Meet Nathaniel Foster

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathaniel Foster.

Hi Nathaniel, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I remember as a child always wanting to create. Even then I was writing little plays or movies and forcing my friends to be in. I hungered to explore aspects of life I hadn’t lived yet. To feel feelings I hadn’t felt. To create those feelings. So I wrote. And one day my younger sister asked me if you could die from chlamydia because her sex-ed teacher told her you could. So I wrote this play that is being produced at Hollywood Fringe, about how our education system fails our youth and how leading from ignorance breeds chaos. And also about how much I love my sister, and what a champion every girl who is sixteen and figuring it out is.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think producing art is never smooth, if you become an artist and it’s easy you should be legally required to release your parents’ W2s. I think my journey to this play specifically hasn’t been as gnarly as some of the others, mostly because it’s been a slow burn. I wrote the first draft of this play four, almost five, years ago, so I’ve had a lot of time to figure it out. The team over at The New Cosmopolitans and Theater Asylum have made this process so smooth and it’s been such a joy to see what they have found in the play.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a playwright, performer, and dramaturg. I like to make tiny plays about big things. That is to say I use small intimate moments, to explore broader themes. If I was known for anything I think it’d be for finding the funny in the f*cked up (if I can say f*ck, if not just put sad). I think when you are at your lowest or saddest, the only option you have is to try to find the joy. It’s the only way you can save yourself. So my plays often are people in f*cked up situations, trying to find the joy.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Produce my plays!!! I think that is the most obvious answer, but I find that writers and theatre makers benefit so much from belief. If that makes any sense. For me personally and for a lot of artists I know, it’s all about having people in your corner who know you can do it, and act like they know. Also, I’m a big fan of script exchanges, reading each other’s work, living room staged readings, anything that feels like community.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: NathanielFreakinFoster
• Twitter: NotSoGreatNate