Sue's News

TV, the Promised Land?

February 26th, 2010

I have to admit, it’s not the first time I’ve heard about this… A few years ago, I attended a Dramatists’ Guild talk dealing with this exact issue, packaged as a way for playwrights to make a living in between productions, and a good one at that.

It’s troubling though that it’s now showing up in places like the Journal. Though it’s a sad reality that playwrights aren’t paid as well as some of their counterparts, articles like this make it sound okay, because they can moonlight — instead of trying to figure out why there’s this disparity and closing the gap.

And, as pointed out in the article, TV might be benefiting from the influx of playwrights writing for TV, theatre might not be benefit in the same way.

Theatre is a different animal… It’s about dialogue and character development. It’s also about encapsulating a story to bring out the most dramatic elements of that story. More than anything, it’s all about the WORDS and SOUNDS.

TV is about visuals, locations, and telling a good story, but we get to know characters over seasons, and so the way stories are told are just different.

I remember very well when I was workshopping a play a few years ago, when I was relying on stage directions. I was told by an actress, “In theatre, you can’t control what people are looking at, no matter how good the picture you’re painting on stage. They’re not staring at a screen, it’s live… and you don’t have any control when it’s live. The audience could be looking at their hands, their feet, the ceiling… you need to make sure the words are there so they hear them.”

It was some of the best (play)writing advice I’ve ever heard.

I’m all for people being multi-talented, and for artists being paid well for their work, but suggesting that one can jump willy-nilly between one discipline and the next is irresponsible.

–Sue

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