Zayd Dohrn: Ten Questions

What was an early, memorable theatrical experience?

Caroline, or Change by Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori. I saw it as a grad student, and it completely changed my idea of what a play could be. It’s just such an incredible work of craft and empathy—a classic Aristotelean tragedy, but with radical contemporary resonance (and great music). My girlfriend and I saw it so many times in the early-2000s we nearly bankrupted ourselves. And when I tried to deduct the tickets on my taxes (it’s a professional expense, and I figured I was by then (kind of) a professional playwright), the total was more than what I made in a year as a writer, and we got audited by the IRS..

What’s something you wish someone told you when you began your career? 

Enjoy the early, scrappy, DIY parts of your life as a young writer; you’ll miss them when they’re gone. People told me things like that, of course—I just didn’t really listen.

Who is the person who made the biggest impact on your career? 

My mom. It’s a cliché, but it’s true. She inspired much of my work and set an example for me of how to lead a life of courage and purpose.

What are you reading right now? 

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received? 

When Noah Haidle visited our class at Juilliard, he was a few years ahead of us in his career by that point, and he told us, based on his own experience, how important it is to “Run your own race.” I took him to mean you don’t have to compete with other writers, especially your own classmates and contemporaries; just focus on your own goals and your own path, and things will (mostly) work out. That’s great advice for young writers.

When you’re in despair with a piece of work, how do you maneuver out of that? 

I work on more than one project at a time. When one is going badly, there’s always another option that feels less miserable and impossible.

How do you measure success?

Am I happy? Is my family healthy? Do I have the freedom to write what I want, when I want? (for the moment.) Am I working to make the world a slightly less terrible place? (trying my best, like everyone I know.)

As a writer, what have you not done that you’ve always wanted to do? 

I’ve always wanted to write a novel. Or a manifesto. Either one could still happen.

Whose work do you drop everything to see? 

Tony Kushner. Caryl Churchill. Thomas Bradshaw. Lin-Manuel Miranda. Lynn Nottage. Martin McDonagh. Christopher Shinn. And anything by my students, colleagues, former classmates, and friends.

What’s next? 

My new show, REVOLUTION(S), featuring music by Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), opens this October at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.