Each month on The Subtext, Brian speaks with a playwright about life, writing, and whatever itches we are scratching. This time, Brian talks to Jonathan Payne, whose plays have been developed at Long Wharf Theatre, Fringe Festival NYC, Buskwick Starr, and more. Their conversation delves into how Payne’s roles or titles have informed one another, from student, to actor, to social worker, to playwright, to husband, to father. Payne discusses how his practice engages Black history narratives, considers different cultural and vocational definitions of success, and strives to reconcile “a sea of unproduced plays.” 

Jonathan Payne has been a fellow at New Dramatists, Playwrights Realm, Dramatists Guild, and Ars Nova Play Group. In recent years, he’s received an Apollo Theater new work commission, and his play A Human Being, of a Sort premiered at Williamstown Theatre Festival. He is also widely known for The Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll’d, which premiered Off-Broadway with Playwrights Realm. Honors include the Princess Grace Award, Holland New Voices Award, Rosa Parks Award, and John Cauble Short Play Award.