The writer writes alone, right? Not when the writer is Suzan-Lori Parks. The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright behind Topdog/Underdog and In the Blood has recently begun inviting people to observe her on the job. Suzan-Lori Parks: Watch Me Work is a series of hourlong sessions in which Parks pursues her craft in a public space – in New York, it’s been literally at the Public Theater – and folks are welcome to watch or even do some writing themselves. Then she spends 15 minutes answering questions about her work or their own. Next week, while she’s in Austin preparing for the production of her play The Book of Grace that she’ll direct at Zach Theatre next spring, Parks will host three Watch Me Work sessions in the Nowlin Rehearsal Studio, 1426 Toomey: Wednesday, Dec. 8, 6-7:15pm; Thursday, Dec. 9, 11am-12:15pm; and Saturday, Dec. 11, 11am-12:15pm. See the sessions in person – all are free – or streamed live at www.zachtheatre.org. You can also join Parks for a Happy Hour/Songwriter Showcase on Zach’s Kleberg Stage Friday, Dec. 10, 5-7pm. She’ll perform her own songs and listen as local singer-songwriters sing theirs, too. For more information, call 476-0541 or visit www.zachtheatre.org/special-events.
This article appears in December 3 • 2010.