There are some great opportunities for writers to develop new material with drama students, but making the most of that process requires a bit of thought and some unique skills that allow both sides to gain from the experience.
Some writers take a director or dramaturg with them, to facilitate the process. However, not every writer finds this necessary at every stage of development. It can even block the process sometimes, especially very early on in a first draft development, if the line of communication has to go through a middle-man who also has a creative view of the material to add to the mix.
Jenifer leads sessions with some of the major drama schools to give some transparency to both the acting and writing process, so that actors can understand what the writers are looking for, and the writers can understand what the actors might need in order to help the writers find that often elusive right choice for the material.
These tools enable writers to let go of their work enough that the actors feel free to play, to explore, to experiment. They also allow the actors to understand why a hundred options may be offered in order that the writer can find that one right choice.
Writers cannot do what they do without actors, and vice versa. Jenifer helps to dispel the sense of trepidation with which the development of new work is often approached, and encourages a freedom of creativity and a rich flow of collaboration to allow the work to take its first breath.
