Meet Lynn Grant Beck | Screenwriter, Playwright and Professor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lynn Grant Beck and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lynn, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
It takes an incredible amount of courage to be an artist in this country. There isn’t a huge amount of respect for art for art’s sake. Like most things in America, art is valued by its commercial success, not by its inherent value. But the world needs art, perhaps now more than ever to help inspire and connect people, and heal the world. What I think non-artists don’t understand about artists is that we’re not truly happy if we’re not creating. No artist who’s on their death bed says “I should have been a banker.” It’s a hard life, with no guarantees and most of what we create is never seen by the public. So it’s important that an artist finds creative satisfaction in the work itself, and not in the sale of the art. That can be easier said than done when you have to pay bills and put food on the table.

I write because I’m compelled to observe human behavior and bear witness to our tumultuous times. I tap into the zeitgeist, not only to illuminate what is here, but also to discover what is percolating and emerging. If I do my job correctly, I make people uncomfortable with the truth of the things. I shake them up, get them to see the world from a new perspective. Heaven and hell are right here on Earth with real villains and true superheroes. Stories are imperative to make sense of our lives, to agitate, communicate, inspire and entertain. Screenwriters and playwrights remind audiences that we are all in this great ship of humanity together, and that if we row in sync, perhaps we can steer this ship in a new direction.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I don’t think anything worth doing is easy, especially art. I sometimes think about other career paths I could have taken, but life is difficult no matter what you do, so you might as well do what you love. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989 with a degree in Russian Studies, but I didn’t want to go into government or teaching at the time, so I gave up my study of Russian, and followed my heart into theater in New York City. After acting for a year, however, I heard about a program to study theater in the Soviet Union. I jumped at the opportunity and it changed my life. I became an assistant director at the Nikitsky Vorot Theater in Moscow. We spent 6 months in Moscow, and 5 months traveling around the former Soviet Union as the country was breaking up in 1991. It was that experience and the influence of a Russian writer, who became my mentor, that convinced me of the importance and necessity of art. There was never an empty seat in the theaters where we performed, and the plays were daring, provocative and even subversive. I learned firsthand about the power of art.

I returned to New York and founded an independent theater group, The Chelsea Players, where I wrote and produced a series of plays. After five years of working three jobs to support my theater habit, I headed West to LA to try my hand at screenwriting. I worked for several major production companies, including Kushner-Locke, Interscope Communications and Kopelson Entertainment, and continued to write. Over the last three decades I’ve written over 30 scripts and have produced movies on Hallmark and Lifetime. In 2019 I returned to school and received an MFA in Creative Writing at the University of California at Riverside. While at UCR, I returned to playwriting and wrote “All American,” which I produced in the spring of 2022.

I got a diagnosis for breast cancer in February so I was undergoing treatment for the cancer while simultaneously producing the play. It was a prime example of “the show must go on!” After working in Hollywood for 26 years, it was refreshing and exhilarating to return to theater. I had a whole new appreciation for the supportive and collaborative nature of producing a play. I believe that there are more talented actors in LA than anywhere else in the world, and was thrilled to work with such a talented cast. The play looks at societal trends that are giving rise to school shooters, and both the director, Michael Strauss, and I have a personal connection to the horrific mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. I wanted to create a play that was hopeful about a young man who connects with the other characters, reconnects to his humanity, and doesn’t go through with the shooting. I also capitalized on the creative freedom of theater and threw in time travel and magical realism. My dream is to have “All American” picked up by a larger theater, and to bring in high school students to see the play and have discussions afterwards.

I often write from theme, illuminating something in the zeitgeist that needs addressing and fixing. I’m currently very concerned about the disturbing mental health trends in our youth, and this play sprung from that concern. I would say that the biggest lesson I’ve learned along the way is that as an artist you just have to keep moving forward and creating. In my case that means writing the next script or play. When I complete one, another one appears in my head and pounds in my heart, and it won’t rest until it’s given life. I guess you could say that I can’t not write.

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.
There are so many great things to do and see in LA. It’s such a vast city with so many diverse neighborhoods, but here’s where I would take a friend if they visited LA for a week. To get a lay of the land, I’d drive them up Pacific Coast Highway and turn onto Sunset Boulevard. Sunset cuts through Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Bel Air, Beverly Hills and Hollywood so you get a good taste of the various neighborhoods and architecture in the city. Once in Hollywood you can see the Hollywood sign, the Boulevard of Stars, the Hollywood Museum, etc.

I spent twenty years living in Malibu and if you like the beach, you can’t beat Zuma beach for swimming, boogey boarding and people watching. Other highlights in Malibu include restorative yoga Friday nights at Malibu Fitness and salons at Olandar, the private home of Leigh and Carla McCloskey. There are so many great restaurants in LA, but for a true California experience I would recommend the Watergrill downtown for seafood, Musso & Frank Grill for steak and old-time Hollywood charm, and Nobu in Malibu for scrumptious sushi and a beautiful view of the ocean. Some favorite lower-end restaurants are Malibu Seafood on the coast, the Apple Pan in West LA for a great burger, and, of course, Pinks for a classic hotdog in Hollywood.

There are amazing venues that take advantage of our year-round warm weather like the Hollywood Bowl, Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga and the Getty Museum. There are also many amazing large and small theaters in Los Angeles, but the strongest plays I’ve seen this year have been at the Geffen. I’m a baseball fanatic so of course I’d take someone to see a baseball game at Dodger Stadium, or a Rams football game at SoFi Stadium. I also love the outdoors so I’d definitely take a friend hiking at Malibu Creek State Park, biking at Point Mugu State Park, or boogey boarding at Zuma Beach.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I wrote and produced a new play, “All American,” at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in June. It was nominated for Best Drama and won the Hollywood Producers Encore Award. It was truly an ensemble play and I could never have pulled it off without the tireless efforts of my cast and crew; the director: Michael Strauss, stage manager: Caroline Stella, and our incredibly talented cast: Cameron Blackmun, Carla Betz, Dan Pousson, Jonny Lovo, Julie Dell Phillips, Madison Pullman, Noemi VanSlyke, Shawna Pardo and Theron LaFountain.

Website: LynnGrantBeck.com

Instagram: LynnGrantBeck

Linkedin: Lynn-Grant-Beck

Twitter: @LynnGrantBeck

Facebook: lynn.grantbeck

Image Credits
Matt Kamimura