Guest post by Gemma Whelan

Gemma Whelan reads from her new book, Fiona: Stolen Child, on Sunday, October 10, at 2pm on the Oregon Education Association Stage. She also appears at 1pm for the panel discussion “First Book, First Person” on the Wieden + Kennedy Stage.

Until recently, when I met new people and they asked me what my profession was, I said that I was a theater director and educator. Friends who have known me for over 20 years, many working alongside me as actors, designers, playwrights, and stage managers, were gobsmacked when they found out I had a novel coming out. They didn’t know I was writing.

The first serious writing I did was when I embarked on my PhD dissertation at UC Berkeley. I had already passed my written and oral exams for the PhD, and done a huge amount of research on my topic, The Image of Ireland in American Drama. My dissertation advisor had a very clear picture in HIS mind of what my “book” should look like, and assumed from the beginning that it would be published. Determined to keep me working, he made me sit in his office and write while he hovered over me. The day he tried to browbeat me into picking up a sharp letter-opener and acting out a portion of the section I was writing was the day I decided to drop out of the program. I knew I wanted to pursue directing rather than academia, so I collected my MA and Candidate in Philosophy in Dramatic Arts and carved out a career as a director and an educator.

Read more »