INTERVIEW: T.J. Young on his world premiere play, ‘Sperm Donor Wanted’
Photo: T.J. Young is the writer of the new play Sperm Donor Wanted (or, The Unnamed Baby Play). Photo courtesy of Gregory Reiser / Provided by Emily Owens PR with permission.
T.J. Young has two names for his world premiere play, which continues through April 28 at the Chain Theatre in New York City. The first name is Sperm Donor Wanted, followed in parentheses by The Unnamed Baby Play. In the show, Lisa and Bex are in a relationship and looking to have a baby, so they turn to Aaron and Charles, a gay couple they find on the internet. What transpires is a narrative that finds these four people becoming immersed in one another’s lives, and their conversations cover everything from parenting to betrayal.
“I wrote the first draft of this play in February of 2020, so, it has been a bit over four years to get to this point,” Young wrote in an email interview with Hollywood Soapbox. “I am very excited. This story is spun from a real-life experience, and the actors are really digging into the work. It is also my first show in New York, and it feels like a big step for me. Being a kid from Texas, I’ve only been to NYC once before. I’m excited to see how my work lands in a new city and to see it come alive and off of the page. There is always so much to learn with a new show, and this production will teach me just as much as the readings and workshops leading up to now have.”
Here’s how Young describes the play: Lisa is happy and holistic, in addition to being kind and giving. In the play, Bex is in the military and excited about the prospect of carrying their child. Young sees Bex as more strong-willed than Lisa, and together they have a loving relationship. “Aaron and Charles are the queer couple on the other end of the story,” he wrote. “Aaron is a pretty goofy guy. He also struggles to speak up for what he wants. Charles is kind of brash and rough around the edges, but really struggles to open up.”
Helping bring Young’s vision to life is director Haley Rice, and the playwright had nothing but kind words to share about his working relationship with her. He wrote that Rice understands how to work with a new play, which has been a boon to the process. Young called her a true leader and that he’s lucky to have her guiding the journey. Also helping is Theatre 4the People, the company presenting the work in New York City.
Back to those two titles. Young has an explanation on those names: “To me, it was really about the focus of the play. Very early on, the question an audience could be asking is if they have a baby. By answering the question up front, it allows us to focus on the relationships of the adults, rather than focusing on the ‘do they, don’t they’ question. That, and I wanted to make sure that people knew it was a comedy. Hopefully, you don’t come into a play with the title of Sperm Donor Wanted not prepared to laugh.”
He added: “I really hope people are talking about the many ways we can make and find family. I also hope that they are looking at the relationships in their lives and looking at when and to whom they give empathy to. At the core of the show, we are following four really flawed people. Each of them has an opinion that is valid to them, causing us to question who we agree with and where grace can and should be given. If people are talking about the complicated ways they relate to the characters, then we will have done our job.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Sperm Donor Wanted (or, The Unnamed Baby Play) continues through April 28 at the Chain Theatre in New York City. Presented by Theatre 4the People. Click here for more information and tickets. Emailed responses have been slightly edited for style.
