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

When did you know you wanted to pursue a creative/artist path professionally?

Writing has energized me for as long as I can remember, at least from grade school. I can remember being thrilled to have a chance to write creatively in third grade. I do remember the moment when I decided that’s what I wanted to do with my life – I was sixteen, in the back of my parents’ car, on the way to a swim meet, when it suddenly struck me that I knew what I wanted to do: make stuff up and get paid for it.

It was like a bolt from the blue, the idea that I could choose a life that prioritized creativity, that allowed me to pursue my passions and whatever flights of fancy were out there. I remember feeling absolutely elated that I knew what my life’s goal was.

At the time I thought that I meant I was going to be a novelist. And though I have published two novels, and hopefully more are on the way, the idea of becoming a playwright didn’t reach me until I was a freshman in college. I had written a small play, which was performed without being rehearsed in front of an audience of strangers, and it just felt electric to me, being in a room where my words were making fifty people laugh at the same time. I fell in love with playwriting then, and I’ve never fallen out of love with it.

Don, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Don Zolidis, a playwright and novelist, and I’ve had the honor of being the most-produced playwright in American schools for over a decade. I hold an MFA from the Actors Studio Drama School and spent many years teaching high school and middle school theater in both public and private schools, which has deeply influenced my approach to writing for young people. With over 150 published plays, my work spans a range of genres, from comedy to historical drama and tragedy. I’m proud that my plays have been performed on stages in more than 80 countries around the world.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I think the lesson that’s been most important to learn has been that there’s not only one road to success as an artist. As a playwright, we’re mostly trained to think that success flows from New York City, that it depends on large professional theaters putting up your work, and then getting glowing reports in newspapers. You then take flight like a comet and streak across the theatrical landscape, provoking standing ovations from well-heeled patrons in evening wear.
My journey really took off once I let go of that idea and started writing without that unbearable pressure. I learned to enjoy the process, and simply try to tell stories that made me laugh, or made me cry, or enthralled me in some way. I worked with what I had, which was a group of middle school actors and a budget of ten dollars. Those experiences with my students remain some of the most fulfilling creative accomplishments of my life.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I think it comes down to honesty.
Good plays are honest. Good comedies are honest.
As an educator and playwright, I have found that a lot of things aimed at young people are dishonest. By that, I mean they are either too saccharine, or too one-dimensional and treacly, full of the kind of moralizing and insipid instruction that adults think kids need.
Kids don’t need that. They need art that reflects the complexity of the world, art that challenges their intelligence, rather than insults it. They need art that’s honest and thoughtful and true. I try to imbue all of my work with that fundamental honesty, even if I’m creating the silliest slapstick comedy possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.playscripts.com/playwrights/bios/426?srsltid=AfmBOop1r7h5-CPCFeTvtGxnr5QV303sBa-BNrSa-JzmAV18rMlp5It4
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donzolidis/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playscripts/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/playscripts-inc-/
• Other: https://donzolidis.com/

Image Credits

Game of Tiaras: Photo by Sorin J. Hamann, 2023 Palm Desert Charter Middle School production