Meet Anna Tatelman

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anna Tatelman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Anna, thank you so much for making time for us today. Let’s jump right into a question so many in our community are looking for answers to – how to overcome creativity blocks, writer’s block, etc. We’d love to hear your thoughts or any advice you might have.

I have a few strategies that I use to overcome writer’s block, depending on the nature of the project. If I’m working on a piece that doesn’t have a strict looming deadline, I’ll often switch to a different project, ideally one that exercises another part of my brain (e.g. if the project I’m stuck on is in the outline phase, I’ll switch to a project in the editing phase). This way, I’m still being creative and getting ideas flowing, but not letting myself get frustrated and stuck in a cycle of unproductivity.

When I don’t have the ability to switch to another project because I have an upcoming production, reading, or another situation with a deadline that can’t be moved, here are some ways I try to get unstuck:

a) Do a writing exercise or prompt related to the project.

b) Take a walk or exercise.

c) Have a conversation with myself on paper about why I’m stuck on this plot point or character issue, and then brainstorm possible solutions, no matter how outlandish or incongruous those solutions are with what I’m actually writing.

d) Do a mindless task, such as cutting vegetables or folding laundry, either in total quiet or while listening to music that reminds me of the project.

e) Play with a cat (or domestic animal of your choosing). Animals are inherently, refreshingly always in the moment. This can help me calm down and feel reconnected to the present.

f) Talk out loud about why I’m stuck to a fellow creative.

g) Experience a piece of art in a medium that differs from what I’m working on, e.g. go see a movie or dance piece.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Although I’ve been writing since I was a kid, I didn’t allow myself to take my writing seriously until about ten years ago. That meant, first and foremost, prioritizing my creativity in the same way I prioritized my other responsibilities, rather than always putting other tasks before my writing time. There is no one-size-fits-all path for becoming a professional writer, but in my case, this also meant pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing and sending out my work more regularly to theatres or literary journals.

Fiction, for many years, was my main writing genre, but over the past eight years, my attention has shifted toward playwriting. For me, there is no experience quite like live theatre: the process of making a two-dimensional work of art into a four-dimensional one; the way so many creatives unite to make a cohesive artistic vision while presenting their unique talents; the inimitable creation presented at each show, every audience knowing that no one else will ever see exactly what they are seeing right now.

I also have become more a part of the theatre community, both on a local scale in my Seattle home and on a national level. I write reviews of shows, serve as a dramaturg or director for playwrights developing new works, and judge several national playwriting competitions. I’m genuinely passionate about theatre and love helping playwrights amplify the stories they want to share through compassionate but thorough critiques.

As a playwright, dramaturg, and audience member, I am most drawn to works that present ethical complications with no clear answers, that show us characters who are messy yet deeply human. I like being able to grapple in real time with both artists and audiences over the moral conundrums so many of us face in real life, or those moral conundrums that perhaps we’d usually rather ignore despite their reality, but within the safe space of the theatre.

While I am still an emerging playwright, I’m excited by the progress that my career has made. I’m set to have the busiest theatre season of my life so far this year (fall 2025 through spring 2025). I’ve already been a part of two theatre festivals this season. Then in October I’ve got a commissioned piece in another festival, followed by the PNW premiere of my award-winning play Life on the Moon in December, and finally a staged reading of an experimental play with a theatre I’ve wanted to collaborate with for a while in February. If you’re in the Seattle area, I’d love to see you at one of these upcoming events!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I believe the skills that have best served me on my journey as a playwright are passion, discipline, and connection. I genuinely love being a creative writer. I don’t feel like myself when I go too long without writing. This doesn’t mean that I’m always ecstatic each time I sit down at my keyboard (honestly, I rarely am!). But it does mean that, more often than not, I enjoy the actual process of creating plays, from turning vague ideas into actual plots to jig-sawing edits together.

I think it’s vital to keep searching for those moments of joy within the creation, especially when you’re pursuing a creative career, which can inherently at times take the fun out of the equation. I try to find ways to reconnect with my creative joy periodically and encourage others to do the same, whether that means freewriting, revisiting an old project, or writing something silly for friends.

I’m also fairly self-disciplined. I schedule time for both my playwriting and the adjacent tasks (e.g. marketing my plays, sending pieces to contests, etc) just like I schedule meetings, appointments, or time with friends. No one else is going to make me do this, and it’s incredibly easy to let creative projects get pushed aside by life obligations that feel more urgent. I’ve found that putting actual writing appointments in my planner holds me accountable to myself.

For playwrights who struggle with self-discipline, I’d advise you to pay attention to what actually works for you, in terms of sustaining a creative habit. A common bit of writing advice is that you should write every day, for instance, and through much trial and error, I learned eventually that I am not a daily writer! Once I discovered that I far prefer doing “binge-writing” sessions in several-hour chunks a couple times per week, my writing output increased dramatically. I also learned that I like to discover a song that reminds me of my current writing project and play it on loop for hours; it’s a weird trick that tells my brain it’s time to focus and gets me in the zone. Notice what actually gets you to and keeps you at the keyboard, and then make conscious efforts to mimic those conditions. Are there certain times of day you prefer to write, or locations? What about the music you listen to, the clothes you wear, or the beverage you have beside you?

Finally, connection, which is possibly the most hard to define. The word networking might work, but I think that word comes with connotations of going into a situation where you have a clear goal(s) for what you want from another person even if you’re not supposed to say that goal aloud. So what I instead try to do is connect authentically and build community with other theatre artists and decision-makers. In my case, this means going to lots of theatre, writing reviews of shows, volunteer-ushering at various theatres, serving as a playwriting contest judge, and taking part in new works groups. I don’t have set end-goals when I do these actions; I want to meet more artists and experience more art, and this openness can (and has) led me to new projects and collaborations I would have never expected. I also try to be the kind of person who I like to collaborate with: someone who stands up for their viewpoint, but also listens intently to others; who’s affable, but not overbearing; who has a clear artistic vision, but is excited to have other artists involved in her project.

I’d encourage emerging or beginning playwrights to similarly soak up as much theatre as they can, in whatever avenues make sense for them. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to directors, producers, actors, or other artists you admire, but come from a place of curiosity and excitement rather than with an attitude of what this person could do for you.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

The late Stephen Sondheim’s memoirs (Finishing The Hat and Look, I Made A Hat, respectively) are not only fascinating reads, but filled with wisdom for aspiring writers. Sondheim’s books are part memoir, part collected lyrics, and part how-to-write guides. While primarily focused on writing lyrics for musical theatre, I think any writer can gain insights from these books.

One of the pieces of advice Sondheim gives most throughout the books is “content dictates form,” which essentially means that the structure of what you’re writing should flow from what you’re trying to say, rather than trying to shoehorn your meaning into a structure that doesn’t fit. As an example, if you’re writing from the perspective of a young child, your diction and syntax should be on the simpler side, as a child would speak.

Another gem from Sondheim’s books is the dictum that “God is in the details.” Although it initially seems a paradoxical idea, if you want to create a piece of writing with a universal theme or message, that piece should be specific rather than generic. When we hear someone’s personal story, we’re more likely to empathize with them; when we hear aphorisms or statistics, we might be prompted to think, but we’ll struggle to feel what the character is going through.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.annatatelman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artatelman/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anna.tatelman
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-tatelman-56a13468/
• Other: https://newplayexchange.org/users/7585/anna-tatelman

Image Credits

Jace Tucker

Angelo Canzani