WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Emily Griffith: “I’m Not a Mourning Person” from Script to Stage

Episode Date: October 6, 2025

WRFH’s Senior Producer Megan Pidcock talks to Hillsdale College Class of 2025 alum Emily Griffith about a play she wrote titled “I’m Not a Mourning Person,” which was recently put on as a full production by the college’s theater department. Join them as they discuss what it’s like to write a script as an actor, what makes theater a unique art form, and how it is to go from writing a script to seeing it performed live in person.

Hello, my name is Megan Pitcock. You're listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101. Today I am talking to Hillsdale alum now. Class of 2025 Emily Griffith. That's crazy to hear. Thank you for having me. Today we will be talking about your play, which you wrote last year, won the first annual playwriting competition that the school put on. and now it's been adapted into a full on stage production. First of all, how do you feel having seen it in person? Absolutely wild. It was something, it was already, and we talked a little bit about this when we spoke a few months ago. Yes, that's true.

I should say, I have already interviewed her right before she won last year. So you can go check that out on transistor. If you search up, Emily Griffith, it should come up. So, get the full, full story. It was wild back then seeing it just as a staged reading. And I knew coming in it was going to be something totally different, even with scripts out of hand, memorized, with full production. And it was.

It was magical. There's so much, I could say. The acting was amazing. The production was amazing. The set by Christopher Singer, the lighting by Kieran Smith. absolutely wonderful. Yeah, oh, there's so much I could say. It was something totally different to be sitting in the audience watching it. I was laughing at jokes that I knew were coming, which is so strange. And after the show, everyone was like, oh my gosh, Emily, such a good job.

I was like, oh my gosh, it's amazing. It was so amazing. And I'm like, wait, no. It wasn't like the script. Like, I'm not just tooting my own horn. The production, it turns the script into something entirely different in a way. And it was just magical. And there's something about the catharsis of sitting with an audience and hearing their laughter and their reactions. And I was just dragged along for the ride in the best way of this thing I'm very familiar with, but felt entirely new to me. So your play, I'm not a morning person. Could you give a brief summary, I suppose, of what it's about?

Yes. So I'm not a morning person follows a woman, a girl named Penny Knox. And Penny, every single scene is a different funeral that she attends throughout her life. So you start with her as a young girl toddling around, learning that her dog, Mr. Pickles, has gone over the rainbow bridge. And then she kind of works her way up as she loses people closer and closer to her and how she responds to that and how she interacts with those she is closest to in the midst of her grief. And how was it writing the play as an actor? because I know that you've been in multiple Hillsdale productions, been involved in theater a long time. How is it different and how did that inform your storytelling?

Yeah. So I, like you said, I was in a lot of productions at Hillsdale College. I think like nine-ish, including student-directed works. And that theater in acting has been something that's been a part of my life since I was six years old, technically. And so when I was going into writing, I knew I wanted to write something. that actors would enjoy working with because I have been handed scripts before where I'm like, oh, goodness, like what, what am I doing with this? I don't know how to work with it. And so I wanted to give them some, I don't know, I wanted to give them help. Hints, maybe, is the right word where I think we discussed this last time, but it always is worth saying that Shakespeare wrote for actors, where

the punctuation was, where the line breaks were in the iambic pentameter. It told the actor, you know, where to breathe, where to pause, where the change of thought was. And so going into that, of course, I didn't write Nyamic Ventameter, but there was something to say for the spacing of the lines on the script, which is, of course, nothing that the audience is going to see. And who knows if the actors even followed it, but it gives them that indication of, hey, your tactic, the way you're approaching this line may change right here because there's a random space or an enter. And even I know myself as an actor, I just came off of performing in my hometown, well, where I'm living right now. Thornton Wilder's Our Town, which is a play that I was in

