Drama Teachers: How do you give student writers feedback?

The Drama Teacher Podcast

Episode 173: Drama Teachers: How do you give student writers feedback? Nick Pappas wears many hats. He is a playwright, a director, he teaches and he’s a dramaturg. This conversation took place at the International Thespian Festival where for the past five years he’s worked with student playwrights. How do you give student playwrights feedback? Listen in to find out. Show Notes Nick Pappas Theatrefolk.com Drama Teacher Academy Episode Transcript Welcome to the Drama Teacher Podcast brought to you by Theatrefolk, the Drama teacher resource company. I am Lindsay Price. Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening! So, we’ve got a new year – hello, 2017 – and a new shiny intro. Huh, what do you think? We here at Theatrefolk Global Headquarters are focusing our efforts all on you. Yes, you. I am, I’m talking to you. Yes; no, not them. You. This is Episode 173 and you can find any links to this episode in the show notes which are at Theatrefolk.com/episode173. Today, we’re talking playwriting, specifically student playwriting. How many of you – raise your hands, I know – you want to include playwriting but there’s something about it and it’s something specifically that is very trepidatious and worrisome when it gets to feedback, right? How do we give good feedback to student writers that doesn’t cause them to put their play in a drawer and never open that drawer for twenty-five years? Today, we’re talking to Nick Pappas. He’s a guy who wears many hats. He’s a playwright and a director. He teaches. He’s a dramaturg and he is Theatrefolk’s play submission reader. So, he hits on all sides of the table when it comes to plays. But, as I said, we’re talking specifically about student feedback and giving feedback and how do you give that good feedback. How do you get that good feedback? Well, let’s get to it and find out. LINDSAY: All right. I am here with Nick Pappas. Hello, Nick! NICK: Hello! LINDSAY: Nick and I are at the International Thespian Festival right now which will be long over by the time this comes up, but we are going to talk about something which is – universal is not exactly the word I’m looking for – timeless is the word I’m looking for. NICK: There you go. LINDSAY: There you go. It doesn’t quite matter but we’re in a really unique situation right now, wouldn’t you say? NICK: Yes. LINDSAY: Nick and I are both working as dramaturgs as part of a program called Playworks in which four student playwrights are chosen. Do you know how many plays are sent in to Playworks? NICK: I think it goes from a process of I heard they get about 70 plays and then the 70 are reduced down to, like, ten or twelve. LINDSAY: And then, they choose the four. NICK: Yeah. LINDSAY: And those four playwrights from – it’s just the States – all of the states, they get brought to Lincoln, Nebraska for the International Thespian Festival and they get a director and a dramaturg and actors and we put up their plays. NICK: Yeah, in four days of rehearsal? LINDSAY: We had three this year. NICK: Oh, that’s true. LINDSAY: Because auditions on Tuesday, Wednesday – oh, my gosh – we had Tuesday rehearsal, Wednesday rehearsal, Thursday rehearsal, and then… NICK: Up on Friday. LINDSAY: There’s a little bit today and then you guys go up tomorrow. NICK: Correct. LINDSAY: And so, we’re going to talk about what it’s like to talk to a student playwright because a lot of you, I know, include playwriting units in your program. How to talk to students, how to give them feedback so that they continue writing and they don’t curl up into a ball and never write again which is not what we want. I wanted to start with you, Nick. That’s my preamble. NICK: All right. LINDSAY: You wear a lot of hats. NICK: Yes. LINDSAY: The three that I know are playwright and teacher and dramaturg. NICK: Yes. LINDSAY: What would you consider your biggest ha...