Artistic Statement
I write plays on subjects that I become obsessed with: sexting, aliens, murder, love, adoption, romance, Eugenics, school bombings, astronomy, the disenfranchised. I vacillate between writing historical stories and contemporary stories. I like my historical work to feel like present day. I don’t begin an historical play looking for correlations with modern issues but they invariable come up. Firstly, history always resonates in the present, and secondly I gravitate towards problems that one deals with in everyday life. I believe strongly in technique and structure. I like ensemble pieces where the purpose of each character is well balanced. I take great joy in contriving a tale that entertains and well as surprises.
As an artist I believe one grows proportionately to what one is exposed – and I do my best to always be part of a writers’ group. (Currently, I work with the Writer’s Lab of Passage Theatre of NJ). In my writers’ group experiences, an ideal setting for the development of new work is created when the participants have similar levels of talent and mutual respect. As a playwright, having a safe, open environment where colleagues share well-aligned goals, affords the author a sense of freedom that allows him or her to push boundaries, open one’s mind and maximize one’s talents. Participating in a well-structured group both greatly benefits my work, my growth as a writer, and allows me to share personal experience with other members. Hearing one’s work read aloud is invaluable. I also believe one can learn as much from cultivating how to give constructive feedback to a colleague as one can learn from one’s own reading. I am extremely grateful for and beholden to the artists with whom I’ve worked; however, I very much want to be exposed to new artists with different viewpoint, experiences and new ways of approaching old problems.
As an artist I believe one grows proportionately to what one is exposed – and I do my best to always be part of a writers’ group. (Currently, I work with the Writer’s Lab of Passage Theatre of NJ). In my writers’ group experiences, an ideal setting for the development of new work is created when the participants have similar levels of talent and mutual respect. As a playwright, having a safe, open environment where colleagues share well-aligned goals, affords the author a sense of freedom that allows him or her to push boundaries, open one’s mind and maximize one’s talents. Participating in a well-structured group both greatly benefits my work, my growth as a writer, and allows me to share personal experience with other members. Hearing one’s work read aloud is invaluable. I also believe one can learn as much from cultivating how to give constructive feedback to a colleague as one can learn from one’s own reading. I am extremely grateful for and beholden to the artists with whom I’ve worked; however, I very much want to be exposed to new artists with different viewpoint, experiences and new ways of approaching old problems.
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Michele Aldin Kushner
Artistic Statement
I write plays on subjects that I become obsessed with: sexting, aliens, murder, love, adoption, romance, Eugenics, school bombings, astronomy, the disenfranchised. I vacillate between writing historical stories and contemporary stories. I like my historical work to feel like present day. I don’t begin an historical play looking for correlations with modern issues but they invariable come up. Firstly, history always resonates in the present, and secondly I gravitate towards problems that one deals with in everyday life. I believe strongly in technique and structure. I like ensemble pieces where the purpose of each character is well balanced. I take great joy in contriving a tale that entertains and well as surprises.
As an artist I believe one grows proportionately to what one is exposed – and I do my best to always be part of a writers’ group. (Currently, I work with the Writer’s Lab of Passage Theatre of NJ). In my writers’ group experiences, an ideal setting for the development of new work is created when the participants have similar levels of talent and mutual respect. As a playwright, having a safe, open environment where colleagues share well-aligned goals, affords the author a sense of freedom that allows him or her to push boundaries, open one’s mind and maximize one’s talents. Participating in a well-structured group both greatly benefits my work, my growth as a writer, and allows me to share personal experience with other members. Hearing one’s work read aloud is invaluable. I also believe one can learn as much from cultivating how to give constructive feedback to a colleague as one can learn from one’s own reading. I am extremely grateful for and beholden to the artists with whom I’ve worked; however, I very much want to be exposed to new artists with different viewpoint, experiences and new ways of approaching old problems.
As an artist I believe one grows proportionately to what one is exposed – and I do my best to always be part of a writers’ group. (Currently, I work with the Writer’s Lab of Passage Theatre of NJ). In my writers’ group experiences, an ideal setting for the development of new work is created when the participants have similar levels of talent and mutual respect. As a playwright, having a safe, open environment where colleagues share well-aligned goals, affords the author a sense of freedom that allows him or her to push boundaries, open one’s mind and maximize one’s talents. Participating in a well-structured group both greatly benefits my work, my growth as a writer, and allows me to share personal experience with other members. Hearing one’s work read aloud is invaluable. I also believe one can learn as much from cultivating how to give constructive feedback to a colleague as one can learn from one’s own reading. I am extremely grateful for and beholden to the artists with whom I’ve worked; however, I very much want to be exposed to new artists with different viewpoint, experiences and new ways of approaching old problems.