Last night, while standing outside a theater waiting to enter, I bumped into an actor of my acquaintance—a woman with good comic timing and presence as a performer, at least from what I’ve seen of her work, which isn’t enough. I was on my way to meet the director of the show we were about to see, but I stopped to chat for a bit, and she took a moment to introduce me to two of her companions: “This is Gwydion Suilebhan,” she said, “a local playwright.” For some reason, the word “local” really landed awkwardly in my ear. I mean, I understand it—I’m a playwright, and I live in the area—and I hold no grudge against the nice woman who said it, but it bugged me nonetheless. The problem (for me) seems to be the implication that I’m “only” a local playwright: that my work is only (good? well-known?) enough to be produced in DC.  Never mind the fact that the implication is wrong—because my work has been seen in New
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