I met with my play group last night. We're about a dozen playwrights, good ones -- some big names in the world of new plays, some total unknowns. We meet once every two weeks for TWO YEARS to give each other feedback.
I was reminded, last night, just how hard it can be to stick to giving fair feedback -- to not jump into the role of "fixer," to support your fellow playwrights in writing the play that THEY intend to write, not the play YOU'D write.
Sometimes, when a play isn't working, the "solution" seems so obvious. But it's YOUR solution, not theirs. Sometimes, it seems like a playwright is missing the forest for the trees, in terms of their questions.
Still, you're there to help them as best you can -- to avoid the "evaluative" comment, even when you want to say is "that character is boring" or "that scene can go."
It's a delicate balance. We won't always get it right. All we can do is practice.
jc
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