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Writers

An official National Theatre Wales group

Writers who want to be part of National Theatre Wales, share ideas, get feedback from each other, and hear about opportunities

Members: 481
Latest Activity: Jan 30, 2023

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Discussion Forum

Looking for Welsh Playwrights for Scratch Night in London.

Started by CHIPPY LANE PRODUCTIONS LTD. Aug 7, 2016.

Collaborators Needed! 2 Replies

Started by Camille Naylor. Last reply by sean donovan Dec 1, 2015.

Looking for a writer to collaborate on an idea. 2 Replies

Started by Caley Powell. Last reply by Catrin Fflur Huws Mar 3, 2015.

NTW Dramaturgy Project - Beginnings

Started by Richard Hurford Oct 20, 2014.

ONiiiT: The Power of Words

Started by Sophie Chei Hickson Aug 21, 2014.

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Comment by Peter Cox MBE on March 12, 2014 at 23:09

Okay, so...

Given the vast range of goodies that dramaturgs have brought to the party historically...  including - a solid grounding in history, performance theory, practice and social and cultural influences... plus skills or experience in mentoring, devising, adaptation, analyses, translating, editing... plus potentially producing publicity and education information such as for programmes and websites... plus supporting the director, writer, producer, designer and by osmosis the actor...  etcetera etcetera...  plus now needing to have an even wider range of skills including having non-narratorial, anti-narrativial, performatoriational, paranarrabumpsidaisical skills...

I think the word / name / job title we might be looking for is...

Thaumaturge...

'A conjuror, a worker of wonders and marvels; a performer of miracles, a magician.'

Comment by Kaite O'Reilly on March 12, 2014 at 6:40

@Greg.

Enjoyed that.

x

Comment by Greg Cullen on March 12, 2014 at 6:38

When conceptual Italian artist Piero Manzoni created 90 tins filled with his own shit, (their value to fluctuate with the price of Gold), he wrote upon each tin in various languages...

"Artist's Shit.

Contents 30 gr net.

Freshly preserved.

Produced and tinned
in May 1961"

Manzoni therefore began with a concept and ended up by telling a story. Whatever our starting point I suspect that is what we all, always, do.

Another of his works consisted of painting a line on long scrolls of paper. These were then neatly packaged and sent to every leader in the world. When joined together they were the exact circumference of the Earth. If he wasn't creating a story, or even billions of stories, by that conceptual act, then I don't understand his intentions.

Let me tell you a story...I was looking at a Barbara Hepworth sculpture the other day entitled, "Two Interlocking Forms". The interplay of their individual characteristics, textures, light and dark combined within one form, told an aesthetic story. Looking at it took me on a journey. Not "Thelma and Louise" perhaps but "Babs and Greg". Perhaps because I write plays I describe her work in those terms? Perhaps that's just what all art does?

Whenever we intervene in "this life" to make something, that act is in itself an incursion into the pre-existing narrative. We are seeking to change it. We are taking control of the story of "this life". No matter how fragile or gentle our act of creativity is, I love its inescapable, narrative insurgency. 

Comment by Terry Victor on March 12, 2014 at 4:26

As the lexicographer/harmless drudge at this table I would like to offer (in part as defence of the magnificent OED) that no word can be defined until it is expressed, and that expression is nuanced by intention and that, in turn, is constantly mutable. It surely follows that whatever versions of 'story' are being considered here no dictionary definition can ever satisfy all the requirements made of the word. The dictionary can only record an existing, well-attested usage. Here we may as well substitute 'story' or 'stories' for 'art' in the cliché: I don't know much about art but I know what I like. 

Hastening through this thread, it seems to me that the requirement for multi-faceted story-responders (trauma-durgs?) is certain - the requirement to define that role with a label less so. Trust the dictionaries to catch up, leave the lexicographers to struggle with the nuance and just get on with making it happen. The word will arise.

A final thought then back to work: I know what is intended in this context by 'ninja'. It's a whole new sense for the word that started life as the Japanese for 'spy'.

