Susan Swavely is the 2026 Essential Theatre Playwriting Award winner with her new play, Helen of the West. Read on to learn a little more about Susan and the play you’ll be seeing in August!
We interviewed Susan in early July, but now that opening night is almost here, we circled back to get her thoughts on the process!
The play in question, Helen of the West, is a classic tragedy… unlike you’ve ever seen it before. Bustling with all the life and spirit of the American West, Helen of the West reimagines the Greek myth of Helen of Troy (or Helen of Sparta, if you prefer… which she might) in a devastating new way. The audience can get ready for feisty saloon girls, train rides, and Helen’s unrelentingly doomed Fate.
ET: Hi Susan, congratulations and welcome back! What has been your favorite part of the rehearsal process so far?
SS: It’s been breathtaking to see the show come to life, right off of the page. The cast breathes such stunning life into the characters, Peter’s direction is so whimsical and beautiful, the costumes, the set, the lighting design, the sound design, an ON-STAGE MUSICIAN! It all just takes Helen of the West to the next level. I can’t wait to see it. There was one moment in rehearsal where I watched Helen fall a little in love with Paris, and I thought oh. They get it. I can’t express how grateful I am.
ET: You write your stage directions with a special attention and care. Do you feel that the performance and direction of Helen has allowed for a dialogue between the playwright and the creative team, cast, and crew?
SS: It’s poetry to me, the stage directions. It’s how I talk to you when I can’t be there. Some of Helen of the West’s stage directions are absurd: elephants and showgirls and confetti… but I’m communicating with the actors and directors and dramaturgs and designers. Do I mean an actual elephant should cross the stage? Well… what’s the show’s budget? No, but seriously, it’s the essence of the elephant. The excitement and feeling. For this production of Helen, I do have the immense privilege to actually be in the room and reachable to the team for questions and edits. It makes for a very lovely collaboration. And in the future, when the play grows its own wings and flies out of my grasp a little further, the stage directions will fly me along with the show, wherever it goes.
ET: Do you have any advice for aspiring playwrights entering the industry?
SS: Yes! Write your story! Write it bad, and then write it better and then put it on in your backyard–that’s where Sirens got its first show–and then write it better! I’d say the best advice for beginning playwrights is to write a play—and then do something with it. Submit to festivals, like Essential, host readings with friends or strangers, head to an editing workshop, perform in it yourself… just do something with it! Getting out into the community of amazing playwrights will strengthen your craft and open you up to some of the most wonderful friendships. You’ll get to see some of the best plays in the world while they’re still being produced for $100 and a pizza for the cast. You’ll get to read Hamlet before it’s Hamlet, you know what I mean?
ET: Thank you so much for sharing, Susan! We are so excited to collaborate with you on the world premiere of Helen of the West!
Susan’s play, Helen of the West, premieres at 7Stages in Little Five Points as part of the 2026 Essential Theatre Play Festival and opens Friday, August 7th, 2026. Tickets are on sale at EssentialTheatre.Tix.com.
2026 Meet the Playwright interviews conducted by 2026 Literary Management Intern Olivia Smith.
