, unique to Floridians, about surviving grief in the midst of a hurricane.

Orlando Shakes: Who or what inspired you to become a playwright?

Tammy Ryan: Three people inspired me: First, Sam Shepherd when I read Buried Child in my first intro to theatre class at Queens College many many years ago. Second. Actor, Christine Dunford, who was a fellow classmate of mine while I was in the SUNY/Buffalo theater program as an undergrad. She cast me in a play that she wrote. I thought if she could write a play, maybe I could too. Third: A few months later, I showed the play I eventually wrote called Flying Pigeons to my acting teacher, Jack Hunter and a week later, after he read it he said you better write the second act, because we are going to produce it. He put it up on a tiny stage at the back of a bar called Nietzches in the Allentown part of Buffalo, it ran for a month and I paid my rent and I thought, ok, I’m going to be a playwright…and so I have the three of them to blame. 😉

Orlando Shakes: What is your favorite part of the writing process?

Tammy Ryan: Rewrites in rehearsal with all the collaborators: actors, director, designers, dramaturg, admin, etc.

Orlando Shakes: What was the specific trigger for writing this play?

Tammy Ryan: Hurricane Jeanne. My parents who are transplanted New Yorkers living in Melbourne, FL had to evacuate to my sister’s house . The story they told of the couple days they were stuck together, inspired me to want to write “a hurricane play.” one day. Years later, after my sister passed, we had a memorial for her on the beach. The encounters I had with wildlife on the beach, felt “super” natural, and I felt a strong sense of my sister’s presence. I knew after that memorial, I’d found my “hurricane play.”

Orlando Shakes: What is the theme or focus of this play?

Tammy Ryan: The Wake is about two things: grief and climate change. Grief for a lost loved one, as well as grief for the planet.

Orlando Shakes: What four words or short phrases first spring to mind to describe your play?

Tammy Ryan: Hopefully funny, supernatural, scary, sad.

Orlando Shakes: Is there something you’d like to write about or see a play about that hasn’t been done before?

Tammy Ryan: Good question. There are a lot of plays I often think I’d like to see but don’t really want to be the one to write. I’d like to see the play or movie that explains our current political era, once we are passed all of this. Which I’m sure someone is writing as we speak. Or maybe another really good version of Joan of Arc, updated for our modern times.

Orlando Shakes: If you are willing to talk about it – what new projects are on your horizon?

Tammy Ryan: I’ve just finished a new play called Take My Hand And Wave Goodbye that’s ready for a collaborative process. I’ve a workshop scheduled at New Dramatists in March and am excited to dive in. This play is about gun violence and its impact on a family whose loved one is killed in a shooting in Pittsburgh.

About The Playwright: Tammy Ryan

Tammy Ryan is a resident playwright of New Dramatists class of 2025. Her plays have been performed across the United States and internationally. Plays include Tar Beach (Luna Stage, Kilroy’s List), Molly’s Hammer (Repertory Theater of St. Louis), Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods (Premiere Stages, ATCA Francesca Primus Prize), Soldier’s Heart, (Pittsburgh Playhouse, Premiere Stages) and The Music Lesson (Florida Stage/Carbonell Award/AATE Distinguished New Play Award.) Her work has been nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the ATCA Steinberg Award and supported by the National New Play Network, The New Harmony Project, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sewanee Writers Conference, The Heinz Endowment, The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council. The Wake was previously read and developed at Theatre Lab (FAU), Ignite Festival and Premiere Stages. Her work is published by Dramatists Play Service, Broadway Play Publishing, Dramatic Publishing Company and Playscripts. www.tammyryan.net