There are a couple of things about what I do that I want to put here while I remember to blog them. I might expand on them another time, but for now...
Writing vs Dramaturgy (or any other non-writer input) is Creation vs Reaction.
I gather source material for my writing from all sorts of places: reference books, fiction, newspapers, my life experiences, traits of people I encounter, and so on. These are all sources of suggestions; I cherry-pick the things that suit the story I want to tell, filtered through who I am as a person and therefore as a writer.
It follows that an actor, a dramaturg or a director are also sources of suggestions, and I cherry-pick from them, too. No book can force me to say yes to including something, and therefore no person can either. They may presume they can, because they have the ability to speak and reason where a book does not, but that changes nothing.
For the audience, good writing is all about three things: confession, connection, catharsis.
Emotions are 'confessed' into the space by the characters. If they recognise 'confession', the audience connects with that emotion. By joining the character's journey through that emotion, the audience finds some catharsis for that emotion within themselves.
Might keep blogging these little craft bites if any others occur to me.
