The aim and scope of my thesis is to examine the process of playwrights directing their own work, using the production of my play Obscura as an example of personal research, as well as examples of other dramatists. I will examine the advantages and disadvantages that playwrights face when directing their own work. I will compare several methods to my own production of Obscura. I wrote the play in the Spring of 2005 which culminated in a reading in April, followed by a workshop production in the Fall of 2005 in the Newdick Theater at Shafer Street Playhouse.

My goal was to successfully appropriate the collaborative ideals of the LAByrinth Theater Company and incorporate them into my directorial process while working on a collegiate production. I gathered a large amount of information from my visit and contact with the LAB and through personal interviews with the Co-Artistic Director and the Developmental Director. I had seen two of their shows and I was familiar with the quality of production that I had to uphold. I played a lead role in Guirgis' Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train and I was familiar with the rhythm, the dialect and the seriocomic matters of the plays. Den of Thieves is Guirgis' first published play. I chose this project for my thesis production because I wanted to work with younger actors on a play that is not produced often. Although the company was not part of the playwriting process, the actors, director, and crew would use the collaborative ideals of the LAByrinth Theater Company to form the production. I was interested in forming a group that was diverse in ethnical background and theatrical capabilities. I wanted to see if this play and the collaborative ideals would be successful with collegiate actors. I wanted to test the material on a collegiate audience. By doing this work I hoped to instill these ideals with members of the company so that they could be positive in their future theatrical communities. I also hoped to inspire interest from the audience in Guirgis' work as well as the LAByrinth Theater Company of New York.

One Script, Two Perspectives: Generation Me and The Staging of Really Really is a reflection on the approach, pre-production, rehearsal and post-production phases of the play, Really Really by Paul Downs Colaizzo, which debuted in the Shafer Street Playhouse on February 20, 2015 on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. The cast included Kaelie Ukrop, Adam Valentine, Ethan Malamud, Telos Fuller, Solomon Dixon, Molly Kaufman, and Katie Stoddard. This paper looks at the processes involved with the creation of that piece. Focus is given to the problems and challenges involved with casting, production, rehearsals, post-production and effective directing methods.