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

Hi Bernadette, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
Open-Door Playhouse’s impact is that it brings Theater Art to anyone and everyone who has the ability to get access to our plays. We provide a very extensive range of plays, with a very wide view of the people’s perception of the world. I can say that because we have submissions from all over the world. And, this allows us to bring a vast variety of points of view. There are so many writers who are thrilled to get their work out into the public arena. And besides, we bring the plays to them, no cost, no crowd and beautiful plays.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Tricky questions…. I’ve been writing stories and plays since I was a kid – a very long time ago. I gathered my neighborhood friends, and we put up plays in my backyard, and we created a weekly newsletter for everyone in our neighborhood with godship, stories and even a ‘Ask Ginger column. We all had our area of expertise and one of our mother’s would take the final product to her work at the library and print our copies for us. We did both for two summers and it was something we all looked forward to… it was only ended due to families moving away. I’ve been writing plays for production since 2001.

I’ve never stopped trying to get my voice out there. My plays are a bit different. I’ve had ups and downs like everyone else in my life which have exposed me to real struggles in my life and others, and I tend to pull ideas from that. My one example of who I am is that I shocked my father at the dinner table with I was 7 or 8 and asked him ‘…how come children are going hungry in this world, if the United States is so rich?” And now this will really date me…. “Did they kill Kenedy because he was Catholic?” (At the time they thought the Pope had power). But I always want a solution – to fix things that harm me and others.

There is ONE thing I still haven’t learned how to do in the last 5 years is – RAISE FUNDING for ODP!! Alas, I just don’t get it….

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Home cooked meals so that we could sit around and chat for hours and share all the things we are doing as we get older or take them to favorite places to eat, unique places that provide the little dives, best BBQ, or whatever they want.

I’d find out what they want to do during their visit as well as tell them what we have in the area and let them in on some quiet surprises in the area that match up with their likes and dislikes. Theater, parks, events, music… and perhaps a onetime only deal. I enjoy small theaters, life, or places to hang out and listen to good music. Places they would remember.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I think that is why I made sure to live up to the name of my Podcast – my door is open to ALL writers. I work with men and women who are currently living on the ‘inside’ of our prisons. I have plays that reflect every aspect of life here in the Unted States and around the world, and I get submissions from around the world.

My “shout out” is to all of the wonderful playwrights who trust me with their plays, and all the actors, directors and my sound engineer for creating their writing with the quality they deserve. We are always honored when the writers get back to us with such gratitude and love. What’s better than living up to their expectations about their work.

Website: https://www.opendoorplayhouse.org

Twitter: @opendoor

Other: Or… if you are a writer and have a 10 minute – 30-minute 1 ACT play – we accept all submissions at info@opendoorplayhouse

Image Credits
My assistant – Laree Griffith – who makes the posters.

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.