Interview: Justin Tanner of MY SON THE PLAYWRIGHT by Rogue Machine

In his bold and intimate new solo show, L.A. cult icon and Rogue Machine resident playwright Justin Tanner dives head first with courage and sharp humor into My Son, the Playwright, a story that centers around the strained relationship between a playwright and his estranged father. In his most autobiographical play yet, two men in different apartments prepare for a meeting that they would rather avoid - but desperately need. What begins as a messy and comic struggle against pride and past resentments becomes a reckoning with vulnerability and forgiveness. 

Justin Tanner (pictured) works as a creative consultant for numerous projects in theatre, film, and television and has credits including more than 20 produced plays as well as credits writing TV shows and web series. I decided to speak with him about the process of writing such a personal play.

Thanks for speaking with me today Justin about your new and very personal play, My Son, the Playwright. Do you consider yourself a cult icon as shared by Rogue Machine? How so?

In the loosest possible interpretation of the word, I do perhaps have a small, mild-mannered cult-following. But I certainly don’t consider myself an icon of anything, though far be it for me to disagree with the marvelous company that has kindly produced my work for the past eight years. 

 Was there a moment where you knew this story about you and your dad had to become a produced play, not just a memory?

I decided to write a play about my dad after my last show, “Little Theatre,” closed in 2023. I had just witnessed a chunk of my past being dramatized onstage for six weeks and it made me wonder if there was more of my personal history I could mine. I didn’t have a specific memory I wanted to showcase, just an overall feeling that there was a pool of unexamined information about my relationship with my dad worth putting down on paper. 

Justin Tanner as the Dad.  Photo credit: Jeff Lorch

How easy (or difficult) was it to write such a personal play to share with the public?  How so?

The initial writing was very easy, therapeutic and cleansing. But after two years I had much too much material for one piece, so the editing is where the real work happened. And I can thank director Lisa James for helping to shape it in the final stretch. She would suggest cuts and I would agree happily. I’ve never been precious about my work. I tend to overwrite, it’s in the culling process where the real art reveals itself.

Justin Tanner as the Dad.  Photo credit: Jeff Lorch

Were you always planning to perform it yourself?  Why or why not?

I definitely wrote the part of Douglas (the dad) for myself but initially I was hoping to have Zachary Grant (who played me in “Little Theatre”) to reprise his performance as James (the son). It was only after Lisa James read an early draft and recommended that I play both parts that I decided to perform both father and son.

Justin Tanner as the Dad.  Photo credit: Jeff Lorch

How or why did you decide to bring Lisa James onboard to direct it?

We’ve been working together since 2000 and nobody understands my work better than her. She has a keen eye for detail and knows instinctively where to lean in for the greatest dramatic (and comedic) payoff. Her approach is tireless and expansive; she sees everything at once: the specific moment and where it fits into the final picture. Plus, she forgets nothing. If I change a line and it somehow lessens the impact, she’ll let me know. Ultimately, it’s mutual trust that keeps me coming back. It’s not easy to hear someone say “we need to cut this page,” but I don’t mind hearing it from Lisa because she has only one goal: creating the best play possible.

Justin Tanner as the Son.  Photo credit: Jeff Lorch

Performing a story this personal every night must be intense for you emotionally—how do you keep it light and fun for yourself?

By finding the humor whenever possible and by psychologically distancing myself from the autobiographical overlay. I don’t think of this play as ‘me’ enacting trauma from my own life, I see it as inhabiting, as fully as possible, two complex and damaged people who, though familiar, are nonetheless separate from me. 

Justin Tanner as the Son.  Photo credit: Jeff Lorch

Was there a particular scene that was hardest, or funniest, to get right when you started rehearsing it?

The most difficult scene to stage was the beginning of the second act where James (the son) is trying to find a baggie of marijuana. It starts as a calm, casual search and ends with a totally trashed apartment. Getting the build and details as specific and precise as they needed to be was a laborious exercise in trial and error. But the result was well worth the hours put in. 

Justin Tanner as the Son.  Photo credit: Jeff Lorch

Has telling this story onstage changed the way you see your dad, or even the way you see yourself as a storyteller?

Yes, to both questions. My dad died over twenty years ago and because of our troubled relationship I refused to look at photos of him or think about the past much. Consequently, my incomplete and erroneous impressions from sixty years ago were frozen in my mind; I was unfair to him in how I “remembered” my childhood. Performing in this play has given me an empathetic view of him as a human being. Studying the part and digging into it as an actor has allowed me to forgive his shortcomings and my own. As a storyteller, I’ve learned that the more specific and truthful the better. 

Justin Tanner as the Son.  Photo credit: Jeff Lorch

The topic of suicide seems to be present in several new plays right now. What motivated you to include it in your play?

It wasn’t the act of suicide that interested me, but rather the language of suicidal ideation. My mom used the phrase “I just want to die” quite a bit when I was a child. And I found later that I had started saying the same thing. I don’t know if I ever felt the desire to follow through on this mantra. But my husband became concerned; I looked at how I was using language and realized there was something in this reflex usage that was troubling and worth exploring. 

After seeing the play, do you think your Dad would expect an apology for anything or need to apologize to you?

If it were at all possible, the mutual exchange of apologies and a heartfelt declaration of love would be the best-case scenario. 

Justin Tanner as the Son.  Photo credit: Jeff Lorch

Anything else you would like to say about yourself, your career, or My Son, the Playwright?

I never thought that writing and performing a play could lead to such a significant alteration in my point of view. I’ve always loved a redemption story, but I had no idea I would actually write one in which I was the personal recipient of said redemption. By imagining a happy ending to the decidedly unhappy one I actually had with my dad, I’ve been able to break down the wall of indifference which separated us; to forgive and be forgiven; to share it with an audience who, so far at least, has been moved by it. 

Thanks so much! I look forward to being in the audience soon.

Produced by Byron Coolie for Rogue Machine, the production team includes Mark Mendelson (Set & Lighting Design), Christopher Moscatiello (Sound Design), Megan Trepani-Diven (Prop Design), Grant Gerrad (Technical Director), Rachel Ann Manheimer (Production Stage Manager), and Ivan Rivas (Assistant Director).

My Son the Playwright opened on Saturday, January 24 and runs at 8pm Fridays & Mondays; and at 5pm Saturdays & Sundays through March 1, 2026 (no performance on Monday Feb. 9) at Rogue Machine, at the Matrix Theatre (upstairs on the intimate Henry Murray Stage (which is only accessible by stairs), 7657 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046. Tickets are $45, Seniors: $35; Saturdays are $60, Seniors $45; Students with ID: $25. Shows4Less on Fridays, Feb. 6 ($20+), Feb. 13 ($20+) Feb. 20 ($25+).