Monthly Archives: September 2011

An Interview with Beth Henley

Posted on September 28, 2011 by dobrien
Dan: So we were talking about weirdness in Southern writing. Beth: Well there’s a lot of alcohol in the South also. It’s very much of a drinking culture, particularly when I was growing up. I mean it still is, but not like it used to be, like, “I’ll get you a to-go cup for the road! So you can get from the house to the party!” Never a moment of sobriety! And I also think there’s something interesting about the notion that the South was defeated, and in the face of defeat, humor is often the best defense for humiliation.
READ MORE

A Culture of Trust

Posted on September 21, 2011 by tmac
If a playwright or producer is looking for a director, they do their research. They see the director’s work, seek out references, and/or sit down and have tea with a number of directors to find one their vision can commingle with. They do not ask the director to direct two minutes of the play to prove she knows what she’s doing. Nor should they. They respect and, better yet, trust the director. The same cannot be said for the actor.
READ MORE

Parenting and Playwriting

Posted on September 18, 2011 by ctrieschmann
For what is writing if not the chronicling of accumulated experience run through the imagination and senses? It might follow, therefore, that having children, which is one gigantic act of accumulated experience, if nothing else, should expand one’s imagination and senses enough to make one a better writer, in the way that any life-altering experience might make one a better writer.I, for one, am still waiting.
READ MORE

Adventures in Cyberturgy

Posted on September 14, 2011 by aromero
My own playwriting life is peripatetic. I moved to New York City after grad school, relocated to Minneapolis for a fellowship, landed in Los Angeles for a decade of writing and teaching and am now based in South Bend, Indiana where I write and teach at the University of Notre Dame. When Dakota emailed me about joining LoNyLa last fall, I immediately accepted her offer and agreed to submit my play, Paloma, in consideration for their inaugural writers lab. Over the years, I’ve learned to be open to the unexpected ways in which new play development can occur so this seemed like a promising prospect, especially since I’d just moved to a new city and had yet to connect with a community of theater artists.
READ MORE

It Must Have Been Easier for Joe Papp

Posted on September 11, 2011 by ddower
But when my role is producer I think I don’t actually know where to stand. And I’ve been doing this for years! Where and how does the producer come into the creative process? When should I sit out? Is the “freedom to fail” of higher value than pulling out all stops for success? What part of a failure is on me as the producer in a new play process?
READ MORE

But What’s The Audience For?

Posted on September 4, 2011 by rkaplowitz
I could go on, but my point is that, while these pieces were elegantly made, filled with strong images, crisp performances, and precise detailing, none of them were using their design or their language to tell me what it was I was supposed to be discussing or thinking when I left the theater. They instead excited my senses, and engaged my brain in the moment of the performance. By not delivering a package that answered all questions, they engaged me as an audience member. These pieces required something of me to complete themselves.
READ MORE