>>> COMING UP -- HE'S ONLY 30 YEARS OLD, BUT HE'S ALREADY WON ONE OF THE TOP DRAMA AWARDS IN THE COUNTRY.

I TALK WITH IDAHO NATIVE SAMUEL HUNTER ABOUT THE THEMES OF HIS WORKS, WHICH ARE BEING PERFORMED ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES.

THAT'S "DIALOGUE," NEXT.

STAY TUNED.

>> HELLO, AND WELCOME TO "DIALOGUE."

I'M MARCIA FRANKLIN.

MY GUEST TODAY SAYS IT WAS INEVITABLE THAT HE BECOME A PLAYWRIGHT.

AND SAMUEL HUNTER HAS NOT ONLY ACHIEVED HIS DREAMS, BUT AT THE AGE OF 30, HAS ALREADY GARNERED NATIONAL ACCLAIM FOR HIS WORKS, INCLUDING AN OBIE AWARD, THE EQUIVALENT OF A TONY AWARD FOR OFF-BROADWAY PLAYS.

A RESIDENT OF NEW YORK NOW, HUNTER IS A NATIVE OF MOSCOW, IDAHO.

HE OFTEN SETS HIS PLAYS IN A HOME STATE, AS HE DID IN "A BRIGHT NEW BOISE,” WHICH WON THE OBIE.

SO I STARTED BY ASKING HIM ABOUT THE INFLUENCE OF IDAHO ON HIS WRITING.

WELCOME HOME.

>> THANK YOU.

I HAVEN'T LIVED HERE SINCE I GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL, 11 YEARS AGO, 10 1/2 YEARS AGO, BUT I ALWAYS FEEL SORT OF COMFORTABLE WHEN I COME BACK, EVEN THOUGH NEW YORK DEFINITELY FEELS LIKE HOME, I FEEL SORT OF INEXORABLY TIED TO IDAHO.

MY FAMILY GOES BACK TO MOSCOW SIX GENERATIONS, SO I FEEL AN ALLEGIANCE TO IDAHO.

>> WHEN I READ YOUR PLAYS, I COULDN'T HELP THINKING THAT IDAHO WAS ALMOST ANOTHER CHARACTER IN SOME OF THEM.

>> IN A CERTAIN WAY, YES, A CHARACTER THAT'S EVOLVED A LOT THROUGHOUT, YOU KNOW, DOZENS OF PLAYS THAT I'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR MANY YEARS IN DIFFERENT STATES.

I MEAN, IN THE BEGINNING, I THINK IF YOU WOULD HAVE ASKED ME, WHEN I FIRST STARTED WRITING PLAYS, THEY WEREN'T SET IN IDAHO.

I WAS MOVING TO NEW YORK AND I WAS GOING TO BROADEN MY HORIZONS, AND THEY ALL WERE LACKING AND SUB HUMAN, SO I THOUGHT, WELL, I'M GOING TO BE A REGIONAL WRITER, I'M GOING TO WRITE ABOUT IDAHO AND BRING VOICE TO IDAHO, AND I DON'T THINK I'M DOING THAT ANYMORE.

I THINK IDAHO IS A CANVAS, NOT TO BE PRETENTIOUS ABOUT IT, BUT TO WRITE ABOUT LARGER AMERICAN IDEAS.

MOST OF MY PLAYS ARE SET IN PAN-AMERICAN PLACES, LIKE WALMARTS AND PARKING LOTS AND SUBURBIA, AND A HOBBY LOBBY BREAK ROOM, ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES.

SO IN THAT WAY, IDAHO BECOMES SOMETHING IN THE PLAY, SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT MORE UNIVERSAL THAN THE SPECIFIC, YOU KNOW, THE SPECIFIC PLACE AND THE SPECIFIC CULTURE OF IT.

>> SO MAYBE YOU DON'T NEED IDAHO SO MUCH ANYMORE.

IT COULD BE ANYPLACE.

IF YOU TOOK IDAHO OUT OF YOUR PLACE, WOULD IT CHANGE A FEW THINGS?

