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Conrad A. Panganiban

Conrad A. Panganiban

playwright | conradap@gmail.com

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Approaching Playwriting as an Entrepreneur

Posted on 06/20/202306/20/2023 by Conrad

Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

So having all this extra free time has gotten me to reflect on my path as a Playwright. Looking at other people’s paths made me either realize that the plays I write (community / social justice-themed) would match with a LOTR theatre company. But then again, I really haven’t tried reaching out to see if my work would be “accepted” by them. Which is stupid cuz I’ve been VERY FORTUNATE to have worked with the companies that have produced my work! I guess that’s the reason I haven’t been down on myself for not having the career in theatre that I thought I would have while in Grad School.

“As a playwright, how do you define success?”

Well, that’s a loaded question. I went to Grad School because I believed I didn’t have the technical skills of how to construct a play. But I’m not sure we had a class on how to construct a career as a playwright. I guess for the writers that did have a background in theatre probably had a clue of what it looks like:

  • Write a play
  • Workshop the play through rehearsals and collaborations
  • Have a Public Reading
  • Have a Production with at least a 2-week run
  • Get paid for writing the play
  • Get reviews written and published on a “reputable” outlet
  • Publish the play
  • Get an Agent
  • Create a website for your work
  • Garner awards for your work… something that will add, “An Award-Winning Playwright” to your bio
  • Be able to travel to different cities to watch your plays
    • Bonus points for productions out of state where the company pays for your lodging and travel
  • Have your play be a part of a rolling world premier circuit with different theatre companies
  • Have awesome opening/closing parties where strangers compliment your work
  • Have your work be turned into a movie or tv series
  • Make a living through your work
    • Keep getting commissioned
    • Land a TV Job (though not now because of the WGA Strike – EQUAL PAY FOR WRITERS NOW!!!)
    • Get full benefits
    • Have enough to have a mortgage and live comfortably without worrying about bills from paycheck to paycheck
Image by 0fjd125gk87 from Pixabay

Okay, the above list is something from a fantasyland, but without reading about other paths to success in the playwriting world, why else would anyone want to have this life? And I think that’s where I am. Not to accomplish the items above, but to find a happy medium for my work. In order to define success as a playwright, I needed to DEFINE what success looks like to me as a playwright.

To me, being a successful playwright means…

I write plays for an audience to see themselves in the characters who are put into situations where they can grow, be informed, escape from, and sometimes laugh, cry, and share. Of course, I’d love it if an audience also has a good time while experiencing the play too. Hmmm… I guess the most basic goal to achieve success in my work is the ability to have an audience to watch my play with actors using their skills to bring words to life. LOL… there doesn’t seem to be a lot of income related to that goal, Conrad šŸ™ And therein lies the rub–how to turn my definition of success into something more sustainable.

And there lies where the thinking like an Entrepreneur comes in. How can being a person who has a product (my plays) can bring in a bigger audience that will see my work and bring in investors, collaborators, and opportunities? I’m a little worried about this next step because knowing me, I’ll get overwhelmed with the business and day-to-day operations of running my career like a business. Just thinking about having to network with more people is already ramping up my social anxiety! Here’s a list of things I may start doing to market me and my work to achieve my goal of getting more people to read, watch, and contract collaborators:

  • Add a Ko-Fi, or other tip jar or contribution, links to my website
  • Add AdSense to my website
  • Get sponsors for my site
  • Create GoFundMe pages for projects
  • Submit to more contests and playwriting festivals
  • Apply for grants

Oof, I’m going to stop there cuz I literally started getting the creeps of asking people for money. The ick-level is palpable šŸ™ I’m trying to get back to the why I’m trying to do this by justifying this ick. I think I’m also trying to justify who I am as an artist. I’m so in awe of other artists who are confident in their being. I wished I believed in me as much as others do.

But I have to try sometime…

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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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