Summer Dawn Reyes
Summer Dawn Reyes
Summer Dawn Reyes is a writer of plays and short stories from Jersey City, N.J. She is also a director, actress and event producer and is absolutely in love with theater. She has won multiple awards including a commendation from the New Jersey State Assembly, the Permanent Career Award in Writing from the Society of Arts and Letters-NJ and the N.J. Governor’s Award in Arts Education.
As a woman of Chinese, Spanish and Filipino descent, she is passionate about increasing diversity in the arts, a common mission for both her theater companies, Thinking In Full Color and 68 Productions. You may also know her from her work as an arts journalist covering Hudson County, N.J.
She would like to thank the Lord for His many blessings and her loving family for their support, especially her husband Greg and her stepson Greg Jr.
Marina Raydun: Is there a book that changed your life?
Summer Dawn Reyes: I think the most influential books for many of us are the ones we embrace in our youth, the ones that taught us to love reading. For me, this was the Nancy Drew series. I picked them up when I was maybe as young as 5 or 6, and couldn’t put them down. I wanted to read as many of them as possible, and every one was more intriguing than the next. I loved the covers and their dark, mysterious feel. I loved the girl power in the triumvirate of Nancy, Bess and George. It sold me on the entire mystery genre, which was by far my favorite until middle school. What I really loved was flipping to the back to read the ending, and then spending the rest of the read trying to see if the author had masterfully laid out the plot to get there.
MR: What is your favorite underappreciated novel?
SDR: It’s not really underappreciated, but I think Gregory Maguire’s Wicked is so overshadowed by the musical’s success that many people don’t even know there is a book. They just assume the musical is derived from the movie (which I’m sure they don’t realize is from a book too). Wicked is so rich and so nuanced, and the world is so well fleshed out. There is racism and deviance and traditions, all of these layers that are just delicious. And of course, all the characters are way more fleshed out and serious and darker than musical fans would realize. I think anyone who is a fan of the Wizard of Oz universe in any of its depictions should actually sit down and read Wicked and enjoy it as a book.
MR: Who is your literary hero?
SDR: This is probably really cliché, but my literary hero is Shakespeare. I am a playwright and am deeply involved in theater -- I have my own theater company, Thinking In Full Color, which is devoted to sharing stories by women of color. I am also a director, theatrical production manager and actor. And none of this would’ve come to be if I hadn’t fallen in love with the Bard. He is just a master of exploring different depths -- debating philosophical issues on minute, and making cuckold jokes the next. Every single author has so much to learn from him. I can offer nothing new on the subject of his great merit.
MR: Who is your literary crush?
SDR: For some reason I feel like this question wants me to pick a fictional character instead, so I will! I always felt Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights was just dark and brooding and sexy in that stereotypical way, so I’d totally hit it. I would also totally crush on Lisbeth Salander from The Millenium Trilogy, but I doubt she’d give me the time of day (though who knows, maybe someday I’ll get cast as her lover Miriam Wu in something!) As for someone I’d actually want to settle down with….I’m not sure. Most really well developed literary characters are somehow awful, that’s what makes them interesting.
MR: What is the most difficult part about your artistic process?
SDR: To write, I pretty much just need a good beginning. I need inspiration, obviously, but also the first good sentence or paragraph. That for me is everything. Once I have a beginning, jumping off and following my characters’ paths is easy. But sometimes that beginning doesn’t come easily, and other days it just doesn’t come. Besides that, my biggest challenge is just finding time to write.
MR: Is there one topic you would never write about as an author? Why?
SDR: I like to think that I wouldn’t necessarily close myself off from writing about something, but there are definitely some genres or subjects that just don’t interest me. I’m not really into drug culture, cowboys, or like, gross aliens. I’m fine with extraterrestrial intelligence and cultures, but not into just big, slimy, three-headed, no-faced, tentacled monsters. Also I guess I wouldn’t write anything racist, misogynist, sexist, queerphobic or otherwise hateful and discriminatory.
MR: What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
SDR: I’m friends with many writers, but I’m unfortunately not really active in any author communities. There is an organization in my area called Jersey City Writers that is really cool and I’ve thought of joining, but I feel like my personal writing (or rather, work) style doesn’t fit into writing clubs in general. I have, however, participated as an actor for their genre nights, when they challenge their writers to create something outside their comfort zone!
MR: If you could have drinks with any person, living or dead, who would it be? Why?
SDR: In a literary vein, Shakespeare for sure, but I also really love science and fine art so I’d love to hang with Francis Crick, who sounds like a hoot, or maybe Da Vinci, Vermeer or Caravaggio (I won’t play tennis with him, though!).
MR: What is your biggest failure?
SDR: It’s probably not the worst thing I’ve done, but it is something that still bothers me when I think about it -- I messed up my Common App because I didn’t realize they didn’t allow you to change certain sections after submitting it anywhere, so one of my attached essays was only good for one school but not the others. I panicked and mailed my application to Harvard and wrote a note saying I was totally sorry I sent the wrong essay. I just looked like a big dumbass. ...And I still got on the waitlist. I would always wonder what would’ve happened if I just did the application right. I ended up taking some Harvard classes online, and ultimately not really going anywhere because I had to take care of my chronically ill mother, and I regret my whole higher education experience (or non-experience) in general. But I’m still hella smart, and I know someday I could still go back. We’ll see.
MR: Is there a thing you’ve written that makes you cringe now?
SDR: Yes! But doesn’t everybody have those?
To learn more about Summer Dawn Reyes, you can follow her on Instagram @summeringo
Links:
- Boys I Haven’t Loved Yet (Coming Soon!)
- how to destroy the patriarchy in seven days
- In Full Color Anthology (Editor and Contributor)
All available at thinkinginfullcolor.com