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Conrad A. Panganiban

Conrad A. Panganiban

playwright | conradap@gmail.com

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Finding my voice

Posted on 06/25/2011 by Conrad

Dia's Pict
So I spent the better part of the morning reading a couple of plays which was very badly needed because I’ve been stressing over the play that I have to write. It also taught me a couple of valuable lessons:

  • If you’re play is a period piece, try to learn the language of that time period that your play is set in. One of the things I like about seeing something fictional, play or movie, is to be transported to that place. And one of the ways to achieve that is using the vernacular of that day. I picked this up from reading a play, Kicking the Golden Drum. While I liked the play very much – the ending has something to be desired, i desired more – the voice of that pre-ww2 era made me land there. The characters were that much stronger because of it and that made the story all that much the better. Maybe because of this use of language, I did expect more from the ending… it IS that good!
  • SIDEKICK play taught me that it’s possible to write a play with movie like directions and settings. There was this one scene where BARREL MAN rode his bicycle to the coffee shop and parked it on the sidewalk. I think I loved it because it truly set the scene visually, but it also GIVES the director to set that scene on a stage. It’s not “let’s PRETEND that it’s snowing outside and it’s cold inside… because we have no heat.” You know what I mean? So that’s a good note.
  • Theatriaticall.. theatercaly… theateractily… THEATRICALLY! I read a play by a playwright based in the PI, and even though the subject isn’t that unique – a woman yearns for independence and everyone, especially her family, to recognize it – the staging is truly used! I loved a scene where when she is quoting all of her “quips” back at those who ask, “why are you single?”, a props person comes out with a box of index cards of her “come backs” which she reads from. So, A LOT of breaking that fourth wall is involved. I thought that it was done well, but probably because of it’s length, 15-20 minutes. If it was longer then, I would have thought that all the 4th wall devicery, would start to become a distraction and would have had me wondering, is this playwright more concerned about writing a story, or is this an exercise on how witty I can be by making this play THEATRICAL?

At any rate, I was very inspired by the plays I read earlier and it was the shot I needed in working on ESPERANZA (working title).

Oh, also got a couple of DEADLINES I need to focus on!

  • Playground SF – Applications must be received by Thursday, September 1, 2011.
  • Bay One Acts Festival – Please submit your play in MS Word or PDF form by September 15, 2011 to bayoneacts@gmail.com

…and go!

oh, yeah… Dia’s iTunes Cover Art. I guess I was making a reference to the fact that a couple of the Semi/Finalists indeed do have their own style in their musical approach. And I think that’s what attracts me to the show as these are true artists and not just some karaoke acts. Each of the Finalists (Dia, Beverly, Vicci, and Javier) have that “artist” gene in them which makes each of them internally refuse to sing each of their songs like the original singer. They have their own VOICE and each of them follows it. I admire their bravery to do so… and I think that’s what all artists worth their salt should do! Salt meaning that they add flavor to the world 🙂

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Headshot of Conrad A. Panganiban

Conrad A. Panganiban (he/him/his) is an award-winning Filipino American playwright representing the San Francisco Bay Area. His plays include Daryo’s All-American Diner, Welga, and River’s Message. Conrad’s work has been produced by Bindlestiff Studio, The Chikahan Company, CIRCA Pintig (IL), the MaArte Theatre Collective, and CATS (Contemporary Asian Theatre Scene) . Awards include: Best Play of 2023, Daryo’s All-American Diner (BroadwayWorldAwards Chicago), Best New Play, Daryo’s All-American Diner (Chicago Reader, Best of 2023), Susan Fairbrook Playwright Fund Awardee (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley), 2023 New Voices in Comedy Writing Fellowship (Killing My Lobster), James Milton Highsmith Award Winner (SFSU), National Ten-Minute Play Festival Finalist (Actors Theatre of Louisville), and Bay Area Playwrights Festival Semi-Finalist (Playwrights Foundation). Resident Artist: Bindlestiff Studio. Member: Dramatist Guild of America, and Theatre Bay Area. MFA, San Francisco State University. @consplayspace

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