Review Fix Exclusive Midtown International Theatre Festival Coverage: Kevin Clancy Talks Difficult Transition

Review Fix chats with playwright Kevin Clancy who discusses his upcoming production at this year’s MITF.

About the Production:

Veteran playwright Kevin Clancy presents this controversial new work about a transgender woman’s first attempt at intimacy in her current relationship. The play serves to set the stage for a dark discussion about identity and need. Mr. Clancy is an oft-awarded and nominated playwright  This is his second appearance at MITF with appearances at the Fringe Festival in-between.

About the MITF:

The Midtown International Theatre Festival returns for another summer of quality stage works. New York’s oldest continuing theater festival will present 100 plays in 23 days.

One of the leading reasons to visit New York in the summer is the theater – from Shakespeare in the Park to the best of Broadway. New York is also known for its amazing theater festivals. This year, the venerable Midtown International Theatre Festival takes its place as the oldest continuing summer arts festival in New York. To usher in this honor, producer John Chatterton presents nearly 100 new and fascinating live stage works – plays, musicals, variety acts, short plays, solo projects, and so much more. Visit www.midtownfestival.org for further info.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Kevin Clancy: In general, I start my playwriting process inspired by a strong emotion I have felt about something personal, than apply that emotion to a controversial or complicated situation or issue, and create a real time experience to explore that. I try to put myself in the position of each character to defend that person, regardless of their actions.

Review Fix: What makes this different or special?

Clancy: “Difficult Transition” is different from my other plays in that, while I always do research, I needed to speak directly to transgender women to be sure my words were accurate and not offensive. They have been very helpful and informative.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?

Clancy: I learned much, medically and emotionally, about the transition process thanks to their candid responses to reading the various drafts of my play.

Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of something like this?

Clancy: This is my second time being involved in the MITF. In 2014, my play “Controlling Interest” was nominated for Best Short Script. I also had a full length play “Natural Causes” in the 2014 NYC Fringe Festival. I find the Festival experience invigorating and particularly enjoy meeting other theatre artists. I am very grateful to John Chatterton and the others who give us this opportunity, especially in New York.

Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?

Clancy: Ultimately, my goal for this play is for people to come away with a better understanding of Transsexuality specifically and of open mindedness in general about what is important in relationships. Any further life for the play after this is welcome, either in print or on stages anywhere.

Review Fix: What do you think your audiences will enjoy the most?

Clancy: I’m frequently surprised by what audiences enjoy, or dislike, most about my plays. I have written 7 full length plays and 6 quartets of one acts, almost all of which, whether dramas or comedies, touch on hot button issues. I am always glad to see different, unexpected reactions, even to the same moments at different performances. I think all playwrights grow from that.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Clancy: I am a founding member of Darknight Productions, now in our 16th year, and we always have exciting new challenges each season. We have recently performed stage readings of new full length plays, one by me (“Unpopular Demand”) and one by Kelley Blessing (“You Don’t Know How It Feels”) which we hope to mount full productions of in the near future.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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