Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Fenton

Hi Peter, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

In the heart of Manhattan’s theater district one Saturday night in June, I surveyed a packed house at Theatre Row from the sound booth while wearing my finest navy blazer. Three years of determination had led to this moment. I was serving as both stage manager and producer, but I assumed these roles to achieve my true dream by any means necessary: I am a writer, and this night marked my Off-Broadway debut.

The world premiere of ABANDON ALL HOPE in June 2023 was a beautiful blur, but I came away with two undeniable realizations: I’m a talented writer bursting with passion, and I want to refine my craft exponentially by learning from the finest in my field. I firmly believe that stories hold the power to shape imaginations, to provoke laughter, and to inspire profound introspection. Put simply, I write to make people laugh and think.

It’s worth noting I share a birthday with Mother Teresa and John Mulaney. In a hypothetical convergence of their personas, I see the writer I aspire to become: A kindhearted soul making a tangible impact in the industry, armed with quick wit and good-natured snark that resonates with diverse audiences. My essence starts to solidify when you understand I was a church camp counselor. Now, as a proud and progressive gay man, I am committed to using my words to bring people together and challenge closed-mindedness with tact, especially in my hometown’s conservative bubble.

I began writing when I was fourteen years old, as a cast member in the middle school play. We were performing a script meant for children to perform, and I felt like I had cracked a code. I said to my teacher, “Mrs. Fisher, I think I’ve got this play figured out. And I can write better than this.” She challenged me, “Go write me a better play.” That’s what I did. I went home and wrote up a storm. One year later, my middle school performed GOOD KNIGHT AND GOODBYE—directed by Suzanne Fisher herself. Thanks to a teacher willing to take a chance on an arrogant fourteen-year-old, my basic writing process was born: I channeled my fury and frustration into fuel to realize the world I saw in my mind’s eye—this one had a better middle school play.

My portfolio now encompasses several genres, from dramedy and dark comedy to psychological thrillers and family-friendly adventures. Rather than pigeonholing my work into one genre, I create works for young adults and the young at heart who are drawn to clever narratives exploring humanity’s potential for good with a cerebral sense of humor and a love for mystery. As a hybrid playwright and screenwriter, my scripts are imbued with a cinematic quality, often challenging the limits of conventional theatrical structure. As my skills and access to resources expand, I aspire to create even more imaginatively ambitious works filled with artistic merit.

Writing, for me, is an inherent vocation of creating opportunities and building relationships. The most significant barrier in the industry is gaining access to decision-makers. When I cannot find a way into that room, I create one. If I wanted my words to only live on the page, I would have become a novelist. To lead productions in a supercharged community filled with diverse actors and creatives where my stories become sharper and more impactful through every step of the development process is my ultimate goal.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

I recently read one of the cornerstone books on directing theater, BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS, by David A. Ball. In this book, Ball argues that a play’s actions can only be truly understood by looking from the end and working backward. I believe this philosophy to also be true to life: living through it, it’s just messy existence. Life doesn’t have a narrative that’s been committed to words until we understand events in hindsight. We are constantly stumbling around trying to figure out the next right thing, and because we have free will, the possibilities can be endless—and to many people (myself included!) endless possibility can be debilitating, especially when you want to do right by the world and right by yourself.

I say this because on paper, it may look like my life has been a smooth road and my emerging career as a writer and producer was inevitable. Trust me: it’s not been. I submitted pieces all eight semesters to my college’s literary magazine and got rejected every single time. The short film I wrote and directed in my school’s student film festival was literally the only one that year that won zero awards. And yet I’ve continued to write. Every single artist you see who is making a name for themselves has to be resilient, because in our world the default answer is “no”. “No” is a crushing word, and I would be lying if I said I don’t get affected when I hear the word “No” anymore. You can ask my Mom and my partner, both of whom had to talk me out of quitting writing altogether when I went 0 for 4 in grad school applications this past year, even after ABANDON ALL HOPE made its Off-Broadway debut and even after I’d won many filmmaking awards in bigger and better festivals.

I can look at where I’m at right now, at the time of doing this interview in my late 20s in mid-summer of 2024, a summer with two full regional productions of my plays and one staged reading in New York City, looking ahead to a full production of another play and continuing my steady part-time position with Passage Theatre in Trenton, New Jersey, and think all this progress was inevitable or that I have everything figured out. I don’t, and it continues to be hard. The thing that keeps me hanging in there is knowing that it’s OK to feel disappointed and angry for as long as I need to feel it—the important thing just remembering to get up and keep going. When I believe there is a “Yes” out there for my project or for me, I tell myself, “feel what you need to feel and get back out there finding your ‘Yes'”. Art is subjective, and one person’s “No” and one person’s “there is no audience for this piece” and one person’s “wow, you have no talent” are all just individual opinions. I have enough of a resume at this point to know I have real talent, and while the “No”s continue to sting, I know there are people who believe in me and there are people who will love my work who have no idea who I am yet. I’m going to keep moving heaven and earth to find them.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?

I’m a writer and producer of theater and film living about halfway between New York and Philadelphia and regularly working in both cities.

I’m best known for ABANDON ALL HOPE, my dark comedy/drama play that premiered Off-Broadway in 2023. I grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (mentored and first produced by Suzanne Fisher, the same teacher who gave us Tony winner Jonathan Groff, by the way!) and graduated from Wheaton College in Illinois back in 2017 and completed a postgraduate apprenticeship at Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Theatre.

My film work has been seen on the international film festival circuit, and I’ve won awards for both my work as producer and co-writer of the psychological thriller NIGHT VOICES with Dadley Productions and for my directorial debut, family drama INHERENTLY SPECIAL, which I wrote and produced through my own company, Fenton Productions. My stage plays have been performed at Theatre Row and The Flea in New York City, Lambertville Hall, the Philly Improv Theater, West Art Lancaster, and various community and school theaters. I always enjoy creating stories that blend whimsical dark humor with magic realism, especially those that explore themes of identity, interpersonal relationships, and the meaning of life.

I strive to make my projects safe and inclusive places for excellent work to be done by artists and crew of all identities and backgrounds. There are only three rules on a Peter Fenton project, but they are non-negotiable:

1. Tell the truth.
2. Best idea wins.
3. No a**holes allowed.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

I can trace a lot of who I am and what I’m all about, from the projects I gravitate to and my three rules and attitude toward people, back to my Christian upbringing. While I have significant hang-ups with many branches of organized religion in America today and don’t ever evangelize to my teams or audiences, I can’t (nor would I want to) shake the idea that in every situation in life and work, there is a way to love my neighbor as myself, and do unto others as I would have them do unto me. I want everyone who works with me to leave our time together feeling appreciated and excited to work together again should the opportunity arise. I feel very similarly about my audiences, leave them excited to see what I’m up to next.

It’s worth noting I share a birthday with Mother Teresa and John Mulaney. In a hypothetical convergence of their personas, I see the writer I aspire to become: A kindhearted soul making a tangible impact in the industry, armed with quick wit and good-natured snark that resonates with diverse audiences. My whole “thing” starts to make sense when you realize I was a church camp counselor. Now, as a proud and progressive gay man, I am committed to using my words to bring people together and challenge closed-mindedness with tact, especially in my hometown’s conservative bubble.

Pricing:

• $50 per hour for general creative freelancing
• $450 per 10 hour day, exclusive commitment to any given project
• For larger scope or longer term projects, make me an offer

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.byPeterFenton.com