I have been working hard on my first professional commission as a playwright, with theatre collective Bread and Goose. A case of blood, sweat and tears...or perhaps more accurately tea, Snickers and late nights...but it has been a thoroughly brilliant experience. Working to a deadline, to a particular specification, attending rehearsals and devising then re-writing on the basis of work done in the day, it really has been an invaluable experience for me as a writer.
If you are reading this, and there's a little part of you thinking, "Well, I do like to write, but I'm not a writer", read on. If you're serious about this writing lark, I urge you, start calling yourself a writer. And start now. So, you might only have a half-typed script tucked away under "Writing" in your My Docs. Or a half-baked idea for a novel scribbled in the first few pages of that swanky Paperchase notebook you were certain was going to mean a masterpiece. We've all been there. And, these pieces only existing in draft form, you wouldn't dare call yourself a writer.
Let me tell you - until you do, that notebook will only gather more dust. Calling yourself a writer when you are at the beginning of your career or development as a wordsmith will, inevitably, make you feel like a fraud. Don't worry about that. Think of yourself as a spy, infiltrating the world of word craft through the back door, and without a dictionary to boot. You'll feel a thrill of excitement and anxiety the first time you answer that favourite of all ice-breakers, "So what do you do?", with the 'W' word. A bead of sweat or a twitch of the eye will surely give away that dreaded 'day job'...they'll know that I make my real money serving beer / behind a desk / selling tickets at the Royal Court / teaching 4 year olds how to dance...how will I ever get away with it?
You know what? It's totally cool. You don't need to be defined by what, financially, you must spend the majority of hours in your week actively doing to make your bread money. One of Britain's most eminent and successful contemporary playwrights, Simon Stephens, wrote his first Royal Court play in fifteen minute snatches each evening, after finishing work as a secondary school teacher and putting his children to bed. Would he have called himself a writer at that point? I don't know, but I'll hazard a guess at a yes. Would he have felt like a fraud? I'm almost certain he would. Think about it this way - a playwright working nights in some dingy East End boozer with godknowswho propping up the bar? Well why don't you just let the play write itself...the characters you need are there in front of you. The idea of a writer sat like the Lady of Shallott, high in some medieval turret, quill in hand, waiting for the muse to descend, is, you will be pleased to note, pure fantasy. Getting out there and working jobs where you meet people and see the world only makes you more of a writer - not less.
Calling yourself a writer (without any qualifying "Well a bit but really I work in a pub" tag-on) is incredibly motivating and a sure-fire confidence boost. And motivation and confidence lead directly to opportunity. I did two playwriting courses this year and finished a draft play, which is still a working document and yet to be performed (if ever - that's fine too by the way!). After the second course, I decided to call myself a writer and really mean it. What followed was an opportunity from Bread and Goose theatre collective to join them as a writer. Four months after my decision to call myself a writer and I have written two pieces of performed theatre, the second of which is my first professional commission.
Introduce yourself as a writer and people talk to you in a different way - and opportunities present themselves unexpectedly. Feel the fear and take those opportunities by the horns. My first professionally commissioned piece opens tomorrow - come watch, I hear the writer is going to be there tomorrow...
http://www.brownpapertickets.c
No comments:
Post a Comment