So Why Do It?
We drove to Ojai the back way from Santa Barbara and fortunately made it on time to the Ojai Playwrights Conference. The event was held at The Thacher School, nestled into the hillside with expansive views of the surrounding mountains and valley below. While I wish I could say I was one of the lucky few chosen as a participant, I was grateful to attend as an observer.
First up on the August 1 Saturday afternoon program was a panel discussion with the eight 2026 festival playwrights along with Jeremy B. Cohen, the Producing Artistic Director. Jeremy informed the “audience,” the small group of people nestled together in a cozy room facing the playwrights sitting at a long table, that there were 1000 applicants for the eight playwright slots. My first thought was, “Oh my god!”
As the playwrights answered Jeremy’s questions, I understood why they were selected. They were bright, and they listened and seemed to care about each other and the plays they were each working on. They expressed their gratitude for the experience of spending two weeks delving into their plays with each other, (and for five of the eight) with a director and dramaturg, and in the last few days with actors who would bring their words on the page alive at the staged reading.
During this session, I was inspired and wrote down an idea for a possible new play to work on in the coming year. I wasn’t expecting that.
And then we had the privilege of experiencing two of the plays in development, one by Harrison David Rivers and the other by Grace McLeod. The plays were thought-provoking and in the second work, quite funny. It didn’t hurt that the actors, mostly from Los Angeles, were amazing. Do the plays still need a bit of work? Probably, but that is what this conference is all about: giving playwrights the time and resources to work on their plays with other creative people.
We were so enchanted by what we saw on Saturday that we decided to change our plans and come back on Sunday morning to see one more, this one by Keith Bunin, and we were happy that we did. The play explored complicated relationships, desires, stumbles, life goals, and more.
I attend a lot of plays. Some are amazing and some not so much. As my husband and I and my fellow playwriting friends often say after seeing a new work, “It’s hard to write a good play.”
So, why do it? I ask myself that question when I’m not feeling in the mood to write, or when I receive yet another rejection email from a playwriting contest. Clearly, I am not in it for recognition, riches, or even for seeing my work on a stage. I’ve discovered that I enjoy working through personal observations, experiences, and frustrations by creating characters and dialogue. I like to envision how the words, worlds and characters might be staged. I’ve also met and made some wonderful friends, both real and imagined, through playwriting and playgoing.
Fortunately, I don’t need to make a living by my writing. I have the luxury of using playwriting and playgoing as my avocation. It actually frames a lot of who I am and how I choose to spend my time. I am well aware that many people, especially those who are not retired, are not able to pursue their interests for lack of funds and time. It is no wonder that most of the theater audiences are older people.
As a Dramatist Guild member, I’m able to see some plays for free. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be going to see so many plays. Ticket prices at many theaters are outrageously high, but maybe less expensive than concerts or sporting tickets? I read recently that New York City’s Mayor Mamdani has made an agreement with the Metropolitan Opera to give away 70,000 free tickets a year to New Yorkers. Yes!
So why…
Write plays
Shoot hoops
Learn piano or Spanish
Keep sourdough going
Plant a vegetable garden
Tend to bees
Go to a museum
Grow dahlias
Take a painting class
Identify birds, snakes, or trees
…
These are some of the activities that my friends, family, and clients enjoy. Why do any one of them? It’s fun. It’s new. To make new friends. It tastes good. To get out of the house. To stay at home. It’s creative. It’s challenging. Why not?
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