Writing in Solitude with Paula Cizmar and Kermit Frazier
Veteran writers, Paula Cizmar and Kermit Frazier, explore what it is like to write alone, especially during times of social & political unrest. This is the first episode moderated by L. Trey Wilson.
This month:
Playwright & librettist Paula Cizmar shares a piece she wrote specifically for Writers Revealed and Opal’s Aria from the opera INVISIBLE.
Actor & writer Kermit Frazier reads from two pieces, one non-fiction and one fiction, that were inspired by his mother.
Paula & Kermit discuss how the ongoing pandemic affected them and their writing.
Both writers reminisce on being commissioned to write a 10-minute play for Lower Depth Theatre.
Kermit shares his experience at a virtual silent writing retreat during the Jan. 6th insurrection.
Kermit & Paula extrapolate on the genres & writing styles they started out in.
Kermit talks about how his mother, now deceased, inspired the pieces he read.
Kermit discusses the idea of writing “what you know”, especially when it comes to characters who experience very different lives than you.
Paula discusses how the pandemic forced us to pay attention when injustices like the murder of George Floyd took place.
Kermit talks about his piece from 1987 about racialized police violence that is still relevant now.
Paula admits she feels unworthy of writing stories about racialized violence, but knows she must do it anyway.
Both writers answer the question, “What has this past year taught you about yourself, your work, and maybe the world in which we live?”
Paula discusses conquering the blank page and giving yourself the permission to write badly.
Kermit emphasizes that talent is cheap, because hard work is more important.
*Music for this episode was composed by Maritri Garrett
“We have to give ourselves permission to write badly...because if we sit there with our inner editor on, we will never write anything.
”
Pieces Read
Opal's Aria from the short opera INVISIBLE.
Paula wrote the libretto and Guang Yang composed the music
THE WORD KEEPER by Paula Cizmar
A special piece Paula wrote specifically for Writers Revealed
IN THE NEAR-BLINK OF AN EYE by Kermit Frazier
a non-fiction/memoir piece that Kermit wrote the piece shortly after a specific moment with his mother.
Excerpt from THE YEAR OF RETURN by Kermit Frazier
A scene from a play that features an 80-year old character Claudia is in early stages of Alzheimer's and is in many significant ways based on Kermit's mother.
Paula Cizmar
Playwright & Librettist
PAULA CIZMAR is an award-winning playwright/librettist. Plays include: Antigone X (California Rep) and The Vig (Inglewood-90303), an audio play that premieres in May 2021 as part of Antaeus Theatre Company’s Zip Code Plays series. She is one of the writers of the site-specific Hotel Play (Playwrights Arena) and Seven (LA Theatre Works, plus 30+ productions in 22 languages). She wrote the libretto for Invisible (LA Opera Eurydice Found Festival) and Firecrackers (commissioned by White Snake Opera), music composed by Guang Yang; Cizmar & Yang also won the Pittsburgh Festival Opera Music That Matters competition for Minerva’s Owl.
Kermit Frazier
Playwright & Actor
Kermit Frazier’s more than twenty-five plays have been produced around the country at such theaters as the New Federal Theater, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Detroit Repertory Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Seattle Children’s Theatre, and Baltimore Center Stage. Some have also been published by Broadway Play Publishing and Dramatic Publishing. In addition, he’s written for several television series, and his fiction and nonfiction have appeared in such publications as Callaloo, Essence, Black World, The Missouri Review, American Theatre, and The New York Times Book Review. His work as a playwright was spotlighted in June, 2020, in a full-page New York Times feature article.