>> I THOUGHT ABOUT IT BEFORE, BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME, ESPECIALLY SOMETIMES I GET A COMMISSION, AND SOMEONE WANTS TO SHAKE ME UP A LITTLE BIT, MAYBE YOU COULD WRITE ABOUT SOMETHING THAT'S NOT SET IN IDAHO.

AND I NEVER SIT DOWN AND SAY, I'M GOING TO WRITE A PLAY THAT'S NOT SET IN IDAHO.

IT JUST FALLS THERE.

I NEVER FEEL LIKE IT INHIBITS THE PIECE.

IN A WAY, THAT'S WHERE THE FOUNDATION ALLOWS IT TO GROW SOMETHING LARGER, AND IF IT WAS SET SOMEWHERE ELSE, I WOULD GET TOO OBSESSED ABOUT LEARNING ABOUT THAT PLACE AND THE SPECIFICS OF THAT PLACE, AND THAT WOULD GET IN THE WAY OF MY STORYTELLING.

SO SINCE I HAVE THIS FROM IDAHO THAT FEELS VERY INTUITIVE, IT LIBERATES ME.

>> THERE'S A CYCLICAL THING, THERE ARE A LOT OF PLAYS RIGHT NOW SET IN NEW YORK CITY, AND NEW YORK CITY IS A WELL-CHRONICLED CITY AND A WELL-CHRONICLED CULTURE, HAS ITS OWN MYSTIQUE THAT IS VERY IS SPECIFIC THAT EVERYBODY KNOWS ABOUT.

EV SMALLER CITIES, SEATTLE AND LOS ANGELES AND SAN FRANCISCO, THEY HAVE THEIR OWN NOTIONS ABOUT THEM THAT ARE ASSIGNED ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BUT IDAHO IS NOT OUT THAT.

ESPECIALLY IN THE EAST COAST, PEOPLE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF PRECONCEPTIONS ABOUT IDAHO.

>> THE POTATOES.

>> THE POTATOES.

>> AND THE ARYAN NATION.

>> THE POTATOES AND THE NAZIS.

WE CAN DO IDAHO THINGS, WE CAN PICK POTATOES OR JOIN A NEONAZI GROUP OR SOMETHING, SO IN A WAY, THAT BLANK SLATE HAS BEEN FECTIVE FOR ME.

>> GROWING UP HERE, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU LEARNED A LOT ABOUT CERTAIN TYPES OF PEOPLE, CHARACTERS, MAYBE, THAT ARE IN YOUR PLAYS THAT YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE MET IF YOU HAD LIVED SOMEWHERE ELSE.

>> I GUESS IN AN INDIRECT WAY, IT IS THAT WAY.

I PULL FROM MY PAST THAT I EXPERIENCED GROWING UP, BUT I THINK I PULLED JUST AS MUCH FROM MY ADULT LIFE ANDEOPLE I'VE KNOWN AND WORKED WITH AND BEEN AROUND IN MY ADULT LIFE.

THIS PLAY THAT I HAVE THAT'S OPENING IN DENVER, IS ABOUT A MAN WHO WEIGHS 650 POUNDS, AND I'VE NEVER KNOWN ANYBODY WHO WEIGHS 650 POUNDS, BUT I THINK THE CHARACTER DIDN'T REALLY COME OUT OF ANY SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE.

I DON'T OFTEN, YOU KNOW, LIFT PEOPLE FROM MY REAL LIFE AND PUT THEM ON A PAGE.

ONE, BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING TO DO THEM A DISSERVICE, AND TWO, I FEEL LIKE I'LL BE CAGED IN BY THE SPECIFIC PERSON.

>> WELL, YOU DID GO TO A PARTICULAR SCHOOL IN MOSCOW THAT STRESSED CLASSICAL EDUCATION AND WAS RELIGIOUS.

>> RIGHT.

>> AND YOU DRAW ON THAT.

MANY OF YOUR PLAYS DRAW AN EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY.

>> YEAH, I DRAW ON THAT, MOSTLY INDIRECTLY.

