For an emerging playwright there’s nothing like getting your work published on Indie Theater Now, run by the amazing Martin Denton who single-handedly does so much for the New York Theatre scene – championing plays and playwrights alike.    But how about getting three of your plays published on Indie Theater Now in just one month?

Meet Natalie Menna, an award-winning playwright and actress who is celebrating the fact that three of her plays were just published and are now available for purchase.  All different in scope, length, and subject they still all have Natalie’s signature brand of insight and humor:

Natalie chatted with me about where her comedic voice comes from, how she handles each milestone of success, and puts to rest the question of ever meeting a poor vegan.

Natalie! February was a terrific month for you! You had 3 of your plays published on Indie Theater Now. Amazing! So, first of all, congratulations.
Natalie Menna: Thanks, Karen!

Secondly—what does it feel like to now have your work out there officially? Is there a feeling of “I’ve arrived”?
Natalie: If I ever feel that way, please tie my hands to the bedpost. And not in the good way. Seriously, if I feel that way ever they’ll be no need to write anymore. I write precisely BECAUSE I’ve never thought of myself as arriving, arrived, about to arrive, or on the way to arriving. Departing, maybe, on a sinking ship …

Of course, publication isn’t the only way to ‘arrive’ right? All three of your plays have gotten acclaim by winning awards. What goes through your head when you find out that something you’ve created is not only being celebrated with a nomination, but then championed with an actual award win?
Natalie: I do like awards! Momentarily, I feel like I’m not on that sinking ship. But then I’m right back on it. Hours. Sometime minutes later. And then I keep writing.

In Roberta, I-Pod, and Zen A.M. you’ve shown you have a knack for writing, if not comedy per-se, then extremely comedic characters. When you conceive of a concept for a play do you set out for it to be funny, or is that just a part of your personality that shines through?
Natalie: This is a tough question. Requires me to analyze myself, which I hate. I only like analyzing others. Let’s see — a lot of people say this, and I wholeheartedly agree — “There’s comedy in everything.” EVERYTHING! That’s the way I’ve survived my life so far. The way we all do. I don’t think I consciously set out to write a comedy. I can be writing about a serious topic, for example, my play Committed, which deals with the last two days of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh‘s life before his murder. A regular laugh/riot, no? Believe it or not, audiences for the reading of that play were laughing steadily throughout. Humor is the ultimate coping tool, even under the worst of circumstances.

I’m also of the Larry David school of comedy – that anyone, anything, or any circumstance can be used for comedy. I think sometimes this clashes with the aesthetic of the current climate in theatre today, but I won’t let this affect my work. Comedy is life, and there’s comedy in everyone and everything on the planet.

I’ll be blunt: your main characters are very fun and interesting on the page, but they definitely come with a lot of issues! Frankly, I think if I was friends with Roberta, let’s say, I’d want to pull my hair out. And yet the play is fantastic. What’s the key to making a character likable on the stage even as you know that in person they’d be unlikable?
Natalie: Really? I feel like all of my friends, including myself, have BEEN Roberta (well maybe not to that degree!).  But sure, at one point or another … I think maybe it’s about heightening the reality — I seriously have never gotten this obsession with ‘likable’ characters — sort of like what David Mamet says about the ‘polemic’ play – BORING! (Despite disagreeing with him politically, I LOVE his writing).

I love creating characters who are deeply flawed, bad examples, crazy, self-involved, etc. That’s why it’s theatre! When I am in an audience and a play has a character who ‘represents’ goodness, morality, nobility, etc. I feel so bored I want to slash my wrists. (Okay –that’s a tad dramatic– I just want to go to the restroom and never return.) Bring on the crazy! That’s entertainment. That’s theatre!

And on that note, (and this may seem obvious but you’d be surprised) just because my character is saying something does not mean I agree with it. As an example, in my solo show i-POD, the character at one point says “No coincidence I’ve never met a poor vegan”.  A playwright approached me after the show and informed me that he was offended and knew many poor vegans. But of course! It’s this character’s view!

I think I may have digressed. Back to your question. I think people are responding to the uncensored truth. I try to create characters that are always speaking from their truth. Unpleasant or not. I try to avoid ‘flowery’ dialogue intended to make the character look like ‘a good person’. And I think people crave the truth. The truth of that particular character and their life.

You make a good point, Natalie.  Flawed characters are speaking from a place of their own truth – and letting the audience go along for the ride means bringing them on a specific journey.  Getting inside the head of someone who thinks a particular way is what innovative and audacious theatre is all about!

Now that you’ve got three published works and they can be accessed by other people, what would be your biggest dream for these shows?
Natalie: To have audience members say “That hit me. That made me laugh. That made me think differently“. That’s all. That’s nirvana.

Well, Natalie, based on what I’ve read, you’re well on your way to nirvana already!  Here’s to more truth, more flaws and more productions!

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For information on how to purchase any (or all!) of these plays by Natalie Menna, simply click here for more information.

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NATALIE MENNA is an award-winning playwright and actress living in downtown Brooklyn. A native New Yorker, she recently won Outstanding Overall Production of a Play and Best Actor for her full-length drama Committed at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity 2015. Committed, produced by Ego Actus, received six nominations, including Outstanding Production of a Staged Reading, Outstanding Playwright For A New Play in a Reading, Best Director, Best Actress, and Two Nominations for Best Actor.

She was nominated for Outstanding Writer for her full-length comedy Zen A.M. in Planet Connections Theatre Festivity 2014. Her solo show Roberta! was featured in United Solo Theatre Festival, Theatre Row, in November 2014. Select previous awards include The Nettie Award for Best Solo Show for her play I-pod in the Network One-Act Festival, and Best Actress for I-pod in The Midtown International Theatre Festival. Her play Hiroshi-Me, Me, Me was a finalist in both The Strawberry Festival and The Network One-Act Festival, with two nominations for Best Actress and Winner for Best Supporting Actress.

