Interview with...PHYLLIS KASDIN

This month’s Author Interview is with the prolific and multi-talented PHYLLIS KASDIN. 

Hi, Phyllis! I am so happy that you agreed to be interviewed for our new writing site! Thank you for your graciousness in agreeing to share your experiences with us. 

I’m eager for our members - who, obviously, are all writers - to learn what goes into having an historical “coffee table book” published. 

Let’s start with how the idea for this book, The Future Begins with the Past, came to you. 

I collected archives over the many years I worked at The JCC. People would bring me pictures of noted Jewish Rochesterians and they would even donate artifacts. The collection grew and grew. I decided that an exhibit of these archives might be of interest to The Jewish Community. Indeed, I was right because people came in droves to view the exhibit. The Executive Director was impressed with the popularity of this exhibit and suggested I write a book about The History of The Jewish Community in Rochester. The prospect of compiling my archives with narratives was very exciting; so I wrote “The Future Begins With The Past”

What was your next step?

Before I could start the narrative I knew the photographs I collected had to be restored. I contacted Michael Peres, Professor of Photography at RIT and asked him if it would be possible to restore the photos. After viewing all the photos he told me that it was possible and he would be glad to work on restoring them.

In the Preface and Acknowledgements, you cite SO many people who helped bring this gorgeous book to fruition. I know, from your work as the Director of Special Events at the Rochester JCC (Jewish Community Center), you grew a voluminous number of contacts - and, I might add, because of your warmth and graciousness, made friends with them all. Was this what enabled the success of this venture, do you think? 

Certainly this proved to be very valuable. Friends of mine unwrote the publication, and an acquaintance contacted me and offered to loan me his collection of pop bottles that were now antiques from his family’s business, Miller’s Pop.

Were you the primary mover-and-shaker and person who sought out all these contributors? 

YES I was.

How were you able to choose what to feature in the book and what didn’t make the cut? 

I had a lot of duplicates so of course I only used one of each. A lot depended on the condition of the photos and I used pictures that could enhance the narrative. I kept in mind what would be most interesting to the readers.

How long a process was it from idea to published book? 

I’m really not too sure. Probably 8 or 9 months.

How were you able to secure Fossil Press as your publisher? 

Actually it was Michael Peres who secured Fossil Press. They were friends of his and came on board with great enthusiasim.

This came out in 2004. What was the publishing process like back then? 

I worked very closely with Mrs. Kost. She had many great ideas and actually helped select the photos we ended up using. I met with her at least once a week during the whole process. She went over the narrative and sometimes had some good suggestions. I’m really not familiar with the publishing process today or even in 2004 because this was my first attempt at publishing a book.

When you saw the first galley, what did you think? Did it require a lot of editing? 

I was very excited when I saw the first galley. It really did not need a lot of editing because I worked so closely with the publishers and we sort of edited as we went along.

Were you happy with the finished product? 

Yes indeed. I was and still happy with the finished product. Most of the books have sold out and people who purchased them gave rave reviews.

In hindsight, is there anything you’d have done differently? 

No. It was a wonderful experience from start to finish

Where is this book available today? 

There are not many left and I have what is left of them. They were at the JCC but they decided not to be involved with selling them anymore, so I took what was left.

Now, you are also a prolific playwright. Tell us about how you got started in that genre and where it led

