What inspired your winning piece? What did the writing process look like?

ellipse was born of a combination of my family's long history of cancer and my own struggles with writing about deeply personal things. In its first iteration, the play was called Biela, and as I wrote... it transformed from a story about a father and daughter into this huge biopic-style, historical fiction epic. I showed that draft to my MFA playwriting professor Rob Handel, who gave me a long and (lovingly) withering look and said, "This is fine. But what are you actually trying to write about?" I said, "Memory, legacy, grief. A complicated father-daughter relationship." He smiled and said, "Okay. So write that." For about 10 years, I soundly ignored Rob's advice. Not because it was wrong, but because it was absolutely right. In trying to write about something so personal, I let myself - as some defense mechanism - be carried away with the research and metaphor and this other -- admittedly very interesting! -- story. But in doing that, I'd lost sight of the kernel of inspiration at the idea's core. So in 2025, I tried again, and I instead focused on the struggle itself; the way we cling to distraction to keep our hearts from breaking. That's when ellipse was created. An impassioned rush, a release of all the things Biela never said, an encapsulation of my own fears and frictions. It was one of the fastest things I've ever written, pouring out of me in a single 2-hour sitting. There have been edits since that first draft, but this new core of the play came out whole and bright and feeling very solid in itself. Words I'd kept hidden for over a decade.

 

What were some of the factors that influenced you to submit to our Festival?

I have a day job as a professional video game writer (yes, really!), which means a big chunk of my writing life is spent executing other people's stories and visions. And while I love doing that, I'm always looking for opportunities to hone and share my playwriting work. This festival was such a great chance to share my new play with a welcoming, literary-minded audience. It's hard to get short plays out in the world! So I deeply appreciate the TW Fest for making this opportunity possible.

 

Describe the moment when you found out you were the winner!

I don't remember what exactly I screamed when I saw the email saying I was the winner (I'm pretty sure there was an expletive involved?), but I know I SCREAMED with joy and surprise. In a time when everything is so dark, when news is often bad, when rejection and layoffs are seemingly around every corner... this was just the most wonderful, welcome bit of sunshine. A lovely reminder that my voice matters, that my stories can still connect people.

 

What are you working on now?

So many things! Aside from my day job, where I'm writing on an upcoming AAA video game, I've also got three new plays in various states of early development. My newest full length play by style / by color / by cut / by size (or) SORTED (a very timely dark comedy and social commentary set in the backroom of a legally-not-precisely Ann Taylor LOFT) just had a fantastic developmental reading at the Playwrights' Center as part of their Public Season. And now I'm working toward getting that play a world premiere.

 

Whitney's plays can be found on the New Play Exchange. To read more about her and her work, visit www.rowlandwriter.com.