We are back!!! Sorry for missing a week, folks. Had some audio issues with this episode and needed a little time to figure out the best approach. 99% of the audio glitches were on my end, and my guest offers some amazing insights that I didn't want to risk losing by reshooting the episode or losing context by editing out the question. All said, John Patrick Bray and I delve into some great topics and themes including - storytelling and playing with structure, the process of playwriting, the exercise of "negotiating over an object", and a different mindset when it comes to stage directions. We also discuss the concept of "great reckonings in small rooms", the struggle of dry spells and making playwriting a priority, subtext vs the obvious, and finding opportunities. We manage a tangent into the realm of movies and our feeling about Midsommer and Heritage that I find amusing. I hope you can forgive the technical difficulties and still mine through the knowledge within. I know it can be distracting, but I promise it'll be worth the it in the end. Thanks for you support and patience. Enjoy! John Patrick Bray has written plays under grants from The National Endowment for the Arts and the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Louisiana, and has earned commissions from theatre companies and arts agencies around the country. He has been a Semifinalist for the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Semifinalist for the Ashland New Play Festival, Semifinalist for the Princess Grace Foundation Playwriting Award; a Finalist for the Kernodle Playwright Prize; and Winner of the Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights. His plays and monologues are published with Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, Smith and Kraus, Original Works Publishing, Next Stage Press, JAC Publishing, and  Heartland Plays. He served as a Dramatists Guild Atlanta Region Ambassador in 2019 and is the co-founder of Athens Playwrights' Workshop. He earned an MFA in Playwriting from The Actors Studio Drama School at The New School and PhD in Theatre from Louisiana State University. He teaches in the Department of Theatre and Film Studies at the University of Georgia. To view the video format of this episode, visit the link below - https://youtu.be/X86fRpZxwao Links to sites and resources mentioned in this episode - Next Stage Press - www.nextstagepress.com Acadiana Center for the Arts - https://acadianacenterforthearts.org Skeleton Rep - http://www.skeletonrep.org New Play Exchange - https://newplayexchange.org Contact information and socials for John Patrick Bray - Website - www.johnpatrickbray.com Facebook - fb.com/jpbphd 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