RELIGION HAS ALWAYS BEEN -- I'VE ALWAYS BEEN DEEPLY INTERESTED IN RELIGION, EVEN BEFORE GOING TO TO THIS RELIGIOUS SCHOOL.

THERE'S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT PEOPLE NEGOTIATING THEIR WORLD VIEWS WITH THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.

IT'S ALWAY BEEN REALLY INTERESTING TO ME AND IF THERE'S ONE COMMON THREAD TO EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY PLAYS, IT'S THAT.

IT COULD BE RELIGION OR SOMETHING ELSE, SOMEONE TRYING TO RECONCILE SOMETHING THEY HOLD VERY DEEPLY WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD, WITH THEIR DAILY LIVES.

>> LET'S TALK ABOUT ONE PLAY, "A BRIGHT NEW BOISE," THAT -- FOR WHICH YOU WON AN OBIE AWARD, WHICH IS OFF-BROADWAY'S EQUIVALENT OF A TONY.

IT'S A BIG DEAL.

TELL ME WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE NOMINATED AND WIN FOR AN OBIE.

>> WELL, THE PROCESS OF IT WAS REALLY INTERESTED AND REALLY ATYPICAL.

WHAT HAPPENED WAS THERE'S A THEATER COMPANY IN NEW YORK, OF WHICH I'M A MEMBER, AND THERE'S A SMALL COMPANY -- >> PARTIAL COMFORT.

>> PARTIAL COMFORT PRODUCTIONS, AND THEY DO NOT JUST OFF-BROADWAY, BUT OFF-OFF-BROADWAY, TECHNICALLY, AND THEY WANTED ME TO WRITE A SHOW FOR THEM, AND READ OTHER PLAYS AND COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING TO DO, AND ALL OF MY OTHER PLAYS WERE KIND OF SPOKEN FOR, AND THEY SAID, WHY DON'T WE COMMISSION YOU TO WRITE A PLAY.

AND I SAID, THAT'S GREAT.

AND THEY SAID, WE HAVE TO GO INTO REHEARSALS IN THREE MONTHS.

AND I SAID, THIS WOULD BE A TRAIN WRECK.

I HAVE TO COME UP WITH A SCREENPLAY IN THREE MONTHS.

AND I WENTO DAVIS McCALLUM AND I SAID, DO YOU WANT TO WORK WITH ME ON THIS PLAY THAT DOESN'T EXIST YET?

AND HE SAID, DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S ABOUT?

AND I SAID NO.

SO HE SIGNED ON, AND I BUILT THE STORY OF THIS PLAY.

THE MAIN SPINE OF THE STORY IS ABOUT A MAN WHO IS TRYING TO RECONCILE WITH HIS SON THAT HE HASN'T SEEN IN 17 YEARS, BUT THE DIFFICULTY IS HE HAS THESE SOLID BELIEFS IN THE RAPTURE COMING WITHIN HIS LIFETIME, VERY SOON, THAT HE CAN'T LET GO OF, EVEN THOUGH IT COSTS HIM HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS SON.

SO I WROTE THE SCRIPT VERY, VERY QUICKLY AND WE WENT INTO REHEARSAL WITH IT, AND WE PROBABLY HAD 20 NEW PAGES A DAY FOR THE FIRST THREE, FOUR WEEKS.

IT WAS CONSTANT, CONSTANT REWRITES, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE DIRECTOR AND THE ACTORS, AND IT'S ONE OF THOSE PROCESSES WHERE EVERYTHING FELL TOGETHER IN AN AMAZING Y. NO ONE WAS MAKING A LOT OF MONEY.

IT WAS A LABOR OF LOVE, BUT IT CAME TOGETHER REALLY WELL, AND THE FIRST FEW PERFORMANCES, WE STARTED GETTING THIS ATTENTION THAT WE WEREN'T EXPECTING.

WE ONLY DID 20 PERFORMANCES AND WE COULDN'T EXTEND BECAUSE THERE WAS ANOTHER SHOW GOING INTO THE SPACE RIGHT AFTER US.

