Playwright Profile – Karen Hines

Pochsy Star Discusses Her Writing Process

Apr 10, 2009 Andrea Beca

An interview with writer/playwright/performer Karen Hines, author of Pochsy's Lips, Hello...Hello, and many others.

Called “one of the most original artists in the city” by Toronto Life Magazine, Karen Hines has developed a significant following with her work as Pochsy. She has been nominated for (and has won) countless awards including two Alberta Writers Guild awards for drama; she was also a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Awards for The Pochsy Plays. Suite101 had the privilege of interviewing Karen Hines on her writing process.

What is the starting point of a play for you?

I often start with an image. That image usually involves a juxtaposition of incongruous things: a small child speaking with the voice and vocabulary of an adult; something magical with something mundane... I then look for a third thing, and I like to joke that when I have found the three central components, the play "just writes itself."

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

I write bits and pieces: usually phrases, scattered bits of dialogue. When something takes on a little "heat," I wind up writing something longer. That longer thing is often a key scene in the final play. Often though, it is ditched: a catalyst to the final play.

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

I prefer to work on one piece at once, but the reality is that I often need to start the new one while the "old" one is still being re-written. Also, I am sometimes invited to write "occasional pieces” for magazines, anthologies, etc. While I sometimes get irritable trying to juggle it all (in the belief that I can't write more than one thing at a time properly), I find more and more that having a few things on the go can be a pretty fertile way to go. I'll have a simple thought about one that helps solve a huge problem for another. But I miss the time when I was writing my first and, at the time, only play: for me, there is a deeper and calmer engagement with just one.

Do you have a special writing place?

I'm a wandering writer. I have an office in my house, but I wander from it: kitchen table, sofa, sometimes bed... I also like to write in hotel lobbies. I find that very focusing.

What do you struggle with when you write a play?

Doubt and time. Finding time is always difficult, especially as I am often involved in production these days, of my plays and now short films. Production is incredibly time-consuming, and interferes with the capacity to sink into the otherworld of the imagination. I much prefer the times when I am only writing: I am definitely most content at those times. That said, there is nothing more satisfying than taking an idea from its first inception to polishing the sound mix and delivering this little universe on a DVD. You're sort of like a god ... if only in your own mind!

When do you consider a play done?

Like a poem, a play is never done: it is abandoned. You just stop writing for a while when you have to open. Then you keep fixing till the next production. Sometimes you stop once it's published ... sometimes. Mostly, you stop when other things demand your mind's eye more adamantly.

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

Pilot "Precise V5 and V7" pens for making notes and doodling. A white paper notebook made with good paper. My laptop.

What was the first play you ever wrote?

Pochsy’s Lips.

What is the most recent play you’ve written?

I'm in the middle of writing a play called Drama.

Who is your favourite playwright?

I don't have one. I truly don't.

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

I think it would be dangerous to see only one play ... but I think three could be okay. But like favourites ... well, I could never say.

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

Playwrights should be like children who eat dirt when they are iron-deprived ... they should seek what they need for themselves. That means seeing a lot. Go traveling: New York, Paris, London, Drumheller. Don't just see the acclaimed plays; see the back-room stuff you hear about from other people. Ask the waitress in the east village. Ask the college students in St. John's. Wander. Get inspired. Then come home, sit down at a desk or table or on a floor and write, write, write, no matter what comes out at first. You have to spin a lot of hay to get the gold.