Her work has been developed with Casey Childs, Andrew Leynse and David Caudle at Primary Stages, and Nicky Silver at The Vineyard Theatre.

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INDIE THEATRE NOW is an engine for discovering new American drama — one that enables teachers, students, actors, directors, producers, and artists of every stripe, as well as those not involved in the theater, to experience the brilliance of contemporary indie theater as close to first-hand as possible.

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These women of the arts hail from different disciplines, but they all have an indomitable spirit and a luminescent spark that makes them amazing human beings who are out there every day, doing amazing work.

Today we continue our series with Penny Pollak. I picked this photo above ‘specially for her: “DON’T let your woman announcer be too agressive.  She will antagonize all men, and many women.  She must, however, speak with authority, either form experience or special knowledge of the product.  A woman announcer is always a hazardous risk and few can please all viewers.” (snicker.)

If you’re part of the downtown NYC scene and an emerging artist (or a seasoned artist who just needs a comfortable place to work through some new material) then chances are you know Penny Pollak best as the producer and host of “Penny’s Open Mic“.  Yes, Penny is the ringleader – but she’s so much more. Ms. Pollak welcomes the crowd, sets the tone, supplies the rules (there are very few, but they matter) and keeps the night humming along at a solid pace.  You only need to attend one of these open mics to find yourself hooked.

Hearing each performer refer to Penny’s Open Mic as “Home” before they launch into their own song, story, routine or reverie is to understand that you’ve walked into a sacred space where magic happens week after week  - and while regulars count on the rituals and habits the truth of it is – no two nights are ever the same.  And therein lies the reason people come back time and again.  To rediscover the joy of the first time – every time.

Penny Pollak herself is a gifted actress, a talented writer, but most of all, an all encompassing spirit that moves artists every week to dig deep and hone their craft, share their heart, and sharpen their skills.  The world could use a million more like her, but for now I’m grateful that the one Penny Pollak we’ve been alotted  this time around has been put straight in my path.  I’m honored to showcase her here :

Talk to me about being a woman who does what you do- just overall.

Honestly, I don’t think about it that often. My parents did a really good job raising me to be completely independent; supporting the idea that I could be anything I wanted. But of course the world doesn’t work that way and I still find myself surprised and offended by the double standards and the simple language difference. For example, a man who is in charge and exerts his authority is strong and just doing his job whereas a woman who does the same thing is a diva, a cold princess or just a bitch. I’m very lucky that the men who surround my shows and projects don’t see the world that way, and when I work I feel I’m treated as an equal. But the inequality is so ingrained into our society — and the fight is far from over — which is why I’m delighted you’ve made this issue a feature this month.

Are there days it makes a difference – good or bad?

These days not as much; I’m in a great place in my life now and surrounded by amazing people. The fact that I do more theater now than bartending is the biggest change. A few years ago I used to manage a bar on First Avenue for a short time which is actually where I started my open mic before I moved it to UNDER St. Marks Theater. Managing a bar I was constantly presented with those problems. By patrons as well as management. In fact that’s the reason why I quit working there. I’ve butted heads for months with the owner over the women I hired and so forth. He wanted me to base my decision on the picture they sent in rather than the resume. Oh – and I wasn’t allowed to hire men as bartenders, only barbacks. Then one day he told me to fire three of our very talented bartenders because “They weren’t hot enough”. That was it for me, not only did I quit but I told everyone who worked there. Everyone quit immediately and in protest we all stayed in the bar all night drinking his booze until he came in the next morning apologized and begged us ALL to take our jobs back. It was a small triumph but it felt pretty good at the time.

Are there barriers you fought against in the past that are now becoming easier?

As writers we are taught to above all, write what we know. I am a woman, so my writing reflects that. There have been a few instances where a piece I think is universal and human has been remarked as being ‘woman’s issues’ and ‘Men just can’t connect.’ There may be some truth to that but I think it’s just a lazy way of thinking. My play No Traveler (which will be in the Winnipeg Fringe Festival this summer) addresses themes such as suicide, abuse, self-destruction and control brought together in a very dark humorous way. I think our society allows woman to connect more freely to these subjects but they really do touch everyone in some way, male or female. As I’ve taken it around to different festivals and countries I was very excited to receive those responses. One goal I’d like to achieve with my writing is to express that ‘woman’s issues’ are actually human issues and affect everyone.

Oh, and one more thing about Penny?  My dad is completely smitten with her.

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More about Penny:

“PENNY POLLAK earns major points for her creativity in her dark and fascinating No Traveler” (stagebuzz.com)
No Traveler a comedy about suicide written and performed by Pollak received glowing reviews in this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival and NYC Frigid Festival. She recently starred in Broken Dog Legs a one-woman play by Emily Conbere.

For almost three years now she has hosted and produced Penny’s Open Mic, (featured in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Backstage.com, NY Press and Time Out NY) a weekly show at UNDER St. Marks Theater dedicated to supporting artists of every kind to experiment and workshop in a safe environment.

A past resident of Horse Trade Theater Company she has produced and performed in just about every performance venue, bar and street corner in the east village since she moved here in 2007. She graduated with a degree in Theater and a minor in Sociology. After graduation she studied at the TVI London theater intensive program at Rose Bruford College, UK. She was nominated for Best Actress in this year’s Strawberry Festival and has won awards for her writing as well as been featured in a number of readings in NYC.

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