Interview with Lia Romeo, Bad Ass Playwright of GREEN WHALES

MB: When did you start writing GREEN WHALES ? What's the idea that sparked it?

LR:I started writing the play when I was in grad school at Rutgers ... I'm continually drawn to writing love stories, and also to the discrepancies between our cultural fantasies about what love stories should look like (as exemplified by the genre of romantic comedy) and the reality of the many strange and imperfect ways that love manifests itself between strange and imperfect people. So I wanted to explore some of that territory in the play.


MB: Have you had other readings of the play? What surprised you about people's reactions?

LR: I've had several readings, and it's actually surprised me how un-horrified people have been ... I was expecting some strong negative reactions, given the play's subject matter, and I really haven't gotten any. I think audiences are a lot more open-minded than many theaters give them credit for.



MB: What's the next step you're going to take in your process with GREEN WHALES after this?

LR: GREEN WHALES is being world-premiered by the Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City this March - my first Equity production, so I'm very excited!




MB: What else do you do besides write plays?

LR: Write novels and humor books.



MB:What else do you do besides write?

LR: Eat babies.



MB: What's the last play you've seen?

LR: My own, actually - my play RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME opened at Renegade Theatre Experiment in California this past weekend.



MB: What makes you a "BAD ASS WOMAN"?

LR: I eat babies. Um, seriously? I know how lucky I am to have had the life I've had so far, and I believe I can accomplish anything I want to.



Come see a reading Lia's GREEN WHALES this Sunday at 7pm in NYC -
Info at www.projectytheatre.org

KICK ASS PLAYS by BAD ASS WOMEN

Project Y is off to a faced pace start in 2010!

We are in rehearsals for the next reading in our new series,
Kick Ass Plays by Bad Ass Women,
we're looking for a cool space for a half concert/half play event in May,
the 2nd annual Project Y Fundraiser Party is in planning mode,
and we're getting all the backstage stuff figured out for the world premier of
Samuel Brett Williams' REVIVAL at Theatre Row in September.

Yes, we are insane.

Now here I am, starting a PY blog to keep everyone in the know for what's going on
behind-the-scenes and in between productions.

Our reading series kicked off on November 15th. The first show, SOFONISBA, was a great collaboration with playwright and blogger extraordinaire, Callie Kimball. Next up is the seriously hilarious/hysterically disturbing
GREEN WHALES, by Lia Romeo on January 31st in NYC.
You can go to the PY website for all the info, including the pricetag - free. www.projectytheatre.org

Upcoming topics for this blog - conversations with our PY playwrights and artists, stories from behind-the-scenes, and totally biased opinions from people onstage and backstage.

Hope to see you there!

MB