J. S. Kuiken

A few months ago my friend mentioned that a local theater was looking for ten minute audio plays. It was called Project Outbreak, and the idea was to raise money for performing artists and the like who had lost their jobs (ie, waiting tables and theater) due to the COVID-19 shut-down. I decided to give it a try. I was in the midst of writing a screenplay, so I could take the characters from that. The caveat was that I had never written a ten minute play in my life, and I had a limited time before the deadline to turn in a script.

Since it was an audio play, I focused very much on sound: the sound effects that could tip listeners off, the sound of the language and the individual characters’ voices. I guess it worked, because my play And Ten More Years was selected! This knocked my socks off, especially since I had a short story rejected earlier that same day.

My play will be in a bundle of other audio plays on the theme of love, which comes out on May 8th. If you want to listen to the existing plays, you can go here and enjoy! And if you have a few dollars, please donate to the project and help support local artists.