The Brooklyn Rail

In Dialogue

The Sick, Ugly Brilliance of Gina Gionfriddo

By Rob Handel

Paula Vogel has been teaching playwriting at Brown University since 1985, so if you go to the theater anywhere in America these days, there’s a good chance you’re seeing the work of one of her students. One of her aphorisms (which are legion) is “Time works backwards in the theater.” This is a key element in the nuanced understanding of structure that is The Way of Paula.