Brian James Polak on Writing, Success, and The Journey that Never Ends

Brian James Polak is a playwright, teacher, and host of American Theatre Magazine's podcast The Subtext. I've known Brian on social media for several years, but I'd never sat down for a conversation with him in person (or at least in this case, over the phone). So as one podcaster to another, in this episode I interview him about, well, interviewing, and how he creates his signature show. We also discuss what success means to him, how an ill-fated major in Philosophy led him to theater, and how to navigate the tension between wanting to promote other artists while still developing one's own career. Like many playwrights, Brian also had a production, Welcome to Keene, NH, cancelled due to COVID-19, so he gives us an update on that (hopefully still upcoming!) play and what else he's been working on during the pandemic.

As an homage to Brian's monologues at the start of each episode of The Subtext, this episode also begins with some reflections from me on success, and the interview starts at 11:00.

To read (or maybe produce) Brian's work, find his plays at https://newplayexchange.org/users/724/brian-james-polak
Listen to The Subtext on major podcast platforms, or at www.americantheatre.org/category/audio/the-subtext/

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