As a dramaturg, I think it's vitally important to consider each script as itself. I will not impose an ancient Western canonical structure onto a script randomly to see if the script fails or succeeds accordingly.

I approach every script on its own terms.

I am a queer, neurodivergent playwright w/chronic illness and invisible disabilities whose work tends to be different and strange (you are welcome to check it out - it's on NPX).

I will work with you and your script to help you achieve your goals. Not my goals for your script - that would be counter-productive. I will also help you clarify your own goals or help you find your original impulse that led you to create this script in case you feel as if you've lost your way.

There is a lot of development out there, and not all of it is helpful or inspiring. I believe feedback should feed you back, nurture you and help to inspire you to be able to go back into the script with an understanding of how to help it be its best self. I do this by responding to what is on the page, so that you get an experience of my experience/understanding of your script. From there, you can see where moments might not be working or places where what you are trying to convey falls short of your intention.

I am also happy to provide you with the skills you need to create more momentum/forward motion/to raise the stakes, and craft a climax that helps your characters transform... to help you do all the things you want your script to do through clear exercises and instruction.

I also run 4-6 Brave Space sessions each week. These are generative sessions with craft prompts for playwrights (and for other kinds of writers) to help anyone develop resilient writing practices and consistent creative processes and to offer support and community. More info at https://www.bravespace.online/ and in my Substack at https://goldmansherman.substack.com/

Artistic Statement as a Playwright: My first memory of live theatre was Peter Pan in the round. When Tinker Bell was fading and the house lights came up, I was no longer alone in the dark. I became part of a healing moment. In my young autistic mind, I believed that our collective action saved Tinker Bell. To this day, I'm compelled by the power of theatre to confer healing and agency on audiences.

I'm a female-presenting, nonbinary, transperson. I've lived with chronic illness and disability for most of my life. I'm a queer, neurodivergent trauma survivor. And I work as a coach to teach others how to regulate our human nervous systems. In all that I do, I strive to be an agent of change.

I want theatre to change us, to be impactful, to leave us breathless and wanting to connect. I want a theatre of transformation where an audience can see what cannot be experienced in any other medium anywhere. With actors transforming live before our eyes, theatre provides more possibilities for us all.