E173: A Jack of All Trades -- Chatting with Playwright, Actor, and Musician Jack Canfora!

Grade A Nation

Jack Canfora chats with Grade A Nation about his various pursuits over the years. Although Jack has accomplished quite a bit, his heart is in writing plays and the live theatre. On the show, Jack and Chris Thomas talk about: -Jack's passion for the written word and the musical nature of English -which genre of music matches Jack's voice -how to approach writing and editing in a way that accentuates your strengths -why being paralyzed by depression in his twenties might have inhibited Jack's progress as an actor -what it means to be a natural born pessimist and the challenges of raising children when you don’t always have an optimistic mindset -actors Jack would like to work with…apologies in advance to Carrot Top -his parents supporting Jack's career choices despite the fact they did not share as much interest in literature -becoming enamored with The Beatles as a young man -writing plays with dialogue not reflecting Jack's New York upbringing and also with an awareness of the challenges women face -crafting language to sell a product that is not Jack's own -the pluses and minuses of being a ghostwriter for non-writers that can’t write but still have something to say -making a living as a writer by diversifying the projects one works in -avoiding writer’s block and keeping the professional juices flowing -New Normal Rep creating podcasts as an approach to democratizing theatre -why the arts should not be considered a luxury item and should be prioritized in education -the thrill of observing a live audience reacting to one’s creative work -the background of Step 9, an audio drama podcast based loosely on a true story about a woman who receives contact from a man trying to make amends that violated her thirty years ago -how to integrate a bit of humor when artistically discussing serious subject matter -whether theatre might appeal to younger generations of today -the ways in which theatre might capture society in a way that film or television might not -a cool opportunity to watch a play online from New Normal Rep! Check out more about Jack Canfora on his website https://www.jackcanforawriter.com/ or his personal blog https://thewritingonthepaddedwall.com/ . See the New Normal Rep in action at https://www.newnormalrep.org/