- I love you.
- I don’t know what to say.
- You don’t mean that.
- I don’t want to know.
- I love you, too.
- I had a really great day.
- You suck.
- I love huevos rancheros.
- I miss her.
- You’re a slob.
- My thighs are fat.
- I had big dreams.
- The Earth is round.
- I love you to the Moon and back.
- To infinity.
Both. It must start with the playwright – the first interpreter of the story they want to tell. Sometimes we playwrights, no matter how deep we go, don’t know the full breath of the worlds we create. Sometimes the directors and actors bring the part of themselves that connect in a way playwrights would not have anticipated, revealing another layer of truth in the world of the play. If there is no conviction in the delivery, the desired impact can fall short regardless of the words. The collaboration needs actor, director, set designer, lighting, etc., and audience to take part in the interpretation of the truth the playwright has offered. The audience’s role in interpretation is what makes the piece universal to them. When I sat in a production of “Ruined” in New York, every word had a penetrating truth to it but the reality of my life and how I understood “ruined” and how Nottage portrayed “ruined” left me overwhelmed and free at the same time. Universal fits everyone…and everyone is not the same… In cases where I do not connect with the piece, I chalk it up to the playwright; however, I have read plays that are fabulous and seen mediocre productions that should not have imposed anything other than the playwright’s truth on the piece, operative word being “imposed”, because they weren’t collaborating, and the truth of moments and words were lost. The best theater is theater where all the parts connect to find all the layers of the truth – as it were…the truth started with story, written by a playwright. Isn’t that why we tell stories – to share our truths… My opinion…
Had an interesting discussion tonight about intentions behind lines of dialogue. So what is truth, really, in drama? Does truth come from the playwright or the interpreters? I wonder…
Love this, Erica.