Meet Bernadette Armstrong | Writer, Director & Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bernadette Armstrong and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bernadette, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Honestly, after directing several plays, my first thought was…”how hard can it be.” Especially, since the theaters across the county were shuttered due to the pandemic, my play “Custody” was one that got canceled. Which was really the reason I stated looking at other options to get it produced and I came up with nothing because I didn’t have an agent (bummer). So, then I started thinking about my play “Joan” which was about Joan Crawford that opened in 2019 that included clips from the radio plays she performed in during the 1940’s and 1950′, and that’s really what got me thinking about a theater podcast.

I reached out to friends about sound, checked out podcasts and how to get one started, and came up with the name, Open-Door Playhouse, which refers to my willingness to accept plays from all playwrights, not just those with agents (they need to sign submission forms), and that was the birth of my podcast. I opened the podcast with a radio version of Custody on September 15, 2020, just 7 days later than it was to open in North Hollywood. We have been on the air since then, I’ve produced 144 plays to date. I have 6 new plays in production now with several getting ready to be cast – all for the holiday season: Halloween, Veterans Day and Christmas and Hanukkah.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I directed my first play in my backyard long ago. – I think it was 8 or 9 years old. It was my version of a skit I saw on Ed Sulivan 9 (yes that long ago), and I had a skill of mimicking my favorite actors. As a kid, I read the TV guide from front to back and planned my days on what to watch. My dream was always to be a writer. I wrote little stories for teachers and had a bit of an issue with spelling, but that didn’t deter me. My writing was sidelined in my 20’s when I became a single mom. I worked a variety of jobs – from bartender to Penny Saver stuffer. I didn’t start college until my son was in high school. I dropped out of my psychic classes and switched to Film and Television at San Francisco State – psychic studies really helped my writing, getting into the heads of my characters, and becoming aware of life and societal struggles. After I graduated, I moved to LA and worked for Roger Corman Studios.
I’ve been inspired by all the classic films I watched from the time I was a kid, to the emergent of the independent directors I’ve been drawn to: Coen Brothers, John Sayles, Jim Jarmusch, Ida Lupino, Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Campion, Ava DuVernay and most recently Greta Gerwig. and so many others. Writing is key to all films, and for me. I tend to write about life and its complexities. Surviving.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When I lived in LA: Hollywood Cemetary, Silent Movie Theater, The Hollywood Bowl, Sunday farmers market, in Hollywood, my favorite coffee shop: 4 n 20 on Van Nuys Blvd., the beach – somewhere north of Malibu, basically wherever they wanted to go – including theme parks.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To all the writers who have trusted me with their work over the years: many of them sharing intimate details of their lives, social issues -from Prison life, LGBTQ issues, environment issues and civil rights, historical and issues about aging. Variety at its best.

And of course – all the wonderful talent that I TRULY LOVE – directors, actors and my sound engineer who have given their time, talent and support for Open-Door Playhouse! Their love for the theater and willingness to stretch themselves in so many ways to bring the diversity to the podcast stage, they give so much for so little pay! I could NOT have this successful podcast without any of them.

Website: https://www.opendoorplayhouse.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/

Twitter: @opendoorplayhouse

Image Credits
Poster of 1st play Custody – with me – my play that started it all
Photo of Amir Abdula and Daamen Krall – Day at the Zoo Recording – Pen America Play
Female Cast of Supernova – Pen America Play
Cast of Canterville Ghost –
Poster for What’s Prison Like
Poster for Anxiety