{"id":3306,"date":"2017-06-14T05:38:01","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T05:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/?p=3306"},"modified":"2017-09-25T17:13:56","modified_gmt":"2017-09-25T17:13:56","slug":"playwright-interview-lisa-bruna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/performerstuff.com\/mgs\/playwright-interview-lisa-bruna\/","title":{"rendered":"Playwright Interview: Lisa Bruna"},"content":{"rendered":"

Playwright Interview: Lisa Bruna<\/h3>\n \"\"<\/a><\/span>

Written by\u00a0Ashleigh Gardner<\/p>\n

May 24, 2017<\/p>\n<\/font>

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Welcome back to Performer Stuff\u2019s new series that celebrates our playwrights! We\u00a0feature an interview with a playwright who features their work on PerformerStuff.com, asking them questions about their inspirations, their process, and the craft of playwrighting. Our series continues with playwright Lisa Bruna.<\/p>\n \"\"<\/span>

1. What themes, images, or relationships appear most frequently in your work and why?<\/h4>\n

I like to play with illusion and irony. I\u2019ll often punch up the idea that things are not always what they seem. Sometimes I let the audience in on the secret from the beginning. Other times I\u2019ll flip the script so the characters are in the know, and the audience gets caught off guard by a plot twist or unexpected ending. I know I\u2019ve been successful in my technique when an audience member hunts me down after a performance to say, \u201cOkay, you got me!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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2. Tell us about the play that you are proudest of having written.<\/h4>\n

I\u2019m proudest of my play, Yellow<\/em>. I believe theatre is best when a performance leaves the audience feeling emotionally moved by it in some way. I already knew I could move people to laughter. With\u00a0Yellow<\/em>, I discovered for the first time that I could also move them tears. It\u2019s a powerful feeling \u2013 and a massive responsibility \u2013 to know you can touch people\u2019s hearts that way. I\u2019ve since written many more pieces that tug at the heart strings. And I\u2019m now more aware of how to strike a balance between the laughter and the tears. Because a good life (and a good play) has a little of both, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

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3. If you could have written one play in the history of theatre, which would it be?<\/h4>\n

A Streetcar Named Desire<\/em> is extraordinary in every way imaginable. And it\u2019s one play I\u2019m sure we all wish we\u2019d written. Streetcar is an unqualified theatrical masterpiece, simultaneously tragic and beautiful and brutally raw. The mood Williams creates is palpable. He brings you into the world of the play by touching on every human emotion and tapping into all five senses. Thinking back on my earliest of days as a student of English Lit (and later theatre), I remember this being the first play that struck me as truly transformative. I\u2019ve continued to love it since my first encounter with Stella, Stanley, Blanche, and all the other voices that seep into your psyche. You cannot experience Streetcar without being haunted by it forever.<\/p>\n

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Read more about the playwright below:<\/h4>\n

Lisa Bruna<\/strong>\u00a0is\u00a0an award-winning playwright whose original works have been produced throughout the United States, from California to New York to South Florida. Her comedic-drama, INVASION, earned Lisa a New York Innovative Theatre Award for\u00a0Outstanding Original Short Script (2015) and a Best Playwright designation in Manhattan Theatre Source\u2019s 15th Annual EstroGenius Festival (2014). Others of Lisa\u2019s short plays have won Audience Favorite, Best Script, and Best Playwright awards in various playwriting festivals throughout the country. Lisa also enjoys writing for younger audiences. Her full-length children’s play, OPERATION ODDBALL, was selected from a national search as a top-three finalist in the 2014 Annual Ronald M. Ruble New Play Festival. Lisa is a proud member of Dramatists Guild of America. You can find her online at www.lisabruna.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Hungry for more theatre history? Check out our other stories below!<\/h3>\n