Jennifer Farmer

1. Where did you grow up?


I grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, birthplace of Bessie Smith and Samuel L. Jackson.  That puts me in very good company!  But from early on I knew that I had to get out of there - there is a kindergarten photo of me with the expression on my face 'Is this all there is?'  So for university I high-tailed it to New York and was there for six years.  I've lived in London for almost 13 years, so my accent goes all over the place.

2. Why did you become a writer?

Because it was something I was good at.  Or at least told that I was good at.  I love to read and got that reputation in my family as a child, so was constantly fed books.  To this day, my father and I will spend money we really don't have on books. 

There is something about the physical act of writing that I very much enjoy - pen and paper are the greatest technology.  So I would copy stories from books because I loved the sensation of writing (this was before I realised you have to make up your own stories).  I also lived in my head and made up stories; nothing has changed really.  We have always tried to make sense of the world through stories, be they oral or written.

3. Where did you develop your skills?

While I learned a lot about writing at university, the thing I didn't learn was that there is a difference between writing and being a writer.  In order to be a writer, you must write and that the onus is on yourself.  Without the structure of university, it hit me that it was up to me if I wanted to be a writer.  And that meant writing.  All of the time. 

I would say that I am still developing my skills as you get better with each piece of work.

4. What was your first experience of writing a play?

In junior high school, I had the most fantastic theatre teacher who had us experience every aspect of the art.  We wrote, directed, acted, designed, stage managed.  It was invaluable to learn how collaborative theatre is from the start.

So my first piece for the theatre was a play I wrote at 13 about a family member's suicide.  While I got a buzz out of all of the aspects of theatre, it was writing that play which made me feel exhilarated, afraid, sick, proud - emotions I still feel to this day.

5. Compact Failure was received great reviews, what prompted you to write that play?

I was commissioned to write COMPACT FAILURE by the theatre company Clean Break, who work with women in the criminal justice system.  Creating work with and for marginalised voices has always been part of my writing experience, which is fed by my personal experience and interest.  I led writing workshops in HMP Send and for students at Clean Break and it was through listening and observing that I got a glimpse into the criminal justice system from the women's point of view.

COMPACT FAILURE was a strange experience, because the subject matter came to me, not me to it.  I usually initiate a project.  So my first drafts were about me being on my soapbox, which is the dullest place for a writer to be.  Tell a good story truthfully and you can reveal much more about the world.  I had to find the story that I wanted and needed to tell; the creative investment for myself. 
 
6. You have written for Radio how does the process differ from writing for stage, does it take longer?

With radio, you realise that you probably won't have your audience's undivided attention, that they will be cooking or writing or working while listening to your play.  So as a writer you might have to plant subtle reminders for the audience to catch. You also realise how much communication is non-verbal, so the visual techniques you might use in theatre (body language, silent exchanges, visual imagery) need to be modified for radio.

7. You've run a lot of workshops for reputable theatres can you tell me about that?

I have been very fortune to have been asked to share my experiences and skills for companies I greatly admire, not just theatres but schools, community centres, museums, prisons.  I perversely enjoy it when I work with a group that couldn't give two monkeys about my reviews or CV; they just want to know that I can help them create and develop their work.  That keeps me on my toes and I like to sing for my supper.

8. What playwrights' work do you admire?

There are days when I feel that if I can't write a good play, at least I will read one.  Caryl Churchill and Suzan-Lori Parks have helped me through many a dark writing hour.  Philip Ridley is also a playwright who bowls me over.

9. How long does it take you to write a play?

Each play is its own beast.  When I start a new piece, I always think 'Now how DID I write the last one?'  It's taken me a long time to understand that each play taught me how to write THAT play and though my tool kit grows bigger with each one, the next play demands that I learn how to write it.  Plays are very selfish and they each want to believe that they are your first and favourite.

I admit that I take my time writing and there is a line between taking your time to allow the play to grow organically and faffing about.  It is a thin line and I try to stay on the right side of it.

10. What is your creative process?

Each play starts with a question, something that's troubling me.  Because theatre is a communal experience, I figure that if I am asking this question, there is probably someone else asking the same thing.  And through theatre, perhaps we can figure it out together.  I collect a lot of articles, images, overheard conversations.  Each play has its own notebook where I keep notes and thoughts which come to me.

I write plays, as opposed to poetry or prose, because I thrive on the collaborative process.  I love working with other artists to create a piece of theatre. 

11. What are you currently working on?

In the last few years, I've been expanding my theatre practice, using visual art forms and installations as part of my work.  So at the moment, I am creating am interactive theatre installation piece inspired by Ed and Nancy Kienholz's THE HOERENGRACHT, a walk-through installation work.  My piece, THE FADING CITY, is based on my experience of Diyarbakir, a city in Eastern Turkey.

12. You're running our Writing for the Stage workshops for new writers of all levels, what can the participating students expect?

While I believe that theory is important, my writing workshops are very practical.  I hate people throw theory at you only discuss writing in an academic way.  There is talking and there is doing and I believe being a writer is about writing.  So expect to wear down your pencils to the nubs.