Artistic Statement
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Sean Dunnington
Artistic Statement
PREFACE:
This may sound like a queer Gen Z cliché. I believe that Artistic Statements are oppressively heteronormative. In this industry, playwrights are constantly asked to write these blurbs for opportunities that position themselves to appear bigger than all that came before them in a way that feels sexy to a panel of strangers. I can't speak for other playwrights, but this process shoves me into the exact binary I use playwriting to break free from. In these statements, I typically write about how I want to change the world with my plays (which is what playwriting has always been tasked to do), but this focus is inherently selfish. I write about myself in art, but what I feel too afraid to write about, which I’ll attempt to do here, is art in myself.
STATEMENT:
I love what playwriting does to me. It descrambles my non-linear memories in a way that heals my trauma and breaks my shame. It allows me to observe the world in a way that makes sense to me, which is not only affirming, but also restores my power in a short life where so much has been out of my control. Playwriting gives me the chance to take all of this, everything I’ve ever known, and open it up to the world outside of me. In doing this, I feel understood. This is why I write. It’s so basic, yet life-changing for anyone lucky enough with the time and privilege to do so. Despite all of the obstacles in rural Hawai’i that tried to prevent me from being myself and displaying my queer point of view on the stage, I’ve persisted to lean into this craft and write. My plays are attempts to reclaim authority of perspective. They are queer, fully me, and an immersion into what I know and surrender into what I dream of learning.
This may sound like a queer Gen Z cliché. I believe that Artistic Statements are oppressively heteronormative. In this industry, playwrights are constantly asked to write these blurbs for opportunities that position themselves to appear bigger than all that came before them in a way that feels sexy to a panel of strangers. I can't speak for other playwrights, but this process shoves me into the exact binary I use playwriting to break free from. In these statements, I typically write about how I want to change the world with my plays (which is what playwriting has always been tasked to do), but this focus is inherently selfish. I write about myself in art, but what I feel too afraid to write about, which I’ll attempt to do here, is art in myself.
STATEMENT:
I love what playwriting does to me. It descrambles my non-linear memories in a way that heals my trauma and breaks my shame. It allows me to observe the world in a way that makes sense to me, which is not only affirming, but also restores my power in a short life where so much has been out of my control. Playwriting gives me the chance to take all of this, everything I’ve ever known, and open it up to the world outside of me. In doing this, I feel understood. This is why I write. It’s so basic, yet life-changing for anyone lucky enough with the time and privilege to do so. Despite all of the obstacles in rural Hawai’i that tried to prevent me from being myself and displaying my queer point of view on the stage, I’ve persisted to lean into this craft and write. My plays are attempts to reclaim authority of perspective. They are queer, fully me, and an immersion into what I know and surrender into what I dream of learning.