PEOPLE: Overly Involved Playwright

[MileHighSM]

So folks who have worked on new stuff-how do you handle a playwright (who's also a primary producer) who is at the majority of the rehearsals, and too involved?  He's constantly distracting the director, he gives the actors notes, and today at a first read through he was already taking notes on the acting when it was the first time they'd ever read through it!  This show is a re-mount (with changes) and the director is afraid he's going to be a problem again...giving the actors notes, constantly talking to the director, launching into character discussions with the director in front of the cast, etc.  Anyone have any ideas on how to help curb his input?  My major thought is to have him hold all of his notes and comments until lunch break and the end of the day and to talk to the director and I and then we can somewhat  selectively decide what the cast will actually get from it.  Please feel free to offer suggestions...

[Mac Calder]

Put both the director and the playwright into a small room with two bricks, the victor gets to give notes.


Seriously though, since the playwright owns the work, they do have the right to give notes - ie if ALW walked into a rehearsal of Cats being performed by an Amdram society, he is well within his rights to pull the rights to the play should he not be happy with the directorial direction. So if the PW is being difficult, then it is the director who needs to step up to the plate, sit down with the PW and discuss the issues - it is a directorial issue, not a stage management one.

[MatthewShiner]

if he is the playwright and the producer, he is the biggest gun in the room.  (as producer, he trumps the director).
I know it's frustrating, but it's a situation that really the director and playwright need to work out if they feel there is tension.

[planetmike]

I'm reading through Lawrence Stern's Stage Management  (8th edition) and just yesterday read the section on "Playwright at Work" (pages 154-155):

What happens when the playwright is present? The play still exists in only one place prior to the curtain's rise-in the director's mind. I know this sounds improbable, and I've never met a playwright who could accept it. But once the playwright commits his or her work to paper, and the producer turns it over to the director, the play is a concept in the director's mind.
...
[t]he playwright should go to the director privately to work on changes and should not communicate directly with the cast. The director should also suggest changes to the playwright privately.

It seems that the director should have final say, with a major reason being the cast should only be getting direction from the director. They shouldn't be getting guidance from the producer, playwright, stage manager, or other actors.

[MatthewShiner]

It seems that the director should have final say, with a major reason being the cast should only be getting direction from the director. They shouldn't be getting guidance from the producer, playwright, stage manager, or other actors.

I think the issue is he is not just the playwright, he is the primary producer - he is the money. 

There are situations where actors get notes from a variety of people - for example, they could be getting notes from a director, a vocal coach, a choreographer and an AD, and a stage manager.  So at the end of the day, actors are used to get notes from a variety of people.  The issues arise when they get conflicting notes - and at the end of the day, it's the director's job to trump it all.

I was in this situation at a major regional theatre working on a show that was Broadway bound . . . and the playwright had put a bunch of money in it. 

In the end, we viewed it as a director/assistant director thing, and moved on.  If there ever was a serious disagreement, the two would go off on talk and come up with solution that worked best for them.

I honestly think the director and playwright need to find a way to work together, and not sure if there is anything the Stage Manager can do to make the two play together, other then perhaps initiate a dialogue.

As you continue to move up the ladder of theatre, you will often times work on shows where the director is NOT the person who is the top of the totem pole, and it is a smart SM who learns who the top dog in the production is.  (I know of shows where the lead actor were the tall man, and the director hired was just a mouth piece for him.  The choreographer was the person who was "directing" the show the most.)

In the end, although it's not ideal, the guy who signs the checks can make the rules.

[DeeCap]

So folks who have worked on new stuff-how do you handle a playwright (who's also a primary producer) who is at the majority of the rehearsals, and too involved?  He's constantly distracting the director, he gives the actors notes, and today at a first read through he was already taking notes on the acting when it was the first time they'd ever read through it!  This show is a re-mount (with changes) and the director is afraid he's going to be a problem again...giving the actors notes, constantly talking to the director, launching into character discussions with the director in front of the cast, etc.  Anyone have any ideas on how to help curb his input?  My major thought is to have him hold all of his notes and comments until lunch break and the end of the day and to talk to the director and I and then we can somewhat  selectively decide what the cast will actually get from it.  Please feel free to offer suggestions...

I wonder if you have the same playwright/director that I had.

I had the same exact situation. The playwright mounted the show. He was the most annoying (and sexist) person in the room, but his name was on my paycheck.
He also was the biggest idiot. He created the production schedule before I came on board. We would rehearse in NYC and than we would perform the show on a college campus in his hometown...of Altoona PA. He scheduled our first day of tech the same day we would arrive after traveling 6+ hours! I was able to put an end to that.
He also scheduled no days off for a month, we got paid lots of overtime for that.

In summary, there wasn't much I can do, as he was the bottom line. I just made sure that if conversations between the playwright and director got too long, I would remind them of the amount of time left before break/lunch/end of day.

[smccain]

This last summer, I worked on a world premiere and the playwright was at all rehearsals. He was very helpful to the process, especially when it came to rewrites. It was nice to have him there to ask him why he wrote what he did. This play had historical accuracy as it was the story of two real people's lives. The director was actually the person who commissioned the playwright to write the show and they had an excellent working relationship. The playwright would give notes, but would typically involve the director and ask if she agreed after he gave his reasoning for the note. She normally agreed.

There were times when the playwright said that it had to be played a certain way and the director was okay with that as it was his script and she wanted to make his intention clear.

My advice would be to sit the director and the playwright down to come up with an agreed-upon verbal contract regarding notes and how things should be handled in rehearsal. The director-playwright relationship is very important in a newer work and should be a healthy one for the process to be a good one for all involved.