at the college, my sophomore year. And I loved to play with specific lines and, you know, emphasis on certain words and the punctuation in certain places. And it didn't follow what Thornton Wilder wrote, but he gave me that punctuation where I was like, oh, this is the first idea, and now it's given me the freedom to run with it. So that's something that I wanted to give to the actors as an actor myself when I'm writing. How involved were you in sort of the process? Because I know that there was a stage reading of it back in May. And then now, did you have any say with the actors or how things were set up? Or was it pretty much like, okay, you have my script. Do what you will with it. Yes. So when we did the staged reading back in April, I was in the casting room and I cast

the show. And then Chris Matzos directed it and I didn't really have any say in the direction of it, but I cast it. And so coming into this semester, I had no say in the casting whatsoever. I was very detached from the process, which is exactly how it should have been. I think I had communication. There was an author Q&A last night after the show. It was really wonderful. And someone asked James like, oh, how involved was Emily? And he was like, it's just another script, which sounds kind of cold and attached, but that is the way that it needs to work, you know, just because James knows me shouldn't impact the way that he directs it. You know, he can't be like, oh, well, Emily wrote Penny, so Penny would say the line this way because that's how Emily would

say it. Like, that is not the way that it works. And so he and Ava, Ava Jolly, our stage manager and dramaturg, wonderful, junior. And she reached out and said, can we change these two lines? The first one I was like, yes, that makes sense. And the second one, it was like, I don't think you understand the intent behind the line, but clearly that's on me because I wrote the thing. So we had a wonderful discussion. We said, okay, we need to change it to this for it to get across the intent that you meant for it to have. So that was the, that was like the extent of our communication.

I was, I got the cast list a little bit before the students did, which is maybe, supposed to be a secret, but it doesn't matter anymore because I'm an alum. And so I got the cast list the night before the cast got it. And it was so exciting because James made decisions that expected is the wrong word. But I was like, okay, I see where he's going with this. And then other choices he made where I didn't doubt him at all. I was thrilled for the cast, but I was like, whoa, how is this person? Because I'm familiar with a lot of the actors in the department because I just graduated. I was like, how? That is not what I expected when I wrote these characters. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because I'm just the author. So I didn't really have any say in it.

I can see where the things that I wrote into the script influenced the production. Like, you have seen the show. So there's some mention of some rock songs like Billy Joel, for example, about songs about dying and death. And so James has wonderfully inserted some songs in scene transitions that a lot of people in the audience will recognize. So I had influence, but I didn't have direct communication throughout most of the process. So sort of along those same lines, how did the script and then sort of the play change from when you wrote it to seeing it in person? Yeah.

So I did edits over the summer. I worked with Professor Tori Matzos, shout out Tori. And a lot of what I did from the staged reading to the final draft I sent James the week before auditions was making it flow more naturally. There was some wording where I was like, humans don't talk like that. And then a lot of it was cutting down on unnecessary stage direction. Because as an actor, like I said, you know, I kind of understand what it's like to be up there. And I really, I knew. I envisioned the production in my mind when I wrote the script. No specific actors or anything, but I knew I wanted it to be stageable. That is so hard for

directors, directors aren't going to choose to work with the script that isn't stageable. And so that's why I was like, I want this to be as easy as possible. And thankfully, that's what James ended up saying. Dr. James Brandon was like, your play basically staged itself, but you don't want to give too much because then the director stuck. So I went through and I cut out a lot of unnecessary stage direction. I cut out some lines. So there's something when you're writing a play and even writing a book where you want to demonstrate your character who they are, their motivations, through their actions, and not through them saying, I'm feeling this way. And so I went through a lot of the script and cut out a lot of the, you know, characters saying, oh, I feel sad. I feel happy. And instead,

I gave them actions that demonstrated that. So that was a lot of the editing throughout. Nothing crazy, but just a little, a few tweaks here and there to help out. I know we talked about this a bit last time, but had you ever had experience in playwriting before? So I wrote fiction a lot throughout my childhood and into my young adulthood, just in my spare time. Absolutely love it. I had never done playwriting before until I took the playwriting class with Dr. Christopher Matzos in my fall semester of senior year, so a year ago. And it was wonderful. We started, well, first of all, I high.

