Dramaturgy With Dom Mercer at Belvoir St Theatre

How does a new Australian play end up on the main stage? One way is commissioning by a theatre company. In today's episode, Dom Mercer, Head of New Work at Belvoir, talks us through this process. We discuss how new plays go from an idea to a story outline, and then through three drafts before they are considered for programming in a main stage season.

Dom takes you step by step through the development process within the commissioning model, and shares his provocations for playwrights going through their own drafting process. As a dramaturg of new writing, Dom has so many wonderful insights that are unique to each specific draft and his provocations for playwrights are some of my favourites.

About Dom Mercer: Dom Mercer is a dramaturg, director and producer based in Sydney. He is currently Head of New Work at Belvoir. At Belvoir his role has a focus on new writing and artist development, including leading commissions and supporting the creative development pipeline for Belvoir's main stage productions in the Upstairs theatre. He also founded and runs 25A; a curated season of independent works made in Belvoir’s Downstairs theatre.

We recorded today's conversation at Belvoir on Gadigal land. I acknowledge and pay my respects to the Gadigal people of the Eora nation who are the traditional custodians of the land on which Belvoir St Theatre is built.

Playwriting AMA (Ask Me Anything)

Today I answer your writing questions in an ‘ask me anything’ episode. I cover loads of topics related to playwriting, theatre and dramaturgy.

Here’s what you asked: 

  • How do play development workshops work, and how do you structure each day?

  • What do you do when you're struggling with writer's block?

  • How do you organise your life as a writer?

  • Do you speak to people about your plays in early drafts, or are you selective? I ask because I find it hard to speak to people about my ideas in the early phase.

  • How do you make contact with and collaborate with subject matter experts and sensitivity readers?

  • How do you manage doubt and despair in the creative process?

  • How do you switch off from writing?

  • Can you suggest some music and playlists to write to?

If you enjoyed today’s episode, feel free to send through your own questions for a follow up ep. Say hi via email emily@emilysheehan.info or on Instagram @emilysheehan__

Turning Ideas Into a Play

AMA (Ask Me Anything) episode is next up! Send me any questions you want answered to emily@emilysheehan.info, or via DM on Instagram @emilysheehan__.

We all have ideas for plays (and movies and novels) that never make it to a finished draft. So today’s episode is about the steps you can take to develop an idea into an outline for a play.

Turning your ideas into a play is the process of asking yourself dramaturgical questions, making decisions about the story, then executing on those decisions. This episode covers my thoughts on this process. As well as the dramaturgical questions I'm asking myself as I turn my most recent idea into an outline for a new play.

I reference

  • Episode 44. Confessional Writing (Emily’s version)

Other episodes about turning ideas into plays

  • Episode 22. Writing a Draft Zero

  • Episode 19. Writing the Next Thing

  • Episode 18. Tracking progress in early drafts

Thank you for listening. You can learn more about my work on my website www.emilysheehan.info

Confessional Writing (Emily’s version)

Today I’m riffing on Taylor Swift and how as playwrights we can find ways to write in a way that feels incredibly truthful, to the point that it feels confessional. In what ways can we better embrace the cringey, diaristic, oversharing in our early drafts, so that we can move through to subtle, nuanced insights in our polished work? Because you can’t get to sophisticated sincerity, if you don’t nurture your cringe. And if we think being emotional in our writing isn’t intellectually rigorous enough, I think we risk suffocating where a piece of writing might take us…

I reference

  • ‘All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)’ by Taylor Swift

  • ‘All To Well’ by Taylor Swift

  • ‘folklore’ studio album by Taylor Swift

I'm doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) episode next up! Send me your questions to answer by email emily@emilysheehan.info or on Instagram @emilysheehan__

Writing Multiple Projects at the Same Time

Should we have multiple scripts on the go? Today I delve into the benefits and challenges of writing more than one idea at the same time. As well as some strategies for focus and momentum when bouncing between stories.

I touch on: 

  • The temptation to do 'all the things' when it comes to new ideas.

  • The complexities of managing more than one writing project at once.

  • Identifying a primary project and side project and letting them ebb and flow.

  • Planning your writing week when you have more than one thing on the go.

  • Allocating the right amount of time to make manageable and meaningful progress.

  • Planning for setbacks.

Thank you for listening. To learn more about me and my work visit my website www.emilysheehan.info, say hi on Instagram @emilysheehan__ or reach me in an email at emily@emilysheehan.info.

Reviews, theatre criticism and perfect opinions

Having our work reviewed publicly is a strange and unavoidable part of writing. It's something we all have to deal with when we put new work out into the world. In today's episode I talk about reviews, theatre criticism and 'perfect opinions'. I touch on: 

  • Writers' different appetites for reading reviews of their work. 

