Politics is in everything we all do, including theater. It’s about economics and government, about gender and class. It’s a form of collective action, which we don’t all have the same agenda. You don’t choose to be a political playwright, rather you just happen to see the world that way. The seeds of racism are still growing in our world. ~Katori Hall, who’s been called “nigger” and “Black bitch” before (rf. Donald Sterling as Lightning Rod). You need to weave politics into a story. Politics is always a human story, because it’s about needs and wants. Hall’s teacher couldn’t think of a scene or two of two African-American women, so she created a play with them herself.
Over the next few weeks, I capture episodes of the National Theatre: Playwriting series. These are instrumental lessons, as I work at my play "The Room." The above are my notes.
No comments:
Post a Comment