04 Aug F30 Countdown – Annette Storckman
There are three playwrights left in our countdown! Which means the festival is right around the corner. There’s no need to panic, though, it’s not too late to buy a ticket or a festival pass.
Now, let’s introduce finalist Annette Storckman and her play Desk Fort.
Annette Storckman is a New York based playwright and dramaturg. Playwriting Credits: Desk Fort (Barrington Stage Company, 10×10 Festival); Bonesetter: A Tragislasher (Writer-in-Residence, Spicy Witch Productions); Assumptions (NY Icon Plays: Love in an Irish Pub; New Paltz New Play Festival); Hums and Flutters (New Paltz Players, 2012); Liverpool Trading (Dixon Place, 2011). Ms. Storckman is published with Indie Theater Now.
OOB Fun Fact: Annette Storckman’s husband, Mark Staufenberg, was a finalist in last year’s OOB Festival.
When did you start writing plays? If you had a moment where you realized you wanted to write, what was it?
I have been writing plays almost my whole life. I used to write plays and screenplays for my brother and sister to star in. I usually played the villain if I was in it at all. Admittedly, I fist knew I wanted to be a writer after seeing Harriet the Spy when I was 5. Apparently my gut was right because I have not been able to stop writing since I’ve known how to sort of spell words.
How did you come to write your OOB play? Was there a particular inspiration behind its creation? How has it developed?
I’ve worked at a lot of desk jobs, most of them customer service oriented. Being a person who likes to hide in a corner and be left alone with a spreadsheet, I find having to speak to people all day a little overwhelming. Therefore, I would day dream about hiding from my duties, and going full infant. On some level, no matter what the job, I think we all get overwhelmed by adult life, and sometimes just want to act like a child and shirk responsibilities. I wrote this play for the fun of it, and thus far has had one production at Barrington Stage Co.
What are 5 words that describe who you are as a playwright?
Salty, funny, warm, twisted, feminist.
What/who are some of the major influences on your writing?
Martin McDonagh has been a major influence on me. One of the funniest and most twisted plays I’ve ever read is The Lieutenant of Inishmore. When the cat saunters in at the end over the buckets of blood, it taught me about how to land a perfect ending. The Pillow Man is also one of my favorite plays of all time. Paula Vogel, Caryl Churchill and, of course, Sarah Ruhl are some of my all time favorite playwrights and have informed my ideas of theatricality and story telling.
What’s one fact someone would never guess about you?
I am intensely afraid of flying
What are some of your favorite plays?
The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Pillow Man, The Real Thing, Arcadia, The Vibrator Play — do you have three hours?
Any new projects you’re working on or shameless plugs?
By the time the festival is happening I’m sure I will. Alas, I just got back from my honeymoon, and this is the post-wedding project!
Her play Desk Fort will be performed on August 8th at 8:30pm. When a rogue employee disrupts Team Building Day, Team Leader Samantha must corral her underlings before “The Big Boss” finds out.