As listeners of this podcast (and anybody with half a brain) know, comedy is hard, which makes the success of Selina Fillinger’s play “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” even more notable. Recounting a particularly bad day in the administration of a philandering President, the play centers on the women activating behind the scenes to prop him up. “POTUS” premiered on Broadway last year and Peter says the current production at Arena Stage is even better. (Elisabeth hasn’t seen it but she wants it known that she has long been a big fan of Megan Hill, who takes on the role of the office assistant that was played by Rachel Dratch in New York.)
“POTUS” was Selina’s second play in New York, after the much different “Something Clean” at the Roundabout Underground in 2019. According to American Theater Magazine, it is the third most produced play in the U.S. for the 2023-24 season. She is also the fifth most produced playwright. Not too shabby!
We talked to Selina about how she fell into theater (hint: somewhat of a parallel trajectory as our previous guest, Jocelyn Bioh) and who/what influenced her. But what really caught our attention was when she got down in the weeds as to what makes a line or a scene funny. She gave specific examples, too, so consider this podcast our version of a master class or a TEDTalk.
Bonus: The Three Stooges make a guest appearance in the conversation!
Thanks to Christian Huygen for our theme music.
A chat with Selina Fillinger