Playwright Profile - Nicole Moeller

Author of Without You, Studio Theatre’s First New Work

Mar 17, 2009 Andrea Beca

Suite101 interviews Nicole Moeller, an emerging playwright in Edmonton whose play, Without You, marked a milestone for the U of A.

It's no fluke that Nicole Moeller is where she is today. After winning first place in Edmonton's 2008 24-Hour Playwriting Competition, her play, Without You, was produced as part of the Studio Theatre season; it was the first new work that has been produced at the University of Alberta's theatre. Moeller, who studied both Journalism and Theatre Arts at Grant MacEwan, recently discussed her writing process with Suite101.

What is the starting point of a play for you?

It's always quite different. Often I will have a very strong character in my mind. I will know things like their beliefs, secrets, how they act when they're nervous, what they eat for breakfast, what their home looks like. But I'll have no idea what the story is. Other times, I'll have an image in my mind. A two-second moment. An important two second moment...but nothing else. Both are very liberating and terrifying places to be.

What is your writing process? Do you start writing right away? Outline? Research?

Usually an idea sits with me for at least a few months before I begin writing. (Though I have some characters that have been with me for years, and have yet to make it to paper.) It's almost like I have to let the characters and/or idea stew inside of me until it is recognizable on a gut level rather than simply an intellectual level. Or maybe it's just another way of saying that I procrastinate.

Once I actually start writing I usually do an outline of the story. And I like to know my format. How the story will flow together. If I feel I need to, I'll do a bit of research before the first draft, just to get some ideas and know a bit about what I'm talking about. (A safety net.) But for the most part, the research always comes later.

I find the second draft always the hardest because I usually get stuck in the mindset of the first draft. It isn't until the third or fourth drafts that I take big risks and make big changes. By the seventh draft, I'll start coming back to some of my original impulses.

Do you work on one play until it's done, or do you work on multiple plays at once?

I work on multiple plays at once, but there is usually one that is the main focus. (Whichever one has an earlier deadline.)

Do you have a special writing place?

It really depends on my level of stress. No stress: In my bed, in my one-bedroom basement apartment. Mid-level stress: Coffee Shop. Down-to-the-wire-pulling-my-hair-out-stress: My one-bedroom basement apartment, living room, 3am, surrounded by diet pop and Crispers.

What do you struggle with when you write a play?

Actually sitting down to write the play in the first place. Trusting myself. Writing from my gut. Over-thinking everything. Trying to enforce conflict instead of letting it happen. Trying to force a story, instead of letting my characters take me for a ride. Seeing the play through to a place where I'm proud of it...not abandoning it when I get a "better" or simply new idea. Characters' speech patterns.

When do you consider a play done?

I'm not sure you can ever say that a play is done. At least I haven't said it yet. But I have often said it's "done for now." Either because I didn't feel I could anything new to the play, or because it was the night before opening and if I made another change either the actors or director would've killed me.

What do you need to have with you when you write?

Music. Food. Coffee.

What was the first play you ever wrote?

My first play was called Katie's Missing. It was a "choose your own adventure." I wrote it with a friend, and performed it with about eight other people in a back alley during the fringe. We had to write six different endings. Looking back, I wonder what we were thinking. We had no idea at all about writing plays, let alone a play that was different every night. But we pulled it off. I haven't looked at the script since, and I'm not sure I want to. That said, it's one of the shows I'm most proud of.

What is the most recent play you've written?

I just wrote a first draft of a play called Mr. Elliot Jane. I'm really excited about it...but I have no idea what it is yet. It was the first time I wrote a play without an outline or "safety net." I'm letting it take me for the ride.

Who is your favourite playwright?

There are so many playwrights whose writing I respect and consider influential that I cannot even begin to name them all here. But if you're going to force me, then off the top of my head: Daniel MacIvor for his style, Judith Thompson for the voices of her characters, Martin McDonagh for his wonderfully dark, hilarious stories and Hannah Moscovitch for her dialogue.

What one play do you think everyone should read or see?

Wow. This is tough. But I'd have to say that the play that affected me more than any other in a long time was Homeless by Jeremy Baumung.

What one piece of advice would you give to an aspiring playwright?

Be in your own corner and always trust your gut. (I guess that's two things.)