A playwright may devote months or years to a script, but the process of determining whether it is ready for the stage is much more succinct. Samantha Carlin claims that she can tell just by reading the first 10 pages.
Samantha Carlin, BC ’09, is president-elect of New and Original Musicals Authored and Directed by Students, an organization within the Columbia University theater community that produces student-written theater on campus. The group was founded in 2003 by a group of Barnard students who wrote musicals together. After taking a brief hiatus, it was revived last year and has been expanded to include straight plays as well.
Perhaps Carlin’s make-it-or-break-it attitude toward the script is due to its centrality in the theater arts. The nature of the creative practices they include are diverse—directing, acting, set design, costume design, and lighting—but the single convergent point of inspiration is the text.
Organizations that work with student-written theater hold an important place within the campus community, as they recognize the playwright as the creative catalyst and wish to include students in this crucial part of the process. LateNite Theatre, created in 1995 by a group of theater and English majors, also does this. Unlike NOMADS, which is devoted to one single full-length production each semester, this group chooses several shorter pieces to be performed.
Both LateNite Theatre and NOMADS have proven not only to be excellent recourses for aspiring playwrights, but uniquely beneficial experiences for all involved. In providing an outlet for writers, they form an environment that encourages creative freedom and the celebration of language arts.
At first, it may be difficult to understand how scripts written by amateurs could provide challenging and stimulating opportunities for aspiring directors, actors, and designers—it seems unlikely that their experiences could be enriched by the words of a fellow student. Yet Dana Everitt, BC ’08, who reintroduced NOMADS last year and has been president of the group for the last four semesters, insists otherwise.
“The exciting thing is that it’s a world premiere. It’s the first time anyone has seen that work, and it’s not like you have to worry about living up to some downtown production,” Everitt said. With a new play, there is the added excitement of forging characters for the first time, and the liberation to take creative risks.
At the same time, there is the added challenge of realizing your peer’s vision with the greatest precision possible. With the playwright available for feedback, there is no excuse for misinterpretation—a circumstance that often pushes directors and actors to scrutinize the text and ground their artistic choices in it.
“Having the playwright in the room is extremely exciting. You have the authority on the text right there,” said Carlin, who is co-producing this semester’s production with Everitt.
Both LateNite Theatre and NOMADS have emphasized their commitment to the student playwright. While the productions are valuable experiences for all, the writer is always at the center. Will Snider, CC ’09, who will have a play produced on campus for his third time this semester, appreciates that NOMADS gives its playwrights the freedom to choose their own creative teams.
“If I write something and I know that it’s the first time it’s ever going to be performed, I really want to make sure that it’s in the hands of people I trust,” he said.
On the most fundamental level, NOMADS and the like provide playwrights with the crucial experience of seeing their work come to life on stage. “You have to put something up or you are never going to learn what works and what doesn’t,” Snider said.
NOMADS hopes to offer further support for playwrights in the future by offering workshops—opportunities for beginning writers to get feedback from people well-versed in the theater arts.
“We want to make NOMADS not just about the production, but about the process,” Carlin said. “As a playwright, what you really need is voices.”
So while critical eyes like Carlin’s may seem intimidating, they are primarily dedicated to helping students cultivate their art. They wish to expose the vast array of talent and interest that our student body possesses.