recommend the class to anybody that's interested. You do not have to be a theater major. A lot of English majors took it. People who were a part of like the film club as well took it. And we started by doing like, it was a, what is it called, like a 10 line play where there could only be 10 lines. So you start small and then you work your way up and then we were doing full scenes. And then we did 10 minute scenes. We wrote 10 minute scenes and then we ended out the semester with like closer to a one act. but we also did like radio plays and things like that. And that was the extent, but it was an amazing introduction into playwriting. And it's really what inspired me to sit down over spring break the next semester and say,

I'm going to write the dang thing. I'm going to do it because the thing with playwriting and writing in general is that you can't stop yourself from even trying, which is what a lot of people do. You really just have to put words down on paper. and your style, your voice will emerge. And that is what happened. I could have been so scared about putting my grief down onto paper, but I just had to do it.

And surprisingly, people liked it. I really enjoyed it. You said I went to the play on, at the time of recording this past Friday, and I laughed, I cried, full range of emotions. So you did a great job in the actors and the setup. They did a great job too. They were wonderful. You're listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM.

My name is Megan Pidcock. I'm talking to Class of 2025 Emily Griffith about her play. I'm not a morning person. Do you want to continue to write plays going forward? Yes, I do. It's something I've been saying, kind of wishy-washy, like, oh, if I have the time, because I'm currently acting a lot. I'm working at a law firm down in Kentucky, and I'm about to, in a few weeks, open my third show since graduation. It's a lot of fun.

I did a Shakespeare. I did a Thornton Wilder, and I'm doing a Neil Simon play now, a comedy. And so theater is still a big part of my life. It's hopefully going to become a bigger part of my life because I've recently decided to shift my after-graduation plans. And I'm going to be going to grad school to get my master's in theater studies with hopes two percent. sue a doctorate in theater because theater is so much more than just acting theater is culture it is history something that I have a deep love for so I do intend to keep playwriting because I have so many ideas in my head just bopping around that I know I need to get out whether they are good or bad on paper so yes it is so I recommend playwriting to people especially people who enjoy theater because playwriting

can be like journaling. Not to say you should just dump all your trauma onto a page, but you learn a lot about yourself. You learn a lot about yourself. You learn a lot about writing. And you learn a lot about the inner workings of theater when you see something you've written be produced, even if it's just your friends sitting around your living room, reading out loud your characters. And you mentioned earlier an idea that I kind of want to go back to that the author of a script should not have a part in the process of putting the play on. Why do you think that is? I have a very funny story to tell. So there is something called K-C-A-C-T-F. It's basically, gosh, how do I put it? Like a theater weekend convention put on by different regions of colleges by the Kennedy Center, K-C and Kennedy Center.

And so we, the Hillsdale College Theater Department basically went every year. We stopped going this past year when we're going to not be going in the future because not to this KCACTF, but it doesn't really align with the values of the college any longer. And when we were at KCACTF, I was sitting with all the students a couple years ago and Dr. Christopher Matzos was sitting with us and we were listening to a playwright doing a Q&A about a play that everybody had just seen. And she was talking about writing a script. And she was like, you know, oh, you know, it's a fast moving. The person asking the question is like, it's a fast moving play. How do you? you make sure all the characters get on and off and get their costume changes.

And she's like, well, I've written it all into the stage directions. And then she kind of gave a little wink, wink, wink, nod to the audience. And she was like, directors, this is why you always pay attention to stage directions. And Dr. Christopher Matzos turned his head and looked over at us and mouth the words, do not listen to her. And then he said, you do not have to follow stage directions. So that's a funny story in the department that's kind of like that's the belief of the professors. And you ask why I think that's important personally.