  • The difference between theatre criticism and reviews.

  • Frustrations with an imperfect reviewing culture.

  • How reviews are one small piece of the broader cultural and critical response your work. 

  • Knowing what's important to you. Whether that's the audience response, the industry response, the response from the community the work represents, box office sales, awards and nominations etc. 

  • Asking who or what art criticism meant to serve?

  • My thoughts on writers being part of the broader conversation surrounding their work. 

I reference: 

  • ‘Beejay Silcox on literary criticism and the art of judging’ on The Garret podcast

Thank you for listening. If you’re enjoying the podcast, leaving a rating or a review is a really friendly way to show your support. 

To learn more about my work, visit my website, connect with me on Instagram @emilysheehan__ or send me an email at emily@emilysheehan.info.

The Frame Narrative Rehearsal Room with Lucy Clements

Today I'm joined by Artistic Director of the Old Fitz Theatre, Lucy Clements, to talk about the rehearsal room for my play Frame Narrative.

We speak about:

  • Finding the right artistic team to build out the world of the play.

  • The rehearsal process and the role of a director and playwright at different stages.

  • The many design elements and working with composition in the rehearsal room.

  • Working with an intimacy coordinator to choreograph the work.

  • Making changes to the text on the floor.

Come see the show!

Frame Narrative by Emily Sheehan

Directed by Lucy Clements

At Old Fitz Theatre

8-30 March 2024

https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/frame-narrative

Follow Lucy on instagram @lucypodstolski and @newghoststheatrecompany

Follow me on instagram @emilysheehan__

Adaptations

I've been writing an adaptation! (Frame Narrative and it’s on March 8-30, 2024 at The Old Fitz in Sydney.) Working with source material this time has changed some parts of my writing process. So I thought it could be useful to share what's been helpful along the way. 

I speak about:

  • The many kinds of adaptations: retellings, reimaginings, cover songs, fan fiction, prequels, sequels etc. 

  • Bridging the gap between the source material and the liveness of theatre (or whatever form you write in.)

  • The relationship between form and content.

  • Using research to broaden your access points to the material and find new ideas and inspiration. 

  • Imagine filtering a story through your voice and aesthetic like it’s a cover song. How does this particular story sound in your voice? 

  • Marginalia and the long history of readers writing in the margins of books.

  • Working with the expectations audiences bring to a work when they know it’s an adaptation. Can you deliver on the expectations that open up possibilities, and subvert the ones that don’t.

I reference:

See Monument at Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre!
By Emily Sheehan and directed by Ella Caldwell
February 20 - March 10, 2024
Book now: https://www.redstitch.net/monument-2024 


See Frame Narrative at The Old Fitz Theatre!
By Emily Sheehan and directed by Lucy Clements
March 8 - 30, 2024
Book now: https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/frame-narrative

Kill Your Darlings

Sometimes in order to make a piece of writing stronger you have to remove something. Whether that's a conversation between two characters, a whole scene, a whole narrative thread or maybe even a whole character. In today’s episode I unpack the common piece of writing advice to ‘kill your darlings’ and share some of the provocations and writing tasks that have helped me cut material from my latest draft.

I speak about:

  • Stepping back and looking at your play as a whole rather than its individual parts.

  • We often default to adding something to our draft to improve it, but subtraction is just as important.

  • How to know when to add something and when to take something away.

  • When not to kill your darlings.

  • Why going for clarity in each moment of the script isn’t the same as being vanilla.

  • Some prompts for cutting dialogue, cutting drama beats, cutting key events, cutting scenes, cutting narrative threads, cutting whole characters and cutting stage time.

I reference:

  • Episode 28 ‘Character Development’

  • Episode 38 ‘Stay With the Story’

  • Mark Ravenhill’s series of tweets ‘101 Notes on Playwriting’

See Monument at Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre
By Emily Sheehan directed by Ella Caldwell

February 20 - March 10, 2024

Book now: https://www.redstitch.net/monument-2024 

See Frame Narrative at The Old Fitz Theatre
By Emily Sheehan directed by Lucy Clements
March 8 - 30, 2024
Book now: https://www.oldfitztheatre.com.au/frame-narrative

Stay With the Story

What’s your play about? What questions is it trying to answer? What provocations does it make? After a period of intense focus on the big ideas of the play, it can be helpful to switch focus and 'stay with the story'.

I speak about: 


  • Writing from your authentic voice. The place where you are the most honest, most lyrical, most creative.

  • The difference between what your play is about, and what it’s really about.
- Developing the story versus developing the ideas.

  • The dance between complex ideas in a simple story, and simple ideas within a complex story.

  • Looking at feedback through a story lens.

  • Looking at your outline through a story lens.

  • Using note cards to physicalise your story spine.