 I FINISHED MY COLLLEGE EDUCATION AFTER I WAS MARRIED. AT THE AGE OF 22, I ALREADY HAD A BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL, A DEVOTED AND LOVING HUSBAND AND WE OWNED OUR OWN HOME. IT ALL WAS GREAT, BUT I FELT SOMETHING WAS MISSING IN MY LIFE. I FINALLY REALIZED THAT I NEEDED MENTAL STIMULATION, THAT CHANGING DIAPERS, CLEANING HOUSE AND COOKING WAS PUTTING MY BRAIN TO SLEEP. AS A DIVERSION I JOINED HADASSAH WHERE I MET SOME VERY BRIGHT AND CREATIVE WOMEN. IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG BEFORE THE GROUP WANTED A SKIT ABOUT HADASSAH FOR THEIR OPENING MEETING. IMMEDIATELY SOMETHING WOKE UP MY BRAIN AND IN NO TIME I WROTE MY FIRST PLAY, “MY HADASSAH LADY”. THE SONGS WERE ALL PARADIES OF SONGS FROM THE SHOW, “MY FAIR LADY”. THE SKIT WAS A HUGE SUCCESS SO NATURALLY THEY ASKED ME TO WRITE ANOTHER SKIT. THE SECOND ONE WAS “MY HADASSAH MAMA” USING SONGS FROM “GYPSY”. AND SO IT WENT, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS ASKED ME TO WRITE AND DIRECT SKITS, THEN TEMPLE BETH EL ASKED ME TO WRITE A FULL LENGTH MUSICAL TO BE PERFORMED AS A FUNDRAISER. NOW I WAS ON A ROLL, MORE REQUESTS FOR SHOWS CAME MY WAY FROM MANY DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, EVEN THE BRIGHTON HIGH SCHOOL PTA. ONE SUCCESS LED TO ANOTHER. MY CHILDREN BY THIS TIME WERE OLD ENOUGH AND IN SCHOOL SO I BEGAN WORKING AT THE JCC. I WAS ASKED TO LEAD A SENIOR ADULT DRAMA GROUP AND OF COURSE I STARTED WRITING PLAYS FOR MY STUDENTS. THE GROUP, MOSTLY LADIES IN THEIR 70S AND 80S CAUGHT ON QUICKLY AND WE ALL HAD SO MUCH FUN. ONE DAY I DECIDED IT WOULD BE LOVELY IF I DID A SHOW WITH SENIORS AND CHILDREN. THE FIRST ONE WAS “BUBBY BUSINESS”. EACH BUBBY HAD A CHILD COUNTER PART AND IT WORKED SO WELL THAT I WROTE ANOTHER ONE FOR KIDS AND SENIORS. THAT LED INTO MY WRITING MANY INTERGENERATIONAL PLAYS. ALL THESE HAD ORIGINAL MUSIC COMPOSED BY A FRIEND OF MINE. I HAD A DREAM ABOUT STARTING A PERFORMING ARTS CAMP AT THE JCC AND THEY FINALLY AFTER MUCH PLEADING AND BEGGING GAVE ME THE GO AHEAD. THE CAMP LASTED 20 YEARS AND I WROTE A NEW PLAY FOR THE CAMPERS EVERY YEAR.

Any words of advice to budding playwrights? 

ONLY WRITE ABOUT THINGS YOU KNOW. DON’T TRY TO IMPROVISE BECAUSE IT USUALLY DOESN’T WORK.

Are you still writing plays? I know the ones you have written are still being performed at The Summit, where you now live! I always loved your story about your “writing process” when you and your husband, Al, were on vacation. Please share it with our readers. 

MY HUSBAND AND I WOULD TAKE A VACATION EVERY YEAR AT THE END OF APRIL. WHILE I WAS LOUNGING IN THE SUN, TAKING A WALK OR JUST RELAXING IN OUR HOTEL ROOM, I WOULD WRITE A PLAY. FIRST IT WAS A MULTIGENERATIONAL PLAY, THEN I WROTE MY CAMP PLAYS ON VACATION. I’D GET HOME, MEET WITH MY COMPOSER AND WE’D FINISH THE PROJECT IN TIME FOR CAMP TO BEGIN.

What are you currently reading? 

I usually read in spurts. Sometimes I’ll read a number of different books, one after another, then I’ll take a break from books and spend my time reading The New Yorker and The New York Times. Sometimes I have so much going on that I don’t have time to read much. I like to read in bed before I fall asleep. Right now, I’m ready to start another book.

What words of writing wisdom can you leave the CollectivelyWrite.com members with today?

My style of writing is probably very different than most authors. When I get an idea, I write very quickly and do very little editing. This is not for everyone, but it works for me. I know many authors take months or even years to write a play or even a short story, I usually can churn one out in a week or so, depending on my motivation at the time.

Phyllis, thank you so very much, again, for your time with this interview. You’ve always been my idol. I love sharing you with the other writers on this site.