INTERVIEW: EST’s one-act marathon continues with Susan Kim’s ‘Privilege’
Photo: Laura Gómez, Dalia Davi and Satomi Blair star in Susan Kim’s Privilege. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Daniel / Provided by Matt Ross PR with permission.
Susan Kim, whose plays include The Joy Luck Club, The Arrangement and Where It Came From, is presenting a 10-minute one-act play as part of this year’s marathon from the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City. Kim’s contribution is called Privilege and runs in Series B, which can be seen through June 24.
Privilege, directed by Jose Zayas, is billed as a dark comedy about two couples who may not be as politically forward as they might have thought.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Kim about Privilege and EST’s annual Marathon of One-Act Plays, which is now in its 37th year. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What is your play about?
Ten minutes. Ha … you walked into that one! OK, for real: Privilege is a dark comedy about two couples who seem very politically forward but may not be. I’m trying to channel Edward Albee and a little Black Mirror.
Is writing a short play easier or tougher than a full-length, two-act play?
It’s really different — both are pretty hard. A full-length gives you more range and freedom — and how the second act ‘answers’ the first gives you a lot of possibilities. In a one-act, you have to be super-aware of the so-called poetics and limitations of time and space. Once you lose your audience’s attention in a one-act, you’ve snapped the thread holding the whole thing up … not so much in a full-length.
What’s it like working with the Ensemble Studio Theatre?
I just love it. There are super smart people running it who really know theatre. They give you the resources you need and are there to help you … but they also give you enormous freedom. I’ve met the most amazing people working there.
When did you realize you had a talent for writing?
Wow … it’s weird to even admit I have any? I do know when I was very, very young, I loved to tell stories and found I could win over even the scariest kids, like a terrified playground Scheherezade. All good writing is just storytelling, I think.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Marathon of One-Act Plays continues through June 29. Susan Kim’s Privilege is part of Series B, which runs through June 24. Click here for more information and tickets.
