Today we’d like to introduce you to Vincent Terrell Durham.
Hi Vincent Terrell, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m a playwright. I say I officially became a playwright in January 2013, the day I ended my job of nine years, and drove to the Magic Theatre in North Hollywood. I put a deposit down on the space and prepared for my first staged reading. Of course, I had already started writing my first play in the summer of 2012. I started writing the play after a reunion with an old high school friend. He was surprised that I was working in the accounting field. He vividly recalled how our 12th-grade creative writing teacher often described my writing and was certain that I had become a writer. In fact, he looked at me and said, “You were supposed to have been a writer.” His words stuck with me during the plane ride back to LA and shortly after that, I decided to become the writer I was supposed to have been.
That first staged reading was a great success and confirmed that I wasn’t bonkers for leaving behind a steady paycheck, a 401k and health insurance to pursue a dream I had forgotten about. Fast forward almost eight years later. It’s been a career of highs and lows, but not a single regret. I’ve written four full-length plays, 20 short plays, a television pilot and a novel. I’ve had my plays performed on stages from Santa Monica to the Catskills. 2020 has been a breakout year for me. Over 60 theaters across the country signed on to support a one day reading of my latest play, Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids, for the Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project. I also signed with my first theatrical agent.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road. Living in Los Angeles is expensive but I felt I needed to take myself out of the 9 to 5 grind in order to create and learn the craft of playwriting. I made the difficult decision to sell my condo in order to focus solely on my writing. The sale afforded me over a year away from needing to earn an income. I often miss that condo. It hasn’t been as easy as I thought to break in as a professional writer. I’ve probably received more rejection emails than requests to produce my plays. It’s just this year that my writing is getting wide attention. I was surprised to learn that theater hasn’t fully opened its doors to BIPOC playwrights. Most of my rejection letters have come from theaters with decision-makers who don’t look like me. 2020 has really brought new attention to this inequality in theatre. Theatre doesn’t pay a great deal so I’ve often had to turn to temp jobs to make ends meet. There are several theatre companies in LA that I’ve always wanted to be a part of, but they’ve not responded to my work. That rejection stings a lot, but I haven’t allowed that to shake me too much. I’ve found theatre companies that are receptive to my work and wish to support my growth.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As a playwright, I’m proud of creating work that makes an audience want to continue the conversation. I love when an audience wants to stick around after the play ends and talk about the impact it’s had on them. I’m probably known for creating humor around tough topics. My work draws people in with humor as a way to deliver the topic or subject that I want them to question or think about. I really love the process of creating a play. It begins with an empty page and sometime later, it turns into actors on stage reciting words that I created. The 2018 co-production of McCormick/Durham, Vol. 1 – A Post Racial America with Highways is my proudest moment. My directing partner and I created the piece from a collection of my short plays and poems. We assembled everything needed to put on a two day run of the show. It was a big undertaking with eight actors and limited rehearsal time. It was amazing to find that our first show was sold out and our second show as standing room only. I hope there is little that sets me apart from others. I hope all playwrights are like me. I love what I do. I love to be around talented people who make what I do shine even brighter.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Watching an audience react to what I’ve created makes me so happy. As a playwright, I spend countless hours working on a script. I normally love what I’ve created but there’s no telling if anyone else will feel the same way. It’s a beautiful feeling watching an audience laugh where you wanted them to laugh and cry where you wanted them to cry. When I see those reactions, I know that I’ve found my calling.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: vtdisme.com
- Instagram: vincentterrelldurham
- Facebook: facebook.com/vdurham66
- Twitter: @vdurham66
Image Credits
The Carters Touch and Rose Hogan
