Dear Adam,
I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for the extraordinary work that Global Mosaic Foundation, and you personally, have put into the dramaturgical development of The Innerwild Fables through Fragments of Brilliance’s Forge.
In more than twenty years as a playwright, I have been through several dramaturgical processes and development programmes, some of them with highly recognised figures in the industry. This is the first time I have felt that my work has been treated as art, rather than merely as a product to be developed.
From the moment my plays were received, I knew they were in the best possible hands. The meticulous dramaturgical documents I have received — with their diagnoses, assessments, and assignments — alongside the one-on-one sessions, constitute hands down the finest development method I have experienced as a playwright preparing work for main-stage production. I feel immensely privileged to have my work under such rigorous and thoughtful guidance.
Each of Forge’s six stages has been carefully designed to build a road towards the successful completion of a work, challenging the playwright to interrogate what is on the page, what is missing from the page, and what must ultimately be there for the work to deliver the message it claims to offer.
Constructive criticism has become a rare gem in an era saturated with unsolicited opinions and unverified information. Forge has taken the time to build a roadmap for each of my works from the ideas, goals, tone, and style with which they were originally presented. The process navigates the relationship between the highest standards of the industry, the potential already present within the drafts, and the work required to craft versions of these plays capable of exceeding my own expectations and, ultimately, those of audiences around the world. At every stage, the integrity and identity of the work have remained at the centre of that process.
The work GMF is doing through Forge is, I believe, a genuine game-changer for an industry that has overlooked for generations the lack of institutional structure supporting the professional development of new work. I sincerely believe this programme is forging the next generation of elite playwrights, whose work in turn has the potential to create the next generation of theatregoers.
I come from a generation of artists that was taught a particular lie: that elite and prestigious theatre was inaccessible, while the underground was inherently revolutionary. One of the things for which I am most grateful to GMF is its commitment to demystifying the institutionalisation of the arts. Forge creates opportunities for work emerging from places where the industry has yet to turn its gaze, and gives those artists the tools, rigour and support required to develop the next artistic movement — one capable of producing prestigious artistry worthy of stages around the globe.
And I want to thank you personally, Adam, for your guidance, your support, the extraordinary care with which you have approached these plays, and your dedication to my work. You have challenged me to look deeper, demand more from the page, and become a stronger playwright without ever losing sight of the artist or the work at the centre of the process.