Interview: Playwright Samuel Baum Wholeheartedly invites You to His ENGAGEMENT PARTY

Up next at The Geffen Playhouse, Samuel Baum’s The Engagement Party West Coast premieres October 12, 2023 (with previews already in progress). Darko Tresnjak directs the cast of: Richard Bekins, Bella Heathcote, Brian Lee Huynh, Mark Jacobson, Wendie Malick, Brian Patrick Murphy, Jonah Platt and Lauren Worsham. Samuel squeezed out some time from rehearsals and previews to answer a few of my queries.

Thank you again, Samuel! I look forward to attending your Engagement Party.

What would be the three-line pitch for The Engagement Party?

At a swank Park Avenue apartment, a young couple is hosting an intimate gathering to celebrate their engagement. A spilled glass of wine sets in motion a shocking mystery that causes the party to spiral out of control. Morals are questioned, loyalties are tested, and secrets are unearthed. Oh, and it’s funny… until it’s not.

Darko Tresnjak is once again directing, after helming the play at Hartford Stage. Is there a camaraderie between you two that contributes to your working together after four years?

Absolutely. Darko and I first met at the Williamstown Theatre Festival about twenty years ago, so there’s a lot of shared history. And we have a similar sensibility. We both like plays that charm you before cutting deeper. We both crave story and appreciate the rigorous construction of playwrights like Ibsen. And we both feel like everything is twenty minutes too long! The shared sensibility and trust between us gives us an easy shorthand and makes it fun to work together.

How hands-on are you in pre-production with this West Coast premiere?

I was in every rehearsal conferring with Darko and the cast. Now I attend the previews and meet with Darko afterwards to discuss any further refinements.

Have you made any tweaks to your script from your initial production at Hartford in 2019 to this West Coast premiere?

A few tweaks, yes.

The Screen Buzz program sends American TV writers, directors and producers to the Middle East for a week to mentor emerging storytellers in countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan — places where there isn’t a ton of support for independent voices. The goal is to empower those voices to tell stories that promote social justice around the world. So, it’s an amazing and ambitious endeavor. And Young Storytellers is a wonderful non-profit. They pair industry mentors with L.A.-area 5th graders and guide them through the process of writing short screenplays, which are then performed by professional actors. Some really fantastic actors have volunteered to participate in the showcases, including Ed Helms, Mindy Kaling, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Rashida Jones, and John Cho. Helping these children find their creative voice is incredibly rewarding. The program’s motto is that every child has a story worth telling, and I truly believe that. The kids’ imaginations are much wilder than mine, so it’s a great reminder that creatively, the sky’s the limit!

What did you want to be growing up? Writer? Producer? Lawyer?

Funny you should say lawyer. I either wanted to be an actor, a writer, or a Supreme Court Justice. But the first two don’t require Law School, which was a big plus! I started as a theater actor, performing at the Huntington and the Williamstown Theater Festival. In college, I started writing plays and was incredibly fortunate to study playwriting with the amazing Adrienne Kennedy. We’re still in touch to this day.