Newbie Playwrights Take on the World

Interview with my friend Animah Kosai in Starmag today about the writing of her play Melaka 2007 for Instant Cafe Theatre's First Works programme, which I blogged about the other day.

Animah talks about how she managed to fit writing into her life, when she says she has:

... a consuming job and a consuming child. ...

To do something unrelated is enjoyable. ... However, switching from legal writing to creative writing is a challenge ... Lawyers are trained to be very clear in their meaning. As a writer, it’s very boring being crystal clear. A lot of my characters will just put across a point of view and then there will be a counterview. It’s almost like watching a court battle in progress because that’s the way I think, that’s the way I talk.

The paper also features first time playwright Shanon Shah (who is also a journalist and singer/songwriter). He says:

Firstworks wants new works that confront serious issues, intelligently. Therefore, all participants have to dig into themes that really “burn” within them and ask: What are the demons I need to confront, within me and in my plays?

Shanon says that he is very angry about about how religion is being used to oppress people and has written Air Cond, a play about violence in a boy’s school to address the theme.

I’m continuously baffled by how little writing we have here. We have so many stories. If there’s so much to tell, Malaysians should say something.

- says Animah. To learn how you can participate in the programme and tell your own story through drama check back to my previous post.