January 2010
Kyoung H. Park is a Korean-Chilean playwright, author of Sex and Hunger, disOriented, Heartbreak/India, and many short plays, including Mina. His plays have been produced Off and Off-Off Broadway and Kyoung has worked internationally in Chile, Brazil, England, South Korea, and India. A former visiting professor at Kyung Hee University’s School of English Language and Culture, Kyoung is currently a Dean’s Fellow at Columbia University’s MFA program in playwriting and a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Youngblood, Ma-Yi Theater’s Writer’s Lab, and the Soho Theatre Writer’s Hub in London.

How do you start a new piece?
Technically, I make myself write a complete, first draft of a new play every year, so I write a new piece to meet my personal deadlines. However, my plays are based on personal experiences and research of current global events, so I take time (usually while traveling or through artist residencies) to make connections between current affairs and my response to them. Once I’ve managed to place myself, and my characters, as part of a specific time and place of social change, I carve out the time to put things down on paper and explore, through writing, these ideas further.

What is more frightening: a blank page or a manuscript in need of a complete rewrite?
After writing and abandoning several plays, I made a conscious decision to no longer leave another play behind. Since then, I’ve dedicated my attention to my most recent work; therefore, manuscripts in need of a complete rewrite have definitely become more frightening.

In Richard Hugo’s essay “Writing Off the Subject,” he states, “When you start to write, you carry to the page one of two attitudes, though you may not be aware of it. One is that all music must conform to truth. The other, that all truth must conform to music.” In your writing practice, have you taken a position on this?
In writing, I believe that all truth should conform to music, although it’s more important for me to discover the relationship between the “truth” of my words and the way they’re composed on the page. That relationship usually helps me better understand the nature of what I’ve written.

Who have you studied with that had a great influence on your work?
The greatest influence in my work has been working with other writers and artists. Through the Lark Play Development Center, Ma-Yi Theater’s Writer’s Lab, and Ensemble Studio Theater’s Youngblood, I’ve been able to learn from my peers and hone the craft of playwriting. Moreover, while working with Augusto Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed in Rio, I learned how to merge my interest in both theater and politics to pursue a fuller, comprehensive artistic practice.

What’s the best in-class writing prompt or assignment that you’ve been given?
The best in-class prompt I received was from Chuck Mee: Write what you love and become the world’s leading expert in doing it.

Are there any aspects of writing that you feel can’t be taught?
This is a tricky question—I feel every aspect of writing can be learned; however, institutionalized, pedagogical systems cannot address all aspects of writing as educational programs are designed to address specific objectives and reach certain goals. Therefore, I think the best approach to teaching writing should be to illuminate the personal needs and process of an individual writer and make sure the learning is framed with the necessary educational tools to support the writer’s particular work.

What have you read recently that you couldn’t put down?
Martin Crimp’s Attempts on Her Life.

What are your writing pet peeves?
My writing pet peeves are finding myself writing old tricks and following old habits, rather than dealing with a present challenge, and approaching a new work with fixed expectations or judgment.