January 2019: Featured Artist |
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Award-Winning Playwright and Screenwriter:
Molly Smith Metzler
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Photo Credit: Carolyn Fong
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Molly Smith Metzler is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. Originally from Kingston, NY, Molly is a proud alumna of SUNY Geneseo, Boston University, New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts, and The Juilliard School, where she was a two-time recipient of the Lecomte du Nouy Prize from Lincoln Center. She’s also a proud alum of the Ars Nova Play Group (New York City) and the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group (part of Primary Stages, an Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater company).
Molly’s plays include Cry it Out (2017 Humana Festival/Actors Theatre of Louisville, 2018 Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award Citation), Elemeno Pea (2011 Humana Festival/Actors Theatre of Louisville), The May Queen (Chautauqua Theatre Company), Carve (The Juilliard School), Close Up Space (Manhattan Theatre Club, Susan Smith Blackburn finalist) and Training Wisteria (Cherry Lane Mentor Project, winner of three KCACTF Awards from The Kennedy Center). Her work has also been produced by South Coast Rep, Northlight Theatre, Studio Theatre, Dorset Theatre Festival, Play Makers Rep, Echo Theatre Company, Geva Theatre, City Theatre, The O’Neill and many more. |
In television, Molly’s credits include Casual (Hulu), Orange Is the New Black (Netflix), Codes of Conduct (HBO), and Shameless (Showtime), where she is currently a writer & producer. In film, she recently adapted Ali Benjamin’s novel The Thing About Jellyfish for Reese Witherspoon/MWM/Made Up Stories/Universal, and she is now at work on films for Disney and Fox 2000.
Molly lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband and daughter.
Molly lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband and daughter.
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WHERE IS SHE NOW?
Update 2022: Since her appearance in Sanctuary, Molly was nominated for an Emmy for “Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie” for an episode she wrote for the Netflix series MAID titled “Snaps.” Molly is also an executive producer for this series. |
Myrna Beth Haskell, managing editor, spoke with Molly in November 2018 about her award-winning work as a playwright, her segue into television script writing and her recent debut into feature film adaptation.
Did you always know that you would be a writer?
I actually didn’t know that I was always going to be a writer. However, from very early on, my mom knew I was a sensitive soul, so she got me interested in illuminated journaling which includes writing and illustration. My journal didn’t include gossip or crushes…it was more about feelings I experienced…my spiritual response to stuff happening around me.
Did you have a special mentor who encouraged you?
It wasn’t until high school that I realized a career as a writer might be possible. My teacher Mary Leonard* inspired me and pushed me to share my work. I was her student in AP English (advanced placement English) and creative writing. I was somewhat introverted when it came to sharing my work, but she took the time to help me develop my skills because she noticed I was a natural creative writer. She encouraged me to get involved with Reason & Rhyme (Kingston High School’s student-produced magazine), and she also urged me to read my poetry during 'open mic.'
After high school, I decided to major in English at SUNY Geneseo, but I was on a path toward academia. I thought I’d get a Ph.D. and become a professor. Then, in my senior year, I randomly took a playwriting class with Dr. Terry Browne. It was love at first sight with his class! I stayed up all night to write my first assignment.
What was your earliest published work? Has your writing style changed at all since then?
It was “Where Light and Dark Meet.” [Laughing] It was for an anthology…I think I was in second grade. It was about observations in nature – when the sun goes down to meet the horizon – the light meeting the dark. You know, my work really hasn’t changed much. Throughout my life, my work has been about light and dark – the dark in drama and the light in comedy – and this dance that they do together. My work has never been about just one or the other but how they can work together.
You write for both the stage and the screen. How are they different, and do you enjoy one more than the other?
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be able to fire on all three cylinders – plays, television and feature films. Until five years ago, I was only a playwright. I wasn’t sure about television scripts or film until that first job. People would tell me that I should do it [write for the screen], but I wasn’t sure. I knew that some playwrights wrote for television to pay the bills. But once I got started, I knew it was suited for me. I found it to be really fun because I enjoy the process immensely. Writing for television is a much faster pace. It forces you to get out of your own way – and I felt myself getting better at it all of the time. It makes my life fuller as an artist to do it all.
Another thing…when you’re a playwright, it’s your work. You’re the president of the material. With film and television, it’s like you’re providing a service. It’s a different environment. You’re collaborating with others, but you can also be replaced. It’s not always negative when this happens, though. It might just be that they want rewrites by other writers.
Did you always know that you would be a writer?
I actually didn’t know that I was always going to be a writer. However, from very early on, my mom knew I was a sensitive soul, so she got me interested in illuminated journaling which includes writing and illustration. My journal didn’t include gossip or crushes…it was more about feelings I experienced…my spiritual response to stuff happening around me.
Did you have a special mentor who encouraged you?
