Today we’d like to introduce you to Oliver Mayer.
Oliver, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have been a playwright for over thirty years, with Los Angeles as my inspiration. I try to tell stories about Angelenos who have never had their stories told on stage before. My local work has been done on main stages (The Mark Taper Forum and Los Angeles Theatre Center) and smaller spaces such as The Greenaway Court and Sacred Fools.
I never thought much about the theatre growing up in Studio City, till my parents took me to see Luis Valdez’s ZOOT SUIT at the Mark Taper in 1978. I was thirteen years old, and my life changed forever. After being away at university, I returned to Los Angeles in 1989, and I’ve been here writing ever since. Now, as a tenured professor of dramatic writing at USC, I get to teach it too.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There were giant struggles, particularly since playwrights seldom make any kind of real money. There is absolutely no assurance for success in my business. Many of my friends went from the theater to film and TV, and I tried that too — but it just wasn’t for me.
Until I joined USC’s School of Dramatic Arts, I really wasn’t sure if I’d be able to keep my head above water. Also, I got rather well-known early in my career, which can be problematic. After exploding on the scene, I wasn’t necessarily prepared for the tough times.
My only solution was to put my head down and keep writing — which I have done now for thirty plus years. Playwrights don’t necessarily get rich, at least not monetarily, but I can attest that I never went hungry. I found a family with each play, and I found my wife Marlene Forte through the work.
Now, when I write, I almost always write a part for her. She’s so busy with her own TV/film career that she’s not always available! But it is one of the great joys in my life to work with Marlene, and all the other great actors who make up my theatre family.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I am a solo flyer. I go by dramatist or playwright. My brand is original plays that take on aspects of our shared American history that have shaped our culture. I write serious plays, but I use as much humor as possible. I also use a lot of music (original and found), and I’m not afraid to examine my characters’ sexuality.
This combination of musicality, history, and mystery sets me apart from my fellow generation’s playwrights. I’m most proud of my most recent work MEMBERS ONLY, the sequel to my play BLADE TO THE HEAT, which really started my career on a national level over twenty years ago. MEMBERS followed the surviving characters from the first play twenty years later, to New York City in 1982 just before the advent of AIDS.
My wife Marlene Forte played the lead female Sarita, and Ray Oriel –who played the male lead Pedro Quinn at the Taper in 1996 — reprised the role in the new play. Jon Huertas (from THIS IS US), Geoff Rivas, Gabriela Ortega, Hansford Prince, Darrin Henson, and Ronnie Alvarez were all also featured actors. We got amazing press and lots of love from our audiences.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I’m a dog man, and as a kid, our family dog was a British Bull Terrier named Balder. There has never been a more loyal dog, although he got me in trouble more than once — he was just so darn strong!
I firmly believe that dogs teach us what it means to live a human life. They open our hearts and inspire compassion. Balder helped make me an artist, and he sure kept me on my toes. I can still see him running towards me like a bowling ball.
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