Poetic Larceny Artists Reveal #5 — Erin Browne

What is Poetic Larceny?

And how can I learn more about Flux’s upcoming production of Pretty Theft?

ERIN BROWNE

Playwright, May 11th

Previous Flux stuff: Most recently the Food:Soul staged reading of Narrator 1, wrote for last year’s Imagination Compact, participated in the 1st Have Another, and developed plays at Flux Sunday like Then and Trying. Her work has been read and produced at various places in NYC and the UK. Erin works in television and is learning to enjoy oatmeal.

We asked the amazing artists of our upcoming staged reading series Poetic Larceny to answer some questions about stealing, beauty, and consequences. Read on for their answers!

Question #1: What is the worst thing you’ve ever stolen?
A classmate’s doll. She was so sad and it was purely malicious, not for monetary value. Even though I returned it almost immediately, I still feel like it’s one of the meanest things I’ve ever done in my life. It’s one of the few things I regret.

Question #2: What is the worst thing that’s been stolen from you?
Either my bike or a VCR. They happened within months of each other when there was a rash of thefts in the apartment complex I lived in. Both represented a certain kind of freedom and were birthday presents from my Dad who lived far away. Probably the VCR because it was taken from inside my home and represented how easy it was for an intruder to enter space I considered safe and mine.

Question #3: What do you find pretty?
Standard things: flowers, things that sparkle or shine, stained glass, some babies, most eyes. Things that are clean, like a fresh sheet of paper or cotton fabric before it’s been turned into something.

Question #4: What do you find beautiful?
Generosity. Scars. Things that are incomprehensively vast like the ocean and the sky and the belief people can have in each other or in concepts. Science. Nature. Things that make sense. Light. The physical embodiments of hope and wonder and joy.

Question #5: If you could steal something beautiful without consequences, what would it be?
The night sky over the desert. I would put it over New York instead so I could have it there every night just for me (and the other people who live in NY could look too if they wanted). The desert can keep it’s sunsets, which seems fair.