On Breathing Again as a Playwright
Notes from the Coconut Grove Playwriting Festival
It is hard to believe that three weeks have passed since I was getting ready for my first professional presentation as a playwright. One of six selected writers for the 2nd Annual Coconut Grove Playwriting Festival, I had spent two weeks prior in Miami, traveling from home to home, pursuing the magic of a singular moment—the moment when my words begin to touch an audience for the first time.
In my past readings, I took on the performativity of a coach on the sidelines. Usually, I was the playwright, director, producer, and marketer—I couldn’t sit in the audience while I waited for a miracle to pour down. It was only by the grace of God that my past readings would occur and receive applause—all while I was holding my breath. But this time was different. This time, I had a team.
I was matched with a dream of a director, Ali Tallman—the resident dramaturg at GableStage. From our first meeting at Brandon’s Bistro, I knew our energies would gel well together. With a sharp literary eye, Ali was the perfect collaborator for a script I still wanted to expand. She gave me notes only a dramaturg would give, allowing me to stretch the world into 30 more pages. A few days before the first rehearsal, I incorporated notes from my beloved friend and dramaturg Jordan Ealey, and Ali didn’t blink. During the first rehearsal, Ali gave me the entire room to hear the work and communicate with the cast. She provided structural notes—which were essential once we heard the changes aloud. By the second rehearsal, a new draft came to life, and everything clicked—for myself, the actors, and Ali. While the script is still evolving, I wanted to semi-lock it for everyone’s sanity.
