HowlRound: Deb Sivigny is a designer by trade, but this fall she is taking on the role of Lead Producing Playwright for the production of her world premiere play, Hello, My Name Is… with The Welders. The Welders is a DC-based playwrights’ collective whose mission is to establish an evolving, alternative platform for play development and production. The intent of that platform is to inspire and encourage members to take risks and make bold leaps in exploring the craft of playwriting by producing one work by each member playwright over the course of three years before handing the entire organization, from board to bank account, on to a new generation of Welders. In this interview, Deb talks about her unique visually-led process, The Welders model, and her vision for breaking down barriers in the way we talk about theatre with fellow Producing Playwright and Acting Creative Producer, Annalisa Dias.
4 comments:
Just the title of the article reminds me of the idea behind Playground. This playwrights' collective lets those who do not normally write create stories conducive to the visual mind of a designer. Sivigny builds her story and narrative through poems and pictures and ground plans. I am a very visual person, and I have never been inclined to write down in words any of the stories or narratives I dream up because I would much rather doodle or draw something than have to define my idea with words. You can build worlds without using words, and the Welders allow those worlds to come to life. Sivigny did not need a solid script to be able to create her work; she was allowed to build her story as the pictures came into her head. If I had an idea that compelled me enough, I would much rather build my narrative and design my world like this than write it all down in a traditional sense. And even better, I have an outlet that could allow me to bring that story to life if I wanted to – Playground. I think that this kind of writing and story telling is something right up Playground's alley. Playground is such a unique experience to have the opportunity to take part in, especially as a learning student who has freedom to explore without the pressure of grading, and although I did not submit anything, I hope to be a part of someone else's production process. Perhaps I will have the courage to propose my own idea in the future, and if I do, there is a pretty good chance it would be something visually planned like Sivigny's process.
What an interesting read this article was! I am very intrigued by theatre artists who manage to be almost inter-disciplinary in the different types of theatre work that they do. I think it is important that all artists are able to expand their horizons by approaching theatre as a whole from many different sides. I think that this is an important lesson that we as Freshmen at Carnegie Mellon are learning this year. The most intriguing part of the interview with Sivigny that I found was when she was speaking about the beginning of her play writing process. She spoke about writing a visual tonal poem and then expanding on that idea. I think that the idea of starting a play through what you envision it to look like is an interesting thing, and would make for a very stylistic, unique play to watch. Being a visual person myself, I can imagine that it would be easier for me to "design" a play in order to write it, and I would love to see the works of The Welders to see how this process worked out!
I enjoyed this article as it offered an example of a truly interdisciplinary theater experience, which I personally hope to explore as much as possible in my own work. Bridging the gap between design and storytelling interests me greatly, as I personally am drawn to theater for its marriage of visual and oral storytelling to create a comprehensive experience. Examples such as Sivigny show that interdisciplinary work is possible and rewarding. In addition, I am interested in exploring the relationship between visual art and theater, as I am very passionate about both and believe that there is great potential for a marriage of the two. Artists such as Sivigny reinforce that theater is a fluid medium, despite how conventional it may sometimes appear. This fluidity inspires me to explore the boundaries of theater and continue experimenting with multiple disciplines outside of my intended concentration.
Hi all, I stumbled across your comments in a google search...happy to chat more if you have questions! Follow weldersdc on facebook/instagram if you want to keep track of our work! -deb
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