The Subtext: Plays That Fill You Up
This month Brian surveys playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, and critics about the works they just can’t shake, and why.
Stories by Brian James Polak
The Subtext: The Many Forms of Jen Silverman
This month Brian talks with the playwright of ‘The Moors’ and ‘Collective Rage’ about how writing for TV inspired her write a novel about the theatre.
The Subtext: Pandemic Playwriting, Part 2
This month, a check-in with the playwrights who first called in last March to see how they’ve fared in the intervening 10 months.
The Subtext: Gwydion Suilebhan’s Homecoming
This month Brian talks to the playwright/poet/marketer who’s the driving force behind the New Play Exchange.
The Subtext: Kate Hamill’s Sensibility
The actor/playwright behind a trove of popular literary adaptations talks about her inspiration, and about her non-Austen work.
The Subtext: David Adjmi’s Artist’s Heart
This month Brian talks to playwright and author David Adjmi about family pressure, falling behind, and filling a niche.
The Subtext: Making Space With Tanuja Jagernauth
This month Brian talks to the Chicago-based playwright, activist, and healer about the transition points in her life and career.
The Subtext: Writing Across Mediums
This month Brian hands the mic to Playwrights’ Center’s Jeremy Cohen and a panel of multi-platform writers.
The Subtext: Backstory and Foreshadowing
In this solo episode, Brian reflects on the podcast’s origins, frets about the future, and finds hope in an elder’s advice.
The Subtext: E.M. Lewis’s Audio Diary
The award-winning playwright records the joys and challenges of daily life on a farm in rural Oregon during the pandemic lockdown.