It wasn’t until high school that I realized a career as a writer might be possible. My teacher Mary Leonard* inspired me and pushed me to share my work. I was her student in AP English (advanced placement English) and creative writing. I was somewhat introverted when it came to sharing my work, but she took the time to help me develop my skills because she noticed I was a natural creative writer. She encouraged me to get involved with Reason & Rhyme (Kingston High School’s student-produced magazine), and she also urged me to read my poetry during 'open mic.'
After high school, I decided to major in English at SUNY Geneseo, but I was on a path toward academia. I thought I’d get a Ph.D. and become a professor. Then, in my senior year, I randomly took a playwriting class with Dr. Terry Browne. It was love at first sight with his class! I stayed up all night to write my first assignment.
What was your earliest published work? Has your writing style changed at all since then?
It was “Where Light and Dark Meet.” [Laughing] It was for an anthology…I think I was in second grade. It was about observations in nature – when the sun goes down to meet the horizon – the light meeting the dark. You know, my work really hasn’t changed much. Throughout my life, my work has been about light and dark – the dark in drama and the light in comedy – and this dance that they do together. My work has never been about just one or the other but how they can work together.
You write for both the stage and the screen. How are they different, and do you enjoy one more than the other?
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be able to fire on all three cylinders – plays, television and feature films. Until five years ago, I was only a playwright. I wasn’t sure about television scripts or film until that first job. People would tell me that I should do it [write for the screen], but I wasn’t sure. I knew that some playwrights wrote for television to pay the bills. But once I got started, I knew it was suited for me. I found it to be really fun because I enjoy the process immensely. Writing for television is a much faster pace. It forces you to get out of your own way – and I felt myself getting better at it all of the time. It makes my life fuller as an artist to do it all.
Another thing…when you’re a playwright, it’s your work. You’re the president of the material. With film and television, it’s like you’re providing a service. It’s a different environment. You’re collaborating with others, but you can also be replaced. It’s not always negative when this happens, though. It might just be that they want rewrites by other writers.
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You’ve written episodes for the television series Shameless, and you’ve also worn the producer hat. Could you tell me a bit about your different roles?
I started as a story editor. To have the title of ‘producer’…it is really more about the pay scale. You do more – production meetings and some casting decisions - but you’re still doing the writing. Is the process difficult when you are writing a single episode or two for an already established series? It’s really different. With Codes of Conduct [HBO miniseries], I was on a team writing that from scratch – the characters, the plot – it was like writing a play with six other people. I joined the Shameless team for Season 8. There were these incredible episodes before my time there. It was exciting to honor what had already been created, but I was also able to elevate it by doing something new. I enjoy the responsibility of doing something to improve or move a series forward. |
Photos from Season 9, episode 7 of Shameless (SHOWTIME).
"Down Like the Titanic," written by Molly Metzler. Photo Credit: SHOWTIME |
It’s known that television executive producers will clean house completely. But I’ve found that it’s better to have some consistency with the original creators. There’s been a constant with Shameless. John [John Wells, executive producer] has always steered the ship. When it’s your show, you can lead as things change.
Let’s talk about your play Cry it Out which addresses the choices and perils facing new parents. It’s so true that a child takes up your space like nothing else, and there are so many pressures. I remember walking around in twenty-year-old sweats with dried baby barf on my shoulder. [Molly laughs with me.] Can you tell me a bit about the inspiration behind the play?
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Learn More about Cry It Out from Molly, cast and crew:
Echo Theater Company Trailer |
We [writers in general] write about ‘our thing’…our theme or what it is that we always gravitate to. My theme is ‘class’ – how those who come from privilege perceive or approach situations versus those who don’t.
When I was pregnant with Cora [Molly’s daughter], we moved to Long Island where my husband was starting a new job. The area we lived in was a visual representation of class. Manorhaven [a working class village on the North Shore of Long Island] sits below Sands Point with its palatial estates. It’s a juxtaposition of incredible wealth and lack of wealth. Having a child opened my eyes up to that even more. We lived in Manorhaven, and we didn’t have a lot of money. When you’re holding a baby and you can’t send her to that great preschool…instead you’re considering a day care that’s understaffed…you have to work through this as a mom. I know from personal experience how hard this is, so I wanted to address these issues. Chris Jones, a Chicago Tribune critic, states of Cry It Out, “I liked it so much I wanted to set up a day care in the lobby. As I said, best show in town.” - May 2018 |
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Do you think women judge each other about their choices…whether to stay at home full-time with children or to work full-time while raising children? If yes, what kind of impact do you think this has on new mothers?
I think women do, and I’m proud that my play addresses that. It’s easy to judge this character, and then you realize that you’ve wrongly judged her at the end. This choice women need to make is both emotional and personal…and it’s none of anyone’s business but your own! This idea that if you’re home…well, why aren’t you doing something else…or if you’re working…well, then you’re selfish. You just can’t win. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Your work is about ‘real life’ stuff without the rose-colored glasses. Which TV episode or play has been most cathartic for you personally and why? Cry it Out was the most cathartic experience for me. It took me a year to write the first 70 pages, and then a year to write the last scene. It’s not my story, but I’ve been in the same shoes as the protagonist…just not the same experience. I’ve never been able to go back into the scene. |
Production photos from Cry It Out, Dorset Theatre Festival Production
Photo Credit: Joey Moro |
I’ve heard you’re working on the adapted screenplay for The Thing about Jellyfish (a bestselling novel written by Ali Benjamin). Is this your first feature film?
