Play Club with Amy Wheeler and Paul Kruse (Ep. 25)

Amy Wheeler and Paul Kruse, the masterminds behind Play Club, stop by to talk about this new project (prepare for some major name drops) and which of them hails from Melissa's hometown.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What Play Club is, how it works, and why they started it
• The education initiatives Play Club has begun and will expand upon
• Why Amy knows literally everyone in the theatre community 

And more!

Resources Mentioned
Play Club
Hedgebrook
Fresh Fruit Festival

About Our Guests

Amy Wheeler is a nationally produced playwright, educator, speaker and nonprofit leader. Wheeler led the beloved Whidbey Island nonprofit Hedgebrook for many years, evolving it into a global community of influential female-identified writers authoring change in the arts, culture and social justice. Celebrating the culmination of her tenure in 2020, Seattle Arts & Lectures recognized Wheeler with the Prowda Literary Champion Award for “demonstrating true commitment to the Pacific Northwest’s community of readers and writers.” She holds an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Cornish College of the Arts, an MFA from the University of Iowa Playwrights Workshop, and she studied acting at University of Kansas and in NY. Wheeler’s front burner project is The Last Babushka, a musical she’s creating with first generation Ukrainian-American composer Natalie Nowytski about women living in Chernobyl’s Exclusion Zone. She founded Play Club: A Book Club with a Theatrical Twist, a venture that’s growing into a movement. Play Club’s community is a cross-generational audience from across the country who are reading, discussing and going to see contemporary plays together. Amy’s father Jim passed away during the pandemic. Play Club is imbued with his spirit, love of community and conversation.

Paul William Kruse tells Queer love stories. As a playwright and media artist from Western Wisconsin, his work flows from his Catholic roots and ever-evolving experience of family. Paul often writes collaboratively, drawing from his years of experience as a videographer and documentarian. He is a cohort member of Audible’s third Emerging Playwrights Fund, and his audio play Once Removed was an official selection a

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