The Broadway Bound Theater Festival (background here) is running through Sept. 1 at the Powerhouse Theatre in Waveny, presented by the Town Players of New Canaan.
We put some questions to Lily Ayotte, a contributing playwright whose work, “Family Vacation,” opens at 7 p.m. Friday and runs through Sunday (tickets here).
Here’s our exchange.
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New Canaanite: Give our readers some of your own background. When did you start playwrighting?
Lily Ayotte
Lily Ayotte: I started performing for theater when I was very young, around seven or eight years old, and since then I can remember writing my own pieces. The community theater that I was a part of created a space for me that was unlike any other – safe, welcoming, and inspiring – and it made me want to explore every aspect of this creative world I was a part of. I began writing from this early age; short stories and plays I would perform for family members, but I always knew I wanted to go deeper. I continued performing into high school and college, attending Suffolk University in Boston, where I graduated with a BA in theater and psychology. This education was where I first began to hone my craft in writing, taking playwriting courses with amazing professors like Wesley Savick. I started developing my first piece, Put to Rest, a one-act piece about a woman discovering the mystery of her own death. I was lucky enough to have my first taste of what it took to put this work in college, and that inspired me even more to get work produced once I graduated, no matter what it took. That’s what led me to continue writing, and eventually to submitting my work.
How did you come to hear about the Broadway Bound Theatre Festival?
I was searching for a while for places to submit my work, mostly around the Boston area but it’s difficult to break into that scene as a young playwright. My roommate, Justin Lahue – who is a set designer in the New England area – sent me a link to the submission page for Broadway Bound. I was immediately intrigued by their process and set-up for the festival. The rest is, well, right now.
Here’s the description of your play, “Family Vacation,” on the Town Players of New Canaan website: “Grandma Emily has finally died. At her funeral, her family is forced to cope with her legacy–the dysfunctional relationships she’s left behind. Grief turns to relief and their pain is turned inside out as the pretense is stripped away. Will they be able to come to grips with truth and find hope or will Grandma end up having the last word?” Where did you get the idea for your play?
The idea for Family Vacation came to me after the passing of my own grandfather. The way that loss affected me and those I loved really put a lot into perspective, and writing this piece helped me cope with all that was going on. Grief and pain can influence our behaviors, and this piece explores what it means to have those emotions override your senses. It explores how what comes out of grief and pain isn’t all bad.
What has this experience been like for you, seeing your written words come to life on stage? How are you feeling about the premiere?
It has been a surreal experience, to say the least. Watching all these people come together and create whole worlds out of the lines I wrote, it’s amazing. I’m surrounded by gratitude every day for the people who have helped my put this piece up, I can not thank them enough. Their work deserves to be seen and I’m so excited for the premiere. This will be one for the books!
What else, if anything, would you like to tell our readers about yourself, your play or the festival?
I hope you come to see each of these uniquely amazing shows. This festival has been a dream come true and I can not wait to share this labor of love with you all. See you there!