Had the pleasure of chatting with playwright and son of actress Eileen Heckart (Bus Stop), Luke Yankee, about growing up in the world of Hollywood and his journey to be coming a playwright. It's a wonderful interview that touches on his relationships with not only the Hollywood greats but also the pioneers of the theatre (including Steven Schwartz, Beth Henley, David Lindsay-Abaire, and David Henry Hwang) and how they affected his growth as an artist and craft of playwriting. We touch on his delving into playwriting, winning The Stanley Award, his inspirations and writing style, receiving notes and getting bad feedback, knowing and breaking the rules of playwriting as well as the importance of script analysis and criticism. We also talk the benefits of making your work more personal, making characters sound different, learning from the Greeks and other classics, and what he views as the most important element of playwriting. Also, if you're a long time listener to the podcast, Luke may very well have ended the debate on whether or not it's worth studying playwriting in academia. Overall, Luke was is absolutely charming and delivers a plethora of knowledge about the craft. Enjoy! Luke Yankee is a writer, director, producer, actor, and teacher. His play, "The Last Lifeboat" (published by Dramatists Play Service) has had more than 50 productions in North America and has won over 60 regional awards. His play, "Marilyn, Mom & Me" was the recipient of the Southwest Theatre Productions Sponsor's Award, the Moondance Stageplay Award, and the Writer's Digest Award for Best Play. His play, “Confessions of a Star Maker” was recently a finalist for the Screencraft stageplay competition and was chosen for the Last Frontier Theatre Conference. Other plays include "A Place at Forest Lawn", "The Man Who Killed The Cure" and "The Jesus Hickey". To view the video format of this episode, visit - https://youtu.be/TCjWtRO1k9I Links mentioned in this episode - The Stanley Award - https://wagner.edu/performing-arts/stanley-drama/ International City Theatre - https://ictlongbeach.org The Art of Writing for the Theatre - https://www.amazon.com/Art-Writing-Theatre-Introduction-Introductions/dp/1350155578 Play Submissions Helper - https://playsubmissionshelper.com William Inge Theatre Festival - https://ingecenter.org/festival/ The O'Neills - https://www.theoneill.org UC Riverside MFA Program - https://palmdesertmfa.ucr.edu Socials and Website for Luke Yankee - www.lukeyankee.com FB - www.facebook.com/luke.yankee IG - @lukebyankee X/Twitter - @lukebyankee Websites and socials for James Elden, PMP, 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