And it's because art is an ever-changing thing. And if you have an author kind of put their extra imprint of personality and opinion onto their play, then you're really forcing your play to become a time capsule. and that is so dangerous because you always want to make sure that 100 years from now, 200 years from now, people can produce your play if they want. And of course, the intention of some plays is to be a time capsule. Again, I'm thinking Thornton Wilders are town. I keep mentioning it. It's a classic. But I knew that with a topic is universal as grief and the fact that I was writing in, and it's technically, it's a modern play, that I wanted people to be able to see themselves in it

because grief is a universal thing. And so though my type of grief is the thing that is represented, young people need to be able to, they need actors, need to be able to go into the script and perform it in the way that is authentic to them. If I told them, no, that's not how this character would do it, then I'm stifling. artistic freedom, their freedom of thought, because that is what art necessitates freedom

of thought, freedom of thought necessitates art. And that's why authors have their place, directors have their place, people in the sound booth have their place, people backstage have their place, and you all have to work together. It's a very democratic system, and you don't really want to overstep. Separation of powers. There's my American Studies major coming out. There you go. Yes. And especially at Hillsdale, we love America here. Yeah, we do. And I feel like that's a very unique thing to theater especially, that you perform live on stage. It's not like a movie, which also has a lot of effort and artistic license and creativity that goes into it.

But theater, it's like you see it right there on stage happening in front of you. That is the beauty of theater, is that you, and this is what my directors would say to me time and time again, both at the college and outside of it, is that cherish this performance because you are never going to play this character in front of this specific audience ever again. And that is what's so magical because you cannot recreate it. Those laughs, those sniffles, those scoffs, you never get those again. And that is what's magical. So when something messes up, so on Friday, you said you were there Friday, there was a prop messed up. And it totally changed the scene. But I enjoyed it so much because you are seeing trained artistic minds work in that moment. They're thinking, okay, this just happened. What do I do?

It's the most authentic thing you could see. It's just human brains working. And I absolutely love that. And so I think of back in March, we had the acting the song class taught by Professor Tori Matzos. We had a guest artist come in, Malcolm Gets, and he was wonderful. And we had a performance on a Saturday where we all did a showcase of songs. And so someone in the class, Charlie, Charlie Chang, he went to go record the performance and then Tori forgot to take the cover for the camera off. So it recorded the whole thing, but only the audio. And then people were saying, oh my gosh, I'm so sad. I'm so sad about it. You know, I wish I had that recording. And I was like, you know what? I don't think I am. Because that feeling that I had on stage, it's going to stick

with me forever. And I don't know if I really needed that recording to keep that memory. So, yeah. I always love talking to theater people about theater just because I am not in that world at all. So I really appreciate the perspectives that people give from like the inner workings almost because I do enjoy going to theater. And it is a very unique art form, I think. What is the future for I'm not a morning person? That's a good question. It's something people have been asking me. The future for I'm not a morning person right now, it's probably going to be a little stagnant for a bit because I want the play to sit.

It was just produced for the first time. Someone asked me last night if I wanted to make any edits to it. Selfishly, there's a few, but nothing crazy, and so it's probably unnecessary. I do see a world where I go and get it published as a one act. I actually spoke with a good friend of mine, a fellow alum. Her mother was at the show with me last night, and she is a therapist slash counselor, and she's very familiar with grief. And she looked at me and she said,

this play could be useful, which is not really a word you hear attached to art all the time, useful. And she was like, this could be really, really handy for people going through grief counseling and grief therapy, which is something that I went through. And it's one of the reasons I wrote this play. And so that is a really interesting and tempting idea to get this published really so if any group therapy homes wanted to. rent it out or they just wanted to buy copies of the script for people, that would be great. I also think it is really good for colleges, even for high schools. Who knows if high schoolers can really latch, you know, generally latch on to that grief. But I think this was written by a young

adult and so it should be performed by young adults because it's, it's for everybody, but specifically it's for them because I knew it was for me when I wrote it. So the future for the play is maybe I get it published. And if I do, I hope that, you know, I'm not expecting to be, you know, a top playwright. That's not really my goal in life. But I hope it helps people. And I hope that it brings some good to the world. All right. Well, thank you so much for coming on, Emily. Of course. I've loved sort of a full circle coming back to the last time we talked now that it's actually been performed. My name is Megan Pitcock. You've been listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. Once again, you're listening to Radio Free Hillsdale 101.1.7 FM.