Led a workshop of original idea for adaptation

In late September/early October, I led a workshop to develop my idea for a radical rewriting of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. I was fortunate enough to collect such an intelligent and diverse group of collaborators to come to New Jersey to work on this project with me.

The idea first began as a way to deal with my problems with, and affinity for, Our Town. I pitched the concept of setting a version of the play within my hometown where I grew up in poverty, to see if Wilder’s themes held up. I was particularly interested in the third act and Emily’s desire and decision to go back to her home. What emerged was a fruitful and unsettling discourse around the question - is life worth living on the margins?

Thinking about my parents, now armed with my privileged education and a glimmer of hope for my long-held promise of class ascension, I wondered if they would choose their life over again if awarded those same privileges in whatever afterlife exists. Through discussion, research, writing exercises, improvisation, and story boarding, we were able to flesh out these ideas into what this play could potentially look like.

The main goal of the workshop was to test if my impulses could be turned into a smart and engaging play with music. If not, I would likely go and write an essay on the topic. However, our work proved to be worthy of pursuing, and provided a resounding ‘yes!’

Stay tuned for future development…