CD: As a long-time dramatist who is now writing short stories and other prose, what have you learned in the process and what surprised you?
Dana: The most profound difference is the intimacy I can create with a single audience member in prose compared to a large group in theatre. Prose carries a sense of secrecy that allows me to speak directly to the reader as if we are close friends or lovers. That level of intimacy isn’t possible when presenting to a crowd. Put in metaphor, if narrative is a vehicle, then a dramatist drives a bus, while a prose writer zips around in a sports car.
The freedom to move so openly through narrative was surprising. It let me go places a bus simply cannot go. At first the process was slow going, but the more I practiced, the freer I became. Dramatists are restricted by their main building block. Removing that reliance on dialogue let me see beneath a character’s skin and truly understand what makes them tick. The more I allowed myself to play, the easier it became. That sense of play has been an incredible gift. By not worrying about the outcome, I found my voice was louder in prose. I also know I would not enjoy this freedom I found in prose, if I had not been driving a bus for the last twenty years. Crossing genre has made me a stronger writer and more articulate about my work.
CD: Do you think there is value—for any writer, every writer—in writing across genres?
Dana: YES! I used to be terrified of writing anything outside of plays, let alone prose or poetry, because of my dyslexia. As an actor, I allowed myself to write plays since people do not talk with perfect grammar. With prose, I discovered grammar isn’t the wall I once thought it was. Of course, it’s important, but it doesn’t need to hold me back. Now I don’t worry about boundaries. I feel free to write the stories I want to tell, and I’m learning to recognize which stories belong in which form. Some things only work in the intimacy of a car; others require the witnesses found only on a bus.
CD: Are there important differences in each genre that a writer should recognize?
Dana: I hesitate to draw strict lines, because boxes and rules can hinder creativity. Still, the way time functions in prose, poetry, and drama gives concepts like grief, hate, or love different shapes. That’s what excites me. I love seeing how the same idea transforms depending on the form.
CD: Have you found that your mastery of theatrical concepts informs your prose writing?
Dana: Aristotle’s focus on beginning, middle, and end remains essential in all forms of storytelling. Without them, whether it’s a reader curled up in a nook, a poem on the page, or a packed theatre, the work collapses. Without a beginning, middle, and end, the book is set aside, the poem forgotten, and the theatre audience shifts uncomfortably in their seats, desperate to escape.
