Passionate and Inspirational, Steven Dietz visits Playwright's Spotlight to discuss the musicality of dialogue, kairos moments throughout a play, and what he calls The Living  Play, in which he unpacks his technique of using motion, status, and time opposed to action and conflict. We also discuss taboo topics, writing out of uncertainty, overlapping dialogue, intricacy and layers,  the mythology of playwriting as well as his time at Playwrights' Center and working with some of the greats. Probably one of the most educational discussions of the craft I've had so far. I hope you enjoy it. Steven Diezt’s thirty-plus plays and adaptations have been seen at over one hundred regional theaters, as well as Off-Broadway and has International productions in over twenty countries. In 2019, he was once again named one of the 20 Most-Produced Playwrights in America by American Theatre Magazine. He was awarded the American Theatre Critics Association's Steinberg New Play Citation for his play Bloomsday; the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award for both –Fiction and Still Life with Iris; the PEN USA Award in Drama for Lonely Planet; and the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Sherlock Homes: The Final Adventure. Other plays include Becky's New Car, This Random World, Last of the Boys, Rancho Mirage, Shooting Star, Yankee Tavern, Inventing van Gogh, Private Eyes, Rocket Man, God's Country, and The Nina Variations. He taught in the MFA Playwriting and Directing program at UT/Austin for twelve years and currently serves as a Dramatists Guild "Traveling Master"—teaching workshops in playwriting, story-making, and collaboration across the U.S. To view the video format of this episode, visit the link below - https://youtu.be/CnS8-gegiUc Links to sites and resources mentioned in this episode - Playwrights' Center - https://pwcenter.org Broadway Licensing/Dramatists Play Services - https://www.dramatists.com Concord Publishing/Samuel French - https://www.concordtheatricals.com National New Play Network - https://nnpn.org Websites and socials for James Elden, Punk Monkey Productions and Playwright's Spotlight Punk Monkey Productions - www.punkmonkeyproductions.com PLAY Noir - www.playnoir.com PLAY Noir Anthology – www.punkmonkeyproductions.com/contact.html James Elden - Twitter - @jameseldensauer IG - @alakardrake FB - fb.com/jameseldensauer Punk Monkey Productions and PLAY Noir -  Twitter - @punkmonkeyprods                   - @playnoirla  IG - @punkmonkeyprods        - @playnoir_la  FB - fb.com/playnoir         - fb.com/punkmonkeyproductions Playwright's Spotlight - Twitter - @wrightlightpod  IG - @playwrights_spotlight Playwriting services through Los Angeles Collegiate Playwrights Festival www.losangelescollegiateplaywrightsfestival.com/services.html Support the show