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| Leslie Kimbell, successful playwright! |
Note: This interview first appeared in Lakewood Theater's program for their production of Ms. Kimbell's play, Four Old Broads.
BACKSTORY WITH BOBBY KENISTON
Though probably the last thing the world needs is another Zoom meeting, I am happy to report that this oh-so-necessary pandemic technology has made it much easier for me to reach out and actually talk to people like Leslie Kimbell, the author of tonight’s entertainment, Four Old Broads. And what a pleasure it was to talk shop with this playwright who is just as funny and charming as her work! After sharing a mutual relief that THEATER IS BACK and a brief discussion about how Zoom has changed the standards of formality for online meetings (who needs pants when you only see the top half?), I talked with Leslie about what inspires her work, and the joys that come with writing plays and watching them come to life.
Leslie wanted to write ever since she was in high school. Born in Tennessee and now living in Georgia, she has had a long career in acting, burlesque, and directing, all disciplines she says have enriched and inspired her writing, giving her a sense of the big picture and what is playable on stage. In 2015, she was on a lunch outing when her friend and mentor Billie made an “off-color joke” that tickled her enough to jot it down on a napkin. And while this joke did not make it into the play you are about to watch, it proved to be the seed of inspiration that Leslie needed to start her playwriting journey, reminding her of the sass and spunk of the real “old broads” in her life. And just like that, she was off to the races, eager for time at her computer to bring her story to life, excited when her two boys left for school giving her precious distraction-free writing sessions, and always on the lookout for any spare moment to keep working on her play.
“You can you use the word obsessed,” Leslie told me with a laugh.
The first draft of Four Old Broads was roughly two hours and forty-five minutes long. The “get the story out, throw everything in” draft, as she calls it, an important part of the process for any writer. After a reading of the play with some theater friends, Leslie could hear what her story needed, and what could be tucked away for use elsewhere.
“Too bad we couldn’t have an evening of deleted scenes and additional footage like on DVDs,” I joked. Fortunately, Leslie had the better idea of incorporating some of the material into the sequel, Four Old Broads on the High Seas, including the “off-color” joke from the napkin!
When I asked if she set out to write a play with juicy parts for women, since women audition more for community theater than men but seem to have fewer roles for them, her answer surprised me in the way we are often surprised by the things that should be obvious. “Actually, I wanted to write a play for seniors,” she told me. “You never see plays that are about seniors.” And, indeed, since Four Old Broads has been published, she has received letters from a number of senior community theater actors, thanking her for writing a play that gives them such fun characters to perform, and a story that is all about them.
Not every baseball player hits a home run their first time at bat, and not every playwright knocks it out of the park with her first play. But Leslie Kimbell is not every playwright. Since Four Old Broads premiered in 2017, it has been published by Samuel French (now Concord Theatricals) and performed all over the world. The publication Carolina Curtain Call even favorably compared it to The Golden Girls, a favorite of mine that Leslie had never seen until after she wrote the play and heard the comparison!
But despite this success, Leslie is a playwright who is grounded in gratitude for her collaborators and her audiences. When I asked her what it was like the opening of night of Four Old Broads, which had its world premiere at Winder-Barrow Community Theatre, a place that she loves and has worked with often, Leslie told me the question gave her goosebumps and was “...going to make me cry.” And indeed, she did get choked up as she talked about sitting in the audience, her loved ones on each side of her, watching the actors bring her play and characters to life. As the audience laughed at the lines she had put down on the page months ago while sitting alone at her computer screen, tears of joy and appreciation streamed down her face.
Leslie Kimbell understands that a playwright’s work is only fully complete when it is watched and enjoyed by an audience. We thank each and every one of you in the audience today for helping complete the work of this talented and generous playwright with your laughter and your applause.
If you would like to learn more about Leslie Kimbell and her work (like her new comedy with heart, Packing Up Polly, which premiered in April), please visit her website, www.lesliekimbell.com