BUT AT THE END, WE HAD THIS 30, 40-PERSON WAITING LIST AND WE KNEW ALL THESE AWARD COMMITTEES WERE COMING, BUT I DIDN'T THINK MUCH OF IT.

AND IT WAS TOWARDS THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON, SO -- WE PLAYED IN SEPTEMBER AND THE OBIEs WEREN'T UNTIL MAY.

>> SO IT WAS A SURPRISE.

>> IT WAS A HUGE SURPRISE.

I FEEL LIKE OFF-BROADWAY IS MY HOME.

>> SO TO WIN EARLY IN YOUR CAREER, DOES THAT PUT AN EXTRA BURDEN ON YOU OR DOES IT AFFORD YOU AN ENTRE NOW?

>> I FELT LIKE I WAS BEING ACCEPTED BY MY PEERS IN A BIG WAY WHICH FELT KIND OF NICE, THAT I WAS IN THAT CIRCLE NOW, THAT I'M, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A LEGITIMATE WRITER, NOT THAT I WAS AN ILLEGITIMATE WRITER BEFORE, BUT HE'S OKAY, HIS PLAYS HAVE PASSED THAT BAR, AND NO LONGER AM I THE BABY EMERGING PLAYWRIGHT THAT EVERYBODY GETS CALLED AT THE BEGINNING OF THEIR CAREER.

>> DID YOU COME HOME AND TELL YOUR PARENTS, I WANT TO BE A PLAYWRIGHT WHEN I GROW UP?

AND THEY SAY, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO EAT?

>> YEAH, RIGHT.

THIS IS MY FULL-TIME JOB.

>> I MEANT TO ASK YOU, I APOLOGIZE, BUT GOING BACK, IF YOU COULD SAY HOW YOU CAME TO DERSTAND AS A YOUNG PERSON THAT YOU WANTED TO WRITE PLAYS, THAT YOU WERE INTERESTED.

>> WELL, I ACTUALLY CAME AT IT IN A REALLY SORT OF DIFFERENT WAY.

I MEAN, I THINK A LOT OF PLAYWRIGHTS COME IN THEATERS THROUGH ACTING, THROUGH GOING TO THE THEATER A LOT, AND I DID DO SOME ACTING IN COMMUNITY THEATER AND IN HIGH SCHOOL, AND I REALLY LIKED ACTING, BUT WHAT REALLY STARTED TURNING ME ON TO WRITING WAS READING POETRY, AND IT WAS -- I MEAN, IN THE BEGINNING, IT WAS LIKE I WAS READING ALLEN GINSBERG AND THAT LED ME TO JAMES JOYCE AND THAT SORT OF OPENED UP A NEW WORLD FOR ME.

AND FROM THE BEGINNING I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT WRITING PLAYS.

I WROTE REAMS AND REAMS OF, YOU KNOW, LONG-WINDED, ANGST-Y POETRY.

>> SOME OF WHICH YOU PUT IN YOUR PLAYS.

>> YES.

AND SO I WAS KIND OF TRYING TO FIND MY VOICE AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT I WAS INTERESTED IN AND FINALLY WHAT I REALIZED WAS WHAT I LIKED ABOUT WRITING WAS THAT LANGUAGE IS NOT PRECISE, AND I REALIZE THAT WHAT I LOVED WERE THESE SORT OF LONG-WINDED, YOU KNOW, GINSBERG POEMS, THE REASON I LOVED THEM, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE PRECISE MEANING OF WHAT HE WAS GETTING AT, AND WHAT I WAS LESS INTERESTED IN WAS DESCRIPTIVE THINGS THAT TRIED TO PAINT A VERY SPECIFIC PICK.

>> A STORY TELLER.

DID YOU HAVE A MENTOR?

DID YOU HAVE SOMEBODY THAT SAID, HEY, YOU CAN DO THIS, FROM IDAHO?

>> THE FIRST PERSON WHO VALIDATED MY WRITING, HE'S TEACHING AT THE UNIVERSITY, CRAG HILL.

