Julie Hébert
Julie Hébert
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Drunk at the Base of the Bodhi Tree A New Play!

Well… there’s a new play in my life and I’m feeling grateful. I started thinking about DRUNK AT THE BASE OF THE BODHI TREE years ago and in fact wrote a short story about the main character, but it didn’t really take off until I did a week-long Silent Writing Retreat with Erik Ehn last summer in Bolinas. I had no intention of writing about that character, but she kept showing up in response to Erik’s spiritual/poetic/artistic process which helped me access deeper levels and surprising turns. His request was that we write a play in a week, so that’s what I did— but it wasn’t very good. That was in June. In November I was fortunate to have a residency at Ucross in Wyoming. (An experience I wrote about HERE.) I thought I’d be rewriting the play… but when I reread it I threw it out completely and started over. So it felt like I wrote a new play in two and a half weeks… but it was actually years in the making.

I first heard the play read in a small group of friends at the Ebell in January, getting some very useful feedback. DRUNK AT THE BASE OF THE BODHI TREE was a finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival this year, but I was unable to make those dates, which kind of broke my heart. Then— surprise!— The Boston Court chose the play for its summer festival. I’m thrilled to have a chance to work on it with actors and director Jessica Kubzansky. We’ll have a public reading on July 28th at 4pm in Pasadena.

DRUNK AT THE BASE OF THE BODHI TREE is a three-person, ninety-minute play about a chance encounter— a hiker discovers an injured woman face down in a ditch— that changes both their lives.

UCross Residency

 

I spent the month of November on a writing retreat at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming..(www.ucrossfoundation.org) and my oh my what a wonderful place. It’s a thousand acre working ranch that supports residencies for writers and visual artists. They offer a studio, meals and uninterrupted time to work on the project of your choice. Heaven.

I worked in the Marvelous Studio and it was. I forgot to sign the guestbook, but was very impressed by the other writers who wrote notes there, having worked in this studio before me. I think their hovering spirits helped me focus in the most creative and fruitful way I’ve experienced in years.

I worked at a standing desk overlooking a field of frozen grass, old bent trees, and herds of deer, antelope and cows. As always, ever-changing nature— weather, animals— never fails to inspire. It snowed, it rained, it was so sunny I had to close the blinds… and it was rutting season so I saw a lot of deer frolicking and chasing each other, hopping fences like you and I take steps.

The wind was my companion throughout and even made it into the play I was writing.

I finished a draft of a play called Drunk at the Base of the Bodhi Tree. It was started in a silent retreat with Erik Ehn in June in Bolinas, and I definitely owe him and the other silent retreatants a debt of gratitude. The ground for the play was turned there and the seeds planted; in November, with the deep attention made possible at Ucross, the first draft was completed. First new play in several years.

I also started a second play, working title— Just Curious. This one is a science story and will require some research, but I hope to get a draft out later this year.

I also (miracle!) worked on a few prose pieces, including an essay called I Can’t Close My Mouth, which I’m submitting for publication now, about the long-term effects of sexual assault and the obstacles I’ve faced in trying to tell those stories in television from a female point-of-view.

All said, it was the most productive time I’ve had as a writer in many years and I could not be more grateful to Ucross and to Mame Hunt and Roberta Levitow for introducing me there. BTW— I’m now working at home at my new standing desk! Fingers crossed to keep the productivity going…

‘The Smartest Person in the Room’ Podcast

Laura Tremaine, host of  the podcast The Smartest Person in the Room, interviews Julie Hébert about her career in theatre, film and television. Julie takes us on an inspiring journey from small town Louisiana to her current position as Executive Producer/Writer/ Director on the award-winning ABC series American Crime.

We get a glimpse of the dynamics in the Writer’s Room of a television drama and the responsibilities writers feel to their audiences. Julie discusses being a woman in a male-dominated industry and why it’s important for directors to wear boots. We also get a sneak-peek into current and future projects.

Laura leads a fascinating conversation giving an inside view into the workings of Hollywood and the life of a free-lance writer/director.

