Day 13 -- Thanks to all the dramaturgs!

​Our goal at the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference is to develop the play that the playwright wants to write, not the play anyone else on the team thinks they should write. The dramaturgs who work at the conference know the difference, and we are so incredibly grateful for their gentle, persistent efforts to help the playwright get to the play they want. 
 
Today's blog post takeover is by Gay Smith -- a dramaturg who has been coming back over and over to the Seven Devils conference. A playwright as well as a gifted dramaturg, Gay was one of our Writers in Residence during our 2020 Conference for her play The Bartender's Tale. 

Her work as a dramaturg includes the O’Neill Playwrights Conference and Padua Hills in L.A.  She is now Professor Emerita of Theatre at Wesleyan after founding the playwriting program and teaching for 35 years. Her publications include several articles and a few books: Lady Macbeth in America: From the Stage to the White House; George Sand’s Theatre Career; George Sand’s Gabriel; edit and introduction for Plays by Phil Bosakowski. 

​Thank you, Gay!

Gay Smith and Alexandra Espinosa, working through a script question outside the Alpine Playhouse

It’s been a joy to be part of the Seven Devils team for possibly fifteen out of the twenty years we’ve been around. What a joy to to be at Seven Devils working and playing with O’Neill Playwrights’ Conference buddies Amy Saltz, Chris Curry, and this year Skip Mercier. And as always to be working with Jeni who had a wonderful play done at the O’Neill that inspired her to champion and execute the O’Neill process with her and Sheila’s founding of Seven Devils. 

Each Seven Devils’ playwright that I’ve worked with as dramaturg has had his or her own process, calling upon my help in ways unique to each.  I’ve always said that I have only two questions (initially) as dramaturg for the playwright:
How can I help? 
and
Can I buy you a drink? 

After that I listen, listen, listen and ask questions about particular moments or scenes when the playwright asks, or when we see and hear an actor or director stumble over some dialogue or action in the play during its rehearsal. My aim as a dramaturg is to serve the playwright and the process with questions, not with answers—those come from the playwright.

At my age (77!) I can’t recall all the names of the playwrights I’ve listened to and helped when asked, and could name some who have gone on to big careers in the theatre (or were already experiencing big careers) but I’ll always remember their openness to the O’Neill and Seven Devils process, their hunger for the benefits of hard work and collaboration with the team Jeni puts at their disposal: Paula and her team, the directors, actors, dramaturgs, scene designers, technical staff.  Brava, bravo, brava to those playwrights and teams of support— collaborating for twenty years! I’ve loved it!

- ​Gay Smith, McCall, Idaho