HE WAS BORN CRAIG HILL AND DROPPED THE I. AND HE BLASTED OPEN SORT OF THE MEANING AND STRUCTURE AND FORM AND CONTENT FOR ME AND HE WAS ALSO THE FIRST PERSON TO SORT OF VALIDATE MY WRITING AS SOMETHING SERIOUS.

I HAD WRITTEN SOME POETRY IN THE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL I WENT TO, BUT IT WAS ABOUT STRUCTURE, WHAT A SONNET IS, HOW DOES IT SCAN, WHAT A HEXAMETER IS.

>> WHICH IS A NICE BASIS TO HAVE.

>> IT'S FANTASTIC.

BUT I ALWAYS STRUGGLED, BECAUSE I ALWAYS FEW I WAS SHOVING A CONTENT INTO A FORM, SO IT CAME OUT ALWAYS FEELING REALLY SORT OF -- >> FORCED.

>> FORCED, AND WITHOUT HUMANITY, AND WHEN I SPEAK, I TEND TO MAKE UP WORDS, I MISUSE WORDS.

I'M NOT THE MOST ELOQUENT.

I STUTTER.

I MEAN, I'M NOT AN INCREDIBLY SORT OF LIKE PURPLE PROSE-Y KIND OF PERSON.

SO I THINK THAT THEATER FITS ME WELL, SO I DON'T HAVE TO STRUGGLE ABOUT FORM AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE BECAUSE DIALOGUE BY ITS NATURE IS VERY IMPRECISE.

>> AND I HAVE A PROGRESS THAT'S PREMIERING HERE IN BOISE AS WE SPEAK, AS WE'RE RECORDING, AND I NOTICE THERE'S A LOT OF SCRATCH-OUTS AND CHANGES SO AS A PLAYWRIGHT, YOU ALLOW THEM TO CHANGE THE WORDS TO FIT?

>> YEAH, THEY DEFINITELY HAVE SUGGESTIONS IN THE WAY THEY READ IT AND I LISTEN TO HOW THEY READ THE LINE AND THAT INFORMS MY PROCESS.

THEY DON'T GENERALLY WRITE IT THEMSELVES.

>> THEY WORK WITH YOU.

>> BU IT MORPHS AS YOU WORK WITH THE ACTORS AND CAN HEAR IT OUT LOUD?

>> OH, YEAH.

>> WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP HERE IN IDAHO, YOU SEEM A VERY CONFIDENT PERSON NOW.

WERE YOU THAT WAY IN THE -- CONFIDENT IN YOUR WRITING, IN THE SENSE THAT YOU ALWAYS BELIEVED YOU WANTED TO GO THIS DIRECTION?

>> I THINK IT WAS A LESS OF A CONFIDENCE AN IT WAS AN INEVITABILITY.

I KNEW THAT -- I JUST THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE THAT I COULD REALLY DO OTHER THAN WHAT I'M DOING.

I THINK THAT WHAT THE REASON THAT I'M -- I'VE GONE AS FAR AS I'VE GONE SO FAR IS REALLY BECAUSE I HAVE NO OTHER MARKETABLE SKILLS.

I HAVE NO FALLBACK.

>> YOU WENT FROM MOSCOW TO NEW YORK AND JUILLIARD, SO YOU HAD SOME TALENT TO GET IN IN THE FIRST PLACE.

YOU HAVE SOME MARKETABLE SKILLS.

>> SO MUCH OF WRITING I JUST THE ACT OF SITTING DOWN AND POURING OUT HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS INTO IT.

AND WHEN YOUNG WRITERS ASK ME FOR ADVICE, THE ONLY GOOD PIECE OF ADVICE I CAN GET THEM IS ONE THEY DON'T WANT TO HEAR, WHICH IS, WRITE TEN FULL-LENGTH PLAYS.

THOSE FIRST TEN AREN'T PROBABLY GOING TO BE VERY GOOD, BUT ONCE YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT IT IS TO WRITE A PLAY, THEY'LL GET BETTER, EXPONENTIALLY.

>> LET'S TALK ABOUT OTHER THEMES.

WE TALKED ABOUT EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY, WHICH CAME FROM THE SCHOOL YOU WENT TO, AND PEOPLE OF FAITH.