Click the book cover to learn more about the story.
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Yes. They took a chance on me! The book was technically a YA novel – a thirteen-year-old loses her best friend to a drowning accident, and she has to come to terms with why this happened. I wasn’t sure it was movie material. But then I talked with my husband about it – he has a great visual brain – and a bold idea about how to adapt the story developed.
Universal is on board. You know, it’s harder to get a movie made than a play onto Broadway! How do you approach an adapted screenplay versus an original story born from your own inspiration? Passionately! [Laughing] It’s such an exciting process. When you read a story that makes you cry…your mind starts spinning about how to translate that to the screen. It’s really hard…don’t get me wrong. But it just gets me so excited to dive in. |
You’ve done so many different things. Do you foresee yourself settling into a producer role at some point, or will you always be writing?
Producing and directing do not interest me. People have asked me if I’m interested in directing. I guess I should never say ‘never.’ But I’m more fulfilled when I write.
Any future plans you’d like to share?
I’m working on other films. Right now, I’m doing a rewrite of Ashley’s War [a 2010 novel written by Gayle Lemmon], a story about a U.S. army pilot program that put women on the front lines alongside Green Berets and Army Rangers.
Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?
I want aspiring writers to know that the road has been rocky. It is really hard. I almost quit playwriting twice. One of those times, back in 2011, my play** bombed in New York – spectacularly. No one would have blamed me for quitting. The press was terrible to me – there was no kindness. I almost quit writing entirely.
Five years later, I’m waiting tables out on Long Island. My daughter was two-and-a-half, and I’m googling programs to go back to school to teach…find a new direction. Then HBO called me – that same day!
We talked a bit about how writers have to learn to survive criticism – it can be a good thing - and the importance of looking at your own work with a fine, critical lens.
I rewrote Elemeno Pea.*** It bothered me how I had originally written one of the characters. Once I had my daughter, I understood the character better. I was compelled to go back to it to make it right.
Where do you find sanctuary? (#WheresYourSanctuary)
For me, being at the ocean with my daughter. We’re living in Los Angeles now…so that makes it easy!
Producing and directing do not interest me. People have asked me if I’m interested in directing. I guess I should never say ‘never.’ But I’m more fulfilled when I write.
Any future plans you’d like to share?
I’m working on other films. Right now, I’m doing a rewrite of Ashley’s War [a 2010 novel written by Gayle Lemmon], a story about a U.S. army pilot program that put women on the front lines alongside Green Berets and Army Rangers.
Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?
I want aspiring writers to know that the road has been rocky. It is really hard. I almost quit playwriting twice. One of those times, back in 2011, my play** bombed in New York – spectacularly. No one would have blamed me for quitting. The press was terrible to me – there was no kindness. I almost quit writing entirely.
Five years later, I’m waiting tables out on Long Island. My daughter was two-and-a-half, and I’m googling programs to go back to school to teach…find a new direction. Then HBO called me – that same day!
We talked a bit about how writers have to learn to survive criticism – it can be a good thing - and the importance of looking at your own work with a fine, critical lens.
I rewrote Elemeno Pea.*** It bothered me how I had originally written one of the characters. Once I had my daughter, I understood the character better. I was compelled to go back to it to make it right.
Where do you find sanctuary? (#WheresYourSanctuary)
For me, being at the ocean with my daughter. We’re living in Los Angeles now…so that makes it easy!
*Poet and educator Mary Leonard has been on Sanctuary’s advisory board since 2016. (Readers can view her feature in the May 2016 inaugural issue.) Mary is revered as a teacher and has served as a mentor and advisor for many of her former students, including Myrna, who is also a Kingston High School alum.
**Close Up Space premiered at the Manhattan Theater Club in December 2011, starring David Hyde Pierce and Rosie Perez.
***Elemeno Pea was selected for main stage production in the 2011 Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky, one of six plays selected from over 1,000 entries for the country’s largest and most prestigious competition for new plays and emerging playwrights. It has since played in theaters throughout the U.S., with a recent run this past summer at Shadowland Stages in Ellenville, NY.
**Close Up Space premiered at the Manhattan Theater Club in December 2011, starring David Hyde Pierce and Rosie Perez.
***Elemeno Pea was selected for main stage production in the 2011 Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky, one of six plays selected from over 1,000 entries for the country’s largest and most prestigious competition for new plays and emerging playwrights. It has since played in theaters throughout the U.S., with a recent run this past summer at Shadowland Stages in Ellenville, NY.
