The Opera Issue

This first (but not the last) edition of The Dramatist dedicated to writing opera has been shaped by guest editors Mark Campbell and Michael Korie to offer some insight to opera-curious dramatists about music composition and libretti writing. While this isn’t a comprehensive guide for first-timers, it does attempt to dispel some of the mystery around the opera world and encourage learning more about this area of the theatre industry.

In The Opera Issue, DG Opera Committee Co-Chair Mark Campbell ponders whether we are living in a new Golden Age of American Opera, while fellow DG Opera Committee Co-Chair Michael Korie shares insights and advice for dramatists who hope to cross over into writing opera. Deborah Brevoort moderates a roundtable of librettists (featuring Mark Campbell, Stephanie Fleischmann, David Henry Hwang, EM Lewis, and Sandra Seaton) and Lila Palmer moderates a roundtable with opera composers  (featuring Nicolas Lell Benavides, Paola Prestini, Scott Davenport Richards, Kamala Sankaram, Stephen Schwartz, and Huang Ruo). Also in this issue, Charlayne Woodard and Kirsten Childs pay tribute to longtime DG member and trailblazer Micki Grant, who passed away in August 2021. In addition, both Vanessa Severo and Erika Dickerson-Despenza answer Ten Questions on being a writer and Cori Thomas explains "Why I Joined the Guild."