GAYS ARE OFTEN CHARACTERS IN YOUR STORIES.

WHY IS THAT?

>> I MEAN, I'M GAY, SO THAT DEFINITELY, LIKE, COLORS THE WAY I WRITE PLAYS AND HOW I APPROACH A CHARACTER.

BUT I THINK MORE THAN THAT, BECAUSE MY PLAYS ARE ALWAYS CONSTANTLY ABOUT PEOPLE TRYING TO NEGOTIATE THEMSELVES WITH THE WORLD AT LARGE, WITH ME, THAT WAS THE THING, I WAS NEGOTIATING WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD, ESPECIALLY BEING IN A CHRISTIAN SCHOOL, I WAS NEGOTIATING THIS DEEP, FUNDAMENTAL PART OF MYSELF WITH AN ENVIRONMENT THAT SAID THAT THAT WAS FALSE.

YOU KNOW, THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING TO BE SHED, LIKE A BAD HABIT.

AND SO I MEAN, IT -- THAT RELATIONSHIP OF -- IT'S HARD TO DESCRIBE.

IT'S -- >> CHARACTER FORMING?

>> YEAH.

>> WHEN YOU HAVE THAT -- TENSION?

CERTAINLY, STORYTELLING AND PLAYS, JOURNALISM, FOR THAT MATTER, SOMETIMES DERIVES ON TENSION.

>> YEAH.

WHY I TALK SO MUCH, I DON'T WANT TO SAY IT'S A NOBLE STRUGGLE THAT I HAVE AND CONTRADICTORY, AND THEREFORE I HAD TO START TO LOOK AT THE WORLD IN A DIFFERENT WAY, AND I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY WHY A LOT OF MY CHARACTERS TEND TO BE GAYS.

THERE'S A FUNDAMENTAL LEVEL OF CONFLICT WITH THE WORLD AROUND THEM, PUTTING A GAY CHARACTER IN IDAHO, THERE'S IMMEDIATELY TENSION IN THAT PLACEMENT.

>> MANY OF YOUR PLAYS DEAL WITH PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS, EITHER A CHILD SEARCHING FOR A PARENT OR A PARE SEARCHING FOR A CHILD.

IS THAT INTENTIONAL?

>> I ACTUALLY DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT COMES FROM.

I COME FROM A GREAT FAMILY AND HAVE A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH MY PARENTS.

I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT COMES FROM.

IT MAY BE BECAUSE MY FAMILY IS SO STABLE AND I'M SO INTERESTED IN COMING HOME THAT I'M INTERESTEDN EXPLORING WHAT THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT IS, MADE ME FEEL SOMETHING FOREIGN TO ME EXPLORE.

ESPECIALLY THE LAST FEW PLAYS I'VE WRITTEN DEAL PRIMARILY WITH RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THEIR CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS.

SO I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHERE THAT EVEN COMES FROM.

>> SO THESE IDEAS COME TO YOU THROUGH OSMOSIS OR THROUGH -- >> YEAH, I THINK -- LIKE ANY PLAY, A PLAYOESN'T COME IN A SINGLE LIGHTNI BOLT OF INSPIRATION.

IT COMES AS A KERNEL OF AN IDEA AND YOU BUILD ON THAT AND YOU HAVE TO BE VERY CONSCIOUS OF HOW YOU'RE FORMING IT SO IT'S NOT ARBITRARY, BUT FOR FORM AND CONTENT, YOU HAVE TO LET IT FLOWER IN ITS OWN WAY.

>> THERE SEEMS TO BE A THEME WITHIN YOUR PLAYS OF KIND OF BOREDOM WITH LIFE OR ALMOST CLAUSTROPHOBIA OR ANOMIE, PEOPLE STRUGGLING TO HAVE SENSE OF THEIR LIVES OR ANY KIND OF SPARK.

IS THAT FAIR?

>> OH, YEAH, ESPECIALLY RECENTLY.

