New York. "Sunlight," in which a university president turns the world upside down in a single night, will have workshop performances at 7:45 p.m. Friday, 2:30 and 7:45 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. next Sunday.
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If I haven't explored characters' motivations or feelings, then it starts feeling false. I'll keep reviewing everything I've done. It's three steps forward and three steps back. With each new bit of information I discover I need to make the plot tighter or the characters more alive. A slight change in character is going to change everything you say, from periods and semicolons to how much they curse.
With South Coast, you're in communication every few months. Whenever I'm ready to send some new drafts and scenes, I talk with Megan Monaghan, the literary manager. They are very careful in the manner in which thoughts are given. Megan would front the thoughts of [artistic director Martin Benson, producing artistic director David Emmes and associate artistic director John Glore]. It's always very Socratic. It's left me feeling the play has been mine the whole time.
With any play, the big issue is when you have worn out your welcome. South Coast is such a great place for testing, a place where you can start building the relationship between the play and the audience. You can see where people shift in their seats, where they need to breathe, or have a rest from language or ideas. With 'Sunlight,' I went out and did a small workshop in late November, and it was very helpful to see it and to hear it in the actors' mouths. There was one character that was not quite rounded out for me -- he was more of an argument than a character -- so it was nice to see him in an actor's body. I could take the steps I needed after that."
