Blacker Thoughts on Feedback Sessions

Robert, Jessica, and I met at House of Aromas downtown on the Friday following the “harrowing” session of feedback given on Wednesday. We started the discussion, thinking and considering ways that the reluctance and resisteance of those in the class could have been averted. Was it an issue of bringing up the “frame” for our feedback before the reading had begun? That way, people would’ve been ready for the way our discussion would be run rather than springing it on them right before they had to give their comments.

Robert also brought up the fact that we are in an educational setting, which has its own “artificial constraints” such as the fact that the feedback session immediately follows the reading. Robert added that in his time at the Sundance Theatre Lab the feedback sessions were on the following day. This gives those involved in the conversation a chance to rest and come to the talkback fresh. It also gives them a chance to reread the script more closely and prepare a little bit more. That night provides time to let ideas percolate and rise to the surface.

This made me wonder if this was a better way to frame the Playwrights Workshop feedbacks? As it stands, Workshop takes place on Monday nights from 6:30 until 10:00pm. By 6pm on a Monday night, most people are exhausted and frustrated, and by the time the conversation comes around 8pm, people aren’t in the right frame of mind to discuss the work. Perhaps having the reading on Monday night and the feedback on Tuesday mornings at 10:00 would allow for everyone to be rested, alert, and more present than waning on a Monday night. This would also allow, at least, the dramaturges if not everyone in the Workshop, the chance to look over the script and see what might exist in the script that may have been missed, or misinterpreted by an actor in the reading.

There is also the issue of rehearsals. Too often the playwright is left to him or herself to organize actors and run rehearsals. Most playwrights don’t have “directing” experience and may not be able to separate themselves from the material in order to speak to actors effectively. How can the directors become more involved in this process? Again, perhaps the answer boils down to getting more directors, or having fewer playwrights.