RILEY RINK AT
HUNTER PARK
JULY 20, 2019
Register for
the Walk at
komennewengland.org/vermont
Rebeck: Th e fi rst show that Dor-
set produced was, Th e Novelist, and
it was a re-write of another one of
my plays which got a really crazy,
destructive review - for a play that
many people thought then - and
still think- is one of my best plays.
And I couldn’t get anyone to give
me another chance with it. And
Dina agreed to do it. Dina has been
extremely successful with just
throwing down and saying, “We are
doing new plays here. Not everything
is going to be a ‘new-ish play’ that’s
been successful in other places and
has the imprimatur of some kind of
review system.” So … there was a lot
of good energy around developing
work, and … that was the fi rst one
that she did. And then she also did a
couple of other plays, like Mauritius
and Th e Scene. Th at was the fi rst time
I did a play with Tim Daly. And then
Tim asked me to consider writing
a play for him and [his sister] Tyne
[Daly]. And so I wrote Downstairs
for them. And then Dina did that.
…And this summer, I’m doing Dig.
Sherman: Tell me about Dig.
RESEARCH
CARE
COMMUNITY
ACTION
Presented by
Rebeck: I love this play! Dig is a
play about- (Rebeck pauses - and
starts over.) It takes place in a
plant store and it asks the ques-
tion, “Can a person who seems
unredeemable
be
redeemed?”
Or can a person who’s- (Rebeck trails
off again- and starts over.) Dig is a
play about deep trauma, and whether
or not a person who’s been through
the most horrifying life experience
ever can be nursed back to life. Th at’s
the primal question of the play. And
it takes place in a plant store.
plant store that’s called Dig. It’s just
the name of the store. And the guy
who runs it is named Roger. And
he’s a very prickly guy. Th is is his
universe - and he has things the
way he likes them. And he’s very
good with plants. And, he doesn’t
want anyone messing with that.
And then someone comes into his
life who’s the daughter of a friend of
his, who’s been through a really
terrible trauma. And the question
becomes, “Will she kill herself?”
And, you know, both of them are
very prickly people. So it’s not a
gentle or sentimental play.
Sherman: And do you feel that
your job as a playwright is to JUST
ASK questions to an audience, so
that at the end of the play, they turn
to one another and say, “What do
you think?” Or is your job to help
provide your opinion - because you
want to share your thoughts on it?
You know, is your job solely to
provoke the question? Or is your
job as a playwright to potentially
share a possible answer?
Rebeck: Yeah, that’s a good
question. I think my job as a play-
wright is to tell a complete story.
And to allow the questions that rise
out of that story to just rise out of it.
I don’t feel like it’s my job to answer
those questions. But I do feel it’s my
job to do right by [the characters]
in the play - and to tell a complete
story about those people.
Sherman: Plants, of course, require
love and care, right? Sherman: You’re not only writing
Dig. You’re also directing it. What
are some of your tricks as a director
for both getting the end result that
you’re hoping for - that Writer Girl
is hoping for - while also allowing
the cast to explore other ideas?
Rebeck: And they can be easily
killed. Th e play takes place in this Rebeck: I think that the best work
comes out of really profound