How do you feel when someone gives you a compliment? When someone “gets” your work? That feeling is something that we are striving for with this third step in dramaturgy feedback: warm fuzzies.
If you haven’t seen them already, so far we’ve talked about the first two steps in giving feedback as a dramaturg: know the vision and observations. If you haven’t checked those out yet, make sure you read them first!
Once you know the vision of your collaborator and have spent the time giving them your observations, the next thing that you want to do is what I like to call warm fuzzies.
What is a warm fuzzy? A warm fuzzy is when you express to your collaborator all the things that you are currently loving about their work. This could be a line of dialogue, a moment of physical comedy, a blocking choice, a conversation between two characters – or anything that made you smile, laugh, think, cry, get excited, or more.
Why is it important to share warm fuzzies? Well, think about when you are working on a project. How do you feel if the only thing you hear is the negative? What’s not working, what needs to change. So often in our critical society we spend all our time focusing on flaws. As an artist, this may not only be demoralizing, but it can be creatively hurtful.
Yes, we want to improve (and we will get there). Yes, we want to make things better. But it’s important to bask in all the things that ARE working. Not only so your collaborator doesn’t make the mistake of cutting them, but also so that you can build their confidence as an artist. Because that confidence is crucial to the overall success of the project.
So what’s the secret to a good warm fuzzy? Specificity. Because think about it. If you go to a playwright and say, “I just read your play. Nice work. It’s so funny,” and nothing else… how does that actually help the playwright? I mean, yay, it was funny. But how? When? Why?
Instead, what happens if you go to that playwright and say, “I just read your play. Oh my goodness. On page 75 – that scene between Marta and Anabel? I almost snorted milk out of my nose. I was laughing so hard. I particularly loved the moment when…”
Now, that is helpful. Not only does it make the playwright feel… warm and fuzzy… inside, but it gives them specific information that they can use going forward. It also makes them feel warm and fuzzy toward you. Because if someone can sit and talk about all the things they love about their play or screenplay or production, then you’re going to be a lot more willing to listen to any sort of questions they might have (more on that in step four).
Want to try it out? Try reading a play or watching a movie and writing down all the things that you truly enjoy. The more specific the better. Don’t forget to mark page numbers or time stamps. If you had a chance to meet that playwright or screenwriter or director and tell them about all the things that you are loving about this work, what would you tell them?
Want to share what you find? We’d love to hear it! Submit your thoughts here (make sure you include the title). Who knows, we just might include it in an upcoming article or video.