Weather
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Kristen
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SYNOPSIS
As a family tries to enjoy a day at the beach, the weather report rattles their fragile relationships because the threat of rain reveals the dissonance in how each character views the world, themselves and those around them.
PLAYWRIGHT’S BIO
Kristen Scharold is a playwright and essayist living in the Catskills of New York. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Litt Magazine and The Millions, among others.
A BIT ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
When did you start writing plays? If you had a moment where you realized you wanted to write, what was it?
I’m very much an emergent playwright – this is the first act of the first play I’ve ever written. The full-length version that it has since become is also my debut work in the medium. That said, I’ve been writing essays and fiction throughout my adult life. But when I finally tried my hand at playwriting with this piece, something clicked in a way nothing else ever had. Writing this play was a monumental epiphany for me, and I’m thrilled to have discovered how much I love this form – even if there’s a tinge of regret I didn’t try it sooner. But it does seem inevitable I finally ended up here. I played the leads in my high school productions, devoured Shakespeare in my free time, and have always loved going to the theatre. But sometimes life leads us away from the things we’re most drawn to. I’m grateful to have found my way here now, still discovering new parts of myself and new ways of engaging with the world.
How did you come to write your OOB play? Was there a particular inspiration behind its creation? How has it developed?
I’ve been lucky enough to spend a week or two on a South Carolina beach most summers, and this story has been rattling around in my mind every time someone says, “Looks like rain.” Finally, I had to write it down as a play. While it’s not autobiographical, it’s rooted in the feeling and tension of those long days with family on the beach.
What are five words that describe who you are as a playwright?
Realistic, subtle, empathetic, resonant, layered.
What/who are some of the major influences on your writing?
Some of the biggest influences on my writing are not playwrights at all: Eva Baltasar, Marilynne Robinson, Claire Keegan, Sylvia Plath, Michael Cunningham and Flannery O’Connor.
What’s one fact someone would never guess about you?
I can ride a motorcycle, and once did a solo moto trip from NYC through the Blue Ridge Mountains to Asheville, NC.
What are some of your favorite plays?
Primary Trust by Eboni Booth, English by Sanaz Toossi, Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, A Case for the Existence of God by Samuel D. Hunter, Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare.
Any new projects you’re working on or shameless plugs?
I’ve since turned this short play into a full-length play that I’m proud of and would love to see produced.
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