Playbill interviews Brothers & Sisters creator
The theatre magazine Playbill has an interview with playwright and Brothers & Sisters creator Jon Robin Baitz (pictured above right with show runner Greg Berlanti at Paley Fest) on topics including his childhood, writing for television, and his favorite plays by others and himself. The whole interview is interesting and worth reading, but here are some B&S-related quotes to whet your appetite.
On Kevin: “Kevin is certainly the most like me on the show. I use my psychological state with him quite a bit. [Laughs] Sometimes you can see where I am by watching Kevin flailing about haplessly.”
On the difference between theatre and TV: “I tend to gravitate towards a kind of crisis-moment in real drama; at times, in a strange kind of way, that can be at odds with what works best on the show. So there’s a balance between dark and light that I’m trying to learn. It’s very different [from theatre] in every respect.”
On early cast and crew changes: “Getting something wrong is not an unfamiliar feeling to a playwright. So, as difficult as it was, I feel that my training in the theatre prepared me enough to be able to keep going, to persevere.”
On what a show runner does: “It’s someone who is a sort of day-to-day writing boss. He assigns scripts, makes sure they [are completed on time]. It’s an incredibly managerial job, but one that requires real talent. Greg Berlanti [also an executive producer, as is Baitz] has been both artist and manager. If I’m the creator of the thing, he runs the company.”
On the writing staff: “As well as myself, our writing staff consists of some very good writers and two other playwrights I brought in: David Marshall Grant and Craig Wright. The writers are very proprietary; I’m trying to build that. Next season, I’ll try to bring in another playwright, and [in time] try to rescue some more impoverished denizens of the theatre from a life of pennilessness.”
Brothers and Sisters, ABC, Jon Robin Baitz, Playbill
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