Click here to listen to Julie’s interview

Check out more from Laura’s Podcast here

 

 

Tree at San Fransisco Playhouse

My play Tree just finished a sold-out run at the San Fransisco Playhouse. It was great to be in rehearsal with my dedicated and inspired colleagues, director Jon Tracy and actors Carl Lumbly, Cathleen Ridley, Susi Damilano and Tristan Cunningham. Through their beautiful work and talents I rediscovered the play and in fact found nuances of character and story that I hadn’t seen before. Each production of a play is so very different and this one took my heart away. I can’t even say how moving it was to be back in San Francisco after all these years and seeing so many old friends. I was humbled by the response from both audience and critics who gave it rave reviews:

“A mature, richly theatrical work … as beautiful as it is moving” (San Francisco Chronicle)

 “A profound examination of love, family [and] race” (The Huffington Post)

“… one of those rare gems …. at the heart of why you see theatre in the first place” (Stark Insider)

More photos at SF Playhouse website: http://sfplayhouse.org/sfph/tree/

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Night Falls Q&A

Join me online November 12th and 16th at 7pm PST for a streaming video and Q&A for a play I wrote and directed called Night Falls. The play was choreographed by Deborah Slater and debuted at the ODC Theater in San Fransisco California in October 2011. I am excited to chat with the collaborators about our time bringing Night Falls to life on stage as we watch the play together with you in real time.

Links to 2ndlineTV:

Nov. 12th: https://2ndline.tv/night-falls-1

Nov. 16th: https://2ndline.tv/night-falls-2

 

Synopsis of Night Falls… a physical play:

“Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
– Mary Oliver, poet

Peregrine can’t sleep. The following day she’s turning sixty and has to give a speech which she’s not yet written… so she bounces off the walls of her apartment in the middle of the night trying to figure out what to do about getting older and what the hell she’s going to say to a bunch of young people looking for advice. Peregrine– played by several performers– excavates her life for clues. What has she done wrong? What has she done right? What should she do now? And then, an unexpected visitor alters the course of the night.

American Crime

We are excited to announce that Julie Hébert is the Co-Executive Producer of the new television series “American Crime” created by John Ridley, the Academy Award winning screenwriter of 12 Years a Slave. The series films in Austin, Texas, and will air on ABC in March of 2015. American Crime is set in small-town California and centers around a racially charged murder and the repercussions for all the families involved. ABC directed the creative team to “Be bold.” and that’s what they’re doing.  Julie says, “I’m very happy to be working on this deep and nuanced story with such brave, talented people.” The series features an ensemble cast including Felicity Huffman and Timothy Hutton.

Check out the trailer below for the first look into American Crime:

 

Julie Joins the Board of the Cornerstone Theater Co.

Julie has joined the Board of Directors of Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles

Cornerstone Theater Company is a multi-ethnic, ensemble-based theater company that commissions and produces plays which combine the artistry of professional and community collaborators. By making theater with and for people of many ages, cultures and levels of theatrical experience, Cornerstone builds bridges between and within diverse communities in our home city of Los Angeles and nationwide.

Julie is honored to serve this company dedicated to changing people’s lives with art and theater. Cornerstone performed Julie’s LA River play, Touch the Water in 2010.

“TREE” opens in Atlanta, GA

Julie’s play TREE was produced at Horizon Theater in Atlanta in September 2011.

“I set out to write a play about race and ended up writing a play about family,” says playwright Julie Hebert about Tree, “About the inescapability of family, of being known over time, of recognizing yourself in others, of continuing relationships after betrayal and suffering. In my family (and the one in this play), we have profound differences in our belief systems, our politics, our ways of life… and yet we find a way to sit at the same table. We keep each other honest. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes painful – and so it is with this play.”

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PEN Awards

Julie was a judge for the 2011 PEN West Award for Drama. Among the awards, the Drama award went to Tom Jacobson for his play The Twentieth Century Way.

NIGHT FALLS … a physical play

“Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
– Mary Oliver, poet

Peregrine can’t sleep. The following day she’s turning sixty and has to give a speech which she’s not yet written… so she bounces off the walls of her apartment in the middle of the night trying to figure out what to do about getting older and what the hell she’s going to say to a bunch of young people looking for advice. Peregrine– played by several performers– excavates her life for clues. What has she done wrong? What has she done right? What should she do now? And then, an unexpected visitor alters the course of the night.

Written & Co-Directed by Julie Hébert
Choreographed & Co-Directed by Deborah Slater

ODC Theater
3153 17th Street, SF, CA.
Box Office: 415.863.9834.
B.O. Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, 12-6pm.
Opening October 21 – October 30th
October 21-22, 27-29 at 8pm
October 23 and 30 at 2pm
$20 / $17

Website: http://odcdance.org/performance.php?param=76