How long have you been writing & what initially drew you to writing?
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I’d make little lined-paper illustrated booklets, pretending they were my paperbacks.
I knew that stories had to be part of my future, but I wasn’t sure how until I took a play-writing seminar in high school, and I fell in love with writing plays! Something about putting stories in other’s words and creating casts of interesting characters to populate them will always be great fun to me. I still write plays, musicals, monologues and short stories and spoken word pieces every chance I get, when I’m not covering the arts for SPORK!
As SPORK!'s Arts & Theater Critic for over two years, what do you like about reviewing plays for the differently able community?
I love getting the chance to examine and start conversations about art in any capacity, and thanks to a history of working with the differently abled community (and theater companies that focus on stories by/for the differently abled), I enjoy putting a spotlight on shows that explore their stories.
Too many people don’t consider themselves a part of the differently abled community, and creating more visibility in the arts is one way to change that. I’m also very appreciative of SPORK! for allowing me an opportunity to take risks with articles and dig into projects I’m very passionate about.
Do you have any future writings/plays coming up?
Definitely! I will be performing several spoken word pieces with the final Abbie Hoffman Died for Our Sins Theatre Festival XXVIII from August 19th-21st at the Den Theatre at 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave.
This festival features plays, music, spoken word, devised pieces, comedy, dance and all sorts of theatrical anarchy.
You can find more from Sean Margaret on Chicago Websites: Theatre By Numbers (theatre1234.com) & Windy City Times (windycitymediagroup.com)