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". . . I would like to talk about the traits I think are necessary to build a career as a playwright." —STAMOS
Well, my friends, we have come to the end of this series, The Play's the Thing. This is my last column before I go on hiatus.
As an overview, I would like to talk about the traits I think are necessary to build a career as a playwright. I would be lying if I said being a playwright is easy. But I can also say that when it is right, when elements of cast, production, direction, respect for your script, and an appreciative audience all come together, it can be one of the most joyful experiences ever.
I titled this column Passion, Guts, Persistence, because I really believe these three things are essential to maintaining a life as a playwright.
"You must know, on some deep, essential level that you are a playwright . . ." —STAMOS
Let's start with PASSION. You must love what you do. You must know, on some deep, essential level that you are a playwright - even if others haven't recognized it yet. It must be a hunger. It must be something, as you've often heard, that you can't not do. Characters should crowd your mind as you're drifting off to sleep, dialogue should crop up in your dreams, the rubik's cube of story structure should be something that challenges and thrills you. Of course, there will be times you want to toss your computer out the window, or cry for days at the latest rejection, or wonder, really, why you have to write yet another draft. There may even be times you give it up, you throw in the towel, you try to have a "normal" life. But then, like returning to an irresistible lover, you go back, you court those words once again in the dark of night, and the words sing to you and make you feel whole, and you know you have to keep going.
To do so, ultimately, you must have GUTS. You are a writer, therefore you are most likely sensitive, insecure - at least on some level -, certainly not crazy about the idea of your work being often rejected, or critiqued at every level of its development. I know, I sympathize, who does? But in the end, I'm sorry to be blunt but: GET OVER IT. Because if you do not have the stamina, the doggedness, the out and out bravery to withstand years of rejection, criticism, times you wonder if you're insane to do this and will ever beat the odds; if you do not have the sheer guts to handle all of that, then get out of this business, and make room for someone who does. Does this sound daunting? Well, remember, often you develop guts along the way, because, try as you might, your passion will not allow you to quit. That's okay. Being brave is being brave.
"Passion and Guts must, in the end, be accompanied by PERSISTENCE." —STAMOS
Passion and Guts must, in the end, be accompanied by PERSISTENCE. You are in this for the long haul. I have always said that in the tale of the tortoise and the hare, I am proud to be the tortoise. Steady and sure wins the race. Many will start out with you, but many will fall away. It is your job, no matter what roadblocks are in your way, to keep going. And persistence means more than just keeping at it. It means learning everything you can about your craft. It means understanding the world of marketing, and putting yourself out there in every way possible. It means submitting like crazy, but also networking, going to conferences and functions, meeting people in your field, following up with them, forming those all important connections. It means, picking yourself up from the floor more often than you care to, brushing off the detritus of doubt and rejection, and GOING ON. It means persisting because you know in the truest part of yourself that this is what you are meant to do.
"To be a playwright... is to be a soul excavator, to be a little crazy, to stare the odds in the face. . ." —STAMOS
I started these columns with the statement: "To be a playwright... is to be a soul excavator, to be a little crazy, to stare the odds in the face and persist anyway..." I hope I have given you, in this series of columns, ways into this unpredictable, wonderful, maddening, exhilarating career of playwriting. And I wish for each and every one of you in this pursuit: passion, guts, and persistence!
About the Author
Dale Griffiths Stamos is an award-winning playwright whose work has been produced and published in the United States and abroad. She is on the faculty of the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, and has been a guest workshop instructor at Cal Arts. Her newest full length play, One White Crow, had its world premiere this year at Arena Players Repertory Theatre, Long Island, New York. An evening of her one acts entitled Thicker Than Water, starring Barbara Bain, was produced in May at Promenade Playhouse in Santa Monica, CA. For more information on Dale’s work, go to her website at: www.dalegriffithsstamos.com. For information on Dale’s private consulting (all genres), go to: www.manuscriptconsultant.com.