I THINK MAY PLAYS DEAL FREQUENTLY WITH SUBURBAN SPRAWL, AND I THINK WHAT INTERESTED ME ABOUT IT IS ONE, IT'S BECOMING SO MUCH OF AMERICA AND IT SEEMS KIND OF FOR THE PERCENTAGE OF AMERICA THAT IS THE SUBURBAN LIFE, THAT THE NOISE SORT OF SIMILAR FROM TOWN TO TOWN TO TOWN, IT'S SURPRISING ME THAT MORE AREAS DON'T EXIST IN THAT SPACE.

I FIND THE HOMOGENIZED AMERICA IS THERE.

>> I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT YOUR PLAYS, YOUR LANGUAGE IS QUITE RAW, EXPLOSIVE, SOME FOUR-LETTER WORDS.

TELL ME WHY YOU INTERJECT THAT RAW LANGUAGE INTO YOUR WRITING.

>> FOR ME, THE KIND OF THEATER THAT'S MOST EXCITING IS THE THEATER THAT'S REALLY -- IT'S AN ODD WORD TO USE, BUT ELEGANT WRITING, ELEGANT IN THE WAY THAT PHYSICS IS ELEGANT.

IT SAYS THE MOST IN THE SIMPLEST POSITIVE EQUATION.

SO FOR ME, A QUICK, TERSE, THREE-WORD SENTENCE, THAT OPENS UP MORE MEANING AND MORE COMPLEXITY AND AMBIGUITY IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN A LONG SOLID -- SOLILOQUY.

MOST OF MY CHARACTERS ARE NOT WELL EDUCATED.

THE TERSE, BECAUSE THEY'RE SIMPLE, THEY POINT TO SOMETHING MUCH LARGER.

THEY COME MORE MEANINGFUL.

>> SO IT'S NOT TO SHOCK,PER SE.

>> NO, I DON'T SIT DOWN AND WRITE A PLAY TO SHOCK.

IF I'M GOING TO WRITE ABOUT PEOPLE, I HAVE TO BE HONEST ABOUT THE WAY THEY TALK.

>> AND OPEN-ENDED ENDINGS.

IT'S UP TO THE PERSON TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED.

>> YEAH.

IN A WAY, I GUESS, IT'S ME SORT OF REJECTING SORT OF STANDARD STRUCTURE AS WE KNOW IT, AND CERTAINLY, ABOUT CONFLICT, ARISING ACTION AND THE CATHARSIS AND I LOVE THAT KIND OF PLAY AND THAT STRUCTURE, BUT "A BRIGHT NEW BOISE" IS A MAN WHO IS WAITING FOR THE RAPTURE, IT'S ABOUT A MAN WHO IS WAITING FOR SOMETHING THAT NEVER COMES, WHICH IS SORT OF AN ANTI-DRAMATIC IDEA IN ITSELF.

USUALLY A PLAY IS ABOUT, YOU EITHER GET WHAT YOU WANT OR YOU DON'T GET WHAT YOU WANT.

IN THE BEGINNING OF "A BRIGHT NEW BOISE," HE'S IN A PARKING LOT WAITING FOR THE RAPTURE, AND IN THE END, HE WAITS.

AND I THINK IN SOME WAYS THAT'S THE MORE HONEST NARRATIVE THAT WE ALL EXPERIENCE DAY TO DAY.

WE VERY RARELY HAVE THESE HUGE BLOWUPS THAT LEAVE US WITH COMPLETE CLOSURE.

>> WE GO TO PLAYS TO GET THAT, SOME OF US DO.

WHAT'S NEXT?

I KNOW THERE ARE SOME PROJECTS THAT YOU CAN'T NECESSARILY TALK ABOUT, BECAUSE THEY'RE IN THE WORKING STAGE.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF GO?

IT'S VERY EXCITING FOR ME TO TALK TO SOMEONE ON THEIR WAY, ON THIS JOURNEY.

WHERE DO YOU BELIEVE IT'S TAKING YOU NEXT?

>> WELL, I DON'T KNOW, IS THE ANSWER.

THEATER IS MY LIVING, AND IT'S MY LIFE, BUT IT'S THE LIFE OF A FREELANCE ARTIST.

