A conversation with playwright, TV writer, and screenwriter Susan Soon He Stanton.
Poised, traveled, and extremely well-versed in story mechanics, Susan Soon He Stanton is a celebrated playwright, television writer, and screenwriter from ‘Aiea, Hawai‘i. She has also taught at several universities, sharing her knowledge of story and character with aspiring writers.
At this year’s Austin Film Festival, I had the pleasure of meeting Susan after she spoke on a panel all about exploring character dynamics. During this session, she also shared how a general meeting with HBO, along with a killer play sample, led to her first staffing job on SUCCESSION… Where she wrote for four seasons (!!).
Susan later worked on shows like MODERN LOVE, DEAD RINGERS, CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS, and THE BABY. She co-wrote the feature film BROOKLYN LOVE STORIES and wrote the film DRESS. Susan is also a renowned playwright, with a long list of her work produced across the United States and internationally: WE, THE INVISIBLES, TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY, BOTH YOUR HOUSES, TAKARAZUKA!!!, CYGNUS, SOLSTICE PARTY!, THE THINGS ARE AGAINST US, MOANA, JR, and her newest reimagining of Puccini’s opera, TURANDOT.
Below, Susan discusses the ins and outs of her creative process, her early days in New York before she broke in, and her experiences writing an opera and working on MODERN LOVE. Keep reading for insights into an extremely creative, generative mind!
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Moving from Hawai‘i to NY:
PR: You grew up in Hawai‘i and moved to New York for college. I was curious, what informed that move, and what was the most difficult part about moving?
Susan Soon He Stanton (SSHS): Hawai‘i is geographically the most isolated place in the world, and I think there is a feeling, especially as a storyteller, where I was just like, “Is what I’m saying and writing or thinking about even relevant?” I wasn’t sure, and I think I had this big idea of school that, “If I have the right program or do the right thing, then I’ll somehow find my way.” So, I was really eager to find those places. I didn’t know anybody, and I didn’t have any connections, really… So, I wrote a play in high school and was able to submit that for NYU Tisch. You have to submit a writing sample, so I wrote a play back then, and that was sort of how it started…
When I came to New York, it was a huge culture shock, and it was really, really hard. But also, I just really wanted to be at the center of where I felt things were happening.
Finding Your Writing Style:
PR: I heard you say in your panel that, early on in New York, you were waitressing and applying to every fellowship and retreat you could find. I was wondering how that grind to get your foot in the door informed how you approach your work now, day-to-day?
SSHS: Yeah I mean, it’s so funny, I remember thinking that, “If I could just write full-time, if I had those 40-50 or I don’t know how many hours, I could just spend it writing.” Now, [I realize] – “Oh wait, I somehow managed to still write.”
Sometimes, I think it’s good to have attention pulled elsewhere: doing other things as well as just writing… Sometimes, when you’re just sitting at home in your office or workspace, it can be hard to focus. I think it’s important to figure out your writing structure – how you can work best. I get really interested in learning about different people’s writing routines.
[For instance], I’m kind of a sporadic writer, I think. I ramp up to it, so I do a lot of puttering, a lot of research, and a lot of thinking, and then I’ll write intensely over four days straight. I’ll write a huge amount of pages in one big lump and then revise that.
PR: I know you talked in the AFF panel about how there’s not a “best” way to write, but do you use notecards, outlines, or other tools like that when you write?
SS: I think it depends on the form. When I’m in a writer’s room, we always write cards first. But when I’m writing my own things, like for a play, I always just start writing scenes. For screenplays, it’s kind of the same thing – I write what’s clearest in my mind.
If you see something really clearly, even if it’s just a scene, and you don’t quite know what it is yet, you can get that down and then go back. If I have an outline, and I just have to get from A to B and it feels a bit shoe-leathery, then I’ll just leave that bit and maybe I can actually cut it out or start the whole thing later.
I try to write the parts that I’m most excited about because if you’re just [operating like], “I just gotta get through this,” You definitely feel it in the writing. Allow yourself to write non-linearly.
Getting the First Job, and Then the Next One:
PR: After you got that first staffing job on SUCCESSION, how did that then boost you into the next staffing job?
SS: It was crazy. I think it was one of the strangest experiences of my life. I had gone to so many meetings, and everybody was like, “Okay, we really like your writing, and we really like you. We’ll keep you in mind…” but it felt like there were a lot of near misses.
I felt that thing of: “If one person takes a chance on me, then I can prove myself…” It’s easier once you get the first [job] to get the other ones. There’s also a lot of great stuff that doesn’t necessarily get all the praise and attention it deserves. So, it’s certainly much easier to get staffed after being on a show like SUCCESSION even after one season.
Work-Life Balance:
PR: How do you make time with your busy career to spend time with family, travel back to Hawai‘i, or go back to New York to see friends? I’m curious about the work-life balance aspect of your work.
SS: I think it’s really hard. It’s really confusing because you don’t really know how much time you have. It’s a real question about: How much do you have on your plate, and how much can you successfully achieve?
That’s a battle that I struggle with – knowing how much to take on. I will get excited about a project and think, “Oh yes, I’d love to do this!” But, then it’s like, “But can I?” Over the years, I’m trying to be more intentional about what I want to work on.
Sometimes I think about Lin-Manuel Miranda and how much time he used to step away to work on HAMILTON. It’s okay to just drill down and take the time to work on something. There’s a certain fearlessness in that.
I feel like maybe because it took so long [for me] to break in, I’m always afraid that it’s going to go away, so I just have to keep working. I think it’s really hard to protect the time… It’s important to be passionate about what you choose [to work on], and then it doesn’t feel so much like work.
MODERN LOVE:
PR: Can you talk about your experience writing on MODERN LOVE? I’m such a fan of that show.
SS: MODERN LOVE was really fun. It was just like writing a 30-minute short film. They were really generous throughout the process, and they sent us a package of [New York Times] MODERN LOVE stories that they had identified would be good to adapt. They said, “Okay, read it and pick your top three. We’ll let you know if any other writers were also thinking about that one.” I pitched thoughts for two [different stories], but one just felt more adaptable than the other, and so that’s sort of how it happened!
A Reimagining of TURANDOT:
PR: You also recently worked on an opera, a reimagining of TURANDOT. How did you get involved in adapting that, and what was that experience like?
SS: The opera was an incredible experience. It was earlier this year. Puccini died before he finished writing his final opera, and so Washington National Opera [presented it] at The Kennedy Center. It was this huge space, with hundreds of musicians and singers, and it was very grand. There were over a thousand people in the audience, and it was sold out. There’s something about the scale of that that feels huge. I know for TV and film it reaches a much wider audience, but there’s something about the spectacle of opera that’s really exciting.
When you write the libretto, it’s almost like writing a long telegram or a column – you don’t have a lot of room. It’s a really different form – it kind of feels like an ancient form. [The librettists are] definitely not the stars; the composer and the director are.
So, I’m trying to have my own vision, but I’m also just trying to service this [other vision]. Also, since it’s a continuation of Puccini’s work, [I was] trying to find something that was more feminist in terms of the ending. As a playwright, it was really fun to think about the psychology behind [the main female character].
Thank you, Susan, for your time in speaking at AFF!
Payton Russell 
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