About PlayFest 2020

Immerse yourself in the world of new plays as The Basel-Kiene Family joins City Beverages in presenting PlayFest 2020! This year’s new play festival features six groundbreaking new works that will each be presented as a livestreamed virtual reading.

In our “Playwright Spotlight” series, you’ll get to know each of the featured playwrights. First up, we have Vincent Terrell Durham, the creator behind the dramedy Polar Bears, Black Boys, and Prairie-Fringed Orchids.

Meet the Playwright

Orlando Shakes: What questions are preoccupying your mind as a writer at the moment?

Vincent Terrell Durham: I wish my writer’s mind was active right now. The death of Chadwick Boseman has really taken me out of anything creative, but I’m certain my subconscious mind is doing all kinds of things with these feelings. I look forward to learning what that looks like.

Orlando Shakes: How did you get into playwriting?

Vincent: I was spending a lot of time going to the theater and threatening to write a play of my own when I happened to run into an old high school friend. We were exchanging stories and catching up on each other’s lives. He expressed a real shock that I hadn’t become a writer. I started writing my first stage play after that conversation.

Orlando Shakes: When you’re writing, what does an ideal day look like to you?

Vincent: My ideal writing day has endless amounts of Trident gum, an assortment of teas and lots of quiet.

Orlando Shakes: How do you define your creative process as a playwright?

Vincent: My process is pretty organic. I usually sit down with an idea but very little else. Dialogue is what creates the characters in my process and then the characters tell me where they want to go. It’s not until I’m rewriting that I consciously manipulate situations and reactions.

Orlando Shakes: What was your initial inspiration for writing this play, and what fueled you throughout the writing process for Polar Bears, Black Boys, and Prairie-Fringed Orchids?

Vincent: The piece was commissioned from a 10-minute play, Shooting at the Universe. PlayGround-LA and Planet Earth Arts issued the prompt: “Awakening to the Dream of the Earth.” In light of the many police shootings of unarmed Black Americans, I couldn’t wrap my head around writing about the environmental concerns of Earth. So I wrote a tongue in cheek play about an environmentalist wanting to add Black people to the endangered species list. The full length play was fueled by a desire to write my “God of Carnage” play. I really wanted to throw people with various views into a room, have them talk to one another and let the chips fall all over the place.

Orlando Shakes: List the first four words that spring to mind to describe your play.

Vincent: Humorous, American, Timely, Pain.

Orlando Shakes: What playwrights have inspired your body of work?

Vincent: Four writers have inspired my work the most, but all aren’t playwrights. August Wilson, John Irving, Mel Brooks and Norman Lear show up in most of my work.

Orlando Shakes: Who are some current playwrights you would recommend to those interested in new plays/ playwrights?

Vincent: I love Dominque Morisseau. I’m also a big fan of Suzan-Lori Parks and the subjects she tackles. I’m also following the careers of my fellow Los Angeles playwrights and they are doing some amazing work.

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

Vincent: I have a few new play ideas scribbled down on post it notes, but I’m really eager to explore a musical using the music of Rahsaan Patterson. I’m also working on a television pilot/series that has taken over my heart.

Learn More About the Reading

Be a part of Vincent’s creative process and book tickets to Polar Bears, Black Boys and Prairie Fringed Orchids where you’ll be able to provide live feedback after the reading.

Learn More