Comment by Ailsa Richardson on March 12, 2014 at 3:45

I'm with you Kaite - I'm not anti story and recognise the power of story but very aware that many forms of performance exist that are purely referencing for example a perceptual response, a concept, an action, movements in the body, a  repetition, a poetics, duration, silence, a way of paying attention, the way light changes in a space etc. etc. In my experience an idea does not always start with a story - there are so many other ways to be and perceive in the world and also to communicate - and although story is often present in some form, it isn't always so.  So the question is whether these forms of performance also are included and allowed to crossover with what we call theatre, and my understanding is that NTW is open to this and I'd be very disappointed if it wasn't. As somebody who makes and explores work that is often not inclusive of story or narrative (and is also involved with others where story is central) the use of the word story feels like it applies only to certain kinds of performance. 

I am feeling slightly out on a limb here as I don't know many of you and I am not 'a writer' as such (I wonder where 'performance writing' fits in to all this). I hope its useful to have other voices in here from other creative specialisms. Best to you all! Here's to provocateurs, disturbing angels and ninjaturgs!

Comment by Phil Morris on March 12, 2014 at 3:16

@ Kaite - Joking aside. I agree with you that there is potential danger in being too dogmatic about how narrative is structured around notions of story - especially for a company like NTW that has always seeks to explore new modes of structuring narrative. For me dramaturgy is always about informing or infusing a point in time and space with as much. or many, meaning(s) as it is possible for it to bear. Using story is clearly the traditional and often most effective method of loading the moment with meaning(s) but there are clearly other ways of going about this. I agree with Tim that even if story isn't the only tool we writers have it is the point of reference, even in a negative sense. But agree with you that notions of story should not be a given.

Comment by Kaite O'Reilly on March 12, 2014 at 2:54

@Phil. 

xx

Lucky Orson

Comment by Kaite O'Reilly on March 12, 2014 at 2:51

@Tim: 

The point is story structure, order, and pattern is already inherently in us. It's how the brain works and what we may already be well experienced in.We only have to interact with a small child to understand how sophisticated an understanding of story is even in very tiny humans. Sure, we may all need help sometimes in sorting this - BUT I'm responding to comments earlier in this thread about alternative input. I'm not anti-story. I'm embracing the notion John presented that along with writers there are several other artists from other disciplines who are available, depending on the specific needs of the individual and the project. And that may contain aspects other than 'story', so surely it is counter-productive and churlish to insist 'story' is in the title. This might be seen by some as a closure, not an opening, and dangerously close to the one approach/discipline 'development hell' that opened some of the discussion in the first place.

Just as the proposal John laid out, I'm arguing for a combination of figures from different disciplines, with skills, approaches, theatre styles,etc - what may work best for individual needs in individual projects.

x

Comment by Phil Morris on March 12, 2014 at 2:45

Why storyninja? Can't we just refer to oursleves as ninjas? Always wanted to be a ninja since I was six, now my four year old boy Orson wants to be one too. How many Daddy points to I get if I come home and tell him that I am a ninja?

When Orson asks me what do ninjas do, I'll tell him we fix narratives unless we are creating a performance event which isn't character-led, or with a 'centre' or narrative, but is structured around dramaturgical principles.

Comment by Tim Price on March 12, 2014 at 2:28

Grrrreeeegggg! She's at it again!

Kaite - The OED doesn't define language. We do. If we want story to mean something inclusive we can. The OED will catch up in 5 years time, like they do with everything else. 

Everything you've said makes me feel story is the right word to use!

If we're working on something that kicks against story and narrative, having someone with expertise in story, might be the best way to achieve that goal. Whether you're working inside or outside of story conventions, what you are doing is still, defined by story. The fact that I am nothing like my parents, does not mean I could exist without them. 

Even if your idea starts with a rejection of story, it still starts with story.

Why not employ a, animateur (whatever that is), as a storyninja. How exciting would that be? 

 

 

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