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S AROUND THE BEND.

I HAVE MY LIFE FIGURED OUT FOR THE NEXT YEAR OR SO.

>> ARE THERE THEMES THAT YOU REALLY NOW WANT TO EXPLORE AND HIT AND LEARN ABOUT?

>> LATELY, IT'S BEEN SORT OF SURPRISINGLY, TO ME, IT'S BEEN DEPARTING RELIGION A LITTLE BIT AND KIND OF OPENING UP INTO LARGER, LARGER IDEAS.

I MEAN, THE PLAYS -- >> LARGER THAN RELIGIOUS.

>> AND I PUT THAT WORD IN, LARGER THAN RELIGION, BUT COMING AT A RELIGIOUS SENSIBILITY IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

THIS PLAY, "BOISE" IS DEBUTING, PERMANENT IMAGES, SOMEONE LEARNING ABOUT THEIR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE IN A COSMIC WAY.

THE SIZE OF THE UNIVERSE AND THEIR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE AND STREAM THEORY AND BIG BANG, AND LOOKING AT THE UNIVERSE AND OUR PLACE WITHIN IT HAS BEEN INTERESTING TO ME LATELY.

I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE WHERE THAT'S GOING TO PUSH ME.

I HAVE A FEW PLAYS.

I'M BURNING A FEW IDEAS.

BUT I NEVER KNOW.

I NEVER KNOW WHAT KIND OF PLAYS I'LL BE WRITING IN FIVE YEARS, AND THAT'S HOW I WANT TO KEEP IT.

THE MOMENT THAT I FIGURE OUT, THESE ARE THE KIND OF PLAYS I WRITE, THAT'S THE MOMENT THAT I'VE STALLED AS A WRITER, THAT I WILL CONTINUE TO WRITE THAT ONE PLAY FOREVER, SO I HAVE TO BE OPEN TO WHERE IT WILL PUSH ME.

>> IS THERE SOMEONE YOU LOOK UP TO AS A PLAYWRIGHT?

>> THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE, EDWARD ALBEE IS SORT OF THE STANDARD THAT PEOPLE WOULD GIVE, BUT HIS SEARCH FOR MEANING IN AMERICA, A THEME IN HIS WRITING, IS SOMETHING I'M INTERESTED IN.

HE'S IN HIS 80s AND CONTINUING TO WRITE REALLY INTERESTING, BOLD PLAYS, SO HE'S SOMEONE THAT I LOOK UP TO.

>> I'M SURE THERE WILL BE MANY PEOPLE LOOKING UP TO YOU EVENTUALLY FOR YOUR WORK, AND I THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO TALK WITH US TODAY.

>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

>> YOU'VE BEEN LISTENING TO PLAYWRIGHT SAM HUNTER, WHO GREW UP IN MOSCOW, IDAHO.

HIS AWARD-WINNING WORKS ARE NOW BEING PERFORMED ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

HUNTER WAS IN IDAHO TO WORK WITH ACTORS AT THE BOISE CONTEMPORARY THEATER WHO WERE PREMIERING HIS PLAY, “A PERMANENT IMAGE.” AND I'D LIKE TO THANK THE DIRECTORS OF THE THEATER FOR FINDING TIME IN MR.

HUNTER'S SCHEDULE FOR THIS INTERVIEW.

FOR MORE ON SAM HUNTER AND HIS PLAYS, PLEASE CHECK OUT THE "DIALOGUE" WEBSITE BY GOING TO IDAHOPTV.ORG AND CLICKING ON "DIALOGUE."

THAT'S ALSO WHERE YOU'LL FIND THE WEB EXTRA I TAPED WITH MR.

HUNTER, IN WHICH HE GIVES ADVICE TO ASPIRING PLAYWRIGHTS, TALKS ABOUT WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO WORK IN THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORY OF THE WEST BANK, AND SHARES HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF REGIONAL THEATERS.

I'M MARCIA FRANKLIN.

THANKS FOR TUNING IN TO "DIALOGUE."

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