Playwright and Screenwriter Christina Ham talks The Kilroys
Christina Ham has seen it all. This LA-based writer has worked doubly in the ever-changing theater industry and in the writers’ rooms of some of Hollywood’s highly-acclaimed television series. There’s no doubt that there is a sense of magic in her wordsmith abilities and it translates on both the stage and the screen.
The visionary behind award-winning historical plays like Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963 and Ruby: The Story of Ruby Bridges, and The Watsons Go To Birmingham 1963 — many of her plays have gone on to be produced both nationally and internationally. In addition to Christina’s impact in theater, she has achieved success that many aspiring writers only dream of, having written for shows such as Netflix’s The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, HBO’s Emmy-nominated Westworld, and Amazon Prime’s Lena Waite-produced horror anthology, Them.
Christina has nurtured the skill of storytelling so much that her artistry has extended beyond the page and informs her work in advocacy as a member of The Kilroys. The Kilroys, an organization known for their annual collection of works from women, non-binary, and trans theater makers called “The List”. It’s fitting and frankly, inspiring that she is a member and remains steadfast in writing plays that put black historical figures at the forefront of the story and doesn’t push them out to serve as side characters.
There is a shared ethos between Christina and The Kilroys with the goal being to eradicate the systemic oppression of underrepresented voices and stories so that the next generations of theater goers and lovers have a better awareness, understanding, and empathetic appreciation of these writers and their work.
With this in mind, and now a member of The Kilroys 2023 cohort, Christina sat down with me so we could delve deeper into her career, learn about the development of The Kilroys’ newly-released ‘Web’ and get a first hand account of her witnessing one of her plays be helmed by Tony-winning actress, Phylicia Rashad!
Tiara Starks, BGDT contributor, in conversation with Christina Ham, Playwright and TV writer, and a member of The Kilroys.
Christina Ham.
Tiara Starks: I'm so excited to speak with you today, Christina! Please do a brief introduction of yourself.
Christina Ham: My name is Christina Ham. I was born and raised here in Los Angeles. I got my undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California in Creative Writing and Political Science, and then I got my master's degree in Playwriting at UCLA. I guess my background has always been as a writer in varying forms. In my day job life, I spent ten years in public relations. I also worked in publishing. I worked as a technical writer and finally, I worked in the public affairs department for the City of Los Angeles before switching over full-time to being a full-time writer, educator, and mentor for emerging writers of color. So that's me in a nutshell! I guess also I should say that [in] 2018, I transitioned from being a playwright for the last 20+ years to also being a television and features writer as well.
TS: TV writing and playwriting; [Those] are two different mediums, but the through line of that is that they're both ways to tell stories. Was there a specific play or movie or television show that inspired you to pursue your own career?
CH: I don't think it was necessarily one film or one TV show. I admire people who are like that: “One thing changed my life”; I think it was cumulative. I grew up and lived in Los Angeles, it's very much a film and TV town, so I was very much impacted by that. It was just a cumulative effect of seeing a lot of different movies and TV shows over the years and theater that really inspired my journey. I mean, I always say that Mary Poppins, when I was in kindergarten had this magical effect on me, so maybe that was the seed, and it just kept getting watered over the decades.
TS: That's a great one. I love those old Disney movies. You have such a robust catalog of work. You've written full length plays, short theater for a young audience. Do you have a specific play that you've written thus far that's been your favorite?
CH: Yeah, I think for me it is Ruby Bridges, and it's a TYA (Theater for a Young Audience) work that I did that was commissioned through Stepping Stone Theater in St. Paul [Minnesota]. So that, I think, has been my favorite play. Ironically, I feel like TYA work is some of my favorite work that I have done.
TS: That's awesome! I agree. I grew up doing community theater and did TYA shows. You tend to center your stories around a lot of impactful figures in Black history. Nina Simone, you mentioned Ruby Bridges, and then one of your other plays, Four Little Girls, which is set during the horrific 16th Street Baptist church bombing. Have you ever had an encounter with someone who's seen the production or has read your play and thought, “What made you want to retell the story in theatrical medium?”
CH: Yeah, I think so, all the time. Especially with the stories that I've done that are historical and look at how Black women are caught in the crosshairs of history. I definitely get asked those questions, and for me, it's really looking at the footnotes of our own history and our own stories and being able to retell those again, that is really important to me.
