INTERVIEW: Country house in Connecticut inspires NYC play
Photo: The Country Play, written by Richard Ploetz, follows a newly retired college professor who is trying to write a novel in the country. Photo courtesy of the artist / Provided by Alton PR with permission.
Richard Ploetz is a prolific playwright whose work has appeared at WPA Theater, Playwrights Horizons, La MaMa and just about everywhere in between. His latest is called The Country Play, which is inspired by the writer’s own country house in northwestern Connecticut. When he’s not in the rural environs of that country abode, Ploetz holds court in his apartment on Saint Marks Place, a place he’s lived for nearly 50 years.
The show follows the character of Michael Turner, an English professor who is spending his first summer post-retirement at the family’s country house, according to press notes. All he wants to do is sit down and write a novel, but he keeps getting interrupted by unexpected guests.
The Country Play, directed by Job Ethan Christenson, runs through Sunday, May 14 at Theater for the New City on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Recently Ploetz exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox and described the inspiration for his new play and what it has been like living in the East Village over the past five decades. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
Do you write better in the country or in the city?
That’s a hard question to answer. I have been jotting in my journal most days since I was a homesick sailor in Morocco after high school. I am at my best writing when a grain from my journal takes shape in my mind. That can happen anywhere.
Is this new play inspired by time at your country house in Connecticut?
Yes, it is. Certainly the “feel” of the setting but equally important are the characters based on friends both from the city and the country.
What’s it like to partner with Theater for the New City?
TNC has become a second home for me. From our first production there in 2013 through this, our fifth, Crystal Field and her amazing staff have been welcoming and accommodating.
How would you describe Michael Turner as a character?
A romantic, somewhat impractical, a bit full of himself, an English professor who enjoys the role, an aspiring writer, a fond father.
Have you been involved in rehearsals with director Job Ethan Christenson?
Very much so. Job is a superb director with great empathy with his actors. Very much a collaborator. Open to exploring a new script while having clear ideas about what he wants and where he sees the piece going. A privilege working with him.
What has it been like living in the East Village since 1975? I imagine you’ve seen many changes.
Indeed, Saint Marks Place has changed a lot in nearly 50 years. My block was very diversified when I first got here — a live chicken store across the street, the great funky Saint Marks Bookstore, the Grassroots dive bar, Saint Marks Baths, Manic Panic downstairs in my building, the Bowl and Board, the old Electric Circus. There were drug dealers on the street and “ladies of the evening.” It was great living here — rent was cheap — it was very real (a little edgy; you had to keep your street smarts about you!). It felt like home — our daughter was born and grew up here — and it still feels like home.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Country Play by Richard Ploetz continues through Sunday, May 14 at Theater for the New City in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
