The Storyteller Studio 22-23 Cohort Portfolio
Salma Elwy
About Me
Salma is an actor, writer, educator, and director currently based out of South Jersey. She spent the majority of this past year student teaching in a high school theatre classroom, and obtaining her Masters in Theatre Education from her alma mater, Rowan University.
In the spring of 2022, Salma's original play "These Walls" was presented in a staged reading at the Eagle Theatre in Hammonton, NJ as part of their New Works Development Series, in collaboration with the New Jersey Theatre Alliance's Stages Festival.
In addition to playwriting, Salma enjoys writing poetry and fiction. Her work typically includes themes of girlhood, growth, family, and the immigrant experience.
Q+A
How would you describe yourself as an artist?
In our Storyteller Studio meetings, we've often thrown around the term "multi-hyphenate artists," and I definitely feel that this applies to me. I sought out a B.A. Theatre program when applying to college because I knew I had many passions within the field, and I refused to settle on just one of them. At times, this was challenging for me because I felt the need to fit myself into a single box in order to be more marketable for jobs. Now, I recognize that being multidisciplinary is my greatest strength as an artist. Being a director has made me a better writer, because it allows me to take my own ideas and put them into practice. Being a teacher has made me a better actor, because I get to see what all my teachers have always told me in real time from the other side of the table. I'm grateful for my comprehensive understanding of theatre, and for being able to pursue all these different paths!
How have you grown during your time in the Storyteller Studio?
I've grown much more confident in my identity as a writer throughout my time in the Storyteller Studio. Imposter Syndrome is very real, especially as artists where the lines between hobby, passion, and career can be so blurry. I'm walking away from this experience confidently calling myself a writer, simply because I write and despite all other circumstances.
What does it mean to you to be an artist in our current moment?
While I do believe consuming art has the power to change lives (and it has certainly changed mine), I am firm in my stance that the art I make is for myself. The pressure to create for any other reason or any other person is too overwhelming, and in my experience, results in an inauthentic outcome. To me, being an authentic artist means being vulnerable and writing about my experiences, my thoughts, my questions, and my answers with the hope that someone out there will connect, and that we'll both feel a little bit less alone because of it.
How has this program shaped your understanding of dramaturgy and collaboration?
I've always had respect and curiosity for dramaturgy, but this program has deepened that even more and broadened my understanding of the craft! Dramaturgy isn't just the history behind the story, like we're often lead to believe- it's context, editing, development, research, and most of all, it's a collaboration that produces a fully-fledged story supported by the playwright and dramaturg's shared vision.
What's next for you?
Now that I've completed my Masters in Theatre Ed. and officially closed the college chapter of my life (at least for now), the world feels very open, which is simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. I am pursuing teaching opportunities that will allow me the freedom to focus on finishing writing my play as well as acting. I'm looking at potentially working as an English Teacher abroad, with the hope of gaining some new experiences that may inspire my writing... I don't know exactly where the wind will blow, but I'm excited to find out and to continue with my artistic endeavors!
Nefelibata
Nefelibata was conceived from an idea that’s been floating around in my head for a very long time. It started out as a concept for a novel. Mind you- I’m no novelist (yet!), and I have no experience writing one. It’s just a constant idea in the back of my mind. Doesn’t everyone, to some extent, fantasize about writing a book someday?
What I wanted (and still want) was to write middle-grade fiction. For me, ages 8-12 were pivotal as a young reader and imaginative child. This was the time when I started to discover books I really loved, when I found passion in writing, and most of all, when I started experiencing turbulent emotions that led me to really need creative outlets. Having characters that were my age, experiencing lives and feelings similar to my own, was nothing less than life-changing.
Flashing forward to September 2022, I started student teaching in a high school theatre classroom, which happened to coincide with the start of Storyteller Studio’s 22-23 Cohort. In the process of finding a play to produce with my teenage students, I quickly realized: there aren’t very many plays about young people that are actually appropriate for young people to perform. The Wolves, DanceNation, Dry Land, and others in that category are all stunningly realistic and deeply relatable depictions of the teenage years (seriously I love all these plays so much), but they’re also unfortunately deemed “not appropriate” for real teenagers. School administration knows that sixteen year olds are having sex and saying the f-word, they just don’t want to acknowledge it or see it portrayed on stage. This was a frustrating, but enlightening realization for me.
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And so, Nefelibata was born. I set out to merge my dream of writing young-adult fiction with my real-life practice working with young theatre artists. This wouldn’t have been possible without the Storyteller Studio. Had I not been in a cohort with other playwrights and dramaturgs who pushed me to pursue my creative passions, and who inspired me just by doing that very thing themselves, this all would have remained a mere idea in my mind for quite a while longer.
In all of my work, intentionally and unintentionally, the experience of being a young girl in the big, wide world seems to always be at the forefront. I wrote about three best friends who are experiencing change and trying to hold onto each other through it all.
I’m always terrified of sharing my writing with the public, but getting to hear an excerpt of Nefelibata read allowed during a meeting with the cohort was exactly what I needed. It was magical to hear my story come to life and invaluable to receive their feedback, both reassuring and constructive. The script is nowhere near finished at the moment, but it has direction. I know where the story is going, and much like the characters in the play who are setting out on a new adventure, I cannot wait to get there.
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Thanks for reading,
Salma Elwy
Dive In to Salma's Process
Here's the Spotify playlist that inspires me when writing Nefelibata / songs I associate with the characters in the play!