TS: I know your plays have been produced across the country and internationally, and Phylicia Rashad actually directed Four Little Girls. Were you able to see it, and what did you feel?
CH: Yes! I did go to the Kennedy Center where that was done, and I was able to see it, and I absolutely loved it. For me, seeing the kids perform in those stories is really inspiring. It was great to see them tell that history and also become empowered to tell those stories as well.
TS: That's awesome. I love Phylicia Rashad. When I read that she had directed a production of Four Little Girls, I was like, “I wish I saw that. That would’ve been so cool” So you are a part of The Kilroys, which was created to address the gender parity initiative [in order] to end the systemic underrepresentation of female and trans playwrights in the American theater industry. I want to know how you first discovered The Kilroys.
Four Little Girls: Birmingham 1963 at The Kennedy Center
CH: Well, I knew The Kilroys when they were created, because several of my friends and colleagues were the founders of The Kilroys. So I always had an awareness of the organization and what they did as well, and tried to be a supporter of their work even when I wasn't in the group. Then, once they had their opening for applying to the organization, I decided to apply because I really admired the work that they did. Also, I did some of that work in my own career before coming into The Kilroys and thought it would be a good way to expand that work.
TS: Now that you're a part of the [2023] cohort, Have you learned anything thus far from your peers or other people in the collective?
CH: Well, I've learned that being able to be a playwright or an artist or anything in this business, you need advocates. So through The Kilroys, we've been able to, hopefully, amplify a few voices that people wouldn't normally know about and also be able to have people think about theater in a new way. There are other artists out there who aren't getting the shine that they need and that if we can be of help or service in some way to provide some of those names and get people out of their “status quo” that they've been used to doing for so long, then we can hopefully be a clearinghouse for that.
TS: Every year, The Kilroys do this support system called ‘The List’, but they've transitioned it into something called ‘The Web’. Can you kind of explain that for me?
CH: So ‘The List’ had been going on since the creation of The Kilroys…Before I joined the Kilroys, I had been on ‘The List’ and so have some of the members of our organization right now. Once we hit the pandemic and theater had changed so drastically in terms of theaters closing, theaters having trouble with seeing through production seasons, we really wanted to find a way to reset. Is ‘The List’ the most effective way of being able to let people know about the artists that are out there? So we decided that, “No, we don't always need to do things the same way.” We're not some corporate entity that's bound by tradition, that needs to do the same old, same old. We thought of this idea called ‘The Web’, which would not just look at playwrights who have not gotten the shine that they needed or that they're an underrepresented voice that needs to be amplified in some way, but we also wanted to look at the theater makers and creators that they admire, that they feel are doing the work in the trenches, and to really put shine on our entire theater ecosystem that's helping keep this thing going, even if it looks dire to some.
TS: That's great. I think it's definitely needed. We kind of touched upon this, but in the post-COVID world, and in the state of the industry, specifically when it comes to theater, there's been a lot of changes that need to be made, and we're seeing some actionable things happen. I think ‘The Web’ is one of those things. When you were a young emerging writer, [were] there any experience[s] that kind of had you thinking like, “Oh, this is the moment that I could continue doing this. This is my career path.”
CH: I would say, when I was in grad school, I was a member of The Blacksmiths at the Mark Taper Forum, which was one of the writing labs that they used to have many years ago. During that time, the late L. Kenneth Richardson had run that group. We would meet every Monday night for three hours [and] every Saturday for three hours, so six hours a week for nine months, which culminated in a staged reading using the talent pool out of the, you know, we're talking Tony winners could be in your play, Emmy winners…you just never knew. We had that at our full disposal. I would say that…that was one of the moments and experiences where I really knew having the support of an organization, having a mentor, and having peers who were in that group really encouraged me to keep going and was a great supplement to the education I was getting at UCLA as well. In the MFA program there, I would say it was invaluable. It was life-changing. The people that I met in the other groups, all of these people who were also just starting out, really became friends or still friends and really impacted my life in a way that really changed it for the better.
TS: That's awesome, and so motivating! I'm sure playwrights who read this article are going to be inspired, and I'm sure they're also wondering how they can get involved with The Kilroys. Do you know where someone should begin if they're interested in supporting?
CH: Yes! They can go to our website, thekilroys.org, and they can find the link for support. On that page, they can donate and find other ways to engage with us!
