The Dramatist

Landmark Symposium: West Side Story

TERRENCE MCNALLY:  It’s hard to imagine what the musical theatre would be like in 1985 without the efforts of the four gentlemen sitting here with me, the authors of West Side Story. In our theatre community, they are held in great, great respect and much love. West Side Story is the one time these four extraordinary talents came together. I’d like to start with the germ of the idea, the first time somebody said, “Hey, there’s...
Advocacy Newsroom

Creative Affairs Executive Director Tina Fallon To Depart The Dramatists Guild of America to Clear Path for New Leadership

The Dramatists Guild of America announces upcoming changes to its staff and Council. Tina Fallon has decided to step aside from her role as Executive Director for Creative Affairs, inspired by the Guild’s ongoing efforts to address systemic inequalities in the field, in order to encourage the industry to embrace dynamic, innovative new leadership.  Fallon states, "Since my start at the Dramatists Guild in 2016, the focus of Creative Affairs has been equity and inclusion in our...
The Dramatist

On Setting

What is setting? It’s defined as; “the space or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place” or “the time and place a play, novel or film is represented as happening.” OK, but there is something starchy, hard, and fast about the definition that I don’t like.
The Dramatist

The Rooms Where It Happens (for some)

As a rural southern playwright, I am often isolated from the most vibrant theatre artists in the country even though I previously lived in New York for over a decade and currently work remotely with a New York based collaborator.
The Dramatist

My Two Performance Hit

The world premiere of my play Conversations About an Empty Suit ran for two nights, opening Friday, March 13, 2020, and closing Saturday, March 14, 2020. A play about professional success and failure, it was the biggest hit of my life.
The Dramatist

An Interview with Terrence McNally

Last year, Terrence was interviewed as a participant in the Dramatists Guild Opera Committee's filmed conversation with today's opera creators, "Credit the Librettist."  Terrence was, in fact, a charter member of the Opera Committee. In honor of Terrence's great contribution to the worlds of theater and opera, we are now releasing the full, uncut footage of his interview, filmed by Duncan Wilder and conducted by Michael Korie.
The Dramatist

The Composers of Working

Working was conceived to be different from most “mainstream” musicals, in that it was both a kind of topical revue and non-fiction. It was very important to me and my collaborators that it remain as true as possible—no invented words or situations. But how to organize it so that it felt as if it had a throughline, gained...