by Adam Thurman, guest blogger
As Day 2 began, David Dower selected a group of Playwright's and asked a powerful question:
What's working?
It was an important way to start the roundtable discussion. It's so easy for people, myself included, to talk about what's not working in theatre. It was nice to begin the day on a positive note.
Here's what's working:
1. Mentorship is alive and well - Often, participants in the room mentioned how someone else in the room had provided career guidance, advice and much need words of encouragement. It's cliche to say that no one can make it alone, but it's also very true. Informal mentorship does exist in the field and it's helping many people find their way.
2. Some theatres get it - Playwrights mentioned several theatres, both large and small, that were building healthy relationships with playwrights, building relationships with diverse communities and marketing work effectively.
3. Interesting work is being written - One of the highlights of the conversation was playwright's talking about projects they are working on. Both the conversation in the room and the presentation that happened later on in the evening served as a reminder that people are writing the sort of work that will move the art form forward.
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The roundtable also discussed the issue of "rules". Are there rules for what a black playwright can and can not write about?
Many playwrights believed that they do have to write work under the weight of invisible rules. What makes the situation even more tricky is that those rules come from multiple groups.
Many audience members have rules about what they do and don't want to see on stage. A great story was told that illustrated this point:
During a talkback, two audience members stood up. One black, one white. They both had strong, but different, objections to the work. One felt like the playwright didn't have the skills needed to write a play, the other, an activist in the African American community, objected to the negative images of African Americans on stage.
Playwrights in the room discussed similar experiences and how objections from audience members, artistic staff, and other groups can make it difficult for them to hit their full artistic potential.
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The two conversations illustrated the duality in the room. Hope mixed with the reality of the "real world." The final part of the conversation would center around concrete suggestions on how to improve the terrain for black playwrights. I'll discuss a few of those suggestions in my final post.
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