Robert O’Hara: Where did you grow up? Christina Anderson: Kansas City, Kansas. RO: What is the most outrageous thing that has been said about your work? CA: Based on reading or hearing my name, people sometimes assume I’m a white woman. This assumption ruffles feathers since I often write Black American stories. Friends telling others about my plays have to say, “Don’t worry, she’s black.” RO: What three playwrights’ careers would you most like to emulate? CA: Lynn Nottage, Paula Vogel and Sarah Ruhl. RO: When did you decide that you would live your life as an artist, and why? CA: When I was 16, I attended the now defunct young Playwrights’ Summer Conference run by the Playwrights’ Center. I spent two weeks reading plays, writing scenes and seeing shows with a group of high school students. I had no idea what it meant to “be a playwright,” but I had contact with people such as Sarah Ruhl, Naomi Iizuka, Daniel Alexander Jones and Jeffrey Hatcher. During my time there I fell in love with writing plays. I decided I wanted to do it for the rest of my life. RO: What pet peeves do you have as an artist? CA: The first thing that comes to mind: messy stacks of paper. If I can get my hands on it, I’m straightening it out! RO: What/Who is Man in Love in love with? CA: The male characters in the play are in love with love. And that love exists in another person, in the self, in the fantasy, the reality. That love is at times warped or broken; other times innocent and pure. RO: Do you expect a backlash because of the subject matter of Man in Love? CA: I hadn’t considered a backlash until you asked this question! As with all of my plays, I want the audience to talk about it afterwards. I want them to argue about it on the car ride home. With Man in Love I’m examining race, gender and society in striking ways. I chose to write a story of a black serial killer because it’s a subject that ignites a series of follow-up questions. I was never interested in writing a crime drama or a “whodunit.” I was interested in staging a society’s reaction to these crimes, especially if the victims were black women. The crimes cause a ripple effect within the play world that I want the audience to track. RO: Where, when and why is Man in Love set? CA: The play takes place in a metropolis during the early years of the Great Depression. The time period is significant for two reasons. First, I read an article by criminologist Anthony Walsh that discusses black serial killers throughout American history. One of his arguments is that before World War II the police were less likely to take action if the victims weren’t white. One could argue that’s still the case today. Secondly, the early 1930s saw high levels of unemployment, economic chaos and immense poverty regardless of race and gender. It was a time where men roamed the sidewalks and filled the parks. Lack of food created gaunt bodies. Death and despair coexisted with making ends meet and hunting for a good time. I was fascinated by the idea that Paul Pare, Jr. commits his crimes in this environment. I focused on a fictionalized urban environment so that I could examine city culture. I researched several major cities and was equally drawn to the common strands and unique differences. RO: What frightens you most about doing Man in Love? CA: Staging Paul Pare, Jr. with his victims. I’ll know in rehearsals that we’ve hit the right tone if my heart breaks a little during those scenes. RO: Are you in love? CA: Yes. In many ways.
News & Articles
Man in Love: Playwright and Director in Conversation
by Robert O'Hara & Christina Anderson
Robert O’Hara: Where did you grow up? Christina Anderson: Kansas City, Kansas. RO: What is the most outrageous thing that has been said about your work? CA: Based on reading or hearing my name, people sometimes assume I’m a white woman. This assumption ruffles feathers since I often write Black American stories. Friends telling others about my plays have to say, “Don’t worry, she’s black.” RO: What three playwrights’ careers would you most like to emulate? CA: Lynn Nottage, Paula Vogel and Sarah Ruhl. RO: When did you decide that you would live your life as an artist, and why? CA: When I was 16, I attended the now defunct young Playwrights’ Summer Conference run by the Playwrights’ Center. I spent two weeks reading plays, writing scenes and seeing shows with a group of high school students. I had no idea what it meant to “be a playwright,” but I had contact with people such as Sarah Ruhl, Naomi Iizuka, Daniel Alexander Jones and Jeffrey Hatcher. During my time there I fell in love with writing plays. I decided I wanted to do it for the rest of my life. RO: What pet peeves do you have as an artist? CA: The first thing that comes to mind: messy stacks of paper. If I can get my hands on it, I’m straightening it out! RO: What/Who is Man in Love in love with? CA: The male characters in the play are in love with love. And that love exists in another person, in the self, in the fantasy, the reality. That love is at times warped or broken; other times innocent and pure. RO: Do you expect a backlash because of the subject matter of Man in Love? CA: I hadn’t considered a backlash until you asked this question! As with all of my plays, I want the audience to talk about it afterwards. I want them to argue about it on the car ride home. With Man in Love I’m examining race, gender and society in striking ways. I chose to write a story of a black serial killer because it’s a subject that ignites a series of follow-up questions. I was never interested in writing a crime drama or a “whodunit.” I was interested in staging a society’s reaction to these crimes, especially if the victims were black women. The crimes cause a ripple effect within the play world that I want the audience to track. RO: Where, when and why is Man in Love set? CA: The play takes place in a metropolis during the early years of the Great Depression. The time period is significant for two reasons. First, I read an article by criminologist Anthony Walsh that discusses black serial killers throughout American history. One of his arguments is that before World War II the police were less likely to take action if the victims weren’t white. One could argue that’s still the case today. Secondly, the early 1930s saw high levels of unemployment, economic chaos and immense poverty regardless of race and gender. It was a time where men roamed the sidewalks and filled the parks. Lack of food created gaunt bodies. Death and despair coexisted with making ends meet and hunting for a good time. I was fascinated by the idea that Paul Pare, Jr. commits his crimes in this environment. I focused on a fictionalized urban environment so that I could examine city culture. I researched several major cities and was equally drawn to the common strands and unique differences. RO: What frightens you most about doing Man in Love? CA: Staging Paul Pare, Jr. with his victims. I’ll know in rehearsals that we’ve hit the right tone if my heart breaks a little during those scenes. RO: Are you in love? CA: Yes. In many ways.