HM Acting introduces new playwriting teacher

David Adam Gill to Head Howard Meyer Acting’s Playwriting Program
Pleasantville, NY - On Tuesday, September 11, the Howard Meyer Acting Program, the teaching division of Axial Theatre in Pleasantville, will begin the fall 2018 semester of playwriting classes by welcoming a new instructor, Brooklyn-based playwright/TV scriptwriter/screenwriter David Adam Gill. Classes run from 7 to 9 pm for six weeks through October 16.
David launched his career at Transient Theater in Chicago with his first full-length play, Providence which made its New York premier at Roy Arias Stages in October 2015 to much critical acclaim – “A triumph!” wrote Kristen Morales, BroadwayWorld.com.
His next three plays, Experimenting with Katz, Irregulars, and Unfinished constitute his F*cked-up Family Trilogy. Irregulars had a staged reading at the Playroom Theater as part of the PlayGround Experiment’s inaugural First Reads festival. Experimenting with Katz is premiering at Theaterlab NYC this month.
David has written numerous short plays which appeared at such venues as Shiyr Productions and Axial Theatre’s Twisted Valentines and a web series, Scavengers. He co-authored two television pilots with Tony Nation and is the artistic director and co-founder of New Ambassadors Theatre Lab, and a regular voice at The PlayGround Experiment and NY Madness.
We asked David a few questions.
Q - What gave you your start in playwriting – and why did you choose to concentrate on plays rather than fiction or poetry?
DAVID - I was an actor and I had always loved to write. It was the obvious (to me) evolution that I write for the theater because I knew it so well, always felt comfortable on stage, and that seemed to pair well with the strong points of my fiction writing: I wrote visually, my characters had strong unique voices, and I had an ear for dialogue. I seemed to transfer to the stage pretty easily.
Q - What inspired your first play? In general, how do you get inspiration – from life? Literature? A bit of both?
DAVID: My first play was inspired by a conversation I overheard while walking through the Columbia University campus on my way home from work one evening. I tried to write a story, but it didn't lend itself to fiction, so I wrote a scene. The scene expanded into a play, and the rest is history. It was a very cathartic play to write as I had a lot of issues I was working out, but I learned to eventually distance myself enough to not allow those issues to take over the play. Additionally, I am a huge literature buff - especially the classics - and am inspired as much by them as by my life. Usually I work nicely in tandem with both.
Q - What made you decide to teach playwriting?
DAVID: It seemed the natural next step for me. I've participated in a few playwriting groups, and eventually founded the New Ambassadors Theatre Lab which allowed me not only to hone my skills as a writer, but more importantly helped me to find a vocabulary by which to express clearly my philosophy on writing. I also became a sounding board for other writers who were looking for guidance on their work, so that vocabulary also helped me to find a way of being sensitive as well as supportive.
Q - What do you tell your students to listen for while in cafes, on the train, in short, any setting where you can overhear snippets of conversation and type them into ‘Notes’ on your phone?
DAVID: This is an easy one. Listen to anything that catches your ear. Or eye. A phrase. A conversation. An interesting-looking person. The way someone orders a cup of coffee. Anything! Make a note of it. You might not use it right away, but at some point it will help you out of a tough spot. Hello. My name is David Gill and I am I'm a serial eavesdropper and I am proud!
Q - How do you help students understand the importance of structure in a play – the famous arc which is probably new to beginning playwrights?
DAVID: You need to be sensitive to the connection a writer has to their material. A new writer might not yet know where their play is headed, so I like to encourage exploration. Write! Write! Write! That said, my golden rule is: if it's not moving the story along or moving the character towards your desired emotional discovery, you need to rethink it.
Q – Do you have advice to those who are on the fence – they have ideas in their head, but aren’t sure if playwriting is right for them?
DAVID: My advice is simple. Try it. I'm always surprised at the hesitancy of people who have a strong interest in pursuing something but decide against it for fear of failure. My class is a designated safe space. Try out your wings. Stumble a bit. What have you got to lose?
New students will be accepted until the second class and will pay on a pro-rated basis if entering after the first class. The cost is $265 for the six-week session. Visit www.hmacting.org to register; see www.davidadamgill.com for more information on the playwright.