  • Why I always print out the material I’m working on.

I reference:

  • Episode 22 'Writing a Draft Zero’

  • ‘36 Assumptions About Writing Plays’ by José Rivera

Get one-on-one support for your writing by visiting www.emilysheehan.info/dramaturgy  

Say hi, ask a writing question or request a podcast topic on instagram @emilysheehan__

Do We Need to Feel Ready to Write?

A seductive psychological defence is that we will one day feel ready. Ready to start a draft. Ready to tackle these rewrites. Ready to send the script to a friend to read. But feelings of readiness don’t always arrive…

Today I share my thoughts on whether we need to feel ready before we take the next step in a creative project. And some strategies and tools to try out if we don’t feel ready. I speak about:

  • Readiness is an emotion and emotions are fickle.

  • How to focus on what you can control: where you place your attention and the action you take.

  • Discovering a supportive writing routine and setting up writing sessions.

  • Getting curious about the pace your project wants to move at. Does it want to go slow? Or does it want to bolt? Are you getting in the way of that pace?

  • A travel story about the opulent dinner parties thrown by Salvador Dalí and his wife and muse, Gala. Hint: if you’re given a bottle of champagne, it’s only good on your shelf for a year. So don’t save it. Drink it!

I reference:

  • Episode 14 Episode Creative Resets Between Projects

  • Episode 15 'The Artist's Way' Weeks 1-4

  • Episode 16 'The Artist's Way' Weeks 5-8

  • Episode 17 'The Artist's Way' Weeks 9-12

  • Episode 25 Writing Habits to Overcome Procrastination

  • ‘Dali: Les Diners De Gala’ by Salvador Dali.

Get one-on-one support for your writing by visiting www.emilysheehan.info/dramaturgy

Say hi, ask a writing question or request a podcast topic on instagram @emilysheehan__

Rest and Wellbeing for Writers

It’s time to reacquaint ourselves with rest. Rest and recovery are as much a part of the creative process as phases of enormous artistic output. And we can validate our ambition to create our best work and chase our dreams, at the same time we talk about wellbeing and meeting our needs as artists. ‘Pushing through’ when we’ve hit our limit is rampant in the arts industry. This podcast is an invitation. I want to release you from the myth that those who are experiencing the most artistic success and the most artistic fulfilment are the ones who are pushing the hardest.

In this episode I speak about:

  • The myth that those who are successful are pushing the hardest.

  • Rest’s relationship with capitalism.

  • My honest opinion on our obsession with ‘pushing through’ in the arts industry.

  • How we can find rest within a broken system.

  • The difference between high quality rest activities and unhelpful numbing techniques.

  • My strategies for setting up small ways to rest and extended ways to rest, and making space for mindful distraction techniques during the week’s schedule.

References:

'Rest is Resistance' by Tricia Hersey

If you’re enjoying the podcast, please leave me a rating or a review. It’s a really friendly way to show your support.

Monument on Arts Weekly, She Bop and Smart Arts

As part of the publicity for Monument at Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre, I’ve done a number of radio interviews. This episode is a compilation of three of my favourite radio conversations.

So much about theatre and live performance is ephemeral, so including these in my podcast feed is a way to archive interesting conversations about the play. Even though art and writing can and should speak for itself, I also really believe that artists should be part of the conversation about their work.

Listen to these interviews in full!

And check out other conversations with interesting artists by following

Read the script!

Monument by Emily Sheehan

The Monument Rehearsal Room with Ella Caldwell

Today I'm joined by Artistic Director of Red Stitch Actors' Theatre, Ella Caldwell, to talk about the rehearsal room for my play Monument.

We speak about:

  • Finding the right artistic team to build out the world of the play.

  • Bringing different perspectives into the development room.

  • The rehearsal process and the role of a director and playwright.

  • New discoveries in the rehearsal room and going all the way with a choice to reveal the next layer.

  • Being brave enough to expose your work early and when to open up the rehearsal room to outside eyes.

  • The themes of Monument (politics and beauty culture) and our personal relationship to makeup.

  • The challenges of working with a closed time closed place play.

  • Engaging subject matter experts at different points of the artistic process.

  • Working with a makeup consultant in the rehearsal room.

Come see the show! 

Monument by Emily Sheehan

Directed by Ella Caldwell 

At Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre

9 August - 3 September, 2023

Book now: www.redstitch.net/monument-2023

Read the script! 

Monument by Emily Sheehan

Published by Currency Press

Buy here: www.currency.com.au/books/drama/monument/

Coming Soon... Monument at Red Stitch

Monument by Emily Sheehan

Directed by Ella Caldwell
Red Stitch Actors’ Theatre
9 August - 3 September, 2023
Book now: www.redstitch.net/monument-2023

Next Episode

If you have questions about the rehearsal room or working with a director that you want Ella or myself to speak about, DM me on Instagram @emilysheehan__ and that will give Ella and I some ideas for our podcast chat later this month.

