Everything is a process.

Probably the most important thing you can remember when writing a play, and when bringing that play to production, is that it is a process. Until your play opens on Broadway, it is never really fully baked. There are always more levels to explore, more pages to cut, and more workshopping to do.

Three years ago, I directed an amazing little play called The Bigot by Eva and Gabi Mor. When we first started work on the play, Gabi and I went through the script for hours on end, cuttting, reworking and simplifying things. It was a long process, but it is a really important piece of the play development pie.

Then, in rehearsal, we worked on scenes and simplified things. As the actors started to embodied the characters, I could easily see where we could continue to cut and make the play more concise and focused. The play development process is fantastic for the work informs the creative team.

Let me say that again:

The work informs the creative team!

In performance, The Bigot grew even more. There is something about when an audience watches a play that absolutely changes a play - hopefully for the better. As I watched the Bigot in performance each night, I could see new places where we could cut or simplify and I actually calibrated the audience’s focus and response, and I could clearly see what was clear and what was a bit cloudy.

This is the way to “grow” a play. Workshop it. Do a small production or just get some actor friends to fully act it in your living room.

And then LEARN from it. And make it perfect.

A play is a live EMOTIONAL experience, so how could you only develop it on paper?

Developing a play on paper is just an intellectual experience. It’s just a story. A novel. Bore me.

Make the choice to develop our play by bringing it to life.

By the way, The Bigot went on to be produced regionally by 5 theatres in 2018, and in 2019 it returned to NYC as an Off-Broadway production.

When I saw it in June 2019 Off-Broadway, it had grown in many ways from having performances all over the country for a variety of audiences. Gabi and Eva made the choice to LEARN from each production, and it paid off for them.

So bring your play to life, and LEARN from it.

Be a better playwright.

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