We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mark Sbani a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Mark thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?
Honestly? Colorblind casting. Yeah, an unpopular opinion, I know. Allow me to explain. Colorblind casting only means freedom from racial restriction. Having an open mind. Anyone could walk in and nail that role. I cast the best actor for a part, regardless of their gender or ethnicity or disability. It’s my way of being inclusive without making it a big deal. I say mix it up! And don’t be overly race-conscious. So yeah, I’ve gotten into it with some of my friends, you know. Artists who I love and respect, who take the majority view: setting a quota. I’ve listened to them and I’ve learned much. Still, I feel that whoever’s right for the character should play it. Skin tone is completely irrelevant. Ask the Royal Shakespeare Company. Cross-casting is so old, it’s new. It’s good for them, so it’s good for me. I’ll defend my productions any day. I write colorful plays. Never dull, never vanilla.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m a Denver playwright in my mid-40s, with short declarative hair, question mark-like eyebrows and a squiggly forehead. At age 29, I retired to the quiet lakes around Washington Park. I like the flowers (nature’s perfume) but not the geese (fat and disagreeable). I say writing a play is like strangling a goose — it takes a long time. Last spring, my one-act, “Ten Stages of Love,” was part of the Queens Short Play Festival. It’s a light satire of Disney. “The Little Mermaid,” retold. The plot unfolds like this: struck by Cupid’s arrows, Rocco and Shelly see each other and are interested. He’s a shipwrecked sailor and she’s a mermaid with a broken tail. Cupid likes pairing mermaids and sailors — he loves watching them mate. Mermaids are a fascinating part of nature. Even today, some doubt their very existence, but they are real. Shelly’s half-woman, half-fish. All wiggle. And she’s currently on display in the “Ten Stages of Love.”
“Mark Sbani Junior” is my newest, latest. It’s a character study of a common house rat, who lives in constant fear of being stepped on. When he looks up, all he sees is the bottom of a shoe. One day, a soft-hearted human talks Mark Sbani Junior into plugging his rathole and crawling up to the roof. Mark Sbani Junior then looks down on the city for the first time and gets cheese-drunk. The harder the cheese, the drunker the rat. “Mark Sbani Junior” is making its World Premiere on August 23rd at the Lincoln Center in Manhattan.
I sit on the board of a film production company called Edwin Entertainment, here in Denver. I’m curating their annual Gary Wideman Festival. Ten successive acts, starring singers, comedians, novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, multidisciplinary artists and freakshows. Some weird new Denver shit. You’ll fit right in. Bring your kids. Show date: 8/2/25. Venue: 3 Leaches Theatre.
Kinda Vague Publishing is putting out my one-acts. Eight of them, with original artwork and play posters. Available for sale at local bookstores and record shops. Buy it! You’ll be happy with your purchase. I’m most excited about the barcode. A symbol of commerce. After years of taking pints of Guiness as a reward, it’s nice to finally monetize my creativity. Thanks, KVP! This book binds us together.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
My plays are my offspring.
I was born exactly nine months to the day of my parent’s wedding, so I’m a love child. I’m childless myself, though, which made me artistically promiscuous. I’ll collaborate with anyone. Anyone willing to make a baby. A baby with traits from both parents but also a life of its own. With a funny little personality. Every once in a while, a child is so beautiful that a parent will fight for sole custody. So the other parent drags them to court and presents the contract. Because that’s some shady shit, man.
Ideas are everything.
Ideas are like an iridescent opal, reflecting ten million complimentary colors. Directors interpret the idea, actors bring it into form. But a playwright’s mind is the ideas factory. Big ideas. Playwrights get the most respect because they own their intellectual property and licensing. A screenwriter can’t say that. Novelists, journalists. Only a playwright’s copyright is protected.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
I just read “Barefoot in Athens” — a 1951 Maxwell Anderson play about Socrates and his trial. I didn’t realize that Socrates had so many chances to avoid drinking the hemlock. All of Athens, including his judge and even his executioner — they all pleaded with Socrates to take the court’s deal. To stop speaking publicly against the government. The court offered Socrates and his family a palace to live in, but he refused to be silenced. The play was difficult to read because I already knew the ending. He doesn’t compromise. He doesn’t live to advanced old age like most philosophers. He drinks the hemlock, knowing he’ll become famous and his life will mean something. With one sip from a cup, he achieves immortality. Socratic irony. Made me think.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.flatcar6studios.com/artists/mark-sbani
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/ysm7WUSz4Nc?si=aPWcrqAxloE_JwIs
Image Credits
Mark Sbani