The Storyteller Studio 22-23 Cohort Portfolio
Brynn Hambley
About Me
Brynn Hambley (she/they) is a queer and disabled playwright, theatre artist, devising artist, theatre educator, podcast host, and freelance writer based in the New York City area via New Jersey. She earned her BA in Theatre Arts from Gettysburg College and her MFA in Theatre from Sarah Lawrence College. Brynn's plays have been developed with many companies including: The Brick (Antidotal); New Jersey Play Lab; First Kiss Theatre Company (Pieta); NYC Summerfest (Retail Therapy); Cut Edge Collective (The Eleventh Star ; ​Somebody Was Here); Soundscape Theater (Pumpkin Dreams); Vibrating Body (Antidotal); Waterhouse Collective (Antidotal); Loud Colorful Filth (Paradise Lost and Found); Sarah Lawrence College (Paradise Lost and Found); and the Graduate New Play Development Reading Series (Runaway Reflections). Alumnus of Cut Edge Collective; Member of Storyteller's Studio; Teaching Artist at NJPAC; Member of The Dramatists Guild.
Q+A
How would you describe yourself as an artist?
Curious, emotional, ethereal, and gritty. I pride myself on creating fantastical and deeply emotional visuals paired with simple yet illuminating language. My work attempts to show reality as we perceive it rather than how it actually is, taking emotions and creating moving vignettes that express them visually and aurally. I also strive to create diverse stories in which queer, disabled, mentally ill, etc people (like myself) can see themselves.
How have you grown during your time in the Storyteller Studio?
I have gotten the feedback and community that I have had a difficult time finding since I left graduate school. A lot of writing groups I was a part of before this were, frankly, overwhelmed by older white men who didn't understand what I was trying to do with my plays. It was refreshing to be among a group of diverse young artists who were open to experimental writing and excited to talk with me about it! I've grown so much from the many brainstorming interactions I've had with my fellow artists.
What does it mean to you to be an artist in our current moment?
To be an artist in our current moment means to be hopeful, passionate, and a little bit insane. In our current state of late stage capitalism, we know that being an artist is most likely not paying the bills here. If you're an artist right now, it's because being an artist is in your bloodstream, regardless of your career aspirations. If you're an artist right now, you've heard from everyone and their mother why you SHOULDN'T be one. And yet, we persevere.
How has this program shaped your understanding of dramaturgy and collaboration?
During one early meeting I said to another cohort member, "I think dramaturgy is just therapy for plays and playwrights" and they agreed (I remember us laughing a lot about it at the time). I had never really thought of it like that before, but that mindset has changed my entire viewpoint on the discipline. I really respect the heck out of dramaturgs-- they have to deal with us moody and insecure playwrights, and they somehow bring out the best in us. It's no surprise to me, but I continue to get the lesson reinforced that playwriting is not a solo act, and that I write best when I can come to a writing group and/or dramaturg and Yell about my latest play. No theatre is truly made alone.
What's next for you?
As of writing this my solo show, Antidotal, is going up for the second time in NYC, this time with The Tank in late June. I'm the new Director of Outreach for First Kiss Theatre Company, which I'm thrilled about. Finally, I'm always looking for new teaching artist opportunities! Being an educator is a huge part of being an artist for me, and I can't wait for the next opportunity to share my craft.
PIETA
The following scenes are from my play PIETA, inspired by the true story of the Figlie Del Coro. These women were orphans abandoned at the Ospedale Della Pietà in Venice, and almost all were disabled or “disfigured”. However, they were also the most accomplished musicians in all of Northern Italy and studied under the careful tutelage of Antonio Vivaldi himself. As a disabled femme artist myself, I felt seen in the long gone eyes of these women, and I felt the need to honor them in some capacity. I reimagined their lives– how living in the convent must have felt, how they must’ve been treated as disabled women, how they may have approached their everyday lives when not much was left up to them to choose. What emerged is a play about want, choice, queerness, disability, and how to find purpose in a life you don’t feel in control of.
The scenes I chose for this excerpt are the ones that I felt exemplified the thematic content of the show best, as well as showed off monologues and scenes that I am most proud of. They are arranged in chronological order for ease of reading.
I am incredibly proud of how far this play has come, and I look forward to further development opportunities in which it can blossom into its final form. Thank you for reading!
To learn more about this play, email questions to brynn.hambley@gmail.com.