Playwright's Spotlight with Nina Mansfield

The quirky and energetic playwright Nina Mansfield stopped by Playwright's Spotlight, and while she's far from high strung, I can't help but think the female characters she sticks in unusual situations are all a faction of her. It's hard to pinpoint the exact areas of playwriting we cover in this episode, because we cover so many subjects - teaching subtext, building backstory, timing, character development by letting them tell YOU who they are, the 10-minute structure, and revisiting old works that didn't work. We also touch on approaching premise, training later in one's career, and most importantly - having fun writing. Nina's energy comes off strong right from the start, so I hope it inspires and motivates you to hit the pages running. Enjoy the episode.

Nina Mansfield is a Connecticut based playwright, fiction writer, and educator. Her ten minute and one-act plays have had over 100 productions having been produced professionally, at colleges, community theaters and high schools as well as throughout the world. He work has appeared at a number of festivals, including - the New York International Fringe Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Boston Theatre Marathon, Vital Theatre's New Works Festival, 20% Theatre Twin Cities, the Six Women Playwriting Festival, Little Fish Theatre's Pick of the Vine Festival, and multiple 8-Minute Madness Festivals in New York. Nina's short plays have been anthologized in Smith and Kraus' The Best Ten-Minute Plays, the Boston Theater Marathon XI, 2009 Anthology, and YouthPlays' Middle Schoolin' It, amongst other publications. She is a member of the The Dramatists Guild, Mystery Writers of America, The Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and Sisters in Crime.

Links to sites and resources mentioned in this episode -

New Dramatists -
https://newdramatists.org

Smith and Kraus -
https://www.smithandkraus.com

Kennedy Center Playwriting -
https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/opportunities-for-artists/pre-professional-artist-training/kcactf/kcplaywritingint/

Stage Partners -
https://www.yourstagepartners.com

Playwright's Binge -
https://groups.io/g/playwrightbinge

Contact info and website for Nina Mansfield -
www.ninamansfield.com

IG - @ninamansfield
Twitter - @ninajmansfield

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