Interview: Shawn Plunkett on SAFER APART by The Left Hand Productions

The Left Hand Productions, newly created by Shawn Plunkett, is premiering its first virtual theater play, SAFER APART, an all-new LIVE Hybrid Theatre Experience opening November 19, 2020 at 7pm Pacific time. According to Shawn, "This will not be your typical Zoom play. I promise it will be a show unlike anything you've seen to date, shot live with multiple cameras."

The play centers around Joseph and Anne (Shawn Plunkett and Lyndsay Palmer), a married couple, haunted by their past and divided by circumstances outside their control. Forced to rely on video chats to keep in touch presents challenges in more ways than one, since it soon becomes apparent that staying connected to each other may also be connecting them to a presence more sinister than they can possibly imagine.

With a running time of 20 minutes, SAFER APART is free to watch on YouTube live. To reserve your at-home viewing seat, please visit and subscribe to The Left Hand Productions channel on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAPIFHsBdaNgZ3r_-CyzO2Q. Don't forget to click the bell to make sure you get all page notifications.

Watch the SAFER APART promo on You Tube: https://youtu.be/hhyrutTGu2c and reserve your at-home viewing seat today! After watching the promo, I decided to speak with its creator Shawn Plunkett, who not only wrote and stars in the play but also began his own production company to get it made.

Shari Barrett: Tell me more about the creation of SAFER APART.

Shawn Plunkett: I don't consider myself a writer, per se, and this is the first play I have ever written. I started working on it while staying at home during the pandemic, which has really given me the time to focus on what it is I want to do to expand my love of working in live theater in the face of horrible circumstances for that industry. Staying isolated has proven to have a silver lining in that I have more time to be creative, with less excuses for not getting it done.

When I discussed my idea for the play with my friend and fabulously talented actor Lyndsay Palmer after both of us had been lamenting about the lack of current theatrical projects right now, it was easy to share my vision of the play and characters with her. And thankfully she was immediately on board and was so open to listening to my ideas about the characters, and then just jumped on board with me in creating it.

Given the character was written with her in mind, I knew Lyndsay would take my guidelines as the writer and director, as well as her co-star, and do an amazing job! Lyndsay is Anne as much as Anne is Lyndsay. And the same is true for me and Joseph, her husband, since I wrote it with my own personality in mind. We are these characters and will bring them forth from inside of our hearts and souls as part of the creative process of telling their story. And I am so excited to present it live!

Shari: What is Anne and Joseph's storyline in the play?

Shawn: SAFER APART takes place during an unnamed pandemic which happens just after Joseph and Anne have bought their first home as a married couple, and they are so excited to transform it together into the place where they can live out their future together. But while they are renovating it, her mother gets sick and Anne has to go and take care of her. After working out being able to fly out-of-state during the pandemic, the couple agrees to stay in touch via video calls each day, at various times of the day.

But it turns out Anne may not be doing well living away from Joseph, and soon her imagination starts to play tricks with her mind. And as sinister aspects flood her thoughts, the audience will be drawn in to find out if what she thinks is happening is really taking place in reality! And how will Joseph handle not being able to figure out what is real and how to help his wife, especially while only being able to see her on a screen? Or has he somehow drawn out the dark side of his wife's mind by intent or just accidentally? That was a big part of the fun in writing and then performing the play with Lyndsay!

Shari: Are there more than just the two characters in SAFER APART?

Shawn: Anne's mother is mentioned but you never see or hear her. There are two more characters in the play, portrayed by Jeremy Palmer and my son Elliott Plunkett, but you really need to watch the play to learn more about them and how each fit into the story. Saying any more would give away too much in advance. Reflecting our current social distancing world, the four of us are really two families who are currently keeping our distance from each other in real life. While there are a few promo scenes in which Lyndsay and I appear together, we filmed them after COVID testing was done to be sure it was safe to be so close together. But for the most part, the entire play is being done from our two separate areas with Lyndsay and Jeremy in theirs and Elliott and me in ours.

Shari: You define SAFER APART as "an all new LIVE Hybrid Theatre Experience." What does that mean to you?

Shawn: I want to fill the void of no theater by taking audiences back to days of live television, just without the in-person studio audience. SAFER APART will be performed LIVE so anything can happen, which is one of the major appeals of attending an in-person show. I am aiming to give it a cinematic touch, making sure it is not as static as actors sitting in a chair and just reading a script. We are moving, adjusting, using more than one camera. I will even be walking outside while holding a camera in one scene. And there will be lots of action, made all the more exciting since it is being done live.

Shari: Who are the supporting crew working on the show behind the scenes?

Shawn: My wife Gloria is stage manager, running cameras in the right place at the right time. Since scenes take place at different times of day, Jeremy and Elliott will be running the lighting along with me to reflect the time shifts. There will be modern-day costume changes, and make-up effects by Melissa Nash, a talented designer who has transformed Elliott in several of his school productions.

Shari: Is writing the play what motivated you to create The Left Hand Productions, other than I assume you are left-handed? And what are some of your goals going forward with the company?

Shawn: Yes, I am left-handed (my friends call me "Lefty") and that is why! It's my hope for the future to find like-minded creative people to collaborate with me, even those who are right-handed, on taking this new virtual art form to new heights we can't even imagine right now, given how easy it is to record and broadcast plays from our cell phones. I have learned how much that technology has to offer and I want to explore doing more with it with a team who are just as excited about it as I am.

Shari: Are you willing to do plays written by others?

Shawn: Absolutely! Ultimately my goal is to collaborate on all sides. I want to do more shows like this, being genuine and presented fully realized characters in a time of having to be apart. Virtual plays are a new form of live theater, and my goal is to show everyone we can have good theater even while not being together or really having the ability to look into each other's eyes. My goal is to prove that "all the world's a stage."

The premiere of SAFER APART takes place on Thursday, November 19, 2020 at 7pm Pacific time. I hope people are entertained as the play is a perfect fit for this spooky time of year while being a lot of fun to watch and be drawn into the action. With a running time of 20 minutes, it's free to watch on YouTube live. Spoiler alert: It might scare you a bit like a typical horror movie, so be ready to get goosebumps and yell at the screen! To reserve your at-home viewing seat, please visit and subscribe to The Left Hand Productions channel on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAPIFHsBdaNgZ3r_-CyzO2Q. And don't forget to click the bell to make sure you get all page notifications!

Shari: Do you have plans to broadcast the show more than once, either performed live each time or taped from the original airing?

Shawn: Since I really don't have a reputation yet which will draw people to the play, other than my very supportive theater friends, my hope is that if enough people tune in and really enjoy it, then I will put it on again live. But I am open-minded to just broadcasting a taped show, although it won't be the same as really watching it done live. So, while nothing is scheduled as yet, I do plan to re-broadcast it just to prove to myself that I can make really cool things happen using today's tech! And I would love to explore doing live interactive plays to get the audience more involved with the show.

And who better to bring the world together right now than theater people? Anything can happen live which is why I started my own production company, which allows me the freedom to figure it out. My big goal is to get people together to do something artistic who are just as excited as I am about it the opportunity to entertain others!

Art work provided by Shawn Plunkett

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