10 Week Playwriting Workshop 
September 5 - November 7, 2023
Details here: bit.ly/banyule-playwriting

The Art of Slow Looking in Galleries

I’ve been intrigued by the concept of ‘slow looking’ from my visits to galleries in my travels. Slow looking is an approach to visiting a gallery that encourages spending more time with a few selected artworks, rather than rushing through to try and see everything.

In today’s episode I’m sharing some thoughts on slow looking, how it’s extended to my experience watching theatre, and how I’ve been using it as an entry point for writing scenes.

References:

'A guide to slow looking' on the Tate website

To learn more about my work, visit my about page or connect with me on Instagram @emilysheehan__. If you’re interested in working with me as your dramaturg then send me an email at emily@emilysheehan.info.

Playwriting Provocations: ‘36 Assumptions About Writing Plays’ by José Rivera

In today’s episode I share one of my favourite pieces of writing about playwriting. José Rivera’s ‘36 Assumptions About Writing Plays’, originally published in the American Theatre Magazine. It’s a beautiful list of provocations about playwriting craft which I have found enormously helpful and returned to again and again.

References

‘36 Assumptions About Writing Plays’ by José Rivera

To learn more about my work, visit my website or connect with me on Instagram @emilysheehan__. If you’re interested in working with me as your dramaturg then send me an email at emily@emilysheehan.info.

Writing When Life Gets in the Way

Today I talk about staying consistent in our writing practice even when life gets busy. I've been feeling motivated and inspired, but despite my best intentions, life has been intruding on my writing time. This has made for some rushed and unsatisfying writing sessions this month.

So today I'm sharing what has been helpful creative process wise when it comes to writing when life gets in the way. Because I hope that my artistic self can still feel welcome in all seasons of life, even if the conditions are less than ideal.

I cover

  • Physical, mental and emotional exhaustion.

  • When to rest and when to persevere.

  • Asking 'Do I know what the next step is?' Followed by, 'Do I have everything I need to take the next step.'

  • Writing in less than favourable conditions.

  • Why taking smaller steps more often is more supportive than finding days for enormous progress.

  • Finding smaller pockets of time to create in.

  • Journaling on life's big themes when they're present in our life.

  • The inhale and exhale of a writing life.

  • Sarah Ruhl’s wonderful words on why writing is more about life than it is about writing, and so life by definition is not an intrusion.

  • And finding what you can drop and where you can lower your standards, because there is magic in C-grade work.

References

To learn more about my work, visit my about page or connect with me on Instagram @emilysheehan__.

If you’re interested in working with me as your dramaturg then contact me at emily@emilysheehan.info.

Playwriting and Genre

As playwrights, it’s useful to understand the audience-facing aspects of the genre we’re working in, so we can make interesting decisions as we write. In this episode I share how I'm letting genre inform many of the dramaturgical choices I’m making in this draft.

I speak about:

  • Leaning into the natural momentum of a genre you’re writing in and letting it draw things out of you.

  • Managing and playing with audience expectations and the kind of story they might expect to see.

  • How genre can influence: the world of the play, the emotional and stylistic palette, the controlling ideas, the themes and the wants and needs of our characters. 

  • Knowing which genre conventions you’re aligning with and which you’re choosing to twist and subvert.

  • How different genres have slightly different ways they work to evoke emotions, frame central questions, and show specific changes across the arc of a story.

  • The fear of predictability when working with well-known story conventions.

References:

Prima Facie by Suzie Miller

To learn more about my work, visit my website or connect with me on Instagram @emilysheehan__. If you’re interested in working with me as your dramaturg then send me an email at emily@emilysheehan.info. 

Character Development

Creating characters that are both interesting and integral to the plot of your play can take several rounds of revisions. I’m in a second draft and working on enmeshing my characters with the themes and story more.

In this episode, I share some of the writing exercises and prompts that have helped me develop my characters in meaningful ways. 

These include:

  • Identifying when a character doesn't feel fully developed on the page.

  • Basic story work to uncover a character's wants, flaws, wounds, and needs.

  • Journaling to explore a character's relationship to the themes.

  • Making a list of the decisions each character makes within the timeline of the play that moves the story forward.

  • Mapping out the character constellations in each scene.

  • Experimenting with point of view in key moments.

  • Rewriting scenes to centre a different character's perspective.

References

16 Personalities test

Thank you for listening!

If you've found this episode helpful, leaving a rating or review on your preferred podcast app is a really friendly way to show your support.

To learn more about my work, visit my about page or connect with me on Instagram @emilysheehan__.