Writer Amy Fusselman says theater is the best way to fight writer’s block. She recommends attending performances as a regular habit, not just entertainment.
Fusselman writes about the approach in a piece titled “Got Writer’s Block? Go to the Theater!” The article originally appeared in Lit Hub’s Craft of Writing newsletter.
Why Theater Beats Reading
Fusselman describes herself as a fan of art that feels alien and disconnected from current trends. She cites French otolaryngologist Dr. Alfred Tomaitis’s theory that the voice can’t produce what the ear can’t hear, arguing that artists face real difficulty creating something truly new.
She sees herself as trapped in a closed system, only capable of producing work within the range of what she has already absorbed. That is why she studies another medium — theater.
“Theatergoing helps me think laterally,” she writes. “When I am inspired by something I see onstage, I find myself stretching to think how that thing can be remade with language.”
Dead Zones and Audience Reaction
For Fusselman, theater is a way to find what she calls “dead zones” — places where she holds unexamined ideas without realizing it. She says sitting in a theater seat lets her witness someone else’s fully realized ideas about plot, character, dialogue and setting in under three hours.
She also finds value in watching the audience. “An audience does not lie,” she notes. Real-time reactions help her observe how a story unfolds in front of actual people.
The Year’s Shows
Fusselman’s theatergoing this year ranged widely. She saw avant-garde shows like Victory Over the Sun by Nature Theater of Oklahoma and Tanz by Florentina Holzinger, which left her gobsmacked. She also caught Race: The Movie: The Play by Bret Raybould and Cristian Duran, a comedy about race that she adored. And she enjoyed The Passion of Mr. Cardboard by Miles Calderon, a one-person clown show.
Where She Lives
Fusselman lives in New York City on a block that is home to three off-off Broadway theaters. There is also a Parisian Tea Room and a falafel car parking lot that doubles as a mosque.
“Everything except writing, that is.”
The Big Idea
Fusselman’s central claim is that studying theater helps her ask more interesting questions about her own work. She wonders if a novel is a performance, and if so, what kind. Contemplating these issues, she believes, made her more fearless when building the world of her new novel, Cloud Six.
Theater also expands her sense of what her own work can do. When something onstage moves her, she says she can almost detect a sound out of her hearing range.
Who Is Amy Fusselman
Fusselman is the author of five books of nonfiction and fiction. Her first novel, The Means, was praised by People magazine as “a fast-paced and funny send-up.” Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post and many other outlets.
Her book Idiophone, published in 2018 by Coffee House Press, was nominated for the University of Iowa’s Krause Essay Prize and the Believer Book Award.
Convenience and Curiosity
Fusselman’s frequent attendance is tied to convenience and curiosity, not just her location. Theater offers a ready-made lesson in craft, delivered in under three hours, and she enjoys the structure of sitting in the dark with an audience.
Here is a quick look at the shows she named this year:
| Show | Type |
|---|---|
| Victory Over the Sun by Nature Theater of Oklahoma | Avant-garde |
| Tanz by Florentina Holzinger | Avant-garde |
| Race: The Movie: The Play by Bret Raybould & Cristian Duran | Comedy |
| The Passion of Mr. Cardboard by Miles Calderon | One-person clown show |
Key Facts Box
– Author: Amy Fusselman
– Source: Lit Hub’s Craft of Writing newsletter
– New novel: Cloud Six
– First novel: The Means, praised by People magazine
– Other book: Idiophone (2018, Coffee House Press)
Source material: “Got Writer’s Block? Go to the Theater!,” Literary Hub.
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