Playwright Prospective: Ashley Cambers’ reading in the New Works Festival

January 19, 2021

Ashley’s play George and the Hidden Dragon is being read as part of our New Works Festival on Saturday, January 30, at 1 pm. Details on her reading and how to attend can be found here.

Ashley Cambers (SAG-AFTRA and Dramatists Guild) is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she focused on performance and cultural studies, and New York University, where she recently completed her MA in educational theatre in colleges and communities. As a multi-passionate creative, Ashley believes in the importance of the arts and enjoys working with children in theatre. Over the last few years, she has directed Madagascar Jr. for the Perrysburg Youth Summer Theatre as well as The Most Epic Birthday Party Ever and The Grunch for Perrysburg Musical Theatre. Her plays can be found on New Play Exchange.

Tell us about your creative process. What was the inspiration behind your play for the New Works Festival?

“The inspiration for George and the Hidden Dragon came from a homework assignment. For one of my graduate classes at NYU, the final project was presenting a fictional TYA play based on a story not usually for kids. One of my brothers suggested I look at the legend of St. George and the Dragon, and the idea for George and the Hidden Dragon took shape. The next semester, I started writing the script for a playwriting class and continued to work on it after graduation. I’m a sci-fi and fantasy nerd, so my love of Harry Potter, The Hobbit, and Doctor Who also inspired me as I wrote the play.”

What role, play, or production are you most proud of?

“While at NYU, I also wrote a verbatim performance piece about women over thirty who compete in beauty pageants. What started as a series of monologues based off interviews I did for a research class eventually turned into a one-act play. Working on The Pageant Project gave me the confidence to write other long-form pieces.”

What’s the best advice you’ve been given about being a playwright?

“In a recent screenwriting workshop, the instructor stressed it’s important not just to start but to finish. That rang true for me because it’s so easy to jot down an idea then do nothing else. For years I dreamed about writing a play, but distractions kept me from sitting down and writing. It took time for me to realize that starting then finishing a play is how you become a playwright.”

What advice would you give an aspiring playwright?

“Write! Building off what I said above, it’s important to find a writing routine that works for you. For me, taking writing classes and workshops help because I like accountability and feedback. It’s easy for me to talk myself out of an idea, so having deadlines make me stay focused on my writing.”

Do you have any plans to write other plays?

“I’m currently working on a coming-of-age play set in Ohio during the late 1990s. It’s loosely inspired by Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. I can’t wait to show it to people!”

What’s something that you want everyone to know about your play before the virtual reading?

“I’m so lucky to have Leda and her team at CATCO working with me to develop this play. As soon as I started chatting with Leda, I knew George and the Hidden Dragon was in good hands because she understood what I was trying to do and was enthusiastic about it. I love that CATCO is committed to making theatre even in a virtual world. Playwrights can’t do anything without the support of other theatremakers!”