David Lindsay-Abaire is a playwright, lyricist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play Rabbit Hole, which also earned several Tony Award nominations. His first theatrical success came from Fuddy Meers, which was workshopped as part of the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in 1998 and eventually premiered Off-Broadway in 1999. He also wrote Kimberly Akimbo, Snow Angel, A Devil Inside, and Wonder of the World. He wrote the book and lyrics for the musical Shrek the Musical and received a 2009 Tony Award nomination for Book of a Musical.He has written the screenplays for Robots, Inkheart, Poltergeist, the film adaptation of his play Rabbit Hole, Rise of the Guardians, and Oz the Great and Powerful.
David told me the story of how he went from a guy in high school whose friends made him write a play, to a playwrighting student at Juilliard, to the author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, and more on this week’s podcast.
We also chatted about:
- How his first play was a rip-off . . . and why.
- What he looks for when he reads plays from prospective Juilliard students, and how he usually knows in 3 minutes whether a writer has got “it” or not.
- Why early readers of his work didn’t respond to Rabbit Hole and why.
- How he uses “office hours” to meet his many deadlines.
- His writing group that has existed for over a decade, and how it has helped him succeed.
Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway