Pulitzer Prize winning writer Margret Edson addresses Drama for Life scholars
Starting the semester off on a motivational note, Margaret Edson, author of the award winning play Wit, addressed Drama for Life (DFL) scholars on the topic of ‘turning craft into art’.
Opening her discussion, Edson said: “In order to change consciousness, we need a good story”. Edson argued that good stories were complex in nature; grappled with human frailty; challenged notions of simplicity and rejected easy solutions.
She spoke about her play Wit that tackles illness and she advised artistic work done in the field of HIV and AIDS to follow the struggle with the complexity of this disease, to create work that would speak to the human spirit and that would take the audience by surprise.
Edson suggested that another vital skill crucial to succeeding as an artist was, “to have less heart.” She said that most people, including artists, viewed art as being merely about impulses and feelings and yet this was far from the case as art required a lot of work. “Our biggest challenge,” she went on to say, “is to take this need for goodness in the world and to turn it into a more practical and useful skill”. She explained that art requires structure, detail, deliberation and shape and to achieve this requires skill, discipline and hard work.
This practical skill, Edson emphasized, could only be achieved by being rigorously critical about one’s work. Artists need to continually develop their craft into art. Acknowledging that this was not an easy task she jokingly said: “If you’re not dead by the end of it then you haven’t worked hard enough.” Nevertheless, Edson encouraged DFL scholars to strive for the highest standards to become people of excellence she said: “the world needs you.”
Drama for Life would like to thank The American Consulate for their continued support in making such visits possible.