Covid was rough for everyone. It was especially rough on theaters. That's in no way to say that they suffered more than families who were directly affected by it with either loss, severe illness, or financial hardship. However, the one escape and provider of catharsis, live theatre, was no longer available, and while creatives strove to find new ways to present their work (via Zoom, Skype, YouTube), it just wasn't the same as sharing an experience with a room full of peers. These platforms were quite innovative in offering an alternative, but they just didn't work for what Punk Monkey Productions strives to offer - a live, intimate in-person experience.

Considering the seven seasons of PLAY Noir and two season of the Los Angeles Collegiate Playwright's Festival (which we will soon link to this site) we wanted to find a way to continue to produce and give, so while theaters were closed we decided to invest in a podcast studio. In our experience of curating both festival PMP oversees, we realized there is a massive amount of talent in the playwriting community that could share their experience and process to the craft that you just can't get from a book, so we set out to interview playwrights who could share their stories and experiences in the world of theatre, hence, Playwright's Spotlight was born.

Below you will find links to the video and audio versions of our fifteen plus episodes of interviews with up-and-coming as well as established playwrights. Each have their own experiences and advice that will resonate with other playwrights of all levels. We hope you enjoy the podcast. We also hope to be back up and running sometime in the next year when theaters are completely open, and we can all enjoy live performances again without restrictions. Cheers to you all. Stay safe. Be healthy.