We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carey Crim. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carey below.

Carey, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

My path was a little circuitous. I learned by doing. There are so many ways to get there. I feel like we get fed this story that the only path is an MFA, which is certainly a valid and useful choice, but not the only one. I was part of a writing collective in New York called Write Club. We decided to mount our own work. My first play, Growing Pretty came out of that group. I also directed it. It was in a small theatre in Midtown. I learned so much from that process and got my first agent. I was also lucky to be connected with The Purple Rose Theatre early in my career. They premiered my first three plays and, really, that was my graduate school. There is nothing like getting a play on it’s feet to teach you very quickly what works and what doesn’t. I still premiere a lot of work with The Purple Rose and have gone on to have relationships with Regional theaters all over the country. I am very grateful for the theaters willing to take a chance on new work. It’s risky in this climate but there are so many great writers out there looking for that first production who just need a chance. I would have LOVED to speed up my learning process as I am not a very patient person, but I realize now it’s all happening in the right time. I wasn’t ready for what I thought I was ready for when I started. I had to build a stronger foundation. I needed some safe places to risk and fail and keep going with people who weren’t going to give up on me. I think the most essential skill, besides learning the craft of writing and making that a lifelong process, is perseverance. Keep writing. Keep submitting. Keep forming relationships with theaters and directors and actors. I think my biggest obstacle to learning more was fear. My biggest swings have taught me the most, whether the swing itself was a success or failure. The act of swinging was the teacher. In so many ways, I feel like I’m just beginning.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I graduated from Northwestern University in the School of Speech. I started as an actor. I’ve been told I write characters actors want to play and I’m sure that comes from being on the other side of things for so long. I know a lot of playwrights who started out as actors that began writing in order to write great roles for themselves. I realized pretty early on that wasn’t my goal. I’m happiest in my “role” as playwright. But I love actors. I love writing for actors. My play Never Not Once was the winner of the Jane Chambers award for feminist playwriting and a finalist for the O’Neill (National Playwrights Conference). It opened at Park Theatre (London) to rave reviews. 23 ½ Hours is running in London now. I adapted my play Wake for the screen and the feature film (starring Jo Koy) has won numerous film festival awards and was released by Gravitas Ventures. Morning After Grace ran to sold-out houses at The Purple Rose Theater starring Randolph Mantooth. It has continued to be produced every season at such theaters as Asolo Repertory Theater, The Royal Manitoba Theater Centre, Shakespeare and Company, The Barter Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Florida Repertory Theatre, Gulfshore playhouse, Riverside Theatre and many more. It was published by Theatrical Rights Worldwide. TRW also published my one-act play Distance Learning written for Laurie Metcalf and recently added Paint Night to their roster. Paint Night was chosen for the 2020 Kilroys list and premiered in October at The Public Theatre in Maine. My newest play The Islanders just premiered at Shakespeare and Company and my comedy What Springs Forth premiered at The Purple Rose this summer. I’m repped by Mark Orsini at Bret Adams and Brandy Rivers at Amplified where I am developing the television drama Blessed.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I love the people I get to work with. And I love the fact that everything is work but nothing is work. Every part of my life feeds my work. I don’t mean that everything is autobiographical but everything is personal and feeds it in some way. But I love what I do so much that it never feels like work. Of course there are the days staring at the blank page or screen that are hard but I would still not want to be anywhere else or do anything else.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Covid. I had multiple theatre productions cancel. I started writing for TV. I took classes and workshops and watched and read as much as I possibly could. Then, when theatre did eventually come back, I still had this other creative outlet.

Image Credits

I have to get these. I also don’t know if I have permission to use all of them. Working on that.