Radical Empathy and Deeper Compassion: An Interview With Mandy Conner

A gifted playwright who has also taught in the Central Texas area for over 25 years, Mandy Conner creates work that allows students to discover the joys of theatre and transports them across a myriad of vibrant historical settings. Through plays like dirt (US) and Lafayette No. 1 (US), Conner gifts younger actors with accessible, welcoming and smart work that gives them a platform to shine. Designated the 2018 Texas Educational Theatre Association K-12 Educator of the Year, Conner is one of the leading creative voices for theatre aimed at younger audiences and has seen her shows produced across the country. To delve deeper into her work, we sat down with the playwright herself to discuss her process, what inspires her and best practices for producing and performing her work.

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Concord Theatricals (CT): What first inspired you to start writing for younger audiences?

Mandy Conner (MC): As a high school director, I struggled finding material to which my students could relate. My students were a very diverse and unique group of characters (as most high school theatre departments are) but did not really connect to the classic pieces or characters that were prominent in our high school competition circuit.

One spring, while my husband and I were on an anniversary trip in New Orleans, I was struck by a tomb in the Lafayette Number One Cemetery, then researched and wrote a story that felt very inspired by the relationships and rhythms of my then-students. It was an exhilarating process and the beginning of my love for playwriting.

CT: Many high school productions of plays feature large casts or ensembles. How do you go about creating shows where each and every student has the chance to grow as an actor?

MC: The worst part of being a director, for me, is always the casting process. So, as a director/playwright, I always want to give the most opportunities for students that I can possibly give. I have had the great fortune of having many talented students continually interested in being a part of the program [where I direct] year after year; therefore, I continue to write for larger groups to accommodate my students. In writing for my students, it’s my hope that other directors might be in a similar situation and will need or want opportunities like these for their students, too.

CT: In your experience, what sorts of stories resonate well with younger audiences?

MC: I talk a lot with my students about topics that excite them. Though their ideas don’t always make it past the chopping block, it’s nice to know what excites them. Mostly, they just want to tell an important story that will touch an audience’s heart. They want to be able to dig deep into a character or into the “lore.”

CT: How would you encourage directors and theatre teachers to engage with students to create a fun, uplifting rehearsal atmosphere?

MC: Creating the rehearsal atmosphere is essential to the “success” of your show, and by success, I don’t mean awards or accolades. I begin every production by focusing on building our team and community. One of my dearest mentors, Rick Garcia, teaches “relationships before issues.” We play games. We have smaller “home base” teams within the company. We have a team chant/cheer. We do a LOT of goal setting together. When we start out with a united purpose, we keep one another accountable and create an atmosphere of trust and positivity.

CT: How do you balance giving schools opportunities to explore the basics of set design and costuming with creating shows that are easy to stage on any budget?

MC: It can sometimes be difficult separating myself from the role of director when I am wearing the playwright hat. As a director, I love a good spectacle! (My forte is designing with recyclable materials.) As a playwright, I try to give a suggestion of the setting rather than specifics, so as to leave it to the director/technical director to determine the needs of their production.

CT: How should directors of your work go about encouraging shyer actors to find themselves in the characters, or be bigger and more presentational?

MC: Helping our shy actors feel safe in their rehearsal environments is a great beginning. Starting rehearsals with group warm-ups and team-building games can help them get comfortable. I find that my students sometimes feel pressure rehearsing in front of me (which seems silly to me but very real to them), so I give them time to workshop their scenes in the rehearsal space and time to be silly and take risks without me giving direction, initially. Later, they bring their choices to the rehearsal, where I get to praise their decision-making, watch them find their confidence and begin to grow!

CT: What is a tip you would give young actors who are performing your work?

MC: DIG IN! Make these characters your own! Take them personally! Make them real to you. Bring them to life by giving them heart and soul and fears and frustrations and doubts and things that make them giggle and feel embarrassed and furious and whimsical and all the things we feel in ourselves – or WANT to feel or LONG to feel.

CT: Your work often takes inspiration from history and transports students to different time periods. What interests you about creating these journeys into the past?

MC: I consider myself a curious storyteller. I am interested in looking at a tale or piece of history that maybe I’ve heard about and thinking about it from a different angle or point of view that I’ve never considered before. When I was very young, I can remember laying in bed creating stories I’d love to tell some day. Looking back, that little girl would be astounded to know we’re writing plays!

CT: Many of your works have been taken to state one-act competitions. What do you think makes them such a strong choice for such events?

MC: Writing with the “one-act” structure in mind helps make these plays accessible for contest selection. I know finding published works that allow schools to use cut versions can be a challenge, so writing for the contest has created one less stressor for me as a director.

My biggest goal as a writer is to ground my plays in pertinent issues full of characters with depth for young actors to explore. I hope this is what speaks to students and directors alike.

CT: What is your favorite of your titles, and why do you think it works so well for schools?

MC: Picking a favorite play is like picking a favorite child, I simply cannot do it! They are all so special to me. However, dirt probably holds the most important place in my heart because it’s about my family and also because it’s my only play that we never were able to perform, due to COVID.

I think dirt works well for schools because of the focus on family: the connections, the struggles, the banter… There is something in this play that feels like a piece of home.

CT: What do you think are the best practices for producing your work?

MC: Best practices are the same for my work as any work: Tell the story. What speaks to your heart? What do you want your audience to feel or to take away? How do you connect with this work? Why tell this story? Why tell it right now? Why does your school/community need to hear it? Why do you need to be the one to tell it? Horace argued that the purpose of poetry and drama was to teach and to please, and I think that is always in the back of my mind as I write.

CT: What lessons do you hope students take from your work?

MC: It is my hope that, through these works, students will not only discover more about themselves, gain radical empathy for others, and develop a deeper compassion for humanity… but also develop their own voice in transforming the things they feel passionate about in this world. Is it a Pollyanna-ish view? Absolutely. Will I change it? Absolutely not.

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To discover more of Mandy Conner’s thoughtful and engaging work, check out her author page on Concord Theatricals in the US or UK.