I would love to read your play!
I reverence new plays and sharing a creative space with playwrights above anything in the world, and sincerely hope you’ll consider sharing your works in progress with me. I’ll make copious, constructive notes on your initial draft—be it your very first draft or a play near to completion—and then share this feedback with you in a ninety-minute chat at your chosen time, via video call or telephone as you prefer.
If you’re pleased with our connection and would like to continue working together, I’ll be delighted to continue reading subsequent drafts as you usher your piece towards production.
Learn more about my style of feedback, examine my rates here, and please feel free to email me anytime to inquire!
A brief synopsis.
I like to call my method of dramaturgical feedback the “Live Tweet Method”: I read your play with my notebook open, and immediately record my questions, thoughts, and favorite moments as I discover them. I love to ask questions of playwrights that provoke thought and engender yet more questions, and happily serve as a proofreader to ensure clarity of format, spelling, and such.
And this I vow: I will never tell you how to write your play. The pen is in your hands, and you know best how to tell your story. I am simply a second pair of eyes who loves the craft of storytelling and spending time with new plays. An example of my style of feedback can be found here; my humblest thanks to my dear friend Claire F. Martin for allowing me to share some of my notes on her dazzling new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma!
From Mary Poindexter McLaughlin
"Claire Wittman provided invaluable dramaturgical assistance on my play, HER OWN WORDS, a historical fiction set in Elizabethan England. I employed her services to help me refine and improve the verse, which she did with the eye of a brilliant scholar and the ear (and heart!) of a passionate actor. What I didn’t anticipate was her uncanny ability to ask just the right questions about the play’s themes, structure, and intention. With her help, not only the verse but the entire play went from good to great. And the best part? Claire is a delightful human being and an absolute joy to work with. I cannot recommend her highly enough!"
Always negotiable!
For a script reading and response chat, I request $75 for your initial script. As many subsequent drafts as you wish can receive the same notes-and-ninety-minutes method for $50 each. Student playwrights under the age of eighteen receive a discount: $40 for the initial reading and $20 for subsequent drafts.
For playwrights whose financial circumstances may not allow for this fee structure, please do send me a note and we’ll work out a pay-what-you-will arrangement!
Let's correspond!