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...FM: Have you ever written for the silver screen? Is it something you want to explore further? CME: I have written some, but I haven’t had anything produced yet. I have done a lot of script readings but my background is more strongly in drama. [...] It is a form I am really fascinated by and it shares so many qualities with playwriting. Each form helps me to think in the other one. The tools you need for dramatic writing cross over between the media, but the actual media is very different. You have to think in images...
...FM: What is it like being on the Creative Writing faculty at Harvard? CME: It’s very exciting. I am really thrilled to be among fiction writers and poets and other literary types. I am hoping to really build cross-over relationships. I am trying to find ways for my playwrights to see their work on its legs. The strength is that there are so many literary people, the challenge is connecting them to production because playwrights need to see their work on stage. I am hoping to build bridges to see if new plays can become part...
...FM: You are teaching four courses this semester in the English department. What do you think of Harvard students? CME: So far I really love the students here. They are very motivated to write, and very eclectic, actually. They are coming in with very different interests and backgrounds...
...FM: You hail originally from Australia. Why the move to the U.S.? CME: I came over here to do the MFA and playwriting at Brown and then went on to complete a Ph.D. at Brown. I was just sort of here by then...
...FM: What has been the greatest challenge in going from Australian theater to American theater? CME: Trying to get the rhythm and tone and mood of the theater here has definitely been the biggest challenge. Tuning my eye to American speech has been quite a difficult thing but quite a beautiful thing. There is this expectation in America that plays end on a positive note. There is this need for redemption. The religion in this country is very deeply embedded. Australia is a much more cynical place. Several of my favorite playwrights are British and they tend to be more...