Each month on The Subtext, Brian speaks with a playwright about life, writing, and whatever itches we are scratching.

This month he talks to playwright and producer Kelley Nicole Girod, whose plays reflect Louisiana communities and, in particular, the often overlooked stories of the Black/Creole/Cajun experience that she was brought up in. They discuss Girod’s passion for drama, awareness of place and identity, natural impulse toward art-making from an early age, and finding balance amid many endeavors. The playwright reflects deeply on Louisiana and shares what it was like to watch Hurricane Katrina from afar, while in grad school in New York City, saying “Everybody’s worst fear is that the home you leave won’t be the same when you come back… I was literally watching it wash away.” She discusses timing around writing, from readying herself to tell the stories of home to managing other career demands.

Kelley Nicole Girod’s plays include This Stretch of Montpelier, The Faith Healer, and A Body of Water, which comprise an expansive trilogy drawing on her family’s oral histories. For the past 16 years in New York City, Girod has dedicated herself to the curation and development of work by Black playwrights as well as building community. She serves as director of new works at the Apollo Theater and founded Obie-winning The Fire This Time Festival, which just celebrated its 15th anniversary and has developed nearly 100 new plays by playwrights of the Black diaspora.  In 2023, she was named the recipient of New York Innovative Theater’s Ellen Stewart Award.