Singing Loudly

It's an odd relationship when you begin because someone has come to you and, if they're clever, then the director has said, "I love your writing." It's weird because at that point it's very difficult to not be over-grateful. The tricky thing for me is to keep some distance at that point and to not listen.

This morning I sent the director a working copy of the play. Right now it's hovering around 115 pages, and I'm not all that happy with the writing. He called me about his impressions and how he wants it to change. Do I listen to what he wants when I don't know what I exactly want? The playwright-director relationship is always very difficult. We talked for around two hours about the play; most of it being centered on his disappointment.

I think what most upset him was when he was trying to ask me casting decisions. He said, "When we start to think about casting the woman, how old do you think?" I let him know that it's really hard to say from the text. I'm guessing that she could be anywhere from twenty-two to forty. He said, "Do you think she's fair or dark?" Again, I told him, I don't think there is anything in the play that tells us that. That's when he seemed pretty frustrated with me. I believe there was a loud sigh and then a "aha." I told him that it really is a mystery to me.

Part of the problem is that when I come up with characters it comes from my head to the page, but the outlines of these characters are still very indeterminate. I know that there are some playwrights, such as Durrenmatt, who write very specific characters. He needs that control over what happens to his characters because the way the people looks is a part of the point. Then there are playwrights like Pinter who write very indeterminate characters.

I once was in correspondence from a well-known playwright who read one of my plays in consideration for an MFA program. He let me know that I ought to write biographies for all of my characters. He wanted me to do that so that I would have a life story for everyone whether I used it in the play or not. I told him that I would not do that, and that I didn't agree it is a necessary part of writing. He laughed because he had never had playwright suggestions rejected by anyone outside of the workshop environment.

This conversation seems to carry over a lot. The director today asked how these two characters get to the point where they are at their anniversary. I told him that I really couldn't tell him anything about that. I don't know anything about these people other than what they do in that house. Don't ask me about their background, where they come from, how much money they earn, what they do on their weekends. Anything I know about them is in the play. I cannot tell you anymore than that.

This to me is exactly the way you encounter people in life, until you get to know people well. What you know is what comes through the door and what you deal with from clues you then get. I want part of the director-actor relationship to be going through this process. They need to get to know my characters. They need to be able to allow the audience to get to know my characters. I refuse to answer questions on that.