Playwright Profile - Chris Craddock

Author of BASH’d, Moving Along, Summer of My Amazing Luck, and more

Mar 17, 2009 Andrea Beca

An interview with writer and performer Chris Craddock, who is fresh off of a run of his play, BASH'd, in New York City.

Chris Craddock has had quite the year. He spent last summer performing his play, BASH'd (a gay hip-hopera co-written and performed with Nathan Cuckow) off-Broadway in New York, wrote and acted in an independent film, The Pharmacist, and is now performing in two plays, BASH'd and Moving Along (a one-man show) at Victoria's Spark Festival from March 9-22, 2009. And that's just the start of it. Suite101 interviewed Chris about his process as a playwright.

What is the starting point of a play for you?

I usually start with a premise. A librarian finds out she was secretly taped having sex and is now an amateur porn star. A Boy Band hides its gay member. Whatever it is, I don't feel comfortable jumping in until I have a whole idea for the thing in my head.

What is your writing process? Do you start writing right away? Outline? Research?

I should do more research. I really should. But I am an improviser, and that is where most of my writer training comes from. It's good training, but it is not about research. I usually start with my premise, and then follow my nose through it until it's over. This makes for my strange fun plays full of lateral choices, but it does not make for a well-researched piece. As a result, my characters don't know anything I don't, and this can be limiting.

When doing an issue based play, like say a TYA piece on ADHD, I would recommend lots of research. If you don't do enough, later, experts will pound the facts into your head and that can mean exhaustive rewrites. I have had success writing from outlines when I have done so, but it never became a habit for theatre.

Film scripts are so structure based, and the business is so one-step-at-a-time that you pretty much have to work from outline. When collaborating, an outline is a good way to keep the piece from going too far off any rails you might want to keep it on as you work separately, and is a good option if you're writing with someone who is in another city.

Do you work on one play until it's done, or do you work on multiple plays at once?

Sometimes multiple projects are going on. I rarely have two projects at the same stage of development though. I might be doing rewrites on one thing while I'm on the first draft another thing, but I won't have two first drafts on the go at once. Projects of different natures can co-exist as well. A script for an awards show, for example, (which is a thing I've been doing lately for fun and profit. Don't judge me. You know how little playwrights make?) can easily fit in with the second draft of a play.

Do you have a special writing place?

Not really. I like to be able to put my feet up and type on my laptop in a couch or armchair situation.

What do you struggle with when you write a play?

I guess I struggle most with the structure and a well-reasoned plot, like many an improvised show does. That's the part I have to work hard on.

When do you consider a play done?

Is it ever? I mean, I guess when it's on stage and it's being performed, then it's done for that production. If there are going to be more productions, I might fix it up for them. When there are no more productions, then I will probably stop writing it. An old play of mine, Indulgences, is an exception. I rewrote that with no production in sight. Then I sent it around and got production in Atlanta and Boston. The one-act version was the second play I ever wrote! So I guess "don't give up" is the lesson there.

What do you need to have with you when you write?

A nice cup of coffee. Some kind of computer.

What was the first play you ever wrote?

The first play I ever wrote was a church Christmas pageant from the innkeeper's point of view.

What is the most recent play you've written?

I am on draft 1 of The Last Wish of Jam Walsh, about a playwright who wants to do one last play before he dies.

Who is your favourite playwright?

Probably a three-way tie between Daniel MacIvor, Edward Albee, and Tracey Lett.

What one play do you think everyone should read or see?

Everyone should see Daniel MacIvor's House, performed by him, when you're 19. For many of you this may require a time machine, but it's way inspiring.

What one piece of advice would you give to an aspiring playwright?

Writers write. Don't be a cliché of unfinished scripts. Tell everyone you're doing the Fringe next year, and then you'll be embarrassed if you don't. And do the Fringe. Get the plays up and don't wait for someone to pick you. Theatre companies only pick like 3 scripts a year, and I can tell you from experience as an AD, reading that pile of submissions is pretty low on the list of priorities. Make a name for yourself with Fringes and then they will come to you. Pitch commissions and get paid up front. Learn about grants and write them even better than your plays. Write TYA! It's a rich and hungry market and there's less competition due to biases against its nature. Kids are the best judges of what's true and awesome. If you can